Posts Tagged ‘Art’
The Gray-Haired Graffiti of L.A.’s Oldest Street Artist
From Ian Fortey at Asylum.com:
“Cops in L.A. have spent months tracking down a vandal who has caused thousands of dollars worth of damage by slapping “Who is John Scott?” stickers on buses, bus shelters and any other flat surfaces he could find.
Typically this is the domain of teenagers putting up ads for their garage bands, but this time, it was the work of a senior citizen. 73-year-old John Scott is officially the oldest person ever arrested in L.A. for street vandalism, beating the previous record holder who was 36.”
EyeWriter Source Code Released To The Public
This technology is pretty incredible. via wooster collective
The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.
Members of Free Art and Technology (FAT), OpenFrameworks, the Graffiti Research Lab, and The Ebeling Group communities have teamed-up with a legendary LA graffiti writer, publisher and activist, named Tony Quan, aka TEMPTONE. Tony was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, a disease which has left him almost completely physically paralyzed… except for his eyes. This international team is working together to create a low-cost, open source eye-tracking system that will allow ALS patients to draw using just their eyes. The long-term goal is to create a professional/social network of software developers, hardware hackers, urban projection artists and ALS patients from around the world who are using local materials and open source research to creatively connect and make eye art.
This week the team behind the EyeWriter project released all the Source code, free software, DIY instructions, and eye tags by Tempt1 to the public at eyewriter.org
The Ten Most Amazing Things From the New Lady Gaga Music Video
A fun list inspired by the best music video for years, by James Brady Ryan in Nerve.com:
Guys, I don’t even know. Can you really “list” something that clearly comes from beyond the borders of our dimension, and may not even adhere to the concepts of mathematics as we know them? YES!
So, the video for Lady Gaga’s new single, “Bad Romance,” is out. (Working title: “Bad Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”) You can watch it here, and then, once the screaming is done, you can join me for a list of the best/scariest moments from the video itself.
10. Hello Gaga:
Fun fact: this is how Lady Gaga actually sees other people.
Remell’s Subculture Sculptures
From Nick P. at Black Sun Gazette:
I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. And I like Remell’s subculture sculptures a lot. Remell has molded some of the most uncannily life-like sculptures I have ever seen. Life like not so much in that they look like real people. But life like in that you wouldn’t be surprised if one of his figures looked up at you and started talking.
Your Very Own Hex Sign
Pennsylvania hex sign painting is a type of traditional folk art that is alternately viewed as a decorative tradition and as talisman fashioning. The symbols and designs on the signs may represent a family line or locality or they may have magical power to protect a barn from lightning or ensure a bountiful harvest. Check out these great images of Hex Signs and follow the links to eBay to find one of your own.
Top Ten Old Guy Hardcore Bands
From Nick P. at Black Sun Gazette
I wrote an article on my top ten hardcore bands a while ago. I took that article offline because I was a bit dissatisfied with it — both the list and the writing. So I’ve decided to rewrite it, but as two articles. The first, the one you are reading right now, is about classic American hardcore. The type of stuff covered in the film of the same name. These bands whet my appetite for fast songs, shaved heads, bad attitudes, and hate hate hate.
When you’re fifteen years old in 1994 the subtle beauty of The Clash don’t really appeal to you. Especially when half the bands on the radio sound like sub par Stiff Little Fingers. Add to that the idiotic peacocