Chin Up

Photo Source: Letters of Note

Kate Spade Meets Pop Art

How happy I was to see that Kate Spade's theme for the month of January was "a pop of color," kicking off their overarching 2013 mantra of "things we love." I'm all about Kate Spade and all about color, so those two things alone were enough to get my heart racing. But what's more is that yet again, Deborah Lloyd, Brad Goreski and crew continue to amaze.

They take the idea of "pop" to a deeper cultural level, not only using the word to express the bold use of color, but to reference American pop art.

Pop art, short for–you guessed it– "popular art," was dominant in the United States in the 1960s. Subject matter featured primarily common household products and other products of mass consumption (example: Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can). The overall movement was about creating art by using objects that were recognizable to the masses and through commercial techniques like silk-screening. These tactics of familiarity bluntly rejected the historical and classical subjects of traditional art.

The most particular influence in a number of accessories comes from Roy Lichtenstein, an American pop artist who lived from 1923-1997. His most recognizable works are his paintings that resemble comic strips from newspapers. Both his subject matter and technique mimic the iconic comic style: he creates cartoon-like figures and characters, uses a basic color palette and constructs his pictures from Ben-Day dots. 

His use of found, mass-produced subjects serves to make a bold statement to and about society. Ideas and methods that were downright taboo in previous art circles were accepted and exhibited in the finest of galleries. He managed to bring a newfound youthful and ironic feel to the art world by introducing commercial sources as fine art,  perhaps to say that we need not take ourselves too seriously.

Which brings us, full circle, back to Kate Spade, where "crisp color, graphic prints and playful sophistication are hallmarks." Surely our pal Roy would approve, right?

Sources: Kate Spade New York Instagram, The Chicago Tribune

Products: All Kate Spade New York: Pop Gia, Chad Bon Shopper, ! Tee, Lenticular iPhone 5 case, Comic Davie, Claudette Dress, Taxi! Key fob, Pop! Silk Scarf

Art to Inspiration: July

I've decided to join in for Chevrons & Eclairs' monthly Art to Inspiration series, which celebrates artists new and old as a source of inspiration and learning for the community. This month featured photographer Smita Jacob of Hogger & Co., with the below photograph called Healing Yoga with Arti. Join in for next month here. 

I loved the simplicity and colors of this photo, and the fact that it was taken on an ice-skating rink. The rooms I included are somehow both sparse and ornate with attention to detail. I love the crisp black and white bookshelf (honestly, I'm a sucker for books of any kind) and the pink far-east accoutrements in the second room. Of course, I had to include an outfit- something perfect for a day about town. And who can resist those lovely Carven flats with bows?

Shirt//Pants//Scarf//Cuff//Earrings//Flats

Image credits: 1//2

Baubles and Baubles

I know that I just did a roundup of jewelry, but I was browsing Bauble Bar I couldn't help but spend a good little bit of time pouring over all of the pretty art deco-like pieces they have right now and mentally pairing them with my own outfits for a fun night out on the town (if only!).

Lava Deco Cuff//Speakeasy Tears//Abstract Cascades//Snow Snake Cuff

UES Disk Pendant//Coral Shield Drops//Tearburst Necklace//Leaf Twist Ring

Gloria Necklace//Double Piano Cuff//Glam Noir Necklace

Most of you are probably like me in that you know somewhat what the term "art deco" means, and can peg a few buildings (The Chrysler Building in NYC), pieces of jewelry, and runway collections to the style. I decided to do a little bit of research to help understand the concept more. Here's the gist of the art deco movement.

The term art deco was coined in the 1920's in, of course, Paris. It encompassed architecture, art, industrial and interior design, fashion, jewelry, and more, and focused on glamour, elegance, and modernity. Art deco ideas drew ideas from earlier twentieth century concepts such as cubism and modernism and influenced many other well-known movements such as pop art and film noir (look for more on these two later!). While a lot of artistic movements are based from philosophical beliefs and ideas, art deco is solely, well, decorative, and draws from the geometric shapes of the classical Greco-Romans, Aztecs and ancient Egyptians. Faceted, crystalline, and repeated features are a common characteristic of an art deco piece, as well as the use of materials such as chrome, lacquer, and wood.

Old-fashioned yet modern, bold yet streamline, austere yet ornate. I'm really loving this trend Bauble Bar has going on right now. And the best part? It's all so wonderfully affordable. So please, indulge yourself in a little bit of old Hollywood glamour. It's a revival that can only be considered necessary.

