That Seventies Series: Supergraphics

According to my vintage decor bible, Living Spaces, back in the seventies you couldn't walk into a house without bumping into a supergraphic mural. Somehow my superhip mom must have missed the memo, but that's ok because I'm on a mission to fill in the gaps of my obviously deprived childhood. So, hot on the heels of Karly's post about those supertalented Austinites, Redstart, I'm bringing you another day of supersized mural goodness. No wallpaper required.

My obsession all started about a year ago with this image by design superheroes, Wary Meyers:

I really couldn't stop myself from painting my own hall ceiling a glamorous golden in homage to WM's greatness (read all about it here), and now I'm thinking the baby's nursery needs a supergraphic of its own. I mean, if you were a baby, doomed by evolution to months of nothing but cooing and an unfortunate inability to flip over on your own, wouldn't you want to spend your spare time staring at walls like these?

Living Spaces was going all avant garde with this one, eschewing the biomorphic for something a bit more Kazimir Malevich or Henri Matisse. But don't worry -- they have a few other tricks up the old book sleeve:

Ok, so the colors are a little... pukey in the bottom pic, but you get the idea. Some zany homeowners or decorators got hold of 1) tape 2) paint 3) rollers, and went to town all over those walls. Taking a cue from artists of the 60's and 70's, the supergraphic is an eminently attainable artwork.

Frank Stella, minimalist artist of the 60s, designed this vintage graphic for the homeowners, but the simple lines mean you can do it yourself. Also, much of the art that inspired the supergraphic movement was meant to be wall sized, so the designs are already properly scaled.

OG artist Sol Lewitt started his Wall Drawings series in the 50s and kept it up almost until his death in 2007.

Not to be outplayed by the playas, Bridget Riley revolutionized the Op Art movement of the 60s, and contributed enormously to the supergraphic aesthetic. Plus she was a lot hotter than Lewitt and Stella.

Although superpopular in the 60s and especially the 70s (check out this Supergraphics Kit you could buy back in the day), the surge of huge, colorful wall graphics died down in the spartan 80s and traditionalist 90s. In recent years there has been an upswing in painted murals as an alternative to expensive and difficult to remove wallpaper, but until recently many mural patterns have been naturalistic rather than truly abstract forms.

For everyone tired of trees, birds and flowers, check it, yo:

Decorative painter Robert Coxon's murals may look vintage, but they're totally modern. And how much do you love the 70s aesthetic of the actual photographs?

Perhaps you've got a boring old bathroom that needs a splish splash of pizazz? Supergraphics to the rescue!

Clothing designer Brian Lichtenberg's home is just as colorful as his cloth. Love this drippy take on the bold, primary horizontal lines, and this would be so easy to DIY. Just embrace your mistakes.

This faceted bathroom turns the sink and faucet into floating works of art. I suddenly feel the urge to rip out my own bathroom and start over, cubist style.

Wary Meyers are masters of all things painted, including this groovy lime mural in a vintage bathroom, complimented by a matching green painted radiator. Sweet!

And who wouldn't want a shower painted in a bright Missoni pattern? I'm not sure how it works, but it sure is pretty.

Just don't do this to your bathroom. Or photograph your half grown children naked together in the tub, and then PUBLISH it in a book! Were these parents TRYING to traumatize their kids for life?! Since Living Spaces was published in the late 70s, these "kids" must be almost 40, now. Hopefully they do not read this blog.

Let's put the horror behind us and move on, shall we?

Wary Meyers give us supergraphic as headboard. Supersmart, and supercheap!

Awww, a sweetly sleeping puppy, a guitar, and pink with purple supergraphics. What more could a girl want? (Found here.)

A view of M. Design Interiors' room with attitude. I've blogged this house before, but its awesomeness can't be denied.

