The Man Without Qualities: Volume 1): Robert Musil

"In the realm of the aesthetic . . . even imperfection and lack of completion have their value."
—Robert Musil, “Address at the Memorial Service for Rilke in Berlin” (1927)

Prepping for a burst of travel which means digging into a good book. The reason why Robert Musil's "The Man Without Qualities" feels like perfect reading right now is because this Austrian novelist proves it's possible to craft prose that is very erudite and very funny at the same time. The wry way it looks at the declining aristrocratic culture of Vienna in 1913 has brought many a comparison to Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu". The contemporary application of this masterpiece is in the wise things Musil has to say about living in a society on a moral, cultural and political precipice. From one fin de siecle era to another, this book has an eerie sense of prescience. Known to be a literary perfectionist, due to his obsessive rewriting, Musil never really finished the two volumes that make up "The Man Without Qualities" but the fact that the work still proved to be so potent is what is very inspiring to me right now.

Martha Streck is indeed exclusive for Gucci this season

Another TI tipster gets it right. Hiss Squad operatives in Milan have just spotted Women Milano's Martha Streck on the premises of Gucci. More news later

Seth Price at Friedrich Petzel

Artist Jayson Keeling is one TI's key tipsters for filtering which shows to see in NY.

Lovely Joe Lally strikes again, lensing yet another ode to the beauty of the human body exclusively for The Imagist. This series features the always striking Tyler from Major Models . Once again hat's off to Joe for a lovely dose of color and sizzle on these pages. Rock on!

Prada lives for a surprise moment

David Claerbout : Shadow Play: 2005

TI is intensely obsessed with the art of David Claerbout at this point in time. Claerbout's work is highlighted by video installations that play with the idea of time passing and time captured by the still and video camera. As Stephan Berg explains in the monograph " Claerbout removes from the photograph a piece of its static quality that is oriented towards fixation and takes from films its impulse of movement". In other words we are treated to photographs that move unexpectedly and films that freeze for significant periods of time. What I love about the work is the detail and the texture of the images. It is as if a dark shadow has fallen on the banal scenes of the modern landscape. An example of the rigor and technical complexity of Claerbout's work is in my favorite art work of his ,"Shadow Piece" . That black and white video, inspired by an archival 50's photograph, features a series of figures (in this frame a man and a woman) vainly attempting to open the doors of a modernist house. Its very Antonioni film meets Vogue Italia spread if I were to be simplistic about it. But in his depictions of a Bauhaus world that has been sold to us as an ideal of geometric perfection, Claerbout captures the frustration and sense of futility that comes with that world. The tension thereof drives to me adore David Claerbout. The book too is beautiful. Black, gray, sepia with the pages edged in black. Must buy!

I grow more and more in awe of Joe Lally each day. He's become a super-sharp contributer to The Imagist, with not only his snaps of very beautiful boys, but in his ability to turn us on to the coolest art ventures, right this minute. Here's Joe's latest piece:

A recent installation of artist/designer/construction worker Chris Rucker, who works primarily with wooden sheet material, in this case strand board, a material traditionally used as a plywood replacement for exterior sheathing and sub-flooring. This work is in the basement of a building being constructed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that Rucker has worked on as well as photographed throughout its construction. The work incorporates the basic building block from Rucker's furniture line he began in 2001. His first basic unit is a chair which he uses as a simple prop to stand a full sheet of material on its edge. This connects with much of the photography and drawing that form how Rucker looks at many of the processes of building. CHRIS RUCKER IS MAKING FURNITURE AND SPACE INTO AN ART MEDIUM, AND THIS IN MY VISUAL REPORT:

AN INSTALLATION GROWS IN BROOKLYN: ARTIST CHRIS RUCKER: A VISUAL REPORT BY JOE LALLY

Hood By Air's Mad Take On Urban Wear

Late last year I had the fun opportunity to hang out with Toni Garrn while interviewing her for Spur Japan. It was just me and my shaky hand-held Flip, Toni and the natural light spilling through the windows of Women offices in NY. In this clip Toni describes the moment she found out she would be the face of Calvin Klein SS08. Now here's a girl that million dollar dreams are made of.

Navigate Navigate: These New Puritans : Hedi Slimane Swan Song

We'll forever associate "Navigate Navigate" with the dying embers of the Dior Homme FW 07 show,