Audio By Carbonatix
NOW 24/7
There’s a huge difference between professional architectural photographs and those random snapshots of fascinating buildings that caught your eye when you were on vacation in some swanky European capital or small American town. Or is there? Both types of works are liable to give people a fresh perspective on buildings they might not ordinarily notice. They also might engender a renewed appreciation of vilified structures. Most important, they might just preserve in time what will be no more one day. Sometimes images of buildings can succeed in doing all of the above plus operate as striking works of art, showing off an architect’s eye-catching design and your own knack for interesting composition. Those sorts of prints by amateurs and the general public — more so than crappy vacation shots — are the ones the Miami Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Miami) is soliciting as entries for its 10th Annual International Photography Competition. Doesn’t matter whether your subject is ancient or modern. Doesn’t matter where it’s located (the moon might be off limits, though). All that does matter is that your print contain an element of the built environment and that an architectural theme prevails.
If you’re a budding Julius Shulman (who snapped so many memorable images of modern buildings beginning in the 1930s), or a Jamie Canaves (whose print of New York’s Guggenheim Museum, above, caught judges’ eyes last year), you should probably consider digging through that old box of photos now. You could also pick up the Instamatic and walk around town or elsewhere in search of fodder. Color prints, black-and-white prints, and digital work are all eligible. Category winners will be awarded $300. The best overall work goes home with a whopping $1000. But winners will do more than just pocket cash. They’ll have their creations displayed at Coral Gables gallery the Americas Collection in November during Architecture Week. — By Nina Korman
Entry fee is $35 and is good for 5 prints. Entries must be mounted on 11-by-14-inch presentation-quality white mat boards. Deadline is 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 24. Call 305-448-7488 or see www.aiamiami.com for details.
SAT 9/27
Arty Aroma
Hip in a bottle
A fine Calvin Klein perfume makes a decent gift, sure. But take that bottle of Eternity, have it embellished by a renowned artist, and we’re talking about more than a hug and peck on the cheek, if that’s what you’re aiming for (winkity-wink). Sounds like a tough token to come up with? Well, here’s some good news: From 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. “Lebo” will be hanging out at the Burdines in Dadeland Mall (7535 N. Kendall Dr.; 305-665-6226), adorning bottles of Eternity in celebration of the fragrance’s 15th anniversary. That’s right, David “Lebo” LeBatard, the new toast of the art world and a favorite among the young, hip, Hispanic set. Creator of artwork for the recent Latin Grammys, he wields the unmistakable brush behind a bevy of downtown murals, advertisements, and CD covers, among them the Spam Allstars’ Fuácata! Live. Some say his brightly colored, uniquely urban Latino images are reminiscent of another Miami artist, Romero Britto. “Lebo” really is making a name for himself, albeit a 4-letter one. Snap those bottles up while you can; they could make quite the collector’s item someday, hmmm? — By Humberto Guida
MON 9/29
Classics Crash Course
Twice a week for 6 weeks, neophyte tour guides will be training at Vizcaya. Those people you see doing lunges among the Baroque antiquities and pushups on Louis XVI banisters are part of the mandatory decorative arts boot camp that volunteer guides at the imported 16th-century villa must go through. Okay, so they won’t be doing calisthenics, but they will be getting rigorous schooling on treasures held at the museum and gardens that were built by industrialist James Deering in 1916. Regular schmoes who think that Rococo is a flavor of Hagen-Dazs might get a stylistic and humanities makeover, without a horde of Manhattan queens raiding their apartment. There are no prerequisites, and you won’t be asked to wear pumpkin pants — that is, unless you insist on wearing them. The course begins at 10:00 a.m. and continues each Monday and Thursday through Thursday, October 30, at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, 3251 S. Miami Ave. Registration is free. Call 305-250-9133. — By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
SAT 9/27
A Mall Reconsidered
The Falls morphs with the times
Back in 1980 when the Falls Shopping Center first opened, the world looked like a Nagel print; slick and glossy with razor-sharp contours and an icy sexual sheen. Before its 1996 reopening, the open-air mall with a stream flowing through it was a high-concept shopping experience, crossing Bal Harbour glamour with Pirates of the Caribbean gee-whiz. The future looked fast and slick; then Martha Stewart had to go and make shopping for extra-fancy Thanksgiving gourds fashionable. Suddenly soccer moms were sexy and plaid was everywhere. This season, to further isolate us from a brave new Nagel world, the mall will be unveiling a down-to-earth farmers market. Let’s just hope the real farmers stay on the farm. The market is open from 10:00 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday through October 26 at the Falls, 8888 SW 136th St. Call 305-255-4570. — By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
