In honor of 9/02/10, here’s some 90210. Check out our 90210 Style Trends post from back in the day here.

Note: Watch for Tori Spelling’s intro scene, while everyone else got to come off looking relatively cool, poor Donna just eats a sandwich.

posted by: Tricia Rock

Blonde Ambition, POP Fall/Winter 2010, photographed by Jamie Morgan

If Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’ defined an untouchable height for blonde cool, a detached silverscreen/silkscreen perfection, then that hasn’t stopped others returning again and again to the template with a renewed passion. For 2011 the blonde is powerful, cultured, independent, self-aware… and ubiquitous.

See the entire editorial on Fashion Gone Rogue

posted by: Tricia Rock

Loving The Angels Betrayed editorial for the October 2010 edition of Vogue Nippon. The spread features model Mathilde Frachon in looks from Marc Jacobs, Celine, Alexander Wang and more styled by Beth Fenton and photographed by Lachlan Bailey. Clean, classic cuts with a bit of attitude – part vintage, part modern – perfect inspiration for fall. See all the images on Fashion Gone Rogue.

posted by: Tricia Rock

“Glassy”; 2006; photo-collage, acrylic, gouache, and resin on wood panel

The Brooklyn Museum is set to host a mid-career survey of artist Fred Tomaselli’s work. The show runs October 8, 2010–January 2, 2011 in the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, 5th Floor. Read on to find out more about Tomaselli from the gallery:

This focused mid-career survey presents a selection of Fred Tomaselli’s unique hybrid paintings and collages from 1990 to the present. These layered paintings combine cutout images of plants, birds, smiling mouths, and hands (clipped from field guides and magazines) with passages of paint and actual prescription pills and hallucinogenic plants to create highly stylized, eye-popping compositions. Tomaselli’s artwork draws upon a wide range of sources from both popular culture and art history, and from his own hobbies of gardening, kayaking, and bird-watching. Growing up near the desert in southern California, Tomaselli felt the influence of nearby theme parks, with their manufactured reality, and the music and drug counterculture of Los Angles in the 1970s and 1980s. His distinctive melding of these influences coalesces into a folk-driven, utopian vision of the mythic American West and of lush gardens as sites of contemplation, loss, and possible redemption. One of the pioneering artists who moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the 1980s, Tomaselli continues to live and work in the borough.

“Hang Over”; 2005; leaves, pills, acrylic and resin on wood

“Untitled (Expulsion)”; 2000

posted by: Tricia Rock

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area. This Friday, August 27 is the very first Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, KS.

FRIDAY AUGUST 27

• Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas
Downtown Lawrence (Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 27, 5-8pm

Lawrence’s first Final Fridays, a monthly celebration of the arts. Final Fridays will be presented by the Downtown Lawrence Arts District.

The gallery walk will include 15 commercial galleries as well as a number of local merchants who will take part in Final Fridays by hosting live music or displaying art. A few empty retail spaces will become “flash galleries” filled with temporary exhibits by local artists. Look for the bright yellow flags that signify a venue’s participation.

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Art event locations and participants for this month include:

739 Massachusetts Street
Flash Space, formerly Maurices
Group show presented by B.A.L.M (ongoing through September 17 by appointment)
From the organizers:
Opening reception for b.a.l.m. TRANS•parent TRANS•lucent. This is a group show exploring the idea of translucency and transparency curated by Darin M. White. Featuring works by Leah Busch, Jon Cowan, Christina Dostaier, TR Ericsson, Matthew Farley, Tyson Gough, Rex Hausmann, Vincent Leandro, Keith Lemley, David Parker, Andy Norquist, Debra Seeger, Linnea Spransy Shannon White, and Marc Wiegand.

1109 Gallery (Lawrence Art Guild)
1109 Massachusetts
According to the 1109 Gallery Facebook page, they will have “wine and cheese, great art and fun” as well as a “use your mom’s grocery bag for a book” art making activity from 5-8pm, $3 including all materials. Not sure what this all entails, but we do like, wine, cheese, art, and fun! Lawrence Art Guild’s Member Show of over 40 members work is currently on display through August 29.

Aimee’s Café & Coffeehouse
1025 Massachusetts
Paintings by Steve Swaggert, reception presented by South Massachusetts Art Guild

photo by Jeffrey Stephens

Bourgeois Pig
6 E 9th Street
Baby Heads 02 by Wayne Propst
From the organizers:
FREE HOT DOGS!

Twisty Bracelet by Makenna Bartel

Diane’s Artisan Gallery
4 E 7th Street
From the organizers:
Trunk show of jewelry by Makenna Bartel

Eccentricities
716 Massachusetts
Paintings by David Gross, Barbara Cleary, Hooshang Khorasani, and Shelly Bedsaul.

The Eldridge Hotel
701 Massachusetts
Artists displaying in the Crystal Ballroom include Stan Herd, Clare Doveton, Zac Barnes, John Stephen Howard, Louis Copt and Donna Dennis. A trio from The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra to perform in the lobby along with specials in the Jayhawker and TEN Restaurant.

The Etc. Shop
928 Massachusetts
Frank Lloyd Wright Collection items on display and for sale

Global Cafe
820 Massachusetts
Paintings by stained-glass artist Vivian Faulkner

Hobbs Taylor Lofts
730 New Hampshire
Installation by Zaguar (Zach Hangauer), owner of Rangelife Records

Invisible Hand Gallery
801 1/2 Massachusetts
Closing reception of Mask-Portraits by Jeromy Morris

It’s About Time
816 Massachusetts
Going out of business sale, 40% off metal works for your yard and home

by Jennifer Jarnot

Lawrence Arts Center
840 New Hampshire
Stan Herd and Simon Cardova photographs (ongoing through September 26)
From the organizers:
Stan Herd will exhibit photos and materials connected with the creation of the earthwork piece, “Countryside” while Simon Cardova will show photographs of the making of the film Earthwork.
Jennifer Jarnot, Reconstructing the Paint-by-Number
From the organizers: My recent paintings take their cue from my fascination for the nostalgia of popular culture, particularly those items that were influential, i.e., the stuff of one’s childhood, toys, books, and games.

