Summer of Love Exhibit at the Whitney – A short review
The Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era exhibition at the Whitney Museum features a series of work from the 1960’s through 1970’s; the artists that range from Andy Warhol to Lucas Samaras. Work from this era are characterized as being a direct reaction to popular culture and instead of art being an activity only to be performed by (and for) the elite, art was created by people from all walks of life. Two pieces of work, both by Abdul Mati Klarwein, demonstrated not only the new wave of art that focused on every aspect of popular culture, but his work also touches on the rise of consumerism and how it affected old conventions of society.
The first piece, The Aleph Sanctuary, was originally a 3×3 meter, metallic cube which contained over sixty paintings1; each piece arranged to resemble the more famous Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The deliberate religious architecture behind Klarwein’s sanctuary seems to belittle the Christian institution by rendering the monumental church in a minimalistic manner. The small size of the Aleph Sanctuary can serve as representation of the church’s quickly shrinking influence. The younger generation was no longer restricted to finding happiness through God and the church, but through any means necessary. The pursuits of happiness of this generation ranged from the explosion of consumerism to the use of drugs and excess alcohol.
The original Aleph Sanctuary features a series of paintings that lined its walls1, each depicting scenes that characterized pop culture in the 1960’s and 70’s; however, the most ‘Pop’ artwork inside the sanctuary was the “Grain of Sand” (also by Klarwein). This painting depicts sexual themes, consumerism, racial equality, civil unrest, and the psychedelic nature of the decade. Naked women are littered throughout the entire painting; however unlike the roof of the Sistine Chapel, women of both races are depicted. Women and men of color replace the white religious figures and the Caucasian female on the upper-left quadrant of the painting is shown with red skin and green eyes; immediately this colorization seems to give of the connotation of evil. This is a complete upheaval of society’s current attitude towards different races.
The entire painting is a surreal landscape where fashion and luxury are intertwined; these two elements relating to the heavy consumerism and the rush to be at the top of the market, both as consumer and producer. The painting seems to say that everyone who is a consumer is entitled to these luxuries. The vibrant colors of the painting overall represented the ‘life’ and energy of the decade. The youth was blooming, taking action in everything they could get their hands on. This wasn’t limited to drugs, but it also included activism against the government and environmental issues. These two pieces of art by Mati Klarwein, are the best examples of Pop artwork during the 1960’s, each demonstrating the mainstream culture during the period and the events that shaped the artwork.
Patrik Bundeli is saving the balls!
The humorous name is not simply an attempt at something vulgar. Save the balls! is a project created by Patrik Bundeli with a very interesting concept. It seems that these creative pieces developed out of a determination to quit smoking. Each ball representing one instance in which he had the urge to pick up a cigarette. It actually sounds like a really smart way to quit smoking. And of course this developed into a project of saving those poor overly abused ping pong balls:
Initiated by 2much for the first time in 2008 the project “save the balls” is meant to provide a violence free and safe shelter for abused ping pong balls. Month after month, millions and millions of those poor balls are cruely abused by hard beatings from the ping pong-racket and some balls have to endure gruesome smash-beats with up to 170 km/h, which deforms the ball up to 25% percent of its original size.
2much is dedicated to stop this unnecessary violence and begs you not to look the other way! Every ball bought from 2much is one more ball in safety.
~Project description from Patrik Bundeli on Behance
These images and more are available from Patrik Bundeli’s portfolio on Behance: http://www.behance.net/2much
Exciting artist find: Illustrations by Patricia Kleeberg
These lively abstract illustrations are by Mexico-based artist Patricia Kleeberg from her collections “And in what do you believe in?” and “The Girl Next Door”. Extremely unique drawings in her combination of graphic elements, ornamental details and sketchy lines and patterns.
Images of even more of her work can be found on Behance: http://www.behance.net/neon-o or on her website http://www.neon-o.com
Incredible Illustrations by Irina Vinnik
The divine images here hold a similar quality to old illuminated texts in beauty and detail. Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, artist Irina Vinnik is the creator, with a strong body of work that shows her unique range of subjects. Below are some examples.
