Sniff competition

They’ve done the finger puppet thing and been down the apron, hat, umbrella road but now the art museums have come up with a new product line: the signature scent. This is a brand rush that went through consumer markets around ten years ago – there was even talk of  Harley Davidson bringing out a line of scented male products. Now, at last, the art institutions are climbing onboard with London’s Serpentine Gallery hanging out with Comme des Garçons and Tracey Emin to produce (wait for it) Serpentine. So in the spirit of art museums being on the scent here’s some suggestions for NZ.

d. paganini
A bracing astringent for the Southern man.

City Gal
A serious scent in a no nonsense atomiser

A’ Agee
A traditional perfume with a contemporary twist

Suitor
Promise her anything but giver her Suitor

Dowsé
The full on fragrance for all the family

Love it BRUISER
Fighting above its weight to bring the now to your nose

Chi Chi Gal
Available next year

Jeff my bubbles

The way artists are associating themselves and their art with high-end brands (what the advertising industry calls ‘partner brands’) has totally insinuated itself into the artworld but artists then denying that they do it, now that is a little more rare. Here’s Jeff Koons commenting on his recent association with Dom Pérignon

“I don’t do very many product associations, but you know Dom Pérignon is a fantastic brand, a wonderful Champagne.”

Other product associations with the Jeff Koons’s brand:
Illy - coffee sets
Bernardaud – illustrated porcelaine plate
BMW – car
FIFA World Cup - print
Supreme decks - skateboard
Kiehl’s – body products
Lisa Perry – fashion
Ikepod - wristwatch

Image: A bottle of champagne (rosé) with its limited edition stand by Koons (the bottle rests on the sculpture between pours) on sale at US $20,000.

Choc jocks

 

Regrettably a little late this Easter but you can order this Brancusi-like Easter egg from Jadiset Gourmande and tuck it away for next year.
Sorry to everyone quite rightly expecting this to be posted on Sunday

Pop goes the easel

Artist easels, each one individually painted to look as though it has been in the studio forever. As one enthusiastic owner writes:

“I was reluctant to dish out the big bucks for this easel, but my husband knew how much I loved it and secretly purchased it for me as a birthday gift. I love it! Have no idea why I hesitated to buy it, it fits so perfectly with my living room décor and is such a conversation piece”. 

Comes without any of the awkward taste issues around gifting original art works and is available at Anthropologie for $2560 a pop.

Saturday style section

If you’re a regular follower of OTN you will know we keep a sharp eye out for those artist-based gifts that keep on giving. This range of bags comes from artist Olaf Breuning who did a stint in New Zealand back in 2002 including a show at the Hamish McKay Gallery. A couple of years ago he teamed up with Bally a luxury leather goods manufacturer in Switzerland to create the Bally Love #2 Capsule Collection. You can watch Olaf touting a couple of the bags here.

Images: top Breuning's original tape and paper prototypes and below the Bally leather versions

Puppy love

Looking for a Saturday morning DIY project? You could do worse than build a Frank Lloyd Wright doghouse (always assuming you have a dog). Thanks to one of our favourite sites, Letters of Note, here are the plans and a pic of the FLW kennel along with a letter from the young boy who wrote to FLW asking for one. You can read the full correspondence and background story here on L of N.

Strictly two per customer

Target might have Jeff Koons Balloon Dog tied up but here The Warehouse is also hot on contemporary art lookalikes with a version of Damien Hirst's skull work For the love of God on the shelves. (Thanks S) You can watch the making of the Hirst version here.

Badge of honour

To get advance notice of important art news that is being kept under wraps (usually because of the timing of a media release), OTN has been offering lavishly hand-crafted gifts. We are delighted to announce that the 42 OTN caps we produced have now all been sent out to reward informants both in New Zealand and abroad.

To keep up the flow of information we have commissioned a new OTN product: the OTN Animal Art badge. Designed by OTN favourites Stimulus/Response (based on OTN animal art star Chola the painting horse) and created by master craftspeople here in Wellington, the OTNAAB will be an honour to be awarded and a pleasure to wear.

So, as we say at OTN, OTY.

Image: From top left to right. Original design by S/R, the machine used to create the metal template, master stamp, blank ready for enameling, badges awaiting attachments, badge worn discretely behind a lapel, badge on display