TIN FOIL DÉCOR BLANKETS US

A theory on the SILVER and MALLEABLE, and its most intriguing expressions in the domestic sphere (and also elsewhere)

Today: the TIN FOILery of home; It Boy of silver (and denim) HARRY NURIEV and ‘TRANSFORMISM’; conspiracy theorists; space travel; Los Angeles’s SOLARC BREWING company foiled bar; the mylar fantasy world of ANDREW WARHOLA JR. A.K.A. ANDY WARHOL; does-no-wrong furniture man MAX LAMB; a new British décor magazine etc.

The PARIS apartment of HARRY NURIEV who makes up the name of his décor style – a move we highly approve of – calling it “TRANSFORMISM”; this is in his “stainless steel bedroom capsule”. He also uses some foil-y MYLAR as a kitchen tablecloth.

Dear Snoops,

In this economy, in this world, no surprise that we bring to you a report of the great aesthetic of the LEFT OVER, i.e. the hyper presence of TIN FOIL AS DÉCOR INFLUENCE.

In the West, certainly, we are witnessing much attention being paid to malleable silver sh*t, enveloping our world in the foil-swan spirit of (SELF-)PRESERVATION. Can we be blamed?

Its origins are deep and deeply mainstream, with the SWAN as its mascot, quickly swanning off the kitchen counter and into broader décor and even clothing.

i.e. TIN FOIL / ALUMINUM FOIL left-over swanery in American sit-com “FRIENDS”, which aired 10 January 2002:

J. Aniston remained a tin foil fan until at least 2012. We’re anticipating that many in the United States will be experiencing forced leftovers after Thanksg*v*ng.

THE FOIL APPEAL IS DISTINCT:

1. SPACE TRAVEL
   With the state of things on Earth right now, the maniacal space obsession of chauvinistic billionaires (i.e. EL*N and J*FF) is almost making sense. Tin foil has a certain “moon landing” quality, that conveys AMBITION, VANITY, and FRAGILITY. Or, the absurd N.A.S.A. space balloon the ECHO II (in “biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate” A.K.A. MYLAR):

   

   1964, N.A.S.A. produces this, after 10-plus years of Christmas tree TINSEL CULTURE in America. The ultimate bobble.

2. EMERGENCY
   The life-saving force of the emergency blanket, as Nuriev uses in his kitchen as a tablecloth. What may appear strange in the Nuriev apartment is, in fact, a highly identifiable symbol of SAFETY and RESCUE.

3. THE ONLY GOOD AESTHETIC PRODUCED BY “CONSPIRACY”
   Tin foil is what happens when the toxic forces of conspiratorial subculture encounter a kind of glamor-butch aesthetic, producing an intriguing makeshift defense system. Take away the dark energy, and you have a novelty and naivety that are both intriguing.

   

4. SHAPE-SHIFTERY
   ’Metal’ generally suggests ‘hard and durable’. TIN FOIL is, of course, neither of those things. Though few things we shall present are ACTUAL tin foil (some are; and, in fact, now it’s all aluminum), the thrill of a highly malleable metal to play with is shared by some textile alternatives we WILL SHARE.

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A NOTE ON “CONTEXT” and ASSEMBLAGE

Coming to us from our SHIVA VASE CORRESPONDENT CAZ FACEY and the London Underground, a demonstration that the futuristic bunker energy of the STEEL WALL (adjacent to tin foil conspiracy window coverings) is NOT at odds with the humble caned wooden chair AT ALL.

The juxtaposition, instead reminds us that we needn’t and frankly SHOULDN’T “100%” our décor… mélange is crucial:

1999’s Southwark tube station, which at the time would have read as highly optimistic and now reads as DOOMSDAY, entire thanks to the recycling of Tory politicians for the last decade.

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*2023* EVIDENCE FROM LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, PARIS, LONDON

A very foily year, in which we could have also included several other things but haven't. Here are:

TOP LEFT AND MOVING CLOCKWISE: CHARLES DE LISLE for Rachel Comey in S.F.; the exceptional SOLARC BREWING bar in L.A. (by PROJECT ROOM); London’s dreamy MAX LAMB exhibited a ton (←) of foily-silver stuff in PARIS he called “SOFT POLY”; issue 2 of a new-ish décor magazine out of London called TON (←) (very NEST magazine-like, almost too much in parts if we’re honest)

This is a CROSS-CATEGORY recognition of a kind of softer side of metal. And, not to restrict ourselves, we must note that décor exists not within a vacuum, with a vast cultural soup that involves a lot of WARDROBE FOIL. Here: VICTORIA B., at the Brit Awards; MARTIN MARGIELA (in a room of actual tin foil); ABLOH for LOU*S VU*TTON; BÉYONCE:

ANYWAY, WHO CARES. Let’s return to décor, where we belong:

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LIVING WITH FOIL, A THEORY

Tin foil is mainly a peripheral domestic tool. In décor, one might compelled to also treat it as such. For example, in a slightly lesser-used object, such as this foily-encrusted BUTTER DISH care of THE PERFECT NOTHING CATALOG (who also made a thrilling garbage can that rapidly circulated on the Intern*t). See below.

To us, this butter dish *IS* Derek Jarman as Miss Crêpe Suzette, (filmmaker, god, and winner of the Alternative Miss World Contest), 1975. Jarman’s PROSPECT COTTAGE is a wet dream, too.

Yet, this is not entirely the correct spirit. Recall, the cultural presence of foil outside décor is rather more EXCEPTIONAL. It is MOON-TRAVEL TOOL, it is PROTECTOR FROM PENETRATIVE RAYS (for the conspiracists), is RESCUE, it is FANTASY DIVA (Aniston; Jarman, really).

To “accessorize it” is to minimize it, to keep it in its proverbial kitchen drawer. The current moment suggests it should take a stronger décor lead – i.e. the references from this year were all FULL THROTTLE. The world NEEDS MATERIAL RESCUE, needs FANTASY (incidentally also a type of rescue).

YES, this might be done in furniture. Nuriev and Max Lamb demonstrate this. And, we’d be remiss not to ensure you have seen this sofa, which has also found ENORMOUS success in the poll of public opinion – though few actually IDENTIFY IT, so we will: 2002’s “EXTRA WALL” sofa by designed-for-brand-i.e.-prolific Italian PIERO LISSONI. Voila:

Kind of gives CapriSun? And certainly a CAZ FACEYean mélange. (It was upholstered in silver by some interior designers for some living room. We can be bogged down in TOO MANY DETAILS.)

Or, f*ck your security deposit, and embark on foiling the ceiling (ACTUAL TIN FOIL ALERT!, we think), this by weird artist TOBI KECK:

A monstrous and dominating addition to what appears to be a room of many burdens: blankness, stains, discomfort. Tin foil brings us into an alternate state of mind and, here, adds a rare feature to the domestic landscape: COMPLETE AND UTTER TERROR.

That said, we’d rather leave you with a more warming, joyful example of the foil life, as seen in ANDY WARHOL’s “SILVER CLOUDS”:

2 years after N.A.S.A.’s big balloon, Warhol filled a room with little ones. Rapture ensued.

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On that note, we stop. A very racing-through-time-and-space summary of what is currently capturing our attention in the TIN-FOILsphere.

Until next time. Love and good luck,