Arthur Tress: Best Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of

His name doesn’t provoke instant recognition to the photo layperson like Diane Arbus’ name does, but Arthur Tress has been diligently putting out fantastic images for the last half-century-plus that have some of the same nightmare-ish quality. This first photo, Flood Dream, is a part of a series in a book called Dream Collector 1972… Continue reading Arthur Tress: Best Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of

Alex Prager’s Cinematic Dreamspaces

Alex Prager Compulsion

I will not name the well-established artist who I’m sure Alex Prager’s work is often compared to, but I will say that, like that artist, she does spin off of vintage cinematic ideas.  As MOMA’s bio says, she takes cues from Douglas Sirk and Alfred Hitchcock. Great access point to her work, but she takes it… Continue reading Alex Prager’s Cinematic Dreamspaces

Golden Age of the Intercom

NuTone Intercom 1963

Remember the great age of home intercoms?  I don’t either! That’s because in the 1960s and 1970s, home intercoms were not found in your typical suburban house.  Unless your family were “people of means,” as your Mom or Dad might have referred to your rich neighbors, you didn’t have one–sadly enough.  Those neighbors with the sprawling,… Continue reading Golden Age of the Intercom

Planet of the Apes (1968) Set Design

Planet of the Apes 1968 Concept Sketch of Forbidden Zone - Mentor Huebner

Depicting a harsh and dystopian world (at least for the humans), “Planet of the Apes” has become an unlikely film franchise spanning over half a century.  The original “Apes” from 1968 has some of the most fantastical, caveman-chic sets of any of the films.  Art Directors William Creber and Jack Martin Smith were charged with… Continue reading Planet of the Apes (1968) Set Design

Tiki Torch: See How This Icon of Mid-Century Polynesian Pop Culture Started

Mad Men Season 6 In Hawaii

The Tiki Torch is both older and newer than you might think.  It’s newer in the sense that the tiki torch–or let’s use the brand name, Tiki Torch–burning in your backyard, the bamboo kind with a reservoir filled with petroleum-based fuel, has no basis in true Polynesian history.  It’s older in the sense that those… Continue reading Tiki Torch: See How This Icon of Mid-Century Polynesian Pop Culture Started