Ever wondered how your favorite artist gets their work done? No, we mean, exactly how. As in, if we use the same pen Hemingway used, and the same kind of paper, and at the same time of day, maybe we’ll… nevermind. Regardless of pen type, there is something fascinating about the artist’s desk, and like anything else, everyone will draw their own far-reaching conclusions. In particular, it seems like everyone has their own opinion about what the state of someone’s workspace “means,” and we guess it has more to do with what the adage-makers own desks looked like than anything else. Whether a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, or whether a cluttered desk just means a cluttered desk, or whether a messy desk is a sign of genius, we don’t know. But be their desks cluttered or clean, these creative people are definitely on this side of brilliant. Indulge in some harmless voyeurism and sneak a peek at the desks and workspaces of writers, artists, and thinkers. Then, it’s time to redecorate.
The journals of commercial designers, graphic artists, and illustrators become subjects in a new publication from Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers by Steve Heller and Lita Talarico (Montacelli Press). Whether it’s design and branding, stock illustration, print, interactive media, or typography, ideas are recorded in the artist’s sketchbook long before the finished products are in the public eye. This book illustrates a wide span of creative approaches and techniques with themes as unique as the artists who created them.
It seems like every day someone is sending us a new TED talk. We are big fans of the forward-thinking smart-people conference, but there’s just no way we can watch everything posted on the site. That said, there’s no way we would miss “David Byrne: How architecture helped music evolve,” a speech from this year’s event that just appeared on the site. Once we checked out that show stopper (seriously, watch it now), we couldn’t help scanning the TED archives to find the best arts and culture-related talks. Our ten favorites, spanning the realms of art, design, literature, music, and TV, are after the jump.
1. Watch Thom Yorke perform three new solo songs during a benefit show for the UK’s Green Party last night. [via Pitchfork]
2. After he had been missing for over a week, actor Andrew Koenig (Richard “Boner” Stabone on Growing Pains) was found dead yesterday in a Vancouver park. [via CNN]
3. The ever-growing cast of the Farrelly Brothers’ upcoming comedy Hall Pass now includes Christina Applegate, Alyssa Milano, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Amanda Bynes, Stephen Merchant, J.B. Smoove, Nicky Whelan, Derek Waters, Larry Campbell, and Vanessa Angel. But will it be funnier than Valentine’s Day? [via Vulture]
4. Yesterday President Obama awarded the National Medal of Arts to 12 recipients including Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Maya Lin, and Milton Glaser. [via LAT]
5. Is ABC’s Modern Family the new face of network-television family comedy? [via WSJ]
Bonus Giveaway: We use Yahoo! Search to help find the top culture stories of the day. Now we’re giving you the chance to play editor, and you just might win a trip to Coachella.
Use Yahoo! Search to find an interesting link about Thom Yorke, and drop it below in the comments. Our favorite entry will receive OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD], and more importantly, be entered to win a VIP trip for two to Coachella. Topics will be changing throughout the week, so get your search on and keep playing to increase your chances of winning!
1. Oprah is set to announce today that she’s ending her show on September 9, 2011, when her current contract expires, and moving it to her own network. [via USA Today]
2. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning will kiss in The Runaways, that upcoming Joan Jett biopic. [via Pop Candy]
3. Zaha Hadid is meeting the Pope this week. He wants to “revitalize religious art and architecture.” [via Archinect]
4. Preview the Tim Burton MoMA exhibition website, which officially launches this Sunday. It’s sick. [via MoMA]
5. There’s a new Interpol album expected for early 2010; the band’s drummer Sam Fogarino says they revert back to their earlier sound. [via NME]
A font of retro-inspiration, Grain Edit is dedicated to mid-century graphic design and its contemporary disciples.
With an aesthetic shaped by design heroes such as Milton Glaser, Charley Harper, and Paul Rand, the Oakland-based site hand-picks vintage brochures, illustrations, stamps, children’s books, posters, and even home plans for its ongoing visual throwback. Visitors can also read in-depth interviews with today’s leading designers, download one-of-a-kind desktop wallpapers, and vie for coveted giveaways.
I heart NY State: The I LOVE NY logo that has persisted on souvenir T-shirts for 31 years is being updated! NEW YORK STATE TOURISM decided that the original MILTON GLASER logo was too narrow — the three stolid letters and iconic heart represented only the excitement of New York City, not the state as a whole. So in order to lure tourists beyond Times Square, the logo now appears covered in snow or with small animals perched near it. The tourism office hopes the range of designs will make tourists realize that New York is somehow an entire state and not just a city. [TTG]
Terence Koh’s sexy Jesus still rocking Christians across the pond…
by Steve Heller and Lita Talarico (Montacelli Press). Whether it’s design and branding, stock illustration, print, interactive media, or typography, ideas are recorded in the artist’s sketchbook long before the finished products are in the public eye. This book illustrates a wide span of creative approaches and techniques with themes as unique as the artists who created them.
, and more importantly, be entered to win a VIP trip for two to Coachella. Topics will be changing throughout the week, so get your search on and keep playing to increase your chances of winning!
