Mother Nature never gets any beauty rest, and neither do the scientists studying her creations. Labs hum in the middle of the night, often unassisted by human hands at even the most ungodly hours. Noah Kalina’s “Labs At Night” photo series from Seed Magazine shows the beauty that is created when science meets silence.
Photographers can sometimes try to hard to imbue their photos meaning. Not Phillip Toledano. Though he has previously produced series on a number of different subjects — phone sex, video gamers, the Arctic — his latest is a very personal photographic journey. After his mother passed away, Toledano began to take photos of his 97-year-old father with dementia, to keep, as he writes, “a record of my father, and of our relationship.” In his collection, “Days With My Father”, the images are powerful without being self-conscious, and the brief statements he writes next to some give us a glimpse into the deep character of the man he is capturing on film. It’s all the more heart-wrenching because you can see that man slipping away.
No matter how far, far away you are from Skywalker Ranch, one thing will always ring true: fan boys and fan girls alike can’t get enough of the Holy Sextilogy. Over the last several days Star Wars freaks and geeks flocked to Japan’s Star Wars Celebration where they caught a glimpse of 2008 Vader Project. The exhibit was a result of the efforts of some of Japan’s top designers, such as Devil Robots and Mad Barbarians, who, when asked to re-imagine the helmet of the film series’ most infamous character, certainly came through with flying colors. We’re sure the masks made more than a few fans gasp (or however that Darth Vader sound goes). The celebration came to a close yesterday, with no word if, or where, the exhibit might pop up next. We suggest using the force.
Sometimes bad things happen. A couple weeks ago, an unknown spider bit Matthew Woodson and sent him to the hospital. The doctor's report requires a weekly treatment until the wound heals; roughly eight months. To make matters worse, Matthew is "in between" health insurance companies, which means he needs to sell some art. Luckily, he’s really good and has a rap sheet with clients like Wired, American Express and Threadless to prove it. While scary medical bills stack up every week he is asking for commissioned artwork … and by asking we mean begging. He will do anything, large or small — yes, that even includes tattoo projects. He also has some great prints available here and a full list of his illustrations on his website. Having gone through a spider bite personally, I know it can be quite scary. We wish Matthew a quick recovery. He has left a web of contact details on his blog for commission information or just to send a supportive note.
Anytime photographer Liz Wolfe releases new work, you know it's going to be a good day. But when she revamps her website and launches a new online store, that's even better.
We've had our eye on Wolfe for a while. In her latest work she continues to explore the visual and emotional interplay of creatures and confections. Cute and vile simultaneously, her photos are always a surprise. Innocent at first glance, each pieces shifts upon closer inspection, and what you see isn’t really what it seems.
In "Meat Tree", plasticine rainbows, rough and seemingly made by a child, sit like fruit inside a round tree made not of branches, but of ground beef. In "Diseased Deer", a smiling, pure white proto-Bambi sits on a bed of yellow flowers. Its affliction? A rash of candy confetti. Wolfe is an expert not only at creating visually arresting images, but of layering her subjects so that you always have to look twice. In each photo, despite it's candy-coated veneer, there is something more devious rippling beneath the surface.
In her new online store, two new miniphoto collections are now up for grabs. Focusing on two main themes of her work, "Sugar" and "Creature" each contain 10 6"x8" archive prints. Conversation inducing and featuring Wolfe's signature acid-bright colours, now you can have a little piece of Liz Wolfe in every room. Sweet.
Amy Martin designed these irreverent Time Travel Posters for McSweeney’s 826LA and the newest branch of the non-profit literary institution, the Echo Park Time Travel Mart in Los Angeles. With tongue wedged deeply into cheek, the voyage-themed posters feature vintage-feeling graphics paired with sayings like “Enjoy Fantastic Feudal Japan” and “Ice Age: A Winter Wonderland All Year Round!” They’d make a great present for a frequent traveler who runs into tacky vacation ads all too often. They cost only $19.99 each, but if you get all five in the collection, 826LA will take $10 off. All proceeds, as usual, will go to the organization. They go on display at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart tomorrow.
Joshua Gorchov has already done some impressive editorial/commercial graphic design work that has graced the pages of several major magazines, but his next project promises to be epic. In preparation Gorchov has launched a new website, The Big Black Cloud. The site marks the beginning of a collection of narrative heavy paintings that depict a man with a box shaped head and his curiously creepy world. Plus, the titles to his works are amazing: “Superhuman Strength and Physical Proportions” or “Miraculous Resurrection of One Sort or Another.” The exhibition becomes a journey of childlike innocence interacting with nature. And, like all good journeys, there is a blog and nice little breadcrumbs in his esty shop. We’ll let you know when exhibition details are available.
