culture | Eclectic Society

humans of new york by brandon stanton

“There are so many bodies that I want to paint.”

Photographer Brandon Stanton has been taking portraits of New Yorkers for his personal project "Humans of New York" since the summer of 2010. Setting out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers to initially create a census of sorts, the project has now taken a life of its own as he started collecting quotes and stories from his nearly 5,000 subjects. More that just becoming a great source of street style, these portraits give us a poignant glimpses into the lives of the eclectic, intriguing and amazing individuals that reside in New York City. Read more

books for a fantasy filled summer with author jay swanson

Book Extend by Yasuko Furukawa

Mystical, magical, futuristic, apocalyptic, this is one eclectic list of summer reads. Eclectic has teamed up with Vitalis Chronicles author Jay Swanson to bring you a list of books for the ultimate fantasyscape as you hit the beach this summer. Swanson is currently living in Paris, but originally hails from the Pacific Northwest, like some of our favourite authors (Frank Herbert, Tom Robbins, Chuck Palahniuk, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sherman Alexie). This week, Swanson releases his third installment in the Vitalis Chronicles the Steps of Krakador, but he took some time out of his busy schedule to talk books with Eclectic. Read more

hyères 2013: petros efstathiadis, jury grand prize in photography

Man-with-Apples-Liparo-Petros-Efstathiadis.

Man with Apples, Liparo, 2008 Petros Efstathiadis

“This is the year that Greece is going to win.” When these words resonated, April 28^th, Petros Efstathiadis closed his eyes. Being the only Greek in the competition, he realized that he was wining the Jury Grand Prize of Photography of the 28th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères. Here’s the story. Read more

album release: trouble will find me by the national

Trouble Will Find Me album cover

Brooklyn based American indie band The National is releasing their sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me. The album release is the 20th May on i-tunes via 4AD Records. The album is full of guests including Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. If you don't know this indie band that has been on the scene for the past decade, their sound has been compared to Joy Division and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Read more

eclectic’s top ten: anticipated films at cannes film festival 2013

Festival de Cannes is more than film premieres, celebrities, and beautiful gowns. Many of the films at the festival will be popping up in cinemas during the next twelve months. Eclectic has put together a list of our most anticipated films at Cannes 2013 from both the Competition and Un Certain Regard. This year's jury is headed by Steven Spielberg, jurors include Nicole Kidman, Lynne Ramsay (who directed our 2011's Cannes fav We Need To Talk About Kevin), French actor Daniel Auteuil, Ang Lee, and Christoph Waltz among others. One film that isn't on our list is Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac, it didn't make the festival selection("Nazi" gaffe 2011 maybe). Other critics' lists include James Franco directing and starring in As I Lay Dying, Marion Cotillard in The Immigrant and Alexander Payne's Nebraska, but we narrowed it down to just ten..... Read more

top 10 at hyères fashion and photography festival 2013

Collection by Xénia Laffely at Hyères Fashion and Photography Festival 2013; Photography by Ophélie Lecorcier and Aurélie Laurière © Girls Meet Paris

For our inagural visit, the last week of April, the 26th to 29th, we had the chance to drop our suitcases close to the mythic villa Noailles for the 28th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères. Showrooms, meetings, exhibitions, fashion shows, concerts and parties for an overloaded course, we managed to isolate our 10 favorite stops. Read more

listen to: summer wine by lana del rey

I adore the original version of the song by Nancy Sinatra from the 60's, but Lana Del Rey's recent remake doesn't fall far behind. The man on the video is Barrie-James O'Neill, Lana's real life boyfriend, singer from band Kassidy.

pantone food pairings

Pantone Food Pairings series created by Minneapolis-based David Schwen. Read more

listen to: so many details by toro y moi

Been meaning to post this song ages ago - here it goes: So Many Details by Toro y Moi. One of my favorite tracks at the moment.

Happy fête du travail! Hyvää vappua!

Toro Y Moi — "So Many Details" from Evan Prosofsky on Vimeo.

album review: long. live. a$ap

When you see a 24 year old rapper on the cover of Vogue wearing head to toe Dolce & Gabbana with the enviable nonchalance usually reserved for fashion heavy weights like Emmanuelle Alt, you definitely take notice. Named one of the 25 Best Dressed Men of 2012 by GQ, a close friend of designer Jeremy Scott, one of the headliners at Coachella music festival and with new chart topping album “Long. Live. A$AP”, A$AP Rocky is the newest rapper to hit the music scene. . Read more