More of her work is available for view on her Behance portfolio http://www.behance.net/IrinaVinnik.
Imagine RIT: Newsiversse
Today, Rochester Institute of Technology hosted the annual Imagine RIT Festival. Literally thousands of people came to the RIT campus to see the best of what students had to offer. While there were many exhibits that were beyond awesome, I feel as if I should be a good team member and mention the project that team IV has worked on for almost 20 weeks.
Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival is a campus-wide event that showcases the innovative and creative spirit of RIT students, faculty and staff. Visitors experience the breadth and depth of RIT through interactive presentations, hands-on demonstrations, exhibitions, and research projects set up throughout campus. Inflatables, games and multiple performance stages with live music and entertainment are also a hit with visitors of all ages. Held annually each spring, Imagine RIT is the annual kickoff to Rochester’s rich festival season.
Team IV consists of eight (soon to be graduating) students, four from New Media Design, three from New Media Interactive Development, and one from Multidisciplinary Studies. For two quarters (just over 20 weeks) we have been working on our project.
Newsiversse is an interactive feed reader application that ties into the Twitter API. Currently it takes the most popular content from five sites and displays them as well as Twitter Tweets that (usually) are directly related to the issue that you are reading about. The site went live today for the Imagine RIT festival. (check it out!)
What Is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social networking tool that allows users to post Tweets. Tweets are text-based posts that can be up to 140 characters. Twitter users can link to their friends’ accounts and see when they post new tweets.
What are Feeds and Feed Readers?
Web Feeds provide users of a site with data which is frequently updated. For example, if someone were to look at a web feed for CNN, they could view the most recent articles. Feed readers are tools that look at the data within the feed and present it in an easy to read way.
Why are we so awesome?
Newsiversse not only shows information from feeds but the Twitter tweets that go along with them. For example, if CNN posted an article about President Obama meeting the Queen of England, Newsiversse would show you the article as well as what Twitter users are saying about it. By using Twitter, we can see not only is big in the news but how people are reacting to the news.
The Swerve
Alright, So here’s the story:
I was sitting at home one day, humbly minding my own business, and peacefully watching “Green Acre’s” when all of a sudden just as Arnold the pig informed Mr. Drucker that Mr. Douglas had parked in the spot where he (Arnold of course) usually parks his bicycle MegaLongCat comes storming into my house, yelling and shouting in some far off language, (I think it was some weird cross between Manhattanese and the lower half district of Jersey city with a bit of Creole and Jamaican tossed in just to confuse me).
“Christoph hajuba relief check Wall-street discount seafood ‘mon!’” he exclaimed.
Which translated of course means “Hey whats up man? Let’s go party it up!”
Of course I told him I was much too busy to “party it up” as he called it, for I was trying to solve this conundrum of how a Arnold, being a pig and all, was able to ride a bicycle.
To make a long story short, Megalongcat handed me this package and said you should really check this out. The package read “swerve.” Apparently it was the worlds best neck hair remover. I wondered if he was trying to give me a hint, and then I wondered why he cared so much about my neck hair.
The answer of course was sewn into the fact that I probably the hairiest back and neck region (next to our barbarian friend Mageta the Bunny Pillager also known as Mageta Terrorizer of Kittens and Other Tiny Beings, as well as the Dreadful Swain Train of Pain)
So I said ok, why not i will try it out. Megalongcat said “No, no, no, I want you to review it, take a look at it, tell me what you think, and then post it up.”
By this point in our conversation, however, I finally determined that Arnold must have been using a tricycle as that would have been the only way his feet could reach the pedals. (But then I wondered why they would have called it a Bicycle in the show, which is now still causing me trouble to this very day).
[Images from http://www.theswerve.com/]
I took the Swerve out of it’s box and I gave it the once over trying to figure out how to use it.It was not until I pulled out and read the instructions that I fully understood.
I decided that in order to test it, I must compare it to other razors. I mean why buy something that you already have.
[Images from http://www.razorspares.com]
The first razor I tried out was a Mach 3 due to the fact that both had 3 blades and lubricant and what not. It was definitely troublesome trying to shave the neck area. I had to hold up another mirror to angle myself in the right position to see where and what I was shaving. After clumsily falling over myself and several minutes of frustration I got everything settled and started to shave.
Ow..Ow…Ow… you know how if you let your beard get somewhat long and then try to shave it with a razor how the hair kind of gets pulled out and your skin hates you for awhile. Yeah that’s what happened. It was difficult trying to shave normally which is from the top to bottom, so I had to shave against the grain, which on the chin is fine, but on the back of the neck it is a bit of a pain. Well, the shave went alright, and I hacked my back up fairly well. Now all I had to do was wait for the hair to grow back.
So several weeks and many episodes of Green Acre’s later it grew back to a point I deemed reasonable enough to attempt a shave. For the next test I used the same type of razor, however, I used the Fusion with 5 blades and vibration (I don’t know if that actually does anything but it makes you feel like it does). I had some of the same issues, such as the mirror, and the angling, but overall it was a much smoother and better shave than the 3 bladed. It was a lot less painful.
So now I thought to myself as I waited for the hair on my neck to grow back, how will the Swerve fair? It seems like it’s design may be more accommodating, but with only three blades will it hold up?
Well, the hair has grown back and I have just shaved with the Swerve. To my surprise it actually worked very well and I was able to get to more places then I thought…I mean…yeah holding the mirror was still tricky…but overall it was able to stand up to the 5 blade and out maneuver it. I think it works fairly well.
With all three of the razors I used though, the clean up sucked. Neck hair and shaving cream all over the floor. I also felt kind of stupid. However, if you want to shave your neck this is the tool to do it with. I honestly do not know how it works on the back because shaving your back seems to be more trouble than it is worth (I would just Nair that if I had too). This on the other hand seems like a great way to trim down the neckline a bit when used in between haircuts. The design really makes it easy to use, much easier than I thought it would be.
The Prices Range from $4.99 for a single and $12.99 for a three-pack; both of which can be purchased from their website www.theswerve.com
~FlakHound
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Repetitive Splendor – Patterns in Art and Design
Patterns patterns everywhere… though this has slowly turned into a ridiculous idea of mine, mainly because it has taken so long to compile, I hope that it really isn’t so ridiculous. Possibly slightly helpful? or inspirational? Who knows. So now that this post is complete…what exactly is it? This isn’t a post about patterned wallpaper found in your Nanna’s bathroom. This post is a celebration of sorts, of patterns and artists and designers who create them and create with them. So here’s a list of different pattern resources that I found.
Steven Meisel
[Images from http://www.artandcommerce.com/AAC/...]
These two images are from a series by Steven Meisel is actually what inspired me to do this crazy post. A brilliant set of photographs for a Spring issue of Italian Vogue, though I’m not sure about when the issue came out, it may have been in 2007. The human form and organic shape created by the clothing all blend together into an optically exhilarating flow of patterns and prints.
The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones, edited by Maxine Lewis
[Images from http://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Ornament-Owen-Jones/... ]
This book is a great little resource for inspiration, and as a reference to the basic characteristics of cultural ornament. And if you’ve been wondering what history behind it is it offers that as well. I bought it for the pure purpose of visual inspiration a while back and it has proved to be very helpful in times of creative blocks.
The book can be found on Amazon here.
Helen Dardik
[Images from http://www.oneluckyhelen.com/index.html]
These are just a few of a bunch of playful and colorful patterns, and there were oh so many great ones to choose from. Observing the details of each one of Helen Dardik’s patterns is absolutely necessary.
Pattern by Tricia Guild and Elspeth Thompson
[Image from http://belindaschneider.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/tricia-guild-pattern-book/]
This book has received great praise from pretty much everyone who owns it. It showcases bold patterns and their wonderful homes having been incorporated into decoration, a difficult task. Here’s just a little snippet of the product description offered by Amazon:
Tricia Guild is known for her bold and original fabric and wallpaper collections and her extraordinary ability to use colour and pattern in decoration. She is inspired by fabrics, techniques, motifs and designs from all over the world and from every period of history – brocades and damasks from the Far East; the rich history of botanical illustration and flower painting; checks, plaids and stripes from northern Europe; vibrant ethnic prints from India and Central America; painterly designs from Chinese and European porcelain; the bold abstracts and geometric patterns of contemporary painters.
