Historically, kitchens were often drab, poorly ventilated, and hidden from view in a basement or annex, but by the end of the nineteenth century the kitchen became a bridgehead of modern thinking in the domestic sphere. It served as a testing ground for new materials, technologies, and power sources, where designers could also address growing modern concerns for hygiene, efficiency, and the rational organization of space. Since the innovations of Schütte-Lihotzky and her contemporaries in the 1920s, kitchens have continued to articulate, and at times actively challenge, our relationships to the food we eat and popular attitudes toward the domestic role of women, family life, consumerism, and even political ideology, as in the case of the celebrated 1959 “Kitchen Debate” between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

The exhibition begins in the early twentieth century with the idea of the labor-saving, rational kitchen as a “factory” or “laboratory”. From the Frankfurt kitchen to the standardized, stackable forms of Wagenfeld’s 1938 glass Kubus ware, and to posters issued by the British Ministry of Information during World War II, the dominant ethos is one of work, thrift, and hygiene. The next section continues the themes of ergonomic, functional design and technological innovation while steadily shifting the emphasis to consumer choice and the “leisure” kitchen, as captured in colorful 1950s Tupperware and Tom Wesselmann’s exuberant Still Life #30 collage of 1963. The final part of the exhibition restores a human element to the kitchen—in reality an environment of mess, neurosis, and frustration as well as aesthetic pleasure, sociability, and desire. Photographs, prints, media works and sculptural installations highlight the kitchen-related imagery that has permeated artistic practice since the late 1960s as a means of addressing larger debates around economics, politics, and gender.

The sections hinge around the installation of the Frankfurt Kitchen and a 1968 mobile fold-out unit manufactured by the Italian company Snaidero. These two complete kitchens are complemented by a variety of design objects, many of which represent the changing times: appliances powered by gas and electricity (the earliest a 1907 kettle designed by Peter Behrens for AEG); aluminum, heat-resistant glass and steel cooking utensils featured in MoMA’s landmark 1934 Machine Art exhibition; colorful plastics ranging from Colombini’s 1957 bucket to Japanese artificial ‘display’ food from the 1970s; and architectural plans, posters, archival photographs, printed ephemera, and selected artworks, all drawn from MoMA’s collection, including pieces by Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg. Also on view are rarely seen industrial films by manufacturing giants such as General Electric, spanning back as far as 1915, and stills from Hollywood films that helped to prime consumer desire for modern kitchens and appliances.

Throughout the exhibition prominence is given to the contribution of women, not only as the primary consumers and users of the domestic kitchen, but also as reformers, architects, designers, and as artists who have critically addressed kitchen culture and myths.

The Museum of Modern Art presents Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen, an exhibition that examines the kitchen and its continual redesign as a barometer of changing ideologies and technologies, and explores the twentieth-century transformation of the kitchen as a space of huge symbolic and practical significance. On view from September 15, 2010, through March 14, 2011, its centerpiece is MoMA’s recent acquisition of an unusually complete example of the iconic “Frankfurt Kitchen.” Designed in 1926–27 by Grete Schütte-Lihotzky, it is the earliest work by a female architect in the collection. In the aftermath of World War I, thousands of these kitchens were manufactured for public-housing estates being built around Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, as part of a comprehensive program to modernize the city and society. Schütte-Lihotzky’s compact and ergonomic design, with its integrated approach to storage, appliances, and work surfaces, reflected a commitment to transforming the lives of ordinary working people on an ambitious scale. Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen comprises works drawn from the Museum’s collection, including design objects, photography, film, prints, drawings, and paintings. The exhibition is organized by Juliet Kinchin, Curator, and Aidan O’Connor, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Press Release & Images Via: MoMA

This was originally posted 22/12/09. Below I’ve updated some of the content, and added a few more resources. If you know about one that has helped you, feel free to mention it in the comments (even if it doesn’t fall under one of the categories).

For those designers and artists out there who may not exactly be swimming in money, it seems like the only resource out there are the free ones. Mucking through those however, can make even the strongest will snap.

Invoicing

• WordPress 3 Invoice: Handy invoicing in WordPress plug-in form.
• Side Job Track:Web-based job tracking, invoicing, reporting and project management software.

Time and Record Keeping

• Open Office: Open source office suite, comparable to Microsoft Office. While it may have less features, it’s not by too much. It has the word processor (of course), spreadsheets, and a vast array of different plugins and more (not even counting the other great things that this has).
• Toggl: Available as web based or downloadable time keeping.

Free Commercial Use Images:

A good image can make a website that much better, while not everyone may have the ability to pay for them. Below, 100% free (commercial use) stock images. There are a few websites out there that claim to have ‘free images’ and they are either far from free, or there may be some questionable legality on them.

• Morgue File: Morgue File has a ton of images on it’s website. On their home page: “for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not”.  The image library is vast, and you may be able to find some gems in there fairly easily.
• Open Clip Art Library: High quality (and open source) vectors, illustration, and other pieces all of it in the public domain.
• Stock.chng: More free stock photos.

