We are a discipline that is reliant on our creativity and imagination, but have become terrified of the imaginary…. When thinking about our conversations in the Newsbar about magical realism and surrealism, it became apparent to me that the level of imaginative freedom allowed in the world of experimental fiction, would struggle to exist in contemporary design culture (and academia) because there’d be some form of backlash about how it wasn’t ‘real’… that the work didn’t address the world’s real issues or problems… that it would never succeed in the ‘real world’. So much of design culture is occupied by people that take themselves so very seriously. My other deep frustration was why did it all need to be so fucking earnest? But I came away deeply frustrated by the gulf between the object obsessive conservatism and the lack of genuine follow through by many of the fanboys (or put more clearly Rams lived his ideas, those that hero worship him often take his ideas as superficial styling to fuel consumption). I, like many of my generation, enjoy a bit of design fetishism as much as the next white-male-middle-class-designer. A beautiful documentary about the legendary head of design for Braun, Dieter Rams. We talked about the freedom and joyous expression of literary fiction in relationship to experimental design practice.Īlso during my last week in NYC I went to see Rams with the brilliant Matt Brown. Fiona demanded, with a sense of almost indignation, why the freedom, creativity and imagination of the great surrealist, postmodern and magical realist fiction writers, like Flann O’Brien, didn’t populate the world of design. It was my last day with Fiona, Tony and Carolyn and, as with many lunches over those 3 months, our conversations drifted towards our favourite films, artists and fiction. O’Brien’s wondrous, surrealist, postmodern masterpiece, written between 1939–1940, has been a continual source of inspiration to me for over 20 years. We were discussing the brilliance of The Third Policeman over lunch. This question, asked by Fiona as we ate our sandwiches at the Newsbar, has lodged itself in my mind since leaving New York. Strain into a tall cocktail glass over fresh ice cubes and top off with Topo Chico.Why can’t we have more of that!? (Fiona Raby, Newsbar, 2018) Stir first five ingredients with ice in a mixing glass until very cold (about a minute).
For now, though, it's believable that maybe the nighttime breeze in Houston has something in common with the air in Spain.ġ/4 ounce simple syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) In mere days, as summer claims the city like a hawk descending on prey, it will become an oppressive, unwelcome blanket. Outside on the expansive balcony is a friendly June breeze. New York, NY 610 88 84 If you are looking for a place to work, this might not really be the best place for a long-term focus session. LONDON FOG, pumpkin yogurt muffin, SOPHIA, spinach feta cheese wrap Victoria W.
Like a good martini made with heavily botanical gin, it's the kind of cocktail that marches up to the savory line, looks across it and then backs up a few steps. The drink menu was pretty extensive and had more standard prices though.
The Spanish Air cocktail is a concoction of gin, vermouth and rainwater Maderia. It's reminiscent of the historic bars in New Orleans but the Mediterranean is in my glass. The space seems doused in history because the downtown building it’s in was built in 1880 after a fire destroyed half the block. Second-floor, speakeasy-ish Bad News Bar (technically, "Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge") is dark, old and long with a varnished bar counter that seems to stretch into infinity.