Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Journal // Change and New Beginnings

>>i've moved across the country, and i feel happier than ever. after a year of literally every aspect of my life going through an intense period of flux, all of the pieces - at once conflicting, consorting, and ready to combust - have fallen into place. i left my home of six years to start over somewhere new because, in short, i was just... ready for a change. i left a good job to look for a new job, i left great friends to start over with new friends. i left the city i knew like the back of my own birthmarked hand to build a life in a new city i hardly know. time-zones, climates, mentality, architecture, ethnic breakdown, vegetation, and industry - hardly anything is the same from what i once knew. yet somehow, i feel more whole than i have in quite a while. i am fully invested, and my returns are matched on every front. i left a wonderful relationship earlier in the year because, in short, i felt i couldn't commit my life to a person before committing myself to a life. as of now, i don't know what i'll be doing for full time work, i don't know exactly where i'll be living once i find my work, and i'm not even positive i know what i WANT to do for work!  but somehow, everything feels just as it should. when we lose or leave our jobs, we lose our sense of purpose, our sense of worth. isn't that how it usually goes? i feel more alive than ever. i feel ignited and impassioned and in love, once again. we parted ways only to find ourselves with a regained sense of independence and appreciation, and pursuing new career paths in the same state. now my pursuit is happiness. i want to create it, i want to sustain it, i want to share it. rejection is motivating, criticism is productive. i'm reminded again that it really, really is all about your perception. <<

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Model as Muse // Less is More

Photograph by Irving Penn (American, born 1917).  Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn in Cristóbal Balenciaga Mantle Coat, Paris, 1950; as featured in Vogue, September 1, 1950.  There is something about this photograph that I absolutely adore.  The drape and weight of the fabric looks irresistible... a piece I would love to own on a brisk autumn day in Chicago.  The manner in which Ms. Fonssagrives-Penn poses, with her body turned slightly away from the camera, and her neck and head craned elegantly toward the center, not only compliments the design interest of the garment, but adds an air of sophistication and poise that contrasts the unstructured simplicity of the design.  Rather infrequent I find nowadays a photograph where the model's presence is a complimenting accessory to a garment, which serves as the focal point.  Kin to Balenciaga's preference for simplicity in design technique, Penn's photograph here shows that, without a doubt, less is more.

Another photograph from possibly the same issue of Vogue in 1950 (I know this much for sure), also Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn photographed by Irving Penn, this time in Christian Dior.  I am inappropriately obsessed with the magnitude of this collar. The position of her feet in a transitioning pose and her smile peaking from behind the collar capture perfectly her charisma.


Monday, August 22, 2011

Arcade Fire for Nostalgia

After a markedly low point one evening, my dear friend, Francesca Noero, shared this link to a small group of our friends.  Needless to say, after we each visited our childhood home, the air lifted and the commitment to a beautiful proceeding set in motion.  We ended our evening watching the sun rise over the San Francisco bay.

This month marks the one year anniversary of Arcade Fire's release of its third album, titled The Suburbs.  Chris Milk, in collaboration with a number of creatives and their friends at Google, wrote and directed a "video" of sorts featuring the Arcade Fire song, "We Used to Wait."  As you enter the site, you will be prompted to enter in your childhood address of where you grew up.  Tip: if at first the engine does not recognize your address, enter another address from where you grew up (such as your school) or just go ahead and proceed... it should find something nearby. 

Below, find the link to an interactive viewing experience conducive to epic bouts of nostalgia.

The Wilderness Downtown

My postcard: "Keep doing what you're doing, and trust your heart.  It will lead you to the right place."  And as the sun rose later that evening, I couldn't feel more sure that I am in the right place.