The book can be found on Amazon here.
Rick Leong
[Images from http://rickleong.carbonmade.com/projects/25547]
This artist is based in Montreal, Canada. His many imaginative paintings have a softness to them, the same kind of fuzzy effect that appears in watercolors or painted silk.The patterns that emerge in his work are nature inspired, relating to the ocean… like waves or underwater landscapes, and lush magical forests.
Design*Sponge
[Images from http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/05/welcome-julia...]
Ever wondered how you could turn that wonderful illustration into your own repeating pattern? Design*Sponge offers a little step-by-step tutorial by guest blogger Julia on how exactly you can do this. A very useful guide and definitely something to read through if you don’t already know how to do this.
Sølve Sundsbø
[Images from http://community.livejournal.com/foto_decadent/1907831.html]
The photo series entitled “Bloom” from an edition of V magazine is photographed by Sølve Sundsbø and captures patterns and texture in extreme movement. The billowing plumes of floral fabrics create spectacular effect, each image featuring a stunning compostion that features body and garment as art.
dchan on DeviantART
[Images from http://dchan.deviantart.com/]
Another set of illustrated patterns that really benefit from a close up. The vibrant illustrations include blob monsters, Mexican wrestlers, music-loving cheese burgers, and dancing condiments. With the wild clash of activity in the patterns it all kind of looks like Paul Frank on acid.
Tatiana Plakhova’s Wrapping Paper Collections on The Behance Network
[Images from http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Wrapping-Paper-Collections/90569]
Though these aren’t downloadable, Behance has a good number of wrapping paper designs by Tatiana Plakhova, all beautifully illustrated. Each has its own unique geometric design ranging from the basic pinstripe, to the 70’s floral, to the very ornate optical illusion.
Patternhead
[Images from http://www.patternhead.com/]
Patternhead is a good place to find some crazy pattern tiles designed by John Rawsterne. There are a number of patterns available for free, and other detailed, high quality downloads available through the Patternhead store.
MEANNORTH: work by Naja Conrad-Hansen
[Images from http://www.meannorth.com/index.html]
This was an especially exciting find because artist and designer Naja Conrad-Hansen has a spectacular and broad collection of work. Her pattern work is more a combination of fashion illustration and an overflow of pattern, sometimes with a hint of photo-collage-like influences. Some very wonderful work here.
Web Design Ledger
[Images from http://webdesignledger.com/freebies/200-beautiful-seamless-patterns-perfect-for-web-design]
Finally, the popularity of using patterns is growing in webdesign, moving into the other parts of the website anatomy, no longer kept only in the background. There’s a long list of different patterns from Web Design Ledger. These patterns were pulled from deviantART and have a variety of uses.
A New Year, An Awesome Book, and the Candy-O-Matic…
For whatever reason, there comes a point when our logic and experiences take over. To put it frankly: our internal grown-up wins the war against our imagination. Which brings me to just a few words about an amazing book, rather, an awesome book, as in: An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton. The book, in the style of all the books many loved as a kid, was a huge hit when the first edition was published and because of its success of course, it’s being printed again, to be made available to ship some time in January (if you want a copy you should probably grab one now). The illustrations are detailed and magical, reminiscent of drawings that a child would make or one’s own early mock-ups of inventions that were never developed as planned… like the mansion made entirely of bubble gum… or the ray gun that turned enemies into a goldfish. And much like the beloved Dr. Suess books, it’s needless to say that not only is it inspiring but it rhymes too… and rhyming is always fun whether you like to admit it or not.
Here are a few images from the book:
[Images from http://www.veryawesomeworld.com/awesomebook/inside.html ]
More can be found about the book from http://radder.bigcartel.com/product/an-awesome-book and http://dallasclayton.com/products/
OCDD…Andrea Joseph’s illustrating super power
Coming across this work, I just had to share. UK based artist Andrea Joseph shows her talents in her remarkable illustrations mostly of everyday objects and a few creative interpretations. How much work goes into something as detailed as the washing machine or desk-top illustration is nearly unimaginable to me. Never before have I seen such extraordinary applications of crosshatching. Her illustrations are incredibly detailed and she claims to have “Obsessive Compulsive Drawing Disorder,” [ http://www.bestoff.info/2008/11/03/andrea-joseph-sketches/ ] obviously not a bad thing to have if these are the products.
[Images from: http://www.bestoff.info/2008/11/03/andrea-joseph-sketches/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreajoseph/ ]
More of Andrea Joseph’s work is available on her blog: http://andreajoseph24.blogspot.com/
And on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreajoseph/
Charlotte Day – Creative Surface Design
We’re in a posting frenzy this week. With a couple of minutes left till Christmas I thought it would be great to get just one or two last posts in before the Holidays. So with nothing but Christmas cheer in my heart I bring you Charlotte Day’s creative surface designs. This was yet another artist brought to my attention not only by resident blogger Katherine, but in the newest Computer Arts magazine that both of us subscribe to.
“Charlotte Day combines her passion for pattern and illustration with her love of plants to produce unique botanically influenced designs for textiles, stationery, wall paper, merchandise and editorial projects. While her main tools remain pencil and paper, designs are digitally assembled in order to create perfect repeats and provide work in commercially compatible format.” (http://www.charlottedaydesign.com)
The above image is some of his designer wallpaper that I thought was fitting for the season. Simple, creative, and visually remarkable Day’s work is a great example of tasteful wallpaper. Charlotte’s artowrk is reminiscent of the arts and crafts movement and takes the period of art in a new direction. Instead of my normal rants and reviews of artwork, I’m simply going to show some of Day’s work. Make sure to visit her website at:
http://www.charlottedaydesign.com
Featured Artist: Louis Roskosch – Simply Inspirational Artwork
I’ve been falling behind in reviewing, commenting, and posting all of the amazing artwork that Katherine(@fiametta137) keeps collecting and storing for me to post about. I’ve done a huge diservice to both her, and you the readers by not writing about these artists sooner. Today we’re going to take a look at Louis Roskosh and his inspirational, and simplistic character art that makes me wonder why I even try holding a pen to paper.
Roskosh was born on MAy 12th, 1984 and attended the Arts Institute of Bournemouth and recieved a BA in animation in 2007. During this time period and onwards Roskosh has been creating stunning illustrations remniscient of early 70’s pop art while managing to retain a large part of Roskosh’s personal aesthetic. The main motifs in his work seems to be that of story/fairy tales. Knights, dragons, robots, damsels in distress and damsels causing distress. His work is provacative, simple, attractive, and inspirational. An interesting thing I found with his work is that it is extremely textile, in that the way he colors images gives the impression that the illustrations could easily be printed or woven onto cloth and retain the same amount of quality. Below is more of his work which will speak for himself and make sure to check out his work at: http://www.louisroskosch.com/
19 Amazing Playing Cards from Around the World
Images from http://thecontaminated.com/cards-of-life-and-death/
Czech Nationalistic cards by Emanuel Neumann, c.1895
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/czech/index.html
Hand painted Dasavatara Ganjifa cards, c. 1950
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/india/dasavatara.html
Image from http://www.wopc.co.uk/japan/unsun.html
15th century Italian playing cards
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/italy/italia.html
The Book of Trades by Jost Amman, 1588
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/germany/ammon.html
Images from http://photography-arena.blogspot.com/2008/10/ukraine-human-feature-playing-cards.html
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/germany/ambraser.html
Waddington’s Barribal Series, 1933
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/waddingtons/barribal.html
‘Unique’ playing cards by Ian Roth
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/ianroth.html
Pippoglyph playing cards by Ben Crenshaw, 2004
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/pippoglyph.html
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/otc/aboutea.html
Images from http://www.wopc.co.uk/reviews/thedeal.html
Image from http://adnil.com/CARDS/jong.html
Invisible Playing Cards by Peter Woudt, 2002
Image from http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Invisible%20Playing%20Cards_10451_10001_15115
Frank Lloyd Wright playing cards by Frank Lloyd Wright
Images from http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/golden-klimt/index.shtml
Images from http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/aleister-crowley-thoth/index.shtml
And finally a very strange Chinese deck I picked up, with images of Chinese aristocracy. They also have little educational blurbs on each card, and apparently had a little trouble with the English translations.
