THESCRAPBOOK

It’s been a long time since anyone put any sneakers up in TheScrapBook… which is not only telling, given all the fashion trends we’ve brought to you etc, but it’s a bit strange since it was one of the things that got us all together as mates (along with many other fine things, but kicks is certainly strong!)

These new dunks from Nike absolutely steal the show though. Taken from stills from the Beautiful Losers film releasing very soon, this collection of Dunks is, in my humble opinion, stunning.

We mentioned Beautiful Losers before, but it’s a collection of artists that have been put together, curated along the lines of their “anti-art” backgrounds, their skate or music influence, or the way they influence the world. You’ll be familiar with them, perhaps - Kaws, Obey (Sheperd Fairey), ESPO (Steve Powers), Twist (Barry McGee) to name a few.

Supertouch has the low-down on the Beautiful Loser Dunks:

“Presented by NIKE SPORTSWEAR, the film chronicles the lives and creative process of artists including Shepard Fairey, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike Mills, Barry McGee, Jo Jackson, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine, Stephen Powers, Geoff McFetridge, Thomas Campbell and Ed Templeton, among others, whose DIY attitudes informed the aesthetics and ethos of their generation…

To further commemorate the film’s release, Nike’s Sportswear’s JESSE LEYVA has also created a series of 22 Beautiful Losers Dunks emblazoned with iconic stills from the movie using the company’s new high-resolution digital printing process. Says Aaron Rose of the project, “We went back to the documentary and pulled frame stills of what we felt were key moments in the narrative. We used these moments to tell the Beautiful Losers story using the shoes as a medium, with the end result being a collection of works of art.” Viewed together, the shoes reflect the overall narrative of the film, and after being exhibited at the NYC and LA “Make Something!” workshops, two sets of the shoes will be auctioned off with proceeds donated to the Children’s Aid Society.”

The MAKE SOMETHING! workshop schedule, if you’re in NYC looks interesting too:
255 Elizabeth Street
August 8: Zine Making with Aaron Rose
August 9: Cinematography with Tobin Yelland
August 10: Character Design with Kaws
August 14: Animation with Todd James
August 16: Photography with Cheryl Dunn
August 17: Design with Eric Elms
August 18 Tattoos with Scott Campbell
August 21: Painting with Eric White
August 22: Sneaker Design with Jesse Leyva

So go go good!!!

More Grace Jones knowledge here

The new Beijing Olympic Pictograms reminded me that there’s a load of really really nice images over at the Otl Aicher pool on flickr. Otl pictograms from the 72 munich olympics are the ones above obviously…

I’ve just discovered the Black Cab Sessions, by Hidden Fruit. Lovely idea of musicians, stripped down to just them in the back of a random cab, providing their own original and intimate soundtrack to the bustle of London life. Above is Phosphorescent, but check the Black Cab Sessions site for more sessions, including Lightspeed Champion, My Morning Jacket, Seasick Steve, The Kooks, Vincent Vincent, Noah and the Whale, and many more.

Fitzrovia, where else, is the site of Monocle’s first newsagent sponsorship deal. The new-look Charlotte Street News bears the magazine’s livery inside and out: a signature awning protects browsers from the vagaries of the UK weather, and slick Monocle-black strips divide the shelves of titles within - making for a smarter way to consume printed matter. (their words, not mine. Can you tell?)

Having praised Mark Earl’s book, Herd, I thought it only right to check out his blog. Lucky I did too.

The image above is of my oyster card wallet… well, not mine but one like it. I always wondered who the artist was, as it was given away for free at random by TFL and the Arts Council (randomly allocating one artist over another). Mark talks about the power of the backstory in reference to Tim Mitchells‘ other works (see below) but I’ve always loved my oyster wallet (shell?) because of the non-story that it provides me with on long boring journeys.

Wow. Sky News has brought something rather “impressive” to light: The Olympics fireworks display was faked… Read the full article here, but here’s the bottom line:

“The global television audience of more than three billion people watched in amazement as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks proceeded through the night sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird’s Nest stadium - except they were watching a computer animation.

Even the giant television screens within the stadium itself broadcast the fake images.

Stunned viewers thought they were watching the string of fireworks filmed from above by a helicopter, but in reality they were watching a 3D graphics sequence that took almost a year to produce. It even included a ‘camera shake’ to mimic the effect of filming from a helicopter…

…Organiser said that the footprint fireworks were there for real, but thought it unsafe to try to film them - so they recreated them instead.”

More photos of the ceremony can be found on Flickr.

I read a lot of shit books over the holiday (no link, cos that’d be unfair) but I read two great ones that I highly recommend. The first is Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature, by Mark Earls. I can genuinely say I’ve not read a business / marketing book that I’ve agreed with so much for a very long time. It’s filled with the sort of accessible psychology and sociology that you’ll have read in the likes of Tipping Point but with an applicability and research rigour that I certainly will quote from.

Looking at a “new” (though actually founded upon our core animal nature) approach to marketing based on the power of groups, Herd explains the ‘why’ of our struggles to influence mass behaviour. It reveals that most of us misunderstand the mechanics (the ‘how’) of mass behaviour because we have misplaced notions of what it means to be human.

Earls challenges some of our deepest ideas to reveal the truth about who we are and what marketers, managers, and governments can do to set about influencing mass behavior. He reveals that most of us misunderstand the mechanics of mass behavior because we have misplaced notions of what it means to be human.

Mark Earls challenges some of our deepest ideas to reveal the truth about who we are and what marketers, managers, and governments can do to set about influencing mass behavior. Bold in its conception and engaging in its execution, Herd offers the most radical new theory of consumer behavior in a generation.

The other one was No Country For Old Men, which is a beautifully written tale about greed, opportunity, and old age. I’ve not seen the film yet, but the book is stunning.

Axel Peemoeller’s design and graphics site is crazy, but the application of visual dimensions painting in a practical way is rather a genius move. What’s the name of the artist that developed this perspective art originally? Anyone know?

More images of the car park here

I dismissed Gnarls Barkley for a while as it got a bit of the Moby treatment - played out all day, every day thereby destroying any objective opinion forming, replaced instead with gut-reaction hatred… but revisiting the albums and listening to any new material really makes me realise their genius modern Motown soul sound. Plus their live shows, outfits, and videos are all pretty special. This one, “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” is directed by Chris Milk.

More video and song genius here.