think demux

Alexander Kosolapov, now based in New York, was born in Moscow.

His assaults on icons and commodity fetishism straddle these two axes with great intelligence and provocation.

(More on Alexander Kosolapov at Designboom.)

The twin dolls in this photographic series by German artist Monica Menez are heading to a picture postcard Russia.

(Via the beautiful blog We Make Money Not Art.)

From 1992 to 1994, Alexey Titarenko shot City of Shadows in St. Petersburg. His long black and white exposures dislodge time and the results are truly moving (via).

So - from Russia, to Russia, of Russia. A country that inspires, agitates and haunts, casting its spectral shadow over the 20th century.

I’d love to visit. And I hope these artists set you off on a journey of your own.

Danish artist Nadia Plesner devised this design to raise money for Darfur.

Louis Vuitton aren’t happy about her fundraising activities (full story here), citing an infringement of “Intellectual Property Rights”.

“Intellectual Property”?

Wow. How contrary. Brands want us to love, cherish, kiss and hug them. Online, they want us to play with them, tickle them, retouch them (I’m thinking sneakers and labels - Beck’s Fusions last year comes to mind).

They want us to remix. Because they know we like to remix. But only if it’s on their terms and, preferably, their microsite.

This attitude’s so retro it’s almost charming. But not quite. And far less charming for its PR stupidity. They could have easily supported the campaign and added buckets to their brand greenwash. Not to mention dirtied dollars to the Darfur appeal.

I’m with Brazilian designer Mario Amaya (see below). Let’s get remixing brands, whether they like it or not. If they want to be in our lives, they need to be taught how the real world shakes today.

Related: Boosh vs. Honey Monster, Round 1.

Essential: The Pirate’s Dilemma - We Invented the Remix.

Previous: Segway Watch - the Future Goes Social.

What are the Olympics?

Even in this age of media splintering, they’re a festival of global hypnosis. Each one, in time, becomes a cultural artefact.

Without resorting to a Google, I can’t tell you anything about Mexico ‘68. Apart from the fact it had a great logo.

Beijing 2008 is already crafting its legacy. PR disaster leads the pack. After events in Paris and London (to name just two of the incidents), it’s going to take a spectacular recovery to turn things around. And that’s before we’ve even heard a starter’s gun.

But whatever the political obstacles, for an Olympics to get off on the B of the BANG it needs well-honed branding. Here, notoriously, London 2012 false-started.

You can check out 100 years of high-performance Olympic design if you’re in London this weekend. And wherever you are in the world, events in Beijing this summer will eventually find their place in your cultural memory.

Recommended: What is the World Cup? Eric Hobsbawn’s thoughts on ‘Nations and Nationalism in the New Century’.

No one cares that Superman’s dead. Did you spot him in Chris Ware’s illustration?

Foot on the ground in big city, there are millions of things you don’t notice. Most are banal. Some incidental. A few, tragic.

But you keep on keeping on. As long as it’s not your tragedy. Tough luck for Icarus (he’s kissing the fishes, bottom right).

No doubt cursing himself on a design oversight. Wax for wings? To the sun?

That’s not the style of a Renaissance man. Gotta see outside the grid to plough on in the big city.

Caffeinated coffee is a stimulant. But look around you the next time you’re in a chain cafe. Listen to the elevator jazz. You’d think they were peddling morphine.

Homestead is a cafe that won’t slip an anaesthetic into your hot cup of joe. Thankfully, it reclaimed its place in Farringdon a few weeks ago. Although it won’t be around for long - and they might sell the chair from under you before you drain your mug.

All the lovingly-curated curios are for sale. Doesn’t that make you stop and think?

The big chain cafes, much like global chains of hotels, strive to give you the feeling that wherever you go you’re in the same place. However fresh and different the world outside, the interior will be familiar. As far as possible, identical.

For the international businessman, jet-lagged with malaise and dizzy with PowerPoints, that’s probably perfect. For everyone else, it’s got all the kick of a glass of Evian.

Homestead will stay on St John’s Street for the next two months. Come and stimulate yourself.