Blow Me: Inflatable Art, Architecture & Design
So, not that I have run out of ideas already, but theses last 10 days have been filled with 2 out of the 3 members of our household being very sick with the flu! It’s going around kids, wash those hands, wear those masks, and get that prescription of Tamiflu ready, I know I did. As the last man standing, I’ve been more concerned with getting everyone well than figuring out my weekly post, so I am going to cheat a little and repost (in my own way) a “classic” MONDOBLOGO missive from over 15 years ago. I’m going to use the same photos & descriptions and where I see fit add some new comments (they will be the words in italics.) So here we go, if we like it, maybe it can be a regular thang when I am busy doing something else other than thinking and looking at (mostly) ART & DESIGN.
Michael Webb of Archigram Group with his full-size model of the “Cushicle”, 1967 (David Green inside). Looks comfy!
I wish I knew what his glasses were all about...
The question that is on my mind as I look at this again is yes, what are those glasses all about but why isn’t he nude? This was 1967 and he is on what appears to be a large sheepskin poof inside of the “Cushicle”. His other “…cles” should be freed from those tighty whiteys if he wants to be full on Swinging 60’s and he’s so close. Also. I want to know what watch that is…
Warren Chalk, Peter Cook, Dennis Crompton, Ron Herron, “Control and Choice Dwellings”, 1967.
This looks like a Carsten Höller project, all we need is a slide over there to the right.
Frank Lloyd Wright, “Rubber Fiberthin Airhouse”, (for the U.S. Rubber Company),1956.
This was supposed to be a part of a “Rubber Village” at the 1957 New York Home Building Exhibition. I always assumed FLW was a little kinky, and now I have my proof!
Jean-Paul Jungmann, Jean Aubert, Antoine Stinco, “Architecture Pneumatiques”, Paris, 1967.
What I’m really thinking about is how Low Rez this image is (all of them really) but I’m not reshooting them all, too lazy! I might have been scanning the images back then? I don’t remember.
Jean-Paul Jungmann, Jean Aubert, Antoine Stinco, “Architecture Pneumatiques”, Paris, 1967.
For some reason this is reminding me of Jabba the Hutt…
Frei Otto, “Inflatable Pavilion”, Rotterdam Expo,1958.
Someone dared to “impugn my veracity” (inside joke) and I “slowly” replied 2 days later.
Nicolas Grimshaw and Partners, “Eden Project”, Cornwall, England, 2001.
Not much to say here other than I wish I had gone to see this.
Haus-Rucker-Co., “Gelbes Herz”, 1968.
Not sure what is going on here but I love Haus-Rucker-Co. It’s like an oversized lightbulb with nudes floating inside? Is that a video monitor? I need to dig deeper into this later.
Haus-Rucker-Co., “Gelbes Herz”, “Gelbes Herz”, (Yellow Heart), 1968.
Seriously, how cool are these peeps? Utopian visionaries, haven’t thought about them in a long time.
Haus-Rucker-Co., “Oasis 7”, Presentation at documenta 5, Kassel, Germany, 1972.
I’m sure y’all recognize this, probably their most famous work.
“Structures Gonflables”, Musée de la Ville de Paris, 1968
LOOK GREG! There’s a “Silver Cloud”!
The Greg I was referring to was / is Greg Allen of GREG.ORG one of the most brilliant art blogger EVER.
Otto Piene, “A Field of Hot Air Sculptures Over a Fire in the Snow", MIT, 1969. Totally rad.
I used to say “Totally Rad” alot back then. My 10 year old would give me a look if I said it a lot these days. He wants to go to MIT.
Hans Haacke, “Sky Line”, Central Park, NYC, 1967.
Beautiful. And if you say anything about the turtles that will ingest these balloons I will ignore you because beauty is sometimes worth the sacrifice. Let’s just hope the wind was blowing west and they ended up in a tree beside the FDR.
Maurice Agis, “Dreamspace”, This would later KILL!
(I think it was the pissed off ghost of Verner Panton....)
Two things, it’s sad that a version of this sculpture / installation literally did kill 13 people in 2006. People, people, not turtles. Crazy.
This is why the ghost of Verner Panton might have been “pissed off”. This is his “Visiona 2” from 1970. Secondly, kinda not into my joke any longer. Those poor people, one minute they are checking out this trippy sculpture by a 77 year old respected British artist and the next thing they are gone. So sad…
Bernard Quentin, N.Y. World’s Fair, 1964.
Who art thou Mister Quentin? Since I posted this 15 years ago I have never once heard of you again.
Look at this, you can still buy some of his inflatable furniture!
William H. Miller, “Chair”, 1944.
We all know this chair from MoMA. But do we really know Mr. William H. Miller???
Here he is looking handsome in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine in 1946.
Here he is looking even more handsome with George Gallowhur with his desalination device he designed for Navy and Army Airmen.
But it gets much more interesting (to me anyway) William (he later changed his name to Christian to obviously boost his handsomeness) was considered to be “one of the most beautiful men” in the NYC gay social scene in the 1940s. He was a model as well as a designer and inventor. The poet Ralph Pomeroy is quoted as saying “Bill would go to a gallery and all the women and all the men would faint!!!”
Here is a portrait The Handsome Mister Miller by Paul Cadmus.Has anyone fainted yet? I’m close… The list of men that he was friends and lovers with is pretty amazing. I might have to dig into this more as well. Fascinating story.
“Barbarella”, Rodger Vadim director, (That’s Jane Fonda being imprisoned by, it seems like, Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne?)
See what I mean???
I do see what you mean Mr. Parrish. Oh to have bought all the Lalanne one could have in 2010, or even one piece, I could have retired already!
Walter Bird, “Radome”, Ithaca, NY, 1948.
Nice segue right? “Everything You Wanted to Know about Sex”, Woody Allen, 1972.
Woody Allan, what a weird twisted dude, and to think people were surprised. I guess they weren’t paying attention to the giant boob chasing people…
“Mr Blowup”, GET INTO IT!
Oh I’m into it alright. God love the people out there with laser focus into what they really want. I admire Mr. Blowup for that.
Don’t be afraid to watch the video, it’s totally tame, but highly weird. It’s only flagged for safety reasons which you will understand when you watch it.
So that was the post from November 23rd, 2010. If you want to see the book this all was cobbled together from, try to find “blowup: inflatable art, architecture and design”, by Sean Topham for Prestle. Great book with a squishy cover!
One last thing I almost forgot, I thought some of these comments were pretty funny…
Well that’s a wrap, thanks for sticking with it to the end, and “see” you next week! -Patrick