When curator Henry Urbach joined the staff of the SFMoMA in the autumn of 2006 he began collecting a wide variety of objects ranging from architectural drawings and models, industrial-design objects, books, posters, photographs, and furniture. All in all he gathered over 246 items all of which are now being shown in the museum’s 246 and Counting Exhibit. Among our favorite works on display are the three pieces from New York-based artist and designer Ju$t Another Rich Kid’s Indulgences (for the man who has absolutely everything!) collection. Rich Kid’s gold dipped charms, Cokespoon 1, Cokespoon2, and Swizzle Sticks add a dose of rebelliousness to the whole affair, but are just a handful of works to glimpse as the museum offers the rare chance to sneak a peak at every work stockpiled in one department over a two-year period.
Here’s the other Shepard Fairey news: three original prints of his iconic Barack Obama “Hope” illustration are being auctioned off for Russell Simmons’ performing arts charity, Art for Life. The 4′ x 6′ prints are the only three in existence, which means the bidding will be fast and high. Go here to place your bid. The online auction ends on Wednesday, July 16th, with the live auction continuing by phone July 19th.
Yesterday there was a lot of Shepard Fairey news to cover. Today we have an update from his better half. Shepard’s wife Amanda, the curator and co-founder of Subliminal Projects gallery in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, takes a second to explain in an exclusive interview with Karmaloop TV why this fresh art space focuses on promoting artistic diversity and discussion.
Fresh off returning from his traveling art exhibition in support of his Our Mountain book release, Steven Harrington (National Forest Design) has thrown more visual stimulation our way. With the help of his friends at Element Skateboards, Harrington gives us a sneak peak into the preparation that helped make his recent art tour a success. This brief clip shows a day in the life of Our Mountain as Harrington and company get ready for their opening at Paris’ Lazy Dog Gallery. It’s an interesting slice of life for those of us who have never been privy to the calm before the storm.
Zoe Regoczy is a U.K.-based designer with a load of new prints available in her shop. Her style doesn't include a lot of variation, mostly layered colors of girl's faces. Well — not just any girls. These girls are dangerous, like James Bond's femme fatals. Her prints aren't on sale, but for £20 we're tempted to redecorate our walls with the faces of our lovers from when we were spies. Check out her site for a full portfolio and sketchbook.
Lately, all we’ve been hearing is sad news about the plight of the honeybees and their declining numbers. Thank goodness for conceptual artist Jonathon Keats‘ newest endeavor. Next week (July 19th to be exact) Keats will choreograph the first ever bee ballet.
By planting hundreds of precisely arranged flowers in neighborhoods in San Francisco, Keats claims the bees will “dance according to the locations of the flowers they’ve found.” Except, well, you won’t really be able to see it because they’ll be dancing back inside their hives. Says Keats, “The bees will dance for themselves, not for us.” Dance bees. Dance like nobody in is watching.
I know for a fact that I’m not the only person on Earth who’s always harbored secret dreams of starring in my own cartoon adventure. The idea of bopping funny-looking animals on the head, or being bopped myself until I’m flat as a coin and then springing back to normal size–that stuff would be more insane that going out to a nightclub in the real world and doing tequila shots.
It’s not entirely the full effect, but a team of three artists are bringing us that experience halfway with their novel Oups interactive video installation project. A participant gets in front of a screen, and through pre-programmed animation that’s divided into three layers, follows the person’s movements and becomes the star of the show. The sample videos on their site show people strapped to rockets, being electrocuted or chased by spacecraft. The artists just closed their requests to designers to help add to the Oups library, and will be showing some of those submitted in the showcase at Sao Paulo’s and Rio de Janeiro’s animation fest, Anima Mundi 2008, happening at the end of this month. I’d take this over a free open bar any day.
Sometimes bad things happen. A couple weeks ago, an unknown spider bit 
Joshua Gorchov
When curator Henry Urbach joined the staff of the 
Here’s the other Shepard Fairey news: three original prints of his iconic Barack Obama “Hope” illustration are being auctioned off for Russell Simmons’ performing arts charity, Art for Life. The 4′ x 6′ prints are the only three in existence, which means the bidding will be fast and high. 
Fresh off returning from his traveling art exhibition in support of his 
Zoe Regoczy is a U.K.-based designer with a load of new prints available in her 
Lately, all we’ve been hearing is sad news about the plight of the honeybees and their declining numbers. Thank goodness for conceptual artist 
