July 10: A CAN'T-MISS Auction from Wright

We've got our eyes on an auction we know you'll crave after one look. Auction house Wright will preview the Mass Modern auction from July 5-9, with the sale kicking off July 10, at 10:00 am cst. About 100 of the lots will sell for under $100 with some going as low as $25. Get hooked here. Wright Founder and Director Richard Wright tells us where the idea for the annual Mass Modern sale comes from: "I started my career by selling things that were pretty accessible, and a lot of modern design at its core is mass produced."

photo courtesy of wright20.com


Mr. Wright also tells us what draws him in: "In the vintage world, there's such a wide variety of material that people can really play around and find their own individual sense of style. I also like the strangeness that comes out of vintage design.

"Having some courage to break the rules is a hallmark of style."

Mr. Wright's Advice for the Newbie
1. Know what you're bidding on. Get a condition report with additional images. Order the catalog here.

2. Know the bidding process.

3. Understand the final price you'll pay, including sales tax and shipping fees.

4. Set a limit. Mr. Wright says this is helpful even if you go over your limit because you won't freeze on the spot.

A Taste of the Future

Mr. Wright sites the growth of local design and its interaction with the food movement as the NBT (next big thing). He says, "I think they’re more aligned than people can imagine. You use design. It’s not like art in that way," and notes that there are "synergies between food and design at the local level that should be explored."

Big thanks to Mr. Wright for his exclusive ideas and advice for BRM readers.

Parkside Pianos

Our favorite initiative at the moment is the 60 pianos scattered throughout the parks of NYC's five boroughs. The "Play Me, I'm Yours" project organized by nonprofit Sing for Hope will conclude on July 5th, at which point the 60 instruments will be auctioned off. A future jazz musician strikes the ivories in Van Cortlandt Park below.

photo courtesy of nytimes.com

Rockin' Tune from Katzenjammer Album Coming This Week

During "A Bar in Amsterdam," we laughed, we cried,* and then we decided we're stoked for the debut album Le Pop from Norwegian foursome Katzenjammer out this Tuesday. In particular, the animated, running heart dude really gets us, and a little secret: we heard werewolves are the new vampires (and zombies are the new werewolves). Have a looksie:



*Okay, maybe not, but still it's awesome.

If You're Going to Blow Your Hard-Earned Bills on One Thing...

We've seen them everywhere including the Cynthia Rowley resort 2011 collection. Drool over some beauties at recently-opened NYC bicycle boutique, Adeline Adeline, here, but take solace in the beauty of online shopping. Everyone knows that once you click "add to cart," you can experience the joyous release of gifting something to yourself without actually dropping cash. So, waste away a few minutes designing your dream bike at the Republic Bike site here.

photo courtesy of adelineadeline.com

photo courtesy of republicbike.com

photo courtesy of republicbike.com

How to Understand the Awesomely Overprinted

When Cacharel graced the runway in New York yesterday, the first look below struck in us the omnipresence of bursting mini-printed mini outfits pervading resort 2011 collections. These youthful and playful looks serve to inspire any design-conscious soul that great style can and always will be able to surprise us. In the words of Picasso, 

“The aim of all this is to immerse us in a world where brazenness alternates with the most profound ingenuity and where what appears to be bad taste attains the grandiosity and beauty of a new aesthetic beyond modernity."

First Cacharel look followed by looks from Erdem and Balenciaga.

photos courtesy of style.com

Get Ready for Henri

We're anxiously awaiting the MoMA's Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917 exhibit, and here's why we think you should be as well: The exhibit, opening on July 18 after a showing at the Art Institute of Chicago, will include some of Matisse's most avant-garde work. Further, Chicago Tribune staff reporter Lauren Viera writes, 

"What's most successful about 'Radical Invention' is the buildup: We aren't privy to the piece that started it all, 'Bathers by a River,' until we're nearly through. But all of a sudden, there it is, and it means so much more."

