In the coming exhibition at Galerie Nordenhake in Stockholm Mikael Olsson has delved into the legacy of Bruno Mathsson, one of Sweden’s most important Modernist designers and architects.

Frösakull is a house Mathsson both designed and lived in. Olsson interacted with the remains of the house, and just as Mathsson he experimented with the house and its possibilities. The result is a collection of images wich shows us an arrangement of an architectonic legacy. Olsson has arranged and transformed the rooms into a stage, only using props like light, emptiness and shadows.

The Södrakull residence, which had been closed off since the Mathssons’ passed away, Olsson approached in a different way, as a voyeur. It is photographed from the outside and through half-drawn curtains. With this method Olsson creates a feeling of frozen memories.

In this body of work Olsson has created an interplay between presence and absence, inner meaning and representation, turning the very notion of the human gaze inside out. The images are marked both by sober objectivity and by tenderness. Together, they form a sort of portrait, as well as a chronicle of architecture, remembrance and ageing. For this reason the photographs cannot be considered documentary but instead a very subjective depiction of Mathsson’s public and private legacy.

This project includes an impressive monograph, published by Steidl Verlag, to be released later this fall. The book includes texts by Beatriz Colomina, Hans Irrek and Helena Mattsson. Designed by Acne Art Department and Mikael Olsson.

The exhibition Södrakull Frösakull takes place 9 January – 14 February 2010.

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In fact, all that is there is merely a doorknob, meant only for opening the door.

However, despite having no lock, this door is not without security features.

How can this be? It is just that stereotypes have driven design such that we associate “security” with having a lock.Perhaps it was just our childhood selves that think doors can open easily.

Rather than the stereotypical door, we have designed a door where a physical lock is unnecessary by changing the stereotypical image of the door.

The only way to forcibly enter is to destroy the door.

That is our “lock.” And with this new “lock,” a new door is designed.

Artist Jen Stark has recently updated her website. New drawings and some new t-shirt prints as well. Take a look.

Måltidets Hus (The House of Food) is the new 9000 m2 national and international resource centre for food development, host of the Gastronomic Institute and Norwegian chef team. Ralston & Bau was commissioned by Figgjo to make a permanent installation in the reception hall. A central wall that runs three flights high was transformed into a generous, vertical feast table. Combined iconic Figgjo dishes form organic shaped plates and bowls of the table, the wall was covered with an innovative laminated wood material simulating a linen table cloth. The wood was engraved with the shapes of ghost silver ware and glasses, while a classic chair backrest on the wall top completes the illusion of the vertical table. The installation was opened to the public on the 16th of September.

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The latest exhibition by artist Jårg Geismar, COME CLOSER - life inside the car, concentrates on the inside, not outside, of cars. Le Corbusier, Edward Kienholz and Andy Warhol all worked with the body of cars in exhibition spaces but as Geismar explains, “The focus of cars is usually on the exterior as it’s easier to grasp. Children play with cars. Everybody has a memory of the outside of a car - the form, colour etc. There are many examples of artists working with the outside of the car like Keith Haring, Ange Leccia, Wolf Vostell and Erwin Wurm to name some. But about the inside, there are not so many . . . ”

So Geismar’s work focuses on the inside - different scenes of people’s experiences and situations inside cars. Describing the exhibition on display at AUDI FORUM TOKYO from 7-13 September, the German artist born in Gotland, Sweden says, “It’s only on for one week. It’s incredibly dense. I’ve never prepared so much for such a short exhibition period.”

The performance, artworks, photographs, drawings and stories in the exhibition all have the same common theme - memorable and unique experiences or thoughts that occur while people are driving (or being inside) cars. For example, a mother talks with her teenage daughter about relationships and ‘girl talk’, two businessmen discuss a deal in the back seat with a chauffer, a car lover cleans the car from the inside, an opera singer sings out the window. “Cars can be so many things,” the artist explains. “Social meeting places, driving cinemas, problem solvers or status symbols.”

Asked what inspired the project Geismar responds, “It’s the fascination about human beings and machines. In the 80’s I started working with cars using projectors, and mainly with blank projections. After working in different spaces, I got interested in site-specific room installations. I was searching for other spaces - moving spaces for my installations. Then one day in the 80’s I read about ‘the car as a social sculpture’ by Le Corbusier and this led me to install the first projection car - ‘Breathing Cars’ - at the Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf in 1985.” This work then inspired Geismar, a guest professor since 1997 at The Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Gent, Belgium to do similar works, like cutting apart car bodies and using them as little cinemas for projections.

This current exhibition is a continuation of the artist’s work - ‘Elegant Moving’ - a projection/film installation that was shown inside the AUDI R8 at the German Embassy in Tokyo in 2008. “But COME CLOSER isn’t only about projection,” he says. ”It’s about the experiences and memories people have inside the car. Many decisions, which affect many lives, have taken place inside cars. The audience has to ‘come closer’ to see what is happening.”

So what is Geismar’s favourite memory inside a car? “The car to me is a driving cinema. I’ve been enjoying this since I was a child. It gives you another view about your surroundings and perspectives of life. Also, when I was a child in Sweden we lived on an island. We’d leave the car to be on the ferry during the trip and when we arrived, we went back inside the car and continued our journey. This experience of going in and out of the car, and in the boat, is my other favourite memory.”