Space Face and Blubber…Stirring Imagery by David Prosser
Though not much can be found about this artist, David Prosser’s illustrations are certainly stirring, filled with expression and quirky details to intrigue.
[Images from: http://ilikepencils.blogspot.com/]
15 Mysteriously Inspirational Images
- Artist: Yehrin Tong
http://www.debutart.com/artist/yehrin-tong/work/2341
- Artist: Gustaf Tenggren
http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/08/illustration-gustaf-tenggrens-grimms.html
- Artist: David Prosser
http://ilikepencils.blogspot.com/
- Photographer: Chuck Kimmerle
- Artist: Linn Olofsdotter
- Artist: Oliver Vernon
http://www.oliververnon.com/2008/07/24/2008/
- Artist: Naoto Hattori
http://www.naotohattori.com/home.html
- Artist: Koldo Barosso
- Artist: Nobumasa Takahashi
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/bamboolove/
- Artist: Eyvind Earle
- Artist: Sterling Hundley
http://www.sterlinghundley.com/
- Artist: Vladimir Kush
http://www.zuzafun.com/surreal-pictures
http://www.vladimirkush.com/home.php
- Artist: Tebe Interesno
http://www.graphic-exchange.com/archives/home_2008_10.html
- Photographer: Carl Chiarenza
http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/vexhibit/_PHOTOGRAPHER_Carl__Chiarenza_01/1/0/0/
- Artist: Kaveh H. Steppenwolf
René Magritte – Italy’s Largest Magritte Art Show
“MILAN – Palazzo Reale: Rene’ Magritte and the Mystery of Nature; around 100 paintings featuring Magritte’s signature apples, blue skies and birds; November 22-March 29, one of Italy’s largest-ever Magritte events.” (ANSA.it)
Today, as many of you might know, is René Magritte’s birthday; he was born November 21, 1898. His paintings both witty and thought-provoking are known all throughout the world. René Magritte was an extrodinary surrealist painter, although like many artists, it wasn’t until the near end of his life that his art was truly recognized.
Many of the paintings in this event come from the massive collection stored in Belgium’s Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts, the exhibition will host Magritte’s best-known works from the 1950s onwards.
The Son of Man by Rene Magritte
Magritte is great in the way he uses the contrast between day and night for realistic objects in odd settings, unlike other surrealist artists, who twisted the objects themselves. In addition to his famous paintings, this event will “explore the role of nature in Magritte’s lesser-known earliest pieces, when he toyed with futurist ideas, as well as forgotten works from the inter-war period.”
Many of the great modern and contemporary artist of today have been influence by Rene Magritte. Some of these artists include John Baldessari, Sherrie Levine, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Marcel Broodthaers and Martin Kippenberger. Many of these artist either include direct references to Magritte or clearly show many surrealistic representations that were used by him.
As said before the exhibition will contain hundreds of great paintings, if you happen to be passing through Milan, it will definitely be worth a visit.
When questioned about the exhibiton the shows curator Michael Draguet had this to say:
”Nature is omnipresent in Magritte’s artistic voyage, on the one hand it provides a myriad of themes, which the artist explores and combines at will, while on the other it is a framework for everything, a container that shapes every form of understanding.”
Halloween Roundup
Welcome readers to the Halloween Round up: a list of artwork inspired by fantastic visions of strange worlds, strange creatures, reflections of horror and the deranged. I’m sure there are many more artists to be found as Halloween nears, so part two could be just around the corner. For now, indulge yourself in some of in a small taste of Halloween:
Wasted Beauty
Chet Zar
Brian Despain
Dan Quintana
http://www.copronason.com/dan/
Jimmy Pickering
http://www.jimmypickering.com/
Laurie Lipton
Image from http://www.copronason.com/
Cotton With Edge
The words “daring” and “edgy” come to mind when looking at these collage pieces, some offering humor as well. Many if not everyone has heard the term “fierce” in reference to fashion, but not often is it used to describe illustration. But, though I don’t like using the term in this manner, I feel the need to dub these works (drum roll) “fierce illustration”.
