On Saturday, 9, 2012, Potato Head has commissioned 4 of Indonesia’s acclaimed directors to showcase their selection of short films around the country. Titled Director’s Night, the night invites the prominent Nia Dinata, Edwin, The Mo Brothers,  and Joko Anwar to celebrate the accolades of the local industry.  Starting at 7: 30 pm, the event will be followed by a performance by ZEKE. 

POTATO HEAD

Director’s Night
Saturday, 9 June 2012.

DIRECTORS
Nia Dinata | Edwin | The Mo Brothers | Joko Anwar

SOME OF THE SHORTS
Dara/The Waiting Room/Hullahoop Sounding/Rollercoaster

Potato Head

Pacific Place G 51 A
Jl Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53
Info: 02157973322
www.ptthead.com

Follow their twitter and Instagram @PTTHEAD

It was said in the the official press synopsis that ‘City Of God’ is not a place but instead a person, a character. With the tagline ‘If you run, the beast catches, if you stay the beast eats’ a proverb analogous to ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t’. City of God, tells the story of the main protagonist, named ‘Rocket’, who lives in slums of Rio, who sees the streets as a familiar recruiting ground for drug dealers and gang members. Small children or mostly known as the ‘runts’, come to see guns and criminal activity as the only realistic way to be a superior person there. We get a greater feeling of the environment in which the characters exist, thus we are more connected, easily empathize and/or sympathize with them. The movie reminds me of one of Pedro Almodovar’s movie ‘Amores Perros’, which triumphs in creating a relationship between the characters and the audiences, which is important for the emotional impact of the film. With this emotional tone movie, Rocket is being acted as an inspirational protagonist, the perfect ‘opposite’ to the mayhem and distress.

Synopsis

Brazil, 1960′s, City of God. The Tender Trio robs motels and gas trucks. Younger kids watch and learn well…too well. 1970′s: Li’l Zé has prospered very well and owns the city. He causes violence and fear as he wipes out rival gangs without mercy. His best friend Bené is the only one to keep him on the good side of sanity. Rocket has watched these two gain power for years, and he wants no part of it. Yet he keeps getting swept up in the madness. All he wants to do is take pictures. 1980′s: Things are out of control between the last two remaining gangs…will it ever end? Welcome to the City of God. (IMDB)

Last week, designer James Victore invited 8 young designers on a 5 day learning experience in his Brooklyn workshop, in an event he calls The Dinner Series . The artist stated this training session aims to be a gathering of people, each with a small spark that when brought together create a bonfire to be seen miles away. Although teaching at a university, Victore claims to not use the academic approach, instead it will be more of a thinking exercise, focusing on ideas and design statements rather than teaching aesthetics.

Victore is an American author, designer, and filmmaker. He runs an independent studio, and is active in teaching, giving lectures, and workshops. On 2010 he published a book about teaching graphic design and a survey on his works, titled Victore, or Who Died and Made You Boss?. Other than the Dinner Series, he also created Take This Job and Love It, a one-day session held annually of what he described as an event where you access a higher level of badass-dom.

The Dinner Series will take 5 days, starting from 9am to 10pm. Each day will start with a breakfast at the workshop, continued by about two hours of brainstorming and assignments, resumed by a healthy lunch and another three hours of work, then dinner at a private Tribeca loft prepared by renowned chefs from New York. The dinner will be joined by special guests from big names in the creative industry. On last week’s session designers such as Stefan Sagmeister, Gary Hustwit, and Martin Glaser joined the dinner for a nice evening of conversation and good food.

This year, the event will be held twice, with the second session on July 16th to 20th. Participants are limited to 8 guests on a first-come first-served basis. The session costs $6.000 and for other details, click here.

My EP “1991” will be released digitally on May 29th and physically on June 12th!” That was a tweet coming from the eccentric singer/rapper Azealia Banks’ personal Twitter account. Four tracks including “212”, “1991”, “Van Vogue”, and Liquorice” will be featured in this new release. Up until today, her debut black and white video “212” showing her one-of-a-kind slick wordplay and bona fide hip hop music has reached over 16 million viewers on YouTube. Aside from the Extended Playlist, she’s also preparing for her kickoff full-length album “Broke with Expensive Taste”, coming out this fall.