 Read more here, and hear John Elderfield's description of masterpiece "The Moroccans" (1915), which is featured in the exhibit, along with "Bathers by a River" (completed 1917), below.

courtesy of moma.org

courtesy of moma.org

Resort 2011: To Grand Old Reds, Whites and Blacks

These steadfast colors have dominated most resort 2011 shows. The combo pairs fittingly with the structural, menswear-to-womenswear vibe lingering throughout the past few seasons from fedoras to sturdy, leather watchbands, shoes and belts right down to oxford-and-trouser looks. Expect to see more of these three classic shades in the year to come. Looks from Sonia Rykiel, Erin Featherston, DVF and Céline below:

photo courtesy of style.com

photo courtesy of style.com

photo courtesy of vogue.it                                      photo courtesy of vogue.it

A Taste of Kele Okereke Album Out Tomorrow: Promising

A sexy, monochromatic play of light on muscle and rain, we love "Tenderoni" from Kele Okereke's solo album The Boxer to be released tomorrow. Bloc Party frontman Okereke single-handedly delivers something the group never could. As for the futuristic, Balmain-meets-Vader dancers? Well, this is what we meant when we said Gaga lingers among us. Regardless, we think it rocks, and the boxing leitmotif infuses the video with enough panache and mystery to make us hit the play button again.



"Everytime we kiss, / It seems you're holding back. / Don't be so quick to pull away."

Guggenheim and YouTube: Something New

The Guggenheim has teamed up with YouTube for a truly contemporary digital art experience. Any individual can nominate their own work for review. At the end of July, 200 submissions will be shared on the site, and 20-25 videos will be selected for display in the Guggenheim museums of New York, Berlin, Bilbao and Venice in October. Vice President of Google Creative Lab Andy Berndt highlights in this project the marriage of access with the excellence of the established art world.

"[The Guggenheim]'s a museum of modern and contemporary art, but I always like to think that it's always been a museum of the new." -Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Guggenheim and YouTube Play Juror Nancy Spector.

Explore more about YouTube Play here, and check back on the site in August to view submissions.

The Genius of Gingham

Walk yourself into a store, purchase a medium-print gingham shirt, and wear it tomorrow before the rest of the world rocks theirs two weeks from now.

a wait staff at Ninety Acres restaurant in Natirar, the late King of Morocco's estate in Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, wearing a Thomas Mason shirt designed by Todd Shelton (photo courtesy of toddshelton.com)


photo courtesy of jcrew.com

Carry Yourself to the Beach

We think these Jack Spade totes are the perfect addition to a summer wardrobe. The beauty of them is the sturdy, wax handles, so you can load them up with papers, books and laptop when you're on the job. But, they're still perfect for your beach items when you're jet-setting to the coast.

photo courtesy of jackspade.com

If you can't dig the price tag, we can dig that. We've got you covered with these equally awesome, slightly less pricey alternative. Sea Bags are constructed out of recycled sails, and as such, they're pretty much impossible to stain. Major bonus points.

photo courtesy of seabags.com

Things of the Day

Question: Do seagulls have fun?

(Awaited) Exhibit: "Between Here and There: Passages in Contemporary Photography," July 2, 2010–February 13, 2011 at The Met Museum, NYC. More info here.

photo courtesy of dennis-oppenheim.com

Sweet treat (and its classic packaging): Popsicle FIRECRACKERS! What's more summer? More American? More evocative of your childhood?

photo courtesy of icecreamsource.com

Article of clothing: White cutoffs with just enough room to kick a soccer ball. We're fans of Built By Wendy's pair below.

photo courtesy of builtbywendy.com

BBQ-Ready

So the Mafia Materialist went on vacation for the summer, and since we can't even find our shoes, we're trying out a new thang. Being the bros that we are, we've been lamenting the loss of fratmusic.com for a while now. As such, we've decided to spice up your lives with a playlist for your bbqing and summering pleasure. (Aside from a few classics, expect to see all these upcoming artists' names in lights, as Travie McCoy would say.)

Nika + Rory: Don't Waste a Second of Summer without this Tune.

Nika Roza Danilova aka Zola Jesus, the female vocalist of the pair, makes this rock. If you're into it, also check out "Do You Wanna Be?" here.

"Don't you know-oh

everyday I can't help but wonder

could this be the last of the summer

and I wait, wait for you

to tell me how you feel."