Lawrence Percolator
Alley behind LAC at 840 New Hampshire
You Can’t Scare Me, I’m a Teacher! opening reception. Featuring artwork by art teachers from USD 497.

Lawrence Public Library
707 Vermont
Paintings by Dian Hauser in the main gallery
Insect Art by Katie Van Blaricum in the entrances
Jewelery by Rachael Sudlow in the library cases
Pencil, charcoal and pastel sketches by Stephanie Barrows in the lower level
All shows are ongoing through August 30

Love Garden Sounds
822 Massachusetts
I’m OK, Art Quilts by Hannah T Johnson (ongoing through September 2)

Mirth Cafe
745 New Hampshire
Photography by Matt Needham

Pachamamas Restaurant
800 New Hampshire
Acrylic paintings by Liberty Hollis

People’s Optical
737 Massachusetts
Paintings by Marilyn Horsch

Phoenix Gallery
919 Massachusetts
Highlighting local artists represented by the gallery

Signs of Life Gallery
722 Massachusetts
Through the Artists’ Eyes: Landscape Interpreted, paintings by Rodney Troth, Elizabeth Rowley and Deb Schroer

Through A Glass Productions
1009 New Hampshire, Suite A
Screening of Cigar By Car by local filmmaker Marlo Angell.
From the organizers: The sleepy day of a cigar attendant is disrupted when he follows a young shoplifter through a mystical cow pasture.  When the cows break free of the fence that binds them, Genius Grass finds the spirit to reclaim his youth and wake up to life.

Van Go Mobile Arts
Flash Space, formerly Arensburgs Shoe Store at 825 Massachusetts
Live mural painting from 5-8pm by students and teachers from Van Go

WheatFields Bakery and Café
904 Vermont
Paintings by Barbara Reid

White Chocolate Skateboards & More
933 Massachusetts
Photography by J. C. Cirese (ongoing through August 30)

by Sighn

Wonder Fair Art Gallery
803 1/2 Massachusetts
No One Knows How Deep This Goes, featuring the work of Sighn (Matthew Hoffman), text-based object installation

Update: New Art Space Opens Its Doors
Quintessential Gallery
512 East 9th Street, Lawrence, Kansas
“Quintessential Gallery” opens its doors for the first time to help ring in the inaugural Final Friday event in Lawrence, Kansas.  Founded August 1, 2010, Quintessential Gallery will be showcasing work by the gallery’s founding artists and Fresh Produce Art Collective members. Traditional and new, the works included are an eclectic mix of mediums from fabric, paint, photography and more.

Exhibiting Artists:
Brent Teufel – Bobbie Powell – Erok Johanssen – Leo Hayden – Rachel Herring –
Fresh Produce Art Collective
Exhibition curator(s):   Leo Hayden, Erok Johanssen and Bobbi Powell

Quintessential Gallery is comprised of five local artists who believe in sharing art with the community.  Located in a shared space with Anam Cara – A Healing Resource Center, Quintessential Gallery is devoted to the continuing creation and exhibition of new work.

posted by: Scott Stewart

Thanks to Refinery 29 for introducing me to Austin, TX based footwear label HELM. Boots to die for that are also hand-crafted old-world style in responsible working conditions, what more can we ask for?

The HELM Story

HELM is a reinvention of iconic footwear design establishing a new foundation for the classic male boot – the shoe for the new male footwear connoisseur who will not sacrifice comfort. The vision behind HELM is founder Joshua Bingaman’s lifelong passion for men’s shoes and boots, refined during his years owning and managing the Subterranean Shoe Room in San Francisco, a highly influential and progressive shoe store in the Mission district.

Through familial connections, Bingaman was introduced to the sophisticated old-world charm of Istanbul and its renown leather expertise. After extensive investigative research and sourcing, HELM was formalized on a foundation of responsibility, integrity, passion, and trust.

HELM products are handmade by one of the best untapped handmade shoe companies in the world and are the elegant result of design touches from around the globe – designed in Austin, handmade in Istanbul, with leather from Holland and Australia, and soles from Italy and France. Bingaman: “We love these boots. We want you to feel like you’re walking around in art.”

The HELM Process

Founded by Austin-based entrepreneur Joshua Bingaman, HELM’S origins are purely passionate. From the historic design inspirations, through the expert leather craftsmanship, down to the sweet familial call names – HELM is about stylishly unpretentious integrity. Designed in Austin, handmade in Istanbul, with leather from Holland and Australia, and soles from Italy and France – HELM is the elegant result of design touches from around the globe.

The meticulous lineage of each boot starts when Bingaman’s design is rendered by an artist. The drawings are then scanned and sent to the artisan shoe makers, who craft the signature molds per each design. Hand-fabrication of one pair of HELM boots takes five days. The leather is cut by hand according to the exclusive molds of each design. The leather pieces are then hand-stitched to together and nailed to the mold. The hand-nailing process takes 48 to 72 hours and allows time for the leather to shape to the mold. Then, while still on the mold, the nails are removed and the sole is stitched to the rest of the boot – and continues to shape for another 24 hours. Lastly, the boot is removed from the mold, brushed, cleaned and polished. When you wear HELM Handmade Boots you’re walking around in art.

posted by: Tricia Rock