Art Meets Fashion: Cocoa & Hearts

Sometimes simple and colorful is best. I love artist Jen Ramos' vivid and brilliantly hued brushstroke paintings that come out (and quickly sell out!) every so often on her website Cocoa and Hearts. She uses a delightful array of colors in her work, always bright and in beautiful combination. Jen has another design platform called MadeByGirl that creates paper goods and prints (remember this?), and a delightful blog also titled MadeByGirl that features interior design, fashion, and other lifestyle bits.

You'll be seeing a lot of new weekly/biweekly/monthly features and other changes on The Corner Apartment in the next few weeks, including today's Art Meets Fashion. Taking cue from a number of other bloggers who do a similar feature, I figured inspiring an outfit from art, considering my love of art (and oncoming art history minor!), is an excellent way to combine culture and fashion. Expect "real-life" artists such as Jen and historic greats like Picasso and Derain as well. I hope you enjoy!

Joie Top//J. Crew Shorts//Kate Spade Necklace//Kate Spade Pink Bangle//Vince Camuto Bangle//Kate Spade Knot Bracelet//Kate Spade Sandals

//Cocoa & Hearts//

The Art of Cork

My dad is an avid wine connoisseur and has a number of wine cork corkboards around the house that he's made from his favorite wines. I was going through a closet in my parents' house and found two large Ziploc bags filled with wine corks. So of course, I went to Pinterest for a little bit of inspiration, and found this lovely little craft. It's so simple and unique and I knew it was something I just had to make.

What you will need:

• USED wine corks (I used about 150)
• cardboard or stiff posterboard
• scissors or Exacto-Knife
• hot glue gun

It's important to have used wine corks (yes, I know) because the natural color of the wine is stained on the bottom of the cork and that gives it a fun colorful aspect that makes it really easy to create the ombre effect. So drink up!

Making this is so easy that I could do a good job! Here are the steps:

1. Trace a heart shape on your cardboard and make sure all the dimensions are correct so it's balanced and symmetrical
2. Carefully cut out the traced heart with the Exacto-Knife.
3. Arrange the wine corks in sections of color. I had about four sections- deepest color, middle color, light color, and no color at all (the natural side, or with white wine).
4. Start at the bottom of the heart, and begin gluing with the hot glue gun whatever color section you wish to be at the bottom, either deepest color or natural color.
5. Make your way up the heart with the ombre effect of colors.

There you have it! Here are a few additional tips for making it look the best:

• Before you start you might want to spread your corks on the cardboard in a heart shape so you know you won't run out of corks and can create the right size heart.
• Glue the corks on the edge of the heart slightly over the edge so it hides the cardboard underneath.
• Don't worry if the corks don't line up exactly next to each other. Mine did not and it looks perfectly fine.

Please ask me any questions if you have any and good luck!

Listening to: Vienna by Billy Joel

Picture this

In art history this past semester we learned a lot about photography and the more believable illusions of realty it created. Cindy Sherman posed in staged photographs that were made to look like film stills, feeding into the phenomenon that not all photography is telling a true story.

Untitled Film Still #7 (1977)

Untitled Film Still #14 (1977)

Untitled Film Still #43 (1977)

Listening to: Act Naturally by The Beatles. Hear it.

Mountains

I really do love my art history class. And it's strange. I've never enjoyed art until this semester. I remember being so terribly bored at the Louvre when I was in Paris about five years ago. Yes, I saw the Mona Lisa, among many other things, but I could have cared less. Now all I want to do is go back to Paris and spend a week at the grand museum. Not to mention just the thought of being in Paris makes me want to jump for joy. I have this newfound interest in anything French, all I want to do is travel the city and the countryside, speak the language, emulate the idea of the "French woman." It's funny how things always seem to come around. You never think you're going to actually enjoy reading, wine, looking at art, writing, and then it happens. I have to say, I do feel older, maybe even more sophisticated? Anyways, here's my favorite painting from class today by the French painter Andre Derain, painted in 1905.

Mountains at Collioure

I love the simplistic and carefree brushstrokes it uses, so different from its contemporaries. I would love to have a print of this in my room, the color scheme is so enlightening.

Listening to: Beautiful Girl by INXS. Hear it.

For now.
Elizabeteh