Liquid Treat

Our favorite newcomer on the online art gallery scene: Wall Blank. Operating out of “an awesome old brewery on the river” in Rockford, Illinois, the pared-down site features a new limited-edition work of art every weekday. Wall Blank's curatorial team has already revealed a sharp eye for street photography, typographical experiments, and old-school illustration as well as a commitment to giving back: On “No Profit Fridays,” 100 percent of the proceeds from the print released that Friday go to a nonprofit cause. The secret to scoring a $14 print by the next Cindy Sherman? Acting fast: works featured on Wall Blank are all limited editions, available a mere seven days, or until they sell out.

Postcards. Paperbacks. Mix CDs. A heart-shaped ice cube mold. Dried and pressed four-leaf clovers. Through photographs and terse descriptions of these items and hundreds like them, Leanne Shapton depicts a relationship gone south. Designed as an auction catalog, her new book chronologically records the Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry. An illustrator, writer, publisher, and the art director of The New York Times op-ed page, Shapton encourages readers to imagine subplots through the stuff accumulated and exchanged by the erstwhile couple (think: Griffin and Sabine, the estate sale). A leather backgammon set (lot 1246) has a “slightly charred” corner (was Harold smoking again?) while a white noise machine (lot 1306) bears “irreparable damage to top and sides, as if struck by a hammer.” Maira Kalman, who knows from heartbreaking whimsy, professes to be "nuts about" the book: "This is the stuff of life, literally. Oh, love. Oh, despair. Oh, stolen salt shakers.”

Polaroid’s decision last year to discontinue its instant photography products has led to more than widespread film hoarding. We’ve also noticed a swell of nostalgia for the distinctive look of the company’s photos, tucked inside their ever-present white frames and immune to the magic of Photoshop. Even the digital realm that sped the death of instant photography is getting in on the nostalgic act, furnishing a range of standalone tools that allow users to “Polaroidize” any photo. Our favorite: Poladroid, an easy-to-use application that allows users to create high-resolution, pseudo Polaroids from digital photos. The program comes complete with Polaroid sound effects and quirks: Sessions are limited to 10 images (just like a Polaroid film cassette), and the resulting images contain “random and realistic Polaroid-like color variation.” Picture imperfect.

Graphic design legend Milton Glaser alerts us to the launch of his new Web site, MiltonGlaserWorks.com. An e-commerce-enabled companion to the designer's online home base, MiltonGlaser.com, the new site offers signed editions of Glaser's books and other works, including posters and a new range of giclée prints of assorted musicians…and William Shakespeare. Whether or not your budget allows for acquisition of a signed "Beethoven with Eggplants" silkscreen, Glaser fans should look out for screenings of the documentary Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight. Directed by Wendy Keys, the film has been making festival rounds and, after a successful New York City run, opens today in Chicago and Denver before moving to other cities this summer.

Lucida Sky with Diamonds. Bauhaus (in the Middle of Our Street). Rock the Caslon. I Wanna Bold Your Sans. No, this isn’t the set list from designer Chip Kidd’s latest Artbreak gig -- they’re fontsongs, a Twitter thread (#fontsongs) that challenges pun-loving design types to insert typeface names into popular song titles. Call it Textual Healing. The typographical phenomenon is going strong, with recent gems such as Goudy My Dreams, Get into my Car, and Garamond (My Wayward Son), but don’t delay in Tweeting a fontsong of your own soon, before the trend changes cultural course: One Twitter user is advocating a switch to fontfilms. First on the list? Back to the Futura, of course.

Need to hide from a client? Or your boss? Now you can do it in true designer style with a jacket sporting camouflage created from hand-drawn type. At first glance, this garment resembles regular camo gear, but when you look closely, you'll notice that all those organic shapes are actually letters. Cody Hudson created this clever pattern for Stussy, and it even spells out key phrases associated with the brand. Take one home in women's or men's sizes—prices range from $81 to $132.

by Michelle Taute