DESIGN: The Art of Saul Bass

Many of you may have somehow been influenced by the work of graphic designer Saul Bass directly or indirectly. His famous work for film sequences and titles as well as his relationships with the greatest filmmakers of the time such as Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, and Martin Scorcese and has placed his modern, and abstract works in movies such as Vertigo, The Man With the Golden Arm, and The Age of Innocence. What made me fall in love with Saul Bass's film art as well as his logo works is his clever use of minimalism and negative space.  It takes some kind of person to transform an object as banal as a cutout of a paper arm into a controversial and metaphorical icon. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City and also attended Brooklyyn College before his launch into designing film posters. His big break came in the form of creating a film poster as well as sequence for the film Carmen Jones thanks to its director Otto Preminger. His work captured the eye of Alfred Hitchcock who commissioned him to create sequences for several of his films due to his attraction to Bass' contemplative designs which meshed well with Hitchcock's psychological thrillers. His movie poster work continued for over 40 years and also included his graphic design logo work for famous companies such as Dixie, AT&T, United Way, Girl Scouts, and the YMCA. Bass is also quoted for the powerful maxim that "Design is thinking made visual." And no doubt Bass could sublime his immense imagination into his works. Check out the best of Saul Bass after the jump.

Rocking & Rholling

If you’re looking for someone to hook you up with a massive overdose of fashion and art, then you’ll want to hit up Rhuigi and Rhoxanne’s site Rhu & Rho. Once you hit the front page you’ll get up-close-and-personal with the newest in avant-garde fashion photography and cultural injections. The personal style of both creators is sublimely chic and contains the right amount of insubordination and adherence to classical style. The design of the blog is far from fussy and the courier font of the posts gives the impression of a desktop pile of photos and torn out notes from a pocket carnet adding to the realness and authenticity of the blog. Big on showing rather than telling, the blog is rife with interesting videos and it resembles Marquis Phifer’s Lateboots pre-Wordpress. It’s a real-life account of real people doing real-life work and reaping the fruits of the labor. Currently the pair has worked on revamping their blog with their 10.10.10 campaign.

Model Madness - Christian Ragin

Model Madness - Tyson Beckford

Model Madness - Omar Kennedy Shot By Tarrice Love

"Many feel it is too artistic to be considered fashion photography. I want to know if my work is considered to artistic to be fashion, then what exactly is fashion photography and it is fashion today considered art?" These are the words Tarrice Love a highly skilled fashion photographer, up-and-coming designer, and Brooklynite speaking on opinions of his work. Known for his excellent improvisation skill in his photos, Love's talent for interacting extraordinary beauty with ordinary objects earns him credibility and his self-taught knowledge of fashion and photography amplify the raw creativity he possesses. Here is his photo shoot with 24-year-old model Omar Kennedy of Biscayne Park, Florida.  Once again managing to inject the artistic into the mundane, Tarrice Love pulls off another testament of the inspiring touch of fashion. View the rest of the photos after the break.

Model Madness - Anthony Gallo

Links Roundup – Abbey Lee Kershaw in Vogue China by Coûte Que Coûte

If beauty is skin deep, then ugly is to the bone. Nothing could be more aesthetically displayed than Vogue China’s spread of Abbey Lee Kershaw “Skin Deep”, styled by Nicoletta Santoro and shot by Hedi Slimane. I’ve been looking at spreads from international versions of American fashion magazines and I have to say I’ve been impressed with the talent. Granted, it is a little strange that Elle Japan covers and Vogue Hommes Japan don’t have Japanese or Chinese celebrities on their covers but they are as skilled in capturing beauty as any American issue of Vogue. I will say that the main difference between American and International issues are the nature of the photographs. American magazines use their photo spreads as a means of setting a standard for the readers, inspiring them to what levels of beauty they should aspire. International magazines use fashion photography for more artistic and experimental purposes as seen in this shoot.

BleuLife - Kevin Amato Fashion Shoot

Bleu Magazine is showcasing the photographic talent of fashion photographer Kevin Amato on its website/blog Bleulife.com. Amato's shoot for this, although not entirely devoid of the sparkle and gloss of many other fashion shoots, still achieves a captivating and artistic quality. The color palette strong, imposing urban landscapes that surrounds and almost seems to overpower the models mixes smoothly with the apparel and allows for an ingenious integration of the subjects and the environment. Kevin Amato works closely with the extremely successful modeling agency Red Models NYC and has photographed some of the most promising Black male models which are represented by Red. Some include Salieu Jalloh, Dominique Hollington, Shawn Sutton, and Marcus Lloyd. Check out more photos from the shoot here and more about Kevin Amato here.