These stunning images are illustrations by Sam Cotton, recently featured in the Exposure section of Computer Arts Magazine. The UK based illustrator works using a combination of digital and traditional techniques, with a talent for bringing realism into contemporary art. His captivating illustrations are “fashion-based”, gaining a sense depth through the use of the different mediums.
Enough cannot be said about these illustrations, and I was rather excited to find the pair that I did in Computer Arts, but thanks to the powers of the internet, more of his work can be found on his online portfolio: http://www.hundredpercentcotton.co.uk/
Once Upon a Wall…
The Cooper-Hewitt is featuring “Wall Stories: Children’s Wallpapers and Books” through April 5th, 2009. It is a collection that keeps us all in touch with fairy tales and the child within, and for those of us who can recall the nostalgia of having inspirational wallpaper in their rooms when they were growing up, or their favorite book to read through nap time at school. From the Cooper-Hewitt’s own description:
“Works on view will include papers illustrated with nursery rhymes and designs inspired by works of fiction and adventure, such as Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella. The exhibition also will trace the evolution of children’s books from instructional to fictional and include developments such as movable and pop-up books, which added an interactive element to children’s reading.”
For anyone interested in designing or illustrating, or writing children’s books this is a good exhibition to see. Read more about Wall Stories and get more exhibition information at http://cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/wallstories/
People’s Design Award…Last Day!
The Cooper-Hewitt’s People’s Design Award voting ends today at 6:00pm EST. In case any of you would still like to cast your vote there’s still time yet.
If you would like to have your say on the matter of which design is the best you can do so by visiting http://peoplesdesignaward.cooperhewitt.org/2008/ for instructions or go directly to the voting page: http://peoplesdesignaward.cooperhewitt.org/2008/browse/all/0
Artist of the Week: Vince Fraser – Creative Illustration
That picture just makes you stop and stare. With millions of things vying for your attention all at once, you soon find that the confusion creates a level of excitement that completes the piece. The above picture is entitled “My London”; aptly put when you take into consideration the volumes of pop culture that London spits out every year. Remember the punk fad in America? Well they’re the ones we got it from back when the middle-class wasn’t too happy about the establishment.
But I digress; the piece is done by the artist Vince Fraser, a 37 year old London based digital artist with huge roots in 1970’s pop culture. On closer inspection of the vibrant piece you can find major symbols used in London’s pop art; that is to say commercial symbols taken out of context and recontextualized into art. The double-decker bus, the yasar-arafat scarf, the buggy car, and more if you take the time to see for yourself. The most interesting part of this work, and as you’ll find throughout the rest of the pictures I’m going to post, is the heavily laden afro-centric themes of the funk period. I don’t know how big Funk was in London, but he manages to capture it with such skill that even my father and his afro would enjoy it. Below are other images by Fraser.
If you want to see more of his work you should check out his website: http://www.vincefraser.com where you can find his myspace if you ever want to get in contact with him. I wish that I could get the chance to collaborate on a project with him. And in Fraser’s own words: “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others”.
Featured Artist Gary Fernandez: Creative Art and Illustration
So after neglecting my duties as part of Creative Fluff, I finally decided to hunker down and write about our selected artist of the week. Granted, this artist was selected two weeks ago (unknown to him) but it’s better late than never right? I was pointed towards Gary Fernandez by my girlfriend who received a copy of the Computer Arts Magazine, he was the artist on the cover and that one picture was more than enough for the two of us to agree to write about him. Fernandez, a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, was originally based in Madrid but now you will find him in the peaceful rolling hills of Vancouver Canada. Miraculously(and lucky for us) being stuck up north hasn’t affected his artistic skills in a negative manner. He has done a myriad of work form companies such as Coca Cola, Camel Cigarettes, and even Nokia advertisements.