The overscale polka dot wall in this Missoni showroom recalls the above mentioned Bridget Riley's work, as well as that of crazy but brilliant artist, Yayoi Kusama:

When I say that she's "crazy," I mean that she's been institutionalized for much of her life. So if you're seeing spots where there aren't any, be very afraid. Or, hey, become a famous artist!

No post on supergraphics would be complete without this GORGEOUS image found over at If the Lampshade Fits. Sista knows a thing or two about supergraphics, and has great taste to boot.

If you're on a small budget and need big art, a supergraphic just might fit the bill. There are so many DIY friendly shape and color combinations that there's something to fit just about any space. I was considering a black, all over paint job for the nursery (yep), but I think a wall mural might be more interesting and kid friendly -- although I do love me some black! What do you all think?

Finally, I'm leaving you with a great picture of the wall where the cover for Elliot Smith's Figure 8 was shot. Bless his groovy, little pea pickin' heart. Woudn't Mama Be Proud?

Trend Alert: Cross Sections & Topography

Well, well, well, what will they think of next?  Certainly not butterflies, Mrs. Russell.  Sometimes it seems like just about anything could be a new trend, think of something you haven't seen in awhile:  telephone books for example, when was the last time you saw them?  An item needs to be absent before it can be reborn with to a new perspective and adored.  Let's explore this phonebook thing for a while, I'll apply my scientifically formulated trend-worthy questions: Are they hovering on the verge of being nostalgic? check.  Easily recognized with bold colors?  check.  Firmly planted in the depths of the universal subconscious?  And Check.  hmmm, in my babbling I think I may be on to something:  phone books will be next season's new black.  For now, I'm feeling something equally arbitrary:  cross sections and topography.  Totally random, right?  But still, somehow, it's everywhere.

I caught my first glimpse of some trend-worthy cross sections when I purchased this Josh Keyes print from Tiny Showcase (ps, if you happen to know where the hell I put it, I will totally give you a dollar).  I instantly fell in love with the small sections of land Keyes meticulously slices off for his animals to live on.  His work speaks to the ever-growing human population and their encroachment upon natures little creatures, so it's a bit sad, but man if it isn't pretty.  Let's see more:

I've been drooling over Keyes's work for ages and skipping the starbucks in hopes to one day save enough dough for a real painting, not just a print.  I had never seen anything like it.  So imagine my surprise when I saw this ad campaign for a Ukrainian Travel Agency:

So similar to Keyes's work, just without all that we're stealing the sweet cute baby animal land stuff.  I have to admit, while these works are lovely,  Keyes is still my fave.  

If I wanted a real-honest-to-god cross section hanging around my house, I'd most certainly hunt down the work of Rainbow Monkey:

let's play archeologist and get a closer look at this bit of earth we've discovered

I have blue rocks in my backyard, too, what a coincidence!  

With 3 confirmed artists creating cross section art, I started to keep my eyes peeled.  I began to notice cross sections popping up everywhere, from realistic shots of actual earth, to meticulous topographical paper carvings: 

Silver Lake Operations #1, Lake Lefroy, Western Australia, 2008 3/10

Isn't it funny that, after looking at several fake cross sections, this real one seems like a bit of a bummer?  If you pull Edward Burtynsky's Australian Minescape out of the context of this post, however the photographs become epic, and even mirror the work of Keyes:  documenting human destruction of the land.  Ok, on to something less depressing:  Birthday Cards, yay! 

Etsy Artist, Crafterall carves topographic wading pools and ravines into her notecards, combining enough color and texture to make the blank cards speak for themselves.  This is perfect for me because I never really know what to write in those anyway.  Thank you for the gift......you're awesome?  (But don't worry, I'm from the south and therefore have manners and, yes, I always send thank you notes, just not very interesting ones)

Noriko Ambe takes the whole paper-carving thing to a whole new level, carving entire landscapes into her works

Crazy-insane?  Right?  But so amazingly beautiful

Incase you designophiles were worried that I was missing the decor section of today's post:  fear not!  I managed to find two home goods companies that are buckled in tight on the cross section-trend-bandwagon:

Forsberg has created a line of silver topographic plates.  I, of course, am waiting for them to come out in gold.  