Her passion towards art has been nurtured ever since she joined a community theater in a very young age. “I can’t remember a time in my life that I wasn’t involved in some kind of art form,” she says to Vanity Fair. Regarding her smash hit, NME Magazine highlighted her as its 2011 Cool List. On top of that, many musicians including Kanye West are eager to work with her. So, while you count the days until it’s in the store, what you gonna do when Azealia Banks appear?

Moustapha Spliff was denied entry into the world last week. Yesterday he was live on air from 22.00-23.00 WIB (17.00-18.00 CET) from Red Light Radio Amsterdam! Listen to his show now as well as Theophilus London‘s appearance on the same day on the same radio station.

*Cover by Gyoya Eunkyo Kang

Moustapha Intro
Selda Bağcan – Meydan Sizindir
The Black Beats – The Mod Trade
Erkin Koray  – Istemem
Erkin Koray – İnat
Flower Travellin Band– Satori Part 2
Yaya Uchida & The Flowers– Unknown track
Pink Floyd– Interstellar Overdrive
Pink Floyd –Careful With That Axe Eugene
Barış Manço– Unknown track
Barış Manço – Gönül Dağı
Erkin Koray  – Türkü

The new landmark of Japan’s capital, Tokyo Skytree is scheduled to open today (May 22nd, 2012). It has been dubbed as the tallest freestanding tower in the world with full height of 634.0 metres or approximately 2,080 ft.

Unlike other gigantic towers or skyscrapers that emphasizes on futuristic and technological aspect of the structure in creating the look and feel, Tokyo Skytree builds the “brand” in a quirky way – just take a look at its employees uniform.

If you have a chance to visit Tokyo Skytree, you will be welcomed by employees dressed in a whimsical suit designed by award-winning designer, Akira Minagawa of Minä Perhonen. The uniforms are meant to convey design and hospitality, while expressing the colorful and varied experiences the Tokyo Skytree has to offer.

Minagawa chose a color palette of flat blues to represent the sky, grassy greens (the trees), and friendly yellow (the sun). While triangular geometry patterns represents the shape of Tokyo Skytree and its muse, the all-season evergreen.

The uniforms give a retro-futuristic look and feel, which is in line with Tokyo Skytree vision to be “a new symbol of tradition and the cutting-edge”.

Woohoo! New Balance had finally revealed their new upcoming fall collection. The remarkable 1500 will be released in five colorways: vivid violet, green, black, and anthracite grey. A sleek fusion of suede, leather, and mesh for this year’s collection is worthy of attention. In completing the sneaker’s appearance, all footwear are designed with white soles. Selections from previous collection including 576, 420, 620, and 710 models will be exclusively blended with this edition. Take a look at the photo below for more details about NB Fall Collection.

Known as pioneers of Indonesia’s Indie scene in Bandung, Pure Saturday took the stage on Tuesday May 15th at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta where they performed in front of a packed crowd. The venue was small and cosy, which created an intimate and casual atmosphere. In the background was a large screen playing videos of beautiful images, creating the ambiance to match each song.

When the curtains parted and the lights dimmed, the audience cheered and applauded with excitement showing their support. As the members stepped out, beginning with drummer, Yudhistira Ardinugraha, then bassist, Ade Purnama followed by the rest of the band, Aditya Ardinugraha (guitar), and Arief Hamdani (guitar) the crowd grew louder; they began playing the intro waiting for lead singer, Satria “Iyo” NB. Finally, he emerged wearing all black (long sleeve top and leggings) and a face painted white, much like a mime and he opened up the concert with their first song from their Grey album, The Horsemen. This began the rather quirky concert with Iyo, warrior-like with his plastic sword singing the vocals animated as he moved around the stage…something he kept consistent throughout the night.

Lighthouse was introduced with a blacked out stage with a single spotlight on Iyo twiddling with a radio before the guitar began with its melody. The lead singer kept things theatrical, dancing around the stage barefoot as he sang. In between songs, he shared some poetry with the audience.