Camel’s, probably the only half decent cigarette beacause when people smoke them it doesn’t event your nostrils like hellfire. Fernandez found a deeper place in my heart by creative such stunning artwork for a decent brand name that had been dragged through the mud by years of bland branding.
Luckily commercial work isn’t the only thing that Gary Fernandez is capable of. As seen by the opening picture and the one above, Fernandez specialises in creative surreal landscapes and juxaposting them with innovative character illustrations that resemble something from traditional Japanese art mixed with American urban street art. The imaginative mind of Fernandez is one worth looking into. All pictures are from his website and you can head over there from the link below:
Mike Ming: Trendy Illustration Meets Commercial Industrial Design
The mainstream and the underground have been merging at an exponential rate in the past two years, and to put things into perspective lets take eclectic, trendy hip hop singers Santogold, and M.I.A. Both are known for their unique beats, melodies, and vocals which sets them apart from mainstream hip-hop. But just how underground are M.I.A. and Santogold? Not too long ago Santogold’s music appeared in a beer commercial, and then M.I.A. featured their song “Paper Planes” as the trailer music for the movie: Pineapple Express. The trendy underground is quickly moving towards the mainstream; part of this is due to the failing American economy, and part of it is simply because artists can no longer afford to starve (go figure). The question that remains is can these artists who become apart of the main stream retain their essential values and stand out from the rest of the muck. Mike Ming, a creative illustrator stands as a shining example that this is indeed possible.
Lets get a short background of Mike Ming out of the way before discussing his work:
“Brooklyn-based artist Mike Ming (born Michael Miyahira) brings fascination with popular culture and life experiences to the canvas.” – Dell.com
He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1995 with a BFA in Illustration and has since taken his artistic creativity and honed it into a personal and expressive style which he can call his own. Ming was contacted by Dell to provide illustrations for their new inaugural Special Art Edition Inspiron 1525 laptop.
“I want to create a sense of energy, playfulness, sophistication and psychedelic momentum when I started this…This new technique from Dell brings my inspiration—water and the energy it produces—to life and gives computer aficionados their own display of style.” – Dell.com
But what is the technology that makes it possible to have Ming’s creative artistic talent showcased so vividly? Dell describes it best:
“A new Dell manufacturing technique brings alive every color and brushstroke on the laptop’s cover, creating a fluid, graffiti-inspired tattoo effect that lets style pioneers add another level of individuality to everyday life.” – Dell.com
Ming’s work has been showcased in a series of galleries, festivals, and art shows all across the country and if you like the laptops, I highly reccomend visiting his website for more of his ecletic design style.
www.mikeming.com
Illustrated Apparel: Catalina Estrada and Maria Elvira Crosara collaborate
Colombian illustrator Catalina Estrada brings a sense of renewal to the traditional Latin-American style with fresh coat of vibrant color and imagination. Through her studies she has achieved a Graphic Design degree from Medellín, Colombia, and a degree in Plastic Arts from Barcelona. Her illustrations turn small magical worlds that work perfectly as graphic patterns, and have been used by Coca-Cola, Microsoft Zune, Nike, Levis and many other brands and organizations as well as featured in magazines like Communications Arts and Computer Arts. Most recently her collaboration with clothing designer Maria Elvira Crosara led to her inspiring illustrations being used in the Anunciação Winter 2008 collection.
For further information and images here is a list of my references:
Catalina Estrada’s website: http://catalinaestrada.com/
Anunciação by Maria Elvira Crosara: http://www.anunciacao.com/
A good interview/bio by Catalina Estrada can be found on Veerle’s Blog: http://veerle.duoh.com/art/comments/catalina_estrada/
[ ACDC ] – Black Ice Cover Art
This is the recently revealed cover art to AC/DC’s new studio album. The mirror image art and the grey and black aesthetic give off the hard rock vibe that the band has become known for. The band name in red with what looks like white clouds wafting over the lettering add a brilliant contrast to the cover.
Black Ice is the band’s fifteenth studio album; they’re first since 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip. It is scheduled to be released October 20th and will be store sold exclusively at Wal-Mart for the price of $11.88.
