MYSTERIOUS 80s LADIES
05 Jun 2013 - 05:38pm by jeremy valentine
For many years I have had an obsession with the 80s and nothing captures the essence of 80s style more than the iconic poster images by ATHENA. In the 80s, Athena stores popped up all over the U.K. selling art posters and stationary as well as gifts and greeting cards. Various artists such as Mal Watson and my favourite Syd Brak got busy airbrushing potent, post modern images of beautiful, powerful and electric women in all manner of dramatic poses. Kitsch yes, but so great and in retrospect, genius!! These posters could often be seen gracing the walls of suburban hair salons alongside japanese paper screens and the obligatory splatter glazed vase with painted curly sticks.
Trying to find any real information about the artists and the Athena stores proves somewhat difficult but out there in the world these posters and images are still lurking.....In Melbourne you could buy them at the Guess What Shops... a favourite haunt of mine as a kid with a pocket full of loose coins.
Grace Jones by Syd Brak.
Along with art prints there was an extensive range of stationary, including this great cardboad shoulder bag at Shag Brunswick Street.
BIRDS
29 May 2013 - 04:38pm by jeremy valentine
I love this inspirational and cleverly simple window display from the U.S. from the 1950s referencing the Alfred Hitchcock classic BIRDS.
RUINS
19 May 2013 - 01:08pm by jeremy valentine
The supremely gifted Parisian based photographic team of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have long explored their fascination of urban decay and ruins in their work and as a result have a stunningly beautiful portfolio of images. One of my favourite series is that of the ruins of the once booming U.S. automotive city of Detroit (now one of the most disadvantage cities in the States).
These images and more are available in the book THE RUINS OF DETROIT by Steidi.
70s REVIVAL REVIVAL
15 Apr 2013 - 09:57pm by jeremy valentine
Throughout the last two decades, the 70s has always bubbled to the surface every few years it seems. The latest offerings from Prada are my favourite ....some of the images are pictured below, in all their plastic posed magnificance.
