GeekSugar

Art Geek: The MoMA's Color Chart Online Exhibit

GeekSugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:05:52 -0700

Hey culture vultures, you can now get a dose of a museum visit from your laptop! The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art to the Luddite) has just gone live with the first online art exhibit, and its theme is color.

Color Chart is an all-online exhibit of modern artists from 1918 to 2008 who interpreted color in different and innovative ways. The works of greats like Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, and Ellsworth Kelly make up this online composition that forces new appreciation of them - like any good exhibit can do.

As a geek, I can really appreciate the setup of the website - it's aesthetically pleasing and achingly easy to navigate through the works. The quality of the work, combined with the high resolution, makes me feel cultured, and also absolved for watching that Newport Harbor marathon.

Apple Art: Macs and the iPhone at the SFMOMA

GeekSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:00:08 -0700

It doesn't take a gadget freak to appreciate the art that technology can be - now I have legitimate art-world backup! San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art has put Mac products from the past and present on display.

Warning: If you're sick of the iPhone, then stay away from the SFMOMA, because the curators have deemed its design an artistic marvel and have featured it prominently, under a glass box (which I have thought about doing, but you know, I needed that whole functionality thing). Also on display is 2000-era Power Mac G4 Cube.

The Apple products are part of the 246 and Counting exhibit, which showcases architectural drawings, furniture, books, and industrial-design products (hence the Apple stuff).

But you didn't have to tell me; I already thought they were beautiful.

Vintage Geek Staple Scandiphone Now Readily Available

GeekSugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:05:28 -0800

If you're a Vintage Geek fan chances are you're also a fan of or have seen the Scandiphone quite a bit (it was added to the New York Museum of Modern Art's Collection in 1973).

Whereas the upright (just set it down to hang up the call!) "space-age" phone was not readily available - you had to either go vintage and risk the components not working or order internationally, happily, it's just been added to Urban Outfitters' website.

The Scandiphone comes in red, black, or white for $60. Even as the world moves away from landlines, I've totally fallen for this phone and its mid-century styling. Plus, you'd own a legitimate modern work of art. Fancy.

Geek Gift Guide: Sister

GeekSugar — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:08:18 -0800

Soft Hub USB Port

This rubber artsy USB hub makes it easy to connect a USB to peripherals such as cameras, network adapters and your iPod. Add in a ticket from the Museum of Modern Art and your sister will be impressed!

Get one at The Museum of Modern Art for $18.

For more suggestions, just read more

Lifepod Laptop Sleeve by Kolobags

Want to show your sister that you are just as hip as her this Christmas? Get her a funky Lifepod sleeve for her laptop. With patterns like Apple Green, Blue Surf, Blue Candy Dots or Techno Fleur, these sleeves are fashionable and unique!

Get one at Kolobags for $36.

Kate Spade Cell Phone Lanyard

So bling! This lanyard is far from being another cheesy cell phone accessory. Your sister will love it - it's designer after all! All lanyards are leather and come in a variety of colors and styles with cute golden charms.

Get one at Nordstrom for $45.

Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe Tee: Geeky or Chic?

GeekSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:55:37 -0800

A friend of mine spotted this Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe Tee shirt on the street recently, prompting the question: Have you been studying art as closely as you've been studying gaming cheat sheets? The shirt is a homage to surrealist René François Ghislain Magritte's "The Treachery of Images" painting (seen at right), which places the phrase "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" - meaning "This is not a pipe" - next to a pipe. Of course, the painting is not a pipe, but an image of a pipe. And so, witty laughter ensues. How does this artistry translate to modern day? Why a tee shirt replacing the tobacco pipe with a pipe from Nintendo's Mario, naturally. The shirt may never make it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but the fact that it manages to pun a lionized surrealist painting surely puts it in the chic category, right?

Sukie iPod Sleeves Exude Style

GeekSugar — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:14:19 -0800

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's online store has an amazingly cute collection of Sukie iPod sleeves, $12, that you can tuck your iPod and headphones into.

Created by a husband and wife team, Sukie items include silkscreen printed travel journals, recycled paper notebooks, laptop bags and gadget covers. I'm intrigued by the sleeves because you can protect your headphones and your iPod, and when I use my usual case, my white headphones get all yucky and discolored from the inside of my purse.

Change Your Concept of Time With A Nooka Watch

GeekSugar — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:02:39 -0800

If you're looking to add a little artistry and arriere-pensee to reading your watch, check out the Nooka watch collection. The brainchild of Matthew Waldman, who is a multidisciplinary artist and designer in New York City, Nooka watches offer a linear and graphic representation of time.

The visual mass on the watch plate increases as time passes, giving weight to an ephemeral and abstract concept. The pictured watch, which has a mirrored face and metal band, features a matching pure linear expression with a reflective flare.

From top to bottom: Hours 1-6; Hours 7-12; Minutes 1-59; Seconds in small window with numeric display; Day of week in window on lower right; AM/PM/ALARM. It's stainless steel and waterproof.

Get a Nooka Mirrored Zen Watch at Elsewares.com for $250.

For more about Waldman's creations, just read more

Apparently, Waldman had a flash-back to a first grade math class while staring at a large wall clock in a London hotel and was struck by how few options there were for time display. He then sketched his ideas for potential designs on a napkin and brought them back to New York. After working on the designs, he submitted them to his legal team and soon whipped out the Nooka line.

Nooka watches are now included in the Museum of Modern Art shops and Barneys in New York and were selected as a finalist in the Genart awards for the accessories category for 2005.