Free Commercial Use Fonts:

• Larabie Fonts: Most of the fantastic fonts on this website have a free version.  They are all commercial-usable as well.  One feature that is seriously awesome?  The ability to change the display/ preview text to anything from ‘The Quick Brown Fox” to the latest headlines.

As a note, be careful when making your selection as not all the font options are free across the board.  If, upon check-out you see that there is a total aside from 0, scan the list.  While I would definitely insist one buys something from Larabie, to support the fantastic website.

• daFont: While you do need to make absolutely sure that the font you are getting is free for commercial use, the notification is right above the download link.  The website has a huge selection of all typefaces.

Information and Tutorials

There comes a time that anyone from beginner to masters of their trade may need some information.  The resources below are all personal favorites and have saved me some time and given their fair share of inspiration as well.

• Typedia:  If you happen to be a typography-o-phile** this website will ruin any chance you may have at free time for the foreseeable future.  It has a ton of information about typefaces, their use, their invention, and a ton of other information.
• PSDTuts:  This website has a brilliant set-up for their tutorials.  If you want to be able to download the sample files, you do have to join.  If, however you are looking for some new ideas or information- it’s free.  Even if you do pay, it’s only $9 a month.  So, just skip two lattes and you are set.

Copyright and Legal

If you are a freelancer, you need to protect yourself.  If you are normal, more than likely you aren’t fluent in legalese.  There are still some resources for when you can’t afford a translator (namely- a lawyer).  While these are far from being end alls, they will help protect you in the short run (at least until you can afford that lawyer).

• Creative Commons:For licensing and all that ‘fun’ thing.  It’s best to protect yourself early and avoiding any damages later.  For more information on Copyright, here’s the US government’s information page: Copyright Office.
• Contracts: About.com guide for designers.  This link has a bunch of resources for contract needs.

Miscellaneous

• Color & Code Cheat Sheets: In the interest of not repeating things, a handy list of cheat sheets (from this very website).
• Blender: Open source 3D software.

The buildings in this gallery have been painted by some incredible artists who have taken murals to a new depth. Between the large scale design, and the artwork itself- this gallery highlights the most interesting examples of building murals.

While there are a few below that are reminiscent of a Wile E. Coyote stunt, they are all astounding.

With the web constantly evolving, even those with a fantastic memory need to find ways to remember the information about the latest in best practices and usability. This is even more true for those with the memory on par with a goldfish (myself included).  There are a lot of cheat sheets online, and finding some good (and of course relevant) ones is no easy task.

Below, some incredibly useful cheat sheets for those who work with code, design, and other website related things.

• WordPress Template Tags Reference

This reference chart is fantastic, it’s incredibly easy to navigate (simply click the heading and you get the code and description).  This is the very thing that is the inspiration for the rest of this list.  WordPress is one of the most popular platforms on the web, and this can save you a lot of time and headaches.

• Web Safe Color Chart

Finding the right colors can be a huge undertaking, especially if you are trying to work only with the proper code and trying to find a browser safe list (with the code). This makes the task much easier.

• System & Web Safe Font Chart

Not all fonts are system wide. The people at MIT put together this safe font list of the fonts that are found on all systems, for those who don’t want to deal with extra code for web design, this is an incredible reference (with examples of each).

• Style and Color

For those who don’t want to experiment, and are looking for the perfect color combination for their project, Colour Lovers really can’t be beat.  You can search by theme, color, or many other variables. The color choices that you can find a phenomenal, and really when it comes to style- this is the perfect website.

Is there a cheat sheet out there that you couldn’t live without? Post up a link in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list.

Art can be controversial, and at times downright offensive.

It’s a part of the nature of the beast. Art that pulls inspiration from current events will include reference to something the artist feels is important. They may highlight it in a way that they feel best expresses their opinion on a topic, but the presentation in a visual medium can come across as shocking, even more so than the written word.

Fashion and hard hitting current events are not usually thought of in the same way. Often photographers on a shoot for a fashion magazine will pull topics from current happenings and will utilize the medium to make a statement. In the case of Italian Vogue, photographer Steven Meisel and model Kristen McMenamy created a set of images that are inspired by the Gulf Oil spill.

Here is the behind the scenes video of the shoot (NY Times):

Kristen McMenamy in the “survivor” version, where she interprets in images the environmental drama that’s afflicting the Gulf of Mexico. (Italian Vogue)

It’s a topic that will be offensive, there is no way to sugar-coat the disaster in the Gulf.  In looking at the images from the shoot, the mixture of fashion and the oil, grime, and filth that litter the area the photographs are powerful. They are dark and macabre, with McMenamy assuming poses that emulate the suffering that is found in the Gulf. McMenamy is shown caught up in tangled nets, spitting up oil, and even posing as a dying seal. They are hard to look at, especially when the disaster is still happening. With the overtones highlighting the obvious misery, they are hard to look at.

