‘Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.’ Samuel Johnson
The Emperor of Combs
For 271 years, Jusan-Ya in Tokyo’s old quarter has been the workshop and sole outlet of the world’s finest hand-made combs. Keiichi Takeuchi is a 15th-generation Jusan-Ya craftsman and the only exponent of the skills required to produce delicate Japanese boxwood combs. The wood is sourced from Kagoshima and the Izu Islands and then dried and cured until ready to carve by hand. The end results look delicate but are in fact extremely sturdy, and the choice of wood ensures minimal static. Takeuchi’s combs are available only from his store, but they are worth disrupting any Tokyo meetings you may have planned. Visit Jusan-Ya at 2-12-21 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110. Tel: +81 03 3831 3238.
Sparking the Imagination
At the freshly whitewashed and recently opened Obscura Gallery in Melbourne’s St Kilda, curator and renowned photographer Emmanuel Santos is passionate about photography’s ability to inspire the imagination and to effect personal and societal change. The careful selection from 16 Australian and international photographers now on show meets his objectives. October’s exhibition will focus on the fine art and photojournalism crossover in the social documentary genre. After visiting Obscura, catch your breath with coffee at Batch Espresso around the corner.
‘It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.’ Gabriel García Márquez
A Colombian living treasure, Márquez has inspired us to pursue a long-held dream of bookshop ownership at Aesop’s Fitzroy store in the first week of October. The entire store will be cleared of Aesop product and the shelves filled with hundreds of copies of Márquez’s short story Seventeen Poisoned Englishman (for sale at AUD$3.95). For Márquez admirers, this may be one you’ve missed, and it will serve as a delightful entry point for newcomers.
The DVD Has Not Killed Classic Cinema
The rise of the DVD as the predominant mode of film consumption has led many to predict the death of cinema, but at the Potemkine store in Paris they consider DVDs to be the saviour of classic films. Specialising in hard-to-find and never-to-be-seen-in-theatres-again classics, Potemkine is on a mission to expose the cinema-going public to the likes of Andrei Tarkovsky and Ermanno Olmi. What the Potemkine team doesn’t know about classic cinema isn’t worth knowing.
Adventures in Space
Winner of the 1992 Pritzker Prize, Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira is one of those responsible for the laudable architectural focus on filling a space with what it needs, rather than inflicting predetermined ideas upon it. His simple, modern designs solve structural problems in thoughtful ways. Visit some of Siza’s sculpture at http://www.arcspace.com/studio/siza/sculptures/index.htm and discover why he was awarded the Pritzker at http://www.pritzkerprize.com/siza.htm.
Bossy Woman and Fish Wife
Throwing personal caution to the wind is part and parcel of the creative process for artist Jade Walsh, whose line drawings and accompanying texts deliver honest snapshots of her own life. Bossy Woman is the theme of her works on display in Aesop’s South Yarra store, while the St Kilda store hosts Fish Wife. These tart responses to the modern world are on show until the end of October.
Crossover Artist
New York-born of German descent, Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956) had the rare ability to move between caricature and fine art. It wasn’t until the age of 36, after a lengthy career drawing caricatures for American publications, that Feininger turned his attention to fine art. His paintings reference Cubism and Expressionism and remain highly sought after. Enjoy a selection of his cartoon work at http://cartoons.osu.edu/FEININGER/index and his fine art at http://search.famsf.org:8080/search.shtml?keywords=lyonel+feininger.
The Master of Collaboration
Among his many musical talents, Ry Cooder has mastered the art of respectful collaboration. His encounter with Indian guitar legend VM Bhatt produced the 1993 album A Meeting by the River. This four-track, 40-minute intercontinental musical trip gives Bhatt the limelight, with Cooder’s hardcore slide guitar taking centre stage only on the mesmerising Ganges Delta Blues. Learn more about Cooder, including how to play his songs, at http://www.rycooder.nl.
More Intelligence Arriving Quarterly
For several years now we’ve enjoyed Intelligent Life, the annual lifestyle-focussed offshoot from The Economist. The mix of substantial feature stories, cultural discoveries, anecdotes and reviews delivers the same sense of spirited enquiry, impeccable research and informed opinion as The Economist applies to business and politics. We’re very pleased Intelligent Life is now a quarterly, and that we’ll be able to consume pieces like 100 Years of Toblerone, The Art of the Buttonhole and How To Buy Wild Mushrooms four times a year. The website offers some magazine content online, and links to more global points of interest that have caught their eye.
http://www.moreintelligentlife.com
‘Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.’ Henri Matisse
Andrew Hunting 