Oh Christmas Tree...

"Individually the beauty of an everyday object may become invisible, but in quantity you can't miss it" - Anthony Schmitt

During my finals week I noticed the Bay Area was on the news a lot for RANDOM reasons such as "wild turkeys invading alameda county". I had a feeling it's because the SF Giants won the world series therefore the Bay Area got a little extra attention this year. Anyways one of the news stories was about this fantastic Christmas tree created by world-renown installation artist: Anthony Schmitt. The magnificent annual installation is composed of 86 shopping carts with undertones of incredible meanings. Schmitt states that the tree symbolizes "generosity and abundance as well as those less fortunate whose lives fit into one shopping cart." A perfect message for the holiday season because we just don't help enough, we don't give enough, and we certainly aren't thankful enough.

I had no idea this was installed in Emeryville Baystreet until I saw it with my own eyes when I went to see Narnia!! I was blindsided with this Christmas tree in my blind side!! I had to take a picture of it because it's such an honor for Anthony Schmitt to choose the Bay Area this year for his "Shopping Cart Tree". Please make a visit to Baystreet this December to see this one of a kind Christmas tree. For more information about Anthony Schmitt click here.

Polycephaly

Lucy McRae

"Gold thumbtacks have never been more fashionable."

Lucy McRae is a magnificent fashion designer, innovator, and body expert. She was trained as a classical ballerina and architect; making her the perfect candidate to reconstruct the world of fashion. She plays with the idea of technological textiles and what ought to be wearable fashion. I love the clustering/collage effects of her pieces, although I guess textiles are collages in general. She makes you reconsider what fashion is and what we should put on our bodies. How we should wear clothing and what materials we ought to make clothes from.

I discovered Lucy MaRae from Robyn's new music video "Indestructible", which is a bomb song btw. McRae's costume for Robyn immediately caught my eye because the woven water tubes allowed for movement which is unusual for fashion and definitely eye catching. Movement within our clothing is so provocative and odd. The clothing would seem like a separate entity from our bodies. The clothes might wear our bodies in turn and maybe then fashion will again be respected as a form of art... Honestly I would be honored to model for Lucy McRae. McRae's work is truly inspiring and I hope to see her work in exhibits and magazines everywhere in the near future.

Sanguine

Jerry Uelsmann

"I have gradually confused photography with life." - Jerry U.

Jerry Uelsmann is undoubtedly my favorite photographer. He is a pioneer of photo manipulation; creating dream like surreal masterpieces without the help of modern day technology. It's a shame that I had to discover him on my own, perhaps because I've never taken a photography class, but Uelsmann is remarkable. During the 60's Uelsmann was considered an innovator because obviously photoshop did not exist to create his kinds of photo based magic. His technique is primarily "multiple printing"; exposing certain parts of his print with chosen parts of a film negative.

I have to be honest, photography is not my favorite form of art because it's machine produced, without an original to appreciate. But Uelsmann doesn't just rely on his camera, his technique is his currency. By mixing his photography to create a single print, Uelsmann has created an original work of surrealism ultimately by hand. So anyone who knows what kind of art I appreciate would surely understand why Jerry Uelsmann is a photographer I can admire.