The July issue of Wallpaper* takes a look at Art & Sex, which is a first for the magazine. One of the features that I found interesting is the art of “Tart Cards,” which are cards that are placed in phone booths (particularly in London) advertising services of call girls. I have seen these cards in phone booths in London before, but never thought that these cards could have artistic value. In doing a little more research, there’s even a tart card book that is sold on Amazon.com. So perhaps it’s really true that this “accidental art” has some sort of cult following. Art is really everywhere you look.

Do check out the Wallpaper* site for a complete set of images of tart cards designed by students and designers.

If you are in London, there is an exhibition of over 400 cards from June 22-29 in conjunction with Type LLP and St Bride Library titled “Typographical Tart Cards” here:

KKOutlet
42 Hoxton Square
London N1 6PB

It’s been a while since my last update. Life has just been quite busy that I have not had much time to write. So my New Year’s resolution for 2009 is to write more often – and here’s my first post…

Wallpaper* recently announced the winners of its fifth Design Awards in a variety of categories, including:

My personal favorites is probably the winner of the Most Life-enhancing Product – Bloomframe. The product itself is an “interactive façade” that transforms a window frame into a balcony via an electrical drive. It is made of aluminum, glass and steel and offers a variety of variations and flexibility to match the needs of new contructions or renovation projects. photos by Matthijs van Roon

For a complete list and description of winners and runner-ups, go to Wallpaper.com by clicking on the link below.

This year, the judging panel included hip hop star Kanye West, French architect Jean Nouvel, Australian industrial designer Marc Newsom, British production designer Sir Ken Adam, Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati, and fashion icon Inès de la Fressange.

On January 26, you will also find video interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the Design Awards on Wallpaper.com. So bookmark the site!

I was recently informed that Wallpaper* launched Wallpaper* Selects, a series of limited-edition photographic prints from its archives. Each print available on the website are produced in editions of 10, 20 or 30, and signed and numbered by the artists. The first collection features photographers Jonathan de Villiers, Mauricio Alejo, Jonathan Frantini, Christopher Griffith, Stefan Ruiz, Daniel Stier, Benedict Redgrove and Joël Tettamanti. Pricing for the prints are between between £290 and £990 (or about US$580 and US$1980).

(note that normally I would crop a photo so that it would fit into the metrosnapshot frame, but that wouldn’t do this photo justice — so here it is in its entirety)

For those of you that are avid readers of Wallpaper*, do check out the link below and see for yourself. The site features a scroll-over function that allows you to see details of each print before you buy. Remember, this is just the first in a series to come!