Arts and culture magazine, Juxtapoz, has teamed up with urban lifestyle company, Upper Playground, and purveyors of canned, caffeinated alcohol Sparks, to present the second annual Ignite What’s Next Art Tour. Three different venues will showcase live painting by three of the top artists from the world of contemporary art in a multi-city tour. Sam Flores, Alex Pardee and N8 Van Dyke will collaborate on live painting amidst DJ’d tunes for a mash-up of art, music, and culture. The guys will be hitting up Lenny’s Bar in Atlanta on September 13th, Underground Snowboards in Boston on September 20th and The Marquee Theatre on October 3rd and 4th. Juxtapoz understands the diversity of the contemporary art audience and suggests you “mark your calendar, program your Blackberry, or spray paint it on your wall: Ignite What’s Next is back!”

In every major urban center in North America, it's not hard to find some form of outdoor public art. Its usually a large abstract sculpture with a bunch of people sitting around it eating lunch. Going beyond the static and structural into the animated and mobile, Lumen Eclipse is an ongoing public art project looking to add some kick to the idea of accessible public art by creating free, outdoor, contemporary motion art.

For over two years Lumen Eclipse has been creating outdoor video art installations, drawing crowds as well as big name collaborators like Yoko Ono, Michel Gondry, Encyclopedia Pictura, Miranda July and more. This year they're casting the net for talent even farther with their first annual LE:60 1-Minute Film Fest. Building on their mission of bringing genre-bending new film work to the masses, each 60-second short will be screened outdoors at Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA.

LE:60 is still open for submissions, but the deadline for entries is close (September 2). With the entry fee a mere $10 and some sweet prizes from Adobe and Red Giant up for grabs, you can't afford not to. After all, it'll only take a minute.

During a recent trip to Boston, I made it a priority to stay in the Liberty Hotel. Perhaps Boston’s most notable new luxury hotel, I had read some convincing reviews about it… its supposedly top notch service, historic ambiance, and in-hotel food options all led me to the front door.

Bottom line: this is a hotel for hotel connoisseurs, and for those of you out there who don’t yet know that you’re a hotel connoisseur, the Liberty may just clarify that question for you. I’ve decided to include an image of what the Liberty was in this post, because the hotel’s past is a major reason it is truly unique and worthy of praise. The Charles Street Jail, perhaps the best example out there of the “Boston Granite Style,” was built in 1851 in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. Over the years (until its closing in, I believe, 1990), it housed infamous as well as “pop” prisoners– Johnny Cash and Jane Fonda immediately come to mind. The Liberty retains the important character of its penal predecessor, somehow keeping the ‘wow factor’ but dispensing of that gritty and erie Alcatraz vibe.

With “ambience” quickly checked off my list, I turned to the service factor, or should I say, it turned to me. From the time I put the car in ‘park’ outside the hotel, I was assisted by the staff as if I were the only guest on the premises. Without ever feeling over-coddled, my bags were quickly whisked up to my room, and at the front desk, the check in process was streamlined with complimentary glasses of Vueve Clicquot. Later that evening, I discovered Clink, the in-hotel restaurant which sports ever-changing seasonal menus and has proved to be a legitimate Boston hot-spot, not just a convenient place to eat for hotel guests. The servers were as knowledgeable about the historical jail architecture retained in the hotel as they were about the menu. And the next day, when I inquired as to whether I could leave my luggage and valet-parked car at the hotel well past my check out time so I could walk around the city before my flight, they happily accommodated me.

Unyielding service is something we’ve all come to expect in luxury hotels, but the Liberty simply stands by itself in the way it pairs exemplary service with such a refined resurrection of a historic Boston jail.

While Achilles was one of the heroes of the Trojan War, we have to think that it's probably his handsomeness and not his penchant for brut force that inspired the founders of The Achilles Project to adapt his name, because if there's one word to describe this dual retail space and restaurant in the heart of Boston's Fort Point Channel neighborhood, it's certainly “handsome.” The site, co-founded by former music industry pros Michael Krupp and Shaka Ramsay offers guests a multi-faceted hip urban country club environment where they can choose to sip fine beverages, chow down on the exquisite cuisine created by Chef Michael Leviton at the Persephone restaurant or jam out to a guest DJ, and maybe even engage in some intense Xbox or Wii battles with their friends. If visitors tire from the food or fun and games, they can get their fashion fix by checking out the boutique area which “features exclusive and limited-run clothing and accessories from competitive to high-price point fashion lines.” It's sort of like a one-stop shop urban chic version of Dave and Buster's…but fun.

Darin Hager of Boston-based Heyday Footwear dropped us a line over the weekend to introduce us to some of his company’s newest styles, and we’re almost as excited as he is over what Spring’s got in store for sneakerheads. The SS08 collection features a lot of the same goodies we normally find compelling about Heyday’s collection (namely, a fresh approach to sneaker-design that results in an athletic/workboot hybrid and semi-subdued colorways), with a few surprises to mix things up. I’m liking this Rumspringa low, mainly because it’s just a good-looking shoe, but sort of because I think it would look amazing on a pirate. Also, in a heartwarming update for for all you home shoppers: The Heyday online store just went live this weekend, so it’s now possible to grab some of their Fall collection without getting out of bed. Woohoo, the only thing better than that is (was) Labor Day.

Heyday Footwear is a brand new footwear line created by Boston based sneaker designer Darin Hager. Darin has been designing shoes for Puma, Clarks and Sperry for so long he decided, “why not do it for myself?” Heyday’s designs are inspired by Redwing work boots, raw leather tool belts– no Air Force One silhouettes or cupsouls here. No word on availability yet, but say tuned. While this red/green/brown colourway is my favorite, you can check out a couple more photos after el jumpo.
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The Johnny Cupcakes ‘Creature’ Shirts are the first in a series of collaborations with illustrator Thom Glick, called ‘There’s Something In The Cupcake Mix!?!’ They are four halloween-ish style characters printed on t-shirts, and each shirt comes inside a matching cupcake mix box. Each box will have a cupcake scented scratch and sniff sticker, monster trivia and a bit of baking flour inside- so you have to actually dust baking flour residue off your t-shirt before you wear it. The whole series is limited to 300 shirt and box combinations for each design. The big release party is tomorrow at 7pm on, wait for it, Friday, October 13th at the Boston location: 279 Newbury Street. More exclusive shirt pictures after the jump.
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I had a chance to see the Adicolor demo at an Adidas Store in Boston last weekend and just had to share how much I enjoyed watching the creative process. The pure white ground really lets the artist imagination flow– I especially liked the graffiti style of this artist, who preferred to stay nameless. These pictures don't do them justice so if you have the chance to attend a demo, don't miss it! Also, congratulations to the winner of the Josh Spear: Adicolor Giveaway last week! And, if you haven’t seen the latest Adicolor Campaign, please check it out, it’s a must see.

In celebration of Karmaloop’s new store at 160 Newbury Street in Boston, they threw an extremely nutty party last week. And you better believe there was a JS.com correspondent on the scene. Apparently the venue was packed to the brim with beautiful people, tunes by talented DJ Clinton Sparks, and a great vibe. There were also ice sculptures, Karmaloop dancers, and original art by Jib Hunt, Shepard Fairey, and more. Early reports of the new store say it is fly as ever, as great as their website is, rumor is they really outdid themselves this time! Can’t wait to see it, congratulations guys!