And Gore Design Co. has a line of STUNNING concrete topographical sinks:

I usually lean towards the very simple when it comes to things like basins and tubs, shying away from anything as outrageous as, say, a pedestal sink but these topographic sinks really get my heart racing.  I strongly urge you to stop by their site to check out more of their lovely works.

So, next time you're cruising along a ravine and see a big piece of exposed earth, remember who told you about it first.

Peace Out Homies!

We Are a Part of the Patchwork Nation

Patchhhhhhhhwwwwworrrrrrk! Say it for the people! Say it for the children! Do you think Obama's entire inaugural address could be set to the tune of Rhythm Nation? It's undoubtedly best not to find out, but what a speech! It was especially nice to have a president acknowledge what every American already knows: hey, we're all different, and that's a good thing. So put away the one size fits all rhetoric of the past, and enjoy the pretty fruits of our collective, cobbled together heritage, design style.

Photo via Innumerable Goods

Patchwork quilts and pillows have long held the symbolic weight of history -- a scrap of grandpa's shirt here, a square of baby's first blanket there, and in time a singular piece of fabric weaves together the stories of generations. Perhaps the zeitgeist of changing history is sweeping through the land, because patchwork is EVERYWHERE, but this ain't your grandma's country quilt.

Nosireeebob, patchwork can be modern, even mod. Arne Jacobsen's seminal Egg Chair, reconfigured by artist Tal R, is bright, bold, and one of kind -- awww, just like us. Look! There's even a stars and stripes model. And that actually makes me... proud.

Patchwork goes haute in this gorgeous living room featured on Desire to Inspire. I will take the entire room, please, but the space would be bland city without the sofa, which looks like it was produced by Squint Limited, makers and purveyors of all things bright and patchy:

Can you even imagine all the labor that must have gone into the tufting on that headboard?! And I enjoy peeking into their studio in the background... I would love to rifle through their stacks and stacks of fabric scraps. But for me, the real prize is that kissing bench. Momma like.

This headboard featured in Living Etc is a little more DIY friendly, but still patchylicious. I love the tiny red buttons hidden in the tufts, like secret surprises only sleepers can see.

For some global flava, these patchwork couches made of treasured Turkish tapestries by Bojka are singularly spicy and delicious. Found on super blog, Double Takes.

Ok, this patchwork beanbag couch by Bertjan Pot is kind of like something my grandma used to have, but it's so much more squishy and inviting than grandma's hard, lumpy, bumpy seating. I envision a sleepover party with pillow fights and popcorn, but don't eff up my rad duct tape rug, you messy beasts.

We can't let fabric have all the fun. Welcome to the patchwork party, crazy case goods by Boca do Lobo (designers with a cute wolf logo). This inspires me to paint all the drawers in my buffet table different colors, although I think I might fail to capture the full range of awesomeness without some mad carpentry skillz.

Speaking of mad carpentry skillz:

I'm sure fitting all those tiny pieces of wood waste and off-cuts together into something -- anything -- was challenging. Making an actual load bearing chair out of scrap is pretty damn impressive. Good job, Amy Hunting!

Meanwhile, I have a minor obsession with vintage patchwork goodies, but not quilts...

I'm a woozy floozy for pretty much anything in Paul Evan's Cityscape series. Super shiny patchwork metal casing + ultra square lines = unmitigated lust on my part. Meow. Both pieces available at 1st Dibs if you got the money, honey.

Yes, the times they are a changing. So why don't we all sit down over some tea to talk about it? This Tea For Two set by Vika Mitrichenka is sure to get the conversation flowing. How about, you say "Toe May Toe" and I say "If you break my fancy tea set, this happy fun time tea party is over, pronto." Oh, alright. I say "Toe Mah Toe." Because, thanks to Obama I'm feeling warm and fuzzy like that.