And what does this world-renowned artist see as the future of cars? “More multifunction - flying and swimming - as well as greater environmental friendliness. And in ecological terms, there’ll be surprises in shape and form.”

So next time you’re stuck in traffic, remember to pay attention to what’s going on inside, as well as outside, the car. Come closer.

This is a new post by David Report contributor Kristina Dryza.

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Reflect is a new mobile generative-art application by artist/technologist, Joshua Davis. Using color and form swatches by Joshua you can produce random, generative art pieces and play with them in a Kaleidoscope.

It’s a bit of a movement going on with Brian Eno (Bloom), Andreas Muller (For All Seasons), Reality Jockey (RjDj). Sideways and Joshua Davis are proud to join a pioneering community of individuals who view mobile devices and their increasingly rich, human interfaces (multi-touch) as a curious canvases for creative expression.  In the way that the mobile first provided spatially-dislocated impulsive communication, these powerful mobile creative tools allow spontaneous creativity to blossom regardless of where or who you are.  So much current application development emphasizes improving your efficiency, we applaud these efforts to improve your creative soul.

“In my work I derive huge satisfaction from creating discrete shape and color palettes and then writing algorithms that assemble the pieces into randomized, whole compositions.  Chance is not always pretty, but it is fun.  Take a walk, or rather design, in my shoes” says Joshua Davies.

The Sideways Guarantee: Reflect won’t improve your productivity, but it will enhance your soul…

As Remo Camerota was photographing his book ‘Graffiti Japan’ he came across various drain designs in different prefectures. Camerota started documenting these manholes and eventually collected enough to get a book together. “I noticed there was an otaku culture based around these manhole covers, as well as a huge internet following. People actually have website museums dedicated to the pursuit of drainspotting! There is no other book on the subject so I wanted to show the rest of the world the kind of artistic design going on here.” So while it’s not the oddest fetish in Japan, there are people who travel the length of the country enticed by the prospect of a compellingly designed manhole.

In Japan, modern sewer systems began appearing during the late 19th century, and foreign engineers introduced the Japanese to modern, underground sewer systems with above ground access points. At that time manhole covers had similar geometric designs to those used in other countries. In the 1980s, one bureaucrat devised a way to make these mostly invisible systems aesthetically appreciated aboveground, and the customised manhole cover was invented.

Asked which is his favourite manhole, the photographer replies, “The one I found in Shiga. I was arguing with my partner because I took a wrong turn, and low and behold, I found my favourite manhole cover lying there in the wrong street. We wouldn’t have found it if we went the correct way.” The manhole was a fireman and his bio suit. “How apocalyptic, and it was just there on the side of the road,” he exclaims. The reason it was Camerota’s favourite is because it reminds him of sci fi movies, anime and manga, which he’s a big fan and creator of himself.

Even though Japanese custom manhole covers cost more than generic ones, nearly 95% of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan sport their very own specially designed manhole covers. Designs range from images that evoke a region’s cultural identity - flora, fauna, landmarks and local festivals - even fanciful images dreamed up by school children. In Kyoto, a turtle adorns the city’s manhole covers signifying wisdom and longevity.

So what can other countries learn from this art? Camerota replies, “Attention to detail and unusual art practice are just some of the things they can learn. What this kind of thing shows is that no matter how small or insignificant the item, they can still make it perfect. Designing a manhole cover for each prefecture means there are over 2500 throughout Japan. Slowly but surely this insignificant item is getting its own cult otaku following meaning people are looking at Japan as modern leaders in landscape design and attracting tourists in a bizarre way. Even if they are maniacs!”

This is a new post by David Report contributor Kristina Dryza.

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the Way Sensing GO + consists of two parts, a workshop and an installation from the outcome. The concept of this piece is building a digital version of The Way Things Go (Peter Fischli and David Weiss, 1987) assembling a chain of electric modules which has both input and output.

The first version the Way Sensing Go was made in 2008.

This time, the piece, entitled the Way Sensing Go + , will incorporate not only devices and sensors but also animations and films into the chain. For example, if a light bulb lightened up a monitor, flowers would bloom in movie.

4nchor5 la6 will hold a workshop open for public at Clear Gallery in Tokyo for making the modules, which are exhibiting for Kids Programme at NTT Intercommunication Centre from 11th July. The dates for the workshops are set to 27th sat July 13:00-21:00 and 28th sun July 13:00-21:00.

Eulenspiegel by Katrin Olina is from an installation at the Reykjavik Art Museum. I like it a lot. Please check out the interview with Katrin from Milan Design Week as well.

Shutterlounge  is a new photo gallery concept, who allows collectors to purchase ready-to-hang photography from the comfort of their own home regardless of their access to local art galleries. Shutterlounge.com work with some of the most respected opinion leaders and image makers in the photo business to make limited-edition photography available for purchase.

 The online gallery represents working contemporary photographers featured in magazines like VOGUE, ELLE, Marie Claire etc, capturing the current zeitgeist, and amazing and striking imagery. This photography is emotional, thought-provoking and reflects the times and styles of our society, as it entertains, shocks, motivates, and inspires.

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