There is a lot of controversy coming from the shoot, which appears in the August Issue of Italian Vogue (only available in Milan), with many accusing Meisel of just being shocking and offensive without any other depth. The images however do serve to illustrate the disaster, and while the presentation of being in Vogue is a part of the problem, the images do serve to show more than just McMenamy and the clothing.

Click an image to view a larger version:

Unfortunately at this point I’m finding far to hot out to make my way through New York, there may be some lucky individuals who have a better heat tolerance than myself who may want to check out this at MoMa.

Get some images if possible and I’ll give you credit of course (also, I’ll be visiting vicariously through you).

Organized by Cecilia Alemani, The Comfort of Strangers brings together work from the 1970s and 1980s, combining figuration with abstraction, monumentality with fragility, and reluctance with exuberance. Borrowing its title from a novel by British author Ian McEwan, The Comfort of Strangers imagines unusual connections between different art works and art worlds, reminding museum visitors that New York is a stratified and complex landscape. Works by four artists living and working in New York comprise the exhibition.

Executed in the 1970s as an evolution of his early expressionist canvases, Jack Whitten’s large-scale paintings reveal hidden geometrical shapes that emerge from an abstract surface. Realized by layering different strata of acrylic paint, which is then treated with a large squeegee, these works freeze the artist’s physical gestures into molecular forms that preserve a lyrical aura.

Sylvia Sleigh: Arakawa & Madeline Gins

The portraits of 94-year-old Sylvia Sleigh depict friends and acquaintances of the artist in everyday poses, sitting on chairs, standing in the garden or caught in pensive moments. Reinterpreting traditional portraiture through a saturated palette of flowery colors, Sleigh turns common people into icons of a remote, devoted veneration.

Judith Bernestein’s large-scale charcoal drawings from the mid-1970s intertwine controversial imagery with a political slant. With harsh strokes and aggressive signs, the artist combines mechanics and sexuality to compose intricate diagrams of our desires. The mysterious presences in her piece Five Vertical Panels stand as silent witnesses guarding the exhibition.

Leslie Thornton’s lifetime epic Peggy and Fred in Hell, which she started in the mid-Eighties and has only recently finished, is an otherworldly account of the life of two children as told through their imaginary adventures and unsettling adult behaviors. Pervaded by an eerie atmosphere, Peggy and Fred in Hell animates the exhibition with a surreal sound track.

(From MoMA Press Release)

Oh dolls, that marker of childhood innocence. That wonderful toy that many a wee child had as a favorite plaything, that oddly horrifying object that has turned so many into a quivering thing in the corner.

So, the below isn’t the ‘typical’, nor are they safe for your sanity. They are however incredible takes on such an innocent toy. Any of these would be more at home in a horror movie than in a toy chest, but they do show a lot of talent (horrifying, horrifying talent).

Click an image to start the gallery, attribution in under all images (the other works my these artists are as incredible):

Okay, before the break, a warning that this post may not be entirely work safe.  Or really, safe for you sanity.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these are completely fantastic, others.. well not so much.  Many of these will have you questioning humanity, but the others really are great designs.  Artists and art lovers do want to express themselves, and while oftentimes the results can really be incredible at others, they can be downright insane.

Below, some of the questionable and some of the awesome (really an interesting mix, at most).

There are a lot of times that you may need or want to have a repeating pattern for a project.  The easiest way to do this without losing your mind is to use a built in tool called ‘Define Pattern’ (in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements).  Below is a simple tutorial on how to use the tool, with a bunch of images to help walk you through it. While the example used below is very much on the simple side, you can do this same method on more complicated patterns as well.

First, lets say we want a dot pattern.  It would take forever to individually place each and every single circle perfectly, so we will make life a bit easier and use the pattern tool.

Click any of the images below to make them larger.

Find or make the image that is going to be repeated.

Here I’ve opened a blank file to create the pattern’s image.

The circle that is going to be repeated.  It’s against a transparent background.

Go to Edit : Define pattern.

You will get a pop up that asks you to name your image.  This one is rather uninspiring named Dots.

Open a new file if you need to.

Here is the new file.  Select the paint can tool, and look towards the top where it gives you the option of filling in the image with either a solid color (Foreground) or a Pattern.  Click on the dropdown option for pattern.

A box will open, and simply find your new pattern.

Use the paint can tool by clicking on the area you want filled.

Tada! You now have a new pattern.

Desktop wallpaper in high definition can take advantage of the amazing high-def goodness that so many computers have. The examples below are simply amazing, and could easily be at home in any gallery. They are all available through Desktopography, the below being just a tiny example of the amazing works they have available for free.

It is really amazing work that these artists can do with the resources they have, and their work stands apart from much of the typical things one can find on many wallpaper websites.  Enjoy the gallery below, and be sure to check out the rest of the amazing images that Desktopography has available.

As usual, click an image to start the slideshow: