New for 2010, Vienna-based design house POLKA introduces the Floyd Sofa Range. Designed for Wittmann, this unconventional sofa series combines the classic couch shape with interchangeable, attachable elements that give the furniture a surprising versatility. Back cushions and armrests in various sizes let it go from a couch to a chaise, and a selection of accessories – a laptop table, a tray, a lamp, and a small round table – make it super-functional and fun.

Created in 2004, POLKA ( Polka Product Pleasure) is the brainchild of design duo Monica Singer and Marie Rahm. The pair “regards everyday life phenomena as their project’s fuel. To discover the beauty in the banal, the extraordinary out of the ordinary is the aim. We show shifting points of view, we like to surprise and carry on the ease of life forward on the way to create ‘product pleasures’.” Already, their impressive client list includes names like Lobmeyr, MINI/BMW and MAK among many others. To learn more about these product and visual designers, visit polkaproducts.com.

Bringing contemporary art into the public realm, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House presents How Many Billboards? Art in Stead, a large-scale urban exhibition of 21 newly commissioned works by leading artists, displayed on Los Angeles billboards during February and March 2010.

*Above: Billboard by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger.
Location: Beverly Dr, north of Pico Blvd, on the west side of the street, facing southeast.

*Above: Billboard by multimedia artist Kori Newkirk.
Location: Wilshire Blvd, west of Hoover St, on the south side of the street, facing west

Describing the rationale behind the project, MAK Center Director Kimberli Meyer says: “Art should occupy a visible position in the cacophony of mediated images in the city, and it should do so without merely adding to the visual noise. How Many Billboards? Art In Stead proposes that art periodically displace advertisement in the urban environment.”

*Above: Billboard by film, video and installation artist Kerry Tribe.
Location: La Brea Ave, north of Venice Blvd, on the east side of the street, facing north.

“Billboards are a dominant feature of the landscape in Los Angeles,” Meyer says. “Thousands line the city’s thoroughfares, delivering high-end commercial messages to a repeat audience. Given outdoor advertising’s strong presence in public space, it seems reasonable and exciting to set up the possibility for art to be present in this field. The sudden existence of artistic speech mixed in with commercial speech provides a refreshing change of pace. Commercial messaging tells you to buy; artistic messaging encourages you to look and to think.”

*Above: Billboard by performer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer, featurinf an enigmatic quote from Hollywood grand dame Marlene Dietrich: “I look good, I know. I can’t hear. I can’t see. But I look good.” Location: Pico Blvd, west of Fairfax Ave, on the south side of the street, facing west

How Many Billboards? Art in Stead is organized by MAK Center Director Kimberli Meyer with co-curators Lisa Henry, Dr. Nizan Shaked, and Dr. Gloria Sutton, and public art consultant Sara Daleiden.

If you’re in the L.A. area, you can visit the overview exhibit and orientation station at the Schindler House, 835 North Kings Road in West Hollywood. Bus tours are also available. Public hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (323) 651-1510.

For an up-to-the-minute map of the exhibited artwork locations, visit howmanybillboards.org.

*Images courtesy of MAK.