Design: Portuguese Architect wins Pritzker

Portuguese architect, Eduardo Souto de Moura, wins this year’s Pritzker prize. Having worked mostly in Portugal, Mr. Souto de Moura is known for his Minimalist approach combined with the use of local materials and building techniques. For more on this story and others in contemporary art, design and architecture visit Culturalblahblah at http://www.culturalblahblah.com.

For more on the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego check out this video:

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais, Portugal . Eduardo Souto de Moura from Vitor Gabriel on Vimeo.

Design: Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A

Yohji Yamamoto at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London opens to commemorate the 30 years of the designer’s career. Along with the exhibition Abrams Books and V & A Publishing collaborated on the book, Yohji Yamamoto. For more on the exhibition which opened last weekend and is up until July 10, 2011 visit the V&A website. For more: NYMag: First Look: Images From Yohji Yamamoto’s Latest Retrospective; Guardian: Yohji Yamamoto: the people’s designer who cuts loose from the catwalk

For more contemporary art, design and architecture visit Culturalblahblah at http://www.culturalblahblah.com

Film: Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa is one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He died in his homeland of Japan in 1998 and would have been 101 years old on March 23rd, 2011. At one point or another, during their careers, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg produced and/or funded one of Kurosawa’s films when Japanese financiers turned their backs on the aging master.

One of my “favorite looking” Kurosawa films is Dreams (1990), a smorgasbord of cinematography, scene choreography and imagination, produced by Steven Spielberg. I love Asian cinema for many reasons: monster movies, martial arts films and Akira Kurosawa... and God bless Japan.

Design: Mugler Fall 2011

When I was younger, I went to a Thierry Mugler couture show. Out of all the fashion shows I had been to, this was definitely one of the most exciting. Thierry Mugler was amongst those designers who instead of creating the bland fashion shows we see during Fashion Week in NYC, created theater on the runway. He was part of a generation of “createur” who were inspired by the arts and thought of themselves not merely as designers but as Artists.

With that in mind, last week was the debut collection of Nicola Formichetti for Mugler. Now, as we know, the debut collection of any designer is his/her opportunity to put a stake in the ground and claim their place within the ranks of the fashion world. Yet, one of the hardest things to do when taking over a name brand with a legacy is to follow in the footsteps of the namesake. Some designers need to put their own stamp on the collection and others just plain don’t get it.

For Mugler’s Fall collection, Nicola Formichetti was able to put his stake in the ground, get it and very elegantly follow in the footsteps of the namesake, Thierry Mugler. With his debut fall collection for Mugler, Formichetti created pieces that weren’t made for the racks of Bergdorf and Isetan. Instead of designing what was “sellable”, with the help of his cohort Lady Gaga, he decided to communicate his vision for the future of the brand, creating a road map for things to come. I was impressed with this collection and will definitely keep an eye on what he does next.

via (wwd and the sartorialist)

For more contemporary art, design and architecture visit Culturalblahblah at http://www.culturalblahblah.com

Film: The kid continues to stay in the picture.

If you have an iota of interest in producing a film some day or dream about running a major Hollywood studio, you must see the documentary, THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE.

The “kid” is Robert Evans—one of the most influential, infamous and industrious Hollywood producers alive. Let’s just say if you can persuade Henry Kissinger (U.S. Secretary of State during the Nixon and Ford administrations) to attend the premiere of THE GODFATHER (1972) instead of tending to integral U.S. Foreign policy affairs, you’re the sh-t.

From L to R: Actress Ali MacGraw, Robert Evans and U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger at the premiere party for THE GODFATHER in 1972. (Evans was head of production for Paramount Pictures during this time).

Now 81 years old, Evan's is still holding his own on the Hollywood lots with two films slated for release in the next two years.