Such Great Heights

I had to save this photo when I saw it on NPR this morning. Unbelievable, isn't it?! Found in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, this tree is at least 1500 years old and 300-foot high! The climbers' tiny bodies in the photo give you the best sense of scale. National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols spent a year photographing the giant redwoods in California. The process is quite interesting: he devised a way to do redwoods justice. It involved three cameras, a team of scientists, a robotic dolly, a gyroscope, an 83-photo composite and a lot of patience. The largest tree elevation is thus assembled! (see the video on NPR)

Hopefully I can travel to that State Park someday. My fascination with giant old trees originated from the forest scene in Hitchcock's Vertigo. I've traced the footsteps of Madeleine and Scottie through the redwoods at Muir Woods. The cycle of life and death, the cycle of death and rebirth, the poetic melancholy, the enigmatic beauty, will haunt me forever...

Jeremy Liebman

I'm intrigued by the fashion photographs from American photographer Jeremy Liebman. He studied both film and liberal arts in college, no wonder his works exhibit a lot of consideration on the relationship between human body, costume pattern and space. Fashion design is best displayed against the minimal composition of the geometries. I find the first image really stunning, and also love the the sutble expression of light and shadows in all these photographs.

view more of his works at http://www.jeremyliebman.com/

In the Eyes of Annie Leibovitz

When talking about Annie Leibovitz, the two images one would associate with are probably: the Rolling Stone cover of John and Yoko lying together, the last photo of John taken a few hours before his was shot, and the controversial Vanity Fair cover of Demi Moore’s nude pregnant body.

After watching a documentary on Annie and reading her book Annie Leibovitz at Work, I got more insights into her life and photography. Besides the famous celebrity photos for the magazines, her works also touch upon broader themes such as social and political events and natural landscapes. In the book she reveals how each well-known photograph was made. She is not only good at staging the characters in a symbolic setting relevant to ones’ artistic identity, but also has a sharp eye in capturing the very charm in one’s natural state.

One appealing photo from the documentary is the surrealistic portrait of Isabella Rossellini and David Lynch, both my favorite characters. The photo stands as a perfect metaphor of the uninterpretable and dreamlike quality of Lynch’s films. Lynch's face is hidden behind the black mask, which seems to imply the fact that he has always resisted interpreting his works.


When browsing the book, I was excited to find a photo of 94-year-old Philip Johnson in his Glass House. Interested in architecture, Annie went to photograph the Glass House one day and Johnson happened to be there. The photo thus came by accident, which captured a meditative quality in the architectural space, surrounding landscape and the person.

Wegman Dogs

Dogs 101, a fun series on dog breeds, is airing on Animal Planet. When introduing Weimaraner, it features William Wegman, the artist whose favorite subjects are Weimaraners. I remember seeing the famous Wegman dog on the introduction of an Art: 21 episode.

These Weimaraners (especially the one named Man Ray) almost became icons in contemporary photography. They are supermodels who pose well in front of the camera. Their noble and mysterious appearances have made them particularly charming.

With the current economic crisis, more and more dogs and cats have been abandoned by owners after foreclosure. Animal shelters like Humane Society are desperate for help. Usually it is the best season for adoption, but this winter feels extraordinarily cold and sad. God bless...

From the Ground Up

The latest Architectural Record is titled Beijing Transformed which focuses on the Olympic projects and reflections on the speedy changes. They even included an interior shot of BNCC which we worked on, but didn’t mention NBBJ’s name.

After seeing the pictures of all the famous buildings again and again, what caught my eyes are the ‘behind the scenes’ photographs: those captured the construction workers taken by photographer Iwan Baan. These migrant workers should not be forgotten, for they are the people who are building the new Beijing under heavy workload and low wages.

more info: http://archrecord.construction.com/features/beijing/fromthegroundup/default.asp

Robert Jaso's Fashion World

Once was France's highest-paid male model, Robert Jaso is a hot fashion photographer today. He really got extraordinary vision in fashion. Love the following three images, and the last one is very architectural!

source: thecoolhunter.net

Carl Warner's Foodscapes

How can you resist the broccoli forest, bread moutains, fruit balloons and smoked salmon sea? These amazing Foodscapes were created by London based artist Carl Warner. I wanna live in such delicious and healthy wonderlands!!
source: http://www.carlwarner.com/

from American History X to American Pictures

I watched two great movies related to racism in America: American History X and 25th Hour, both starring the great actor Edward Norton who first impressed me with Fight Club. In American History X, we confront the extreme brutality in racism, climaxed in the ruthless murders. In 25th Hour, Norton's hatred towards all the minorities in NYC (and ultimately everyone and himself) is hilariously expressed in his “fuck all” rant in front of the restroom mirror. (see clip below)

The name American History X reminds me of the book American Pictures by anti-racism photographer Jacob Holdt. During his 5-year sojourn at over 400 underclass homes, Holdt captured the true life stories composed of despair, hunger and poverty. He made a presentation of his photos in a movie which can be viewed on his website:
http://www.american-pictures.com/english/video/american-pictures-1.htm

Slavoj Zizek Does Not Exist

Slavoj Zizek Does Not Exist, installation, photography and concept by Rudjer Kunaver and Miran Mohar, 2005

Saw this photo on the back cover of Zizek's The Parallex View. I found it interesting since the title immediately recalls Lacan's famous argument "The Woman Does Not Exist" which is frequently cited by Zizek. The image also perfectly represents the miraculous existence of Zizek, on both theoretical and personal level, as if his physical appearance is only some sort of reflection of our unconsciousness. In a sense, he can never be fully grasped.

BTW, I finally watched The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. The 2.5-hour was an exhilariting experience since it recalled so many Zizek's brilliant comments on movies from his books. By posing himself in the actual filmming locations, Zizek seemed to be LOST in the movies. His ideas were effectively presented thru. this integration.

3 Images

Observatory Time - The Lovers, painting by Man Ray, 1934

Women playing chess on the beach, from Maya Deren's At Land, 1944



Knight and Death playing chess on the beach, from Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal

I found myself very interested in Surrealism recently and happened to notice the similar theme, chess board on the beach, existed in Man Ray's painting Observatory Time - The Lovers even 10 years before Maya's film. This painting might bear some influence from Dali's famous The Persistence of Memory. Although best known for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray was an artist in many other media such as painting, film, sculpture and collage.