We've moved on

The republic of less has joined the WordPress assembly of nations. It seemed simpler.
You can find us at http://therepublicofless.wordpress.com/

Pencil

Pencils are the most basic instrument we have for making marks on paper--or walls and white wooden fences, to name just two more suitable places. Above image from Wikipedia.




Lots of people love them. The above are from Pencil Talk, one of many blogsites devoted to pencils and pens. And while these humble, wireless tools might seem to be disappearing from designers' offices, they are still there, somewhere. Because nothing else can do what a pencil can do, especially in the hand of someone who loves it and knows what to do with it.


Eero Saarinen sketch for an ice arena at Yale University.


Sol LeWitt colored pencil drawing: ”Wall Drawing #85”, June 1971,
The drawing is appearing in Sweden until June 6, 2010--reproduced on a wall, drawn by others according to his instructions.


Robert “Bob” McKimson, Sr. (American, 1910 - 1976), “Bugs Bunny as Little Red Riding Hood”, c. 1950

Small country, humble design, BIG prize

A pair of architects from Japan, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who call their practice Sanaa, have been awarded the 2010 Pritzker Prize for architecture. Past winners include Luis Barragan, Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Fumihiko Maki, Tadao Ando, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano.

Their work is praised for quiet beauty that is achieved through something quite their own, but in tune with other architects who seek to produce more with less. These images from inhabitat.



This is a recent building in New York, a New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery in Manhattan.


And this is O-Museum's interior in Nagano, Japan.

Yesterday, blogger.com was overwhelmed by the demands of people like me from all over who rely on her every day, every hour, to show our findings and notions to the world. Some, not all, of the pictures we had posted were missing.


Our sites looked like the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston after the theft of several of its paintings in March 1990. They've never been found. The Gardner has simply left the frames where they were, empty. Image from the New York Times.


Bloggers were luckier--our images returned to our sites after a few hours with the help of gentle experts like those above installing an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool. Image from their Flickr set.

winning numbers

Neutraface numbers, inspired by architect Richard Neutra, designed by House Industries, and available from here. For your home, your home away from home, or your lemonade stand. Image from minimalicious.



Numbers on homes on the the island of Salina in the Aeolian Islands.
via 30gms.






Nice looking stick-on numbers (and letters) are available too from the comfort of your computer. Go online, choose your font and layout, results shipped to you, ready to apply.

simple lines

Living in a Roy Lichtenstein room could never be messy.


But it could be dramatic.



Keith Haring drew dramatic images with simple lines on walls, floors, ceilings, and his own body.


The people who make colouring books are not usually well known. The above is a coloring book depicting scenes and activities in Aspen Colorado. Artwork done by three sisters; Pauli Hayes, Elli Hayes Ford, and Jess Bates while they were each in High School. Image from here.

Japan is a small island country

Tadao Ando is a remarkable architect. He has influenced designers around the world. He understood from the start the power of simple solutions. He is a brilliant man.



Fumihiko Maki came to my town at least twice. He spoke about his work as a simple man might describe his garden. He understands the art of designing buildings in a way that so many could learn from. He is a brilliant architect, and a very humble man.


Other architects (like these) keep appearing in Japan who have a wonderful sense of small, beautiful, quiet buildings. They have a lot to teach the rest of us. More images here.