“Aku berbicara mengenang masa. Aku berbicara tak mengerti kata. Aku berbicara membimbing hati. Aku berbicara menghargai kami. Aku berbicara mengisi ruang…”

“I am speaking of old times. I do not understand the spoken word. I am speaking to guide the heart. I speak to appreciate us. I speak to fill space …”

After, we see the singer in his next theatrical scene, tied up with rope and a ballerina behind him dancing around as he sang. Rekti “The S.I.G.I.T” then stepped out singing a duet with Iyo for Utopian Dream. The first half of the two hour concert ended as they went through the rest of the Grey album, ending with Albatross divided into three parts, Candlelit and Moonshine, Embrace and Dream a New Dream.

The second half started with Iyo ditching his mime costume for a more casual t-shirt, trousers and wearing shoes! As the band began performing the nostalgic sounds of their past and already well-known songs, the crowd took on a new life, singing along without needing encouragement and shouting out their favourites. They played a series of hits such as Elora, Spoken, Cokelat, Enough, Simple, Desire, Labirin, and Buka. Iyo even repeatedly stepped off the stage and walked around chatting with the audience. The surprises kept on coming when legendary Yockie Suryo Prayogo stepped onstage and took his station by the keyboards and worked his magic singing and playing Citra Hitam, which ended with a standing ovation from the audience. The concert ended with the anticipated Kosong sung in duet with Cholil Mahmud from Efek Rumah Kaca.

Directly following, the press was treated to a conference-style interview where the band was asked questions about their partnership with G Production and the intimate venue. They also elaborated about the new album. The band itself have gone through many developments, from their first release with original lead singer Muhammad Suar Nasution in 1996, their 3rd album in 2005 featuring the vocals of Satria “Iyo” NB and finally now, Grey where they explained to have explored something “new”.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sarah Ramadhita was born on May 1, 1989 in Jakarta, Indonesia but was quickly moved around different countries resulting in constant cultural confusion. Sarah entered the Social Science world in 2007 at the beginning of her undergraduate degree at the University of Bath and have been stuck every since, finally getting lost amongst the intellectuals of the London School of Economics. Constant restlessness drove her to search for aimless wanders in foreign cities before finally ending up where she began. She enjoys people watching, getting lost and attempting photography and her only aim in life is not to lead a boring one. Turtle Soup and Dancing Penguin

Summer is coming up! The Californian street-wear brand Stussy has just released photos from their Summer 2012 collection, and they are pretty much what summer is all about.

Meet the Wild Hawaii. The brand seems to be coming back to its roots as a surf-wear brand. They are introducing a new pattern from their collection which is a floral print that comes in blue, red, and black. The print seems to be the highlight of the set, featured in caps, shirt, and shorts. The collection also featured other tropical patterns as well, including an army print that comes in caps and an elastic short, perfect for your adventurous summer.

Other than the floral wardrobes, the brand once again teamed up with the Canada-based travel goods company, Herschel Supply Co. The two brands collaborated on a backpack and 2 duffle bags made of heavy nylon in black and olive. But don’t be fooled by the sturdy appearance, you can also find the Wild Hawaii print on the lining inside these travel goods. These bags are not just pretty, they’re quite functional. While the backpack is equipped with a laptop sleeve pocket and a headphone wire hole, the duffle bag includes a built in shoe compartment. Scroll down for the rest of the look book, and check out the complete collection here.

The 9th issue of Apartamento Magazine features photographs of interior designer Yrjö Kukkapuro‘s studio and apartment. These photos, taken by Osma Harvilanti, gives readers a brief look on the context in which the designer creates most of his works.

Yrjö Kukkapuro is a 79 year-old interior designer from Finland. He started his career in 1950s as a freelance designer who focused on ergonomic issues. This interest led him to create furnitures that are considered reliable and functional. He is best known for his ‘Karuselli’, which was named the world’s most comfortable armchair by The New York Times.

The studio and apartment, located in Kauniainen Finland, was completed in 1969. It has been since then the workspace and residence of Kukkapuro and his wife, graphic artist Irmeli Kukkapuro. The space, designed together by Kukkapuro and Eero Paloheimo, is a 200sqm loft type space standing on a contoured landscape. What stands out the most is probably its slanted roof, imitating the sloped terrain that surrounds it. This unique roof gives a dramatic effect to the space inside, which we can see on the photos below. The couple still works there to this day, as we can see from all the wet paints and stacks of papers that makes the whole set of photographs more genuine. The studio is also filled with colorful furnitures designed by Kukkapuro himself. Click here for more about the studio.