Tilt-A-Whirl

Store Display at the Shop

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

shelfwithsharkstooth

I have been blogging about store display recently,  and thought I should include some of my own.  The images I have here are “assemblages” of objects in the shop.  This image has everything from a French leather bicycle seat to a 1970′s copper sculpture to a pair of sawtooth shark’s noses.  Click image to enlarge.

shelfwithsantos

There is a large school trophy case in my shop loaded with religious artifacts.  This is just one shelf with Santos figures.  The porcelain plaque in the back is a signed KPM hand-painted porcelain of Sybil in its original carved Black Forest frame.  Click on image to enlarge.

shopdisplay0209b

These porcelain enameled letters are in a large store display cabinet.   They are graphically very strong, being stark white and so large.

shopdisplay0209

In this display I’ve used a French 1950′s Jielde lamp on an Art Deco store display console.  On the display table are assorted objects with a naturalistic theme.  The back of the shop has box-car glazed brick walls, original to the building.   It was used as a bakery from 1883 till the 1940′s.  The white brick works wonderfully for store display as objects show up very well against it.  Click on image to enlarge.

shop022709-008

Carved Indiana Limestone bird bath.  Inside the bowl is an 18th c. slate sundial found in the Netherlands.   Having concrete floors in the back of the shop is perfect for someone like myself who seems to like garden pieces more if they are Really, Really heavy.

La Passionara Hat Shop in Maastricht, Netherlands

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

hatshopmaast

This is a photo of a hat shop in Maastricht, Netherlands named La Passionara, which seems to translate as: to explode or fly into a passion.  I assume a passion for hats.  I have walked by this shop many times exploring the town, and have always enjoyed the multitude of hats layered one on top of the other, in the shop window.  In a web search I came across a short video by the owner of the shop on google video, here it is… La Passionara.  Businesses like this one have a hard time surviving here.  I have a retail shop, I know.   However, in these small European towns, the individually owned shops seem to be doing fine.  I’m glad as what would late night strolls be without interesting shop windows to inspire and delight.  Click on photo to enlarge.

Douglas Dawson’s Ancient Spirits Modern Art

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

doug01

I had the privilege of visiting the Douglas Dawson Gallery in Chicago a few years ago and was completely blown away.  The Gallery is not to be missed if you are traveling anywhere near Chicago.  These images are from his booth at Art Chicago in May.  I couldn’t get over how successfully Douglas created an atmosphere of tranquility and calm out of a what would have been a traditional blank gallery space.  The use of industrial bases to display the artifacts is a refreshing change from the traditional white plinths.

doug021

The gallery has been in Chicago since 1982, and more recently moved to this location.   As you can see by the images the gallery specializes in ancient and historic non-Western art.

doug03

These Parson-like tables have been made out from reclaimed rusted iron.  They make for a great “stage” for the objects.

doug04

This African piece is life size….as in, as large as a real water buffalo…Big.

doug05

Great industrial base.  The artifacts aren’t so bad either.

doug06

I believe this is a form of ancient currency.  The sculptural qualities of this piece give it such a contemporary feel that it could be by Picasso or Calder.

doug07

The lighting in this image is a bit brighter than the gallery seemed to be.  The space had a very Zen-like, calming quality unlike many of Art Chicago’s galleries.

doug08

Mexican Kalima Dog and more currency.

doug09

Obviously the Gallery was an easy space to photograph.

doug10

Huge industrial table with large bronze Buddha.

Snowdomes at Chicago Artopolis Art Fair

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

snowdome01

This artist presented some very curious sculpture and photography at the Chicago Artopolis Art Fair.   He filled these very traditional, rather ubiquitous snowdomes with snowy landscapes he creates in minute detail.  This one is of a woman confronting a giant man leaning against a tree.  The attention to detail is  very refined.  I would’ve enjoyed watching the casual observer take a quick second look at these domes while walking through the show.  There is so much artwork that screams for your attention that something like a snowdome goes unnoticed…until…. you really notice it.

snowdome02

The artist photographs the snowdomes and enlarges the image to the point where the whole perspective changes and we see these rather surreal, dreamlike creations become huge images.  Almost like a part of one of our dreams exposed, photographed, and mounted.

snowdome03

This snowdome has a man rounding a bend coming across rather large footprints in the snow, certainly not an everyday occurrence.  So is this about some person drama of confronting a possible threat or simply the humor in the possibility of really finding huge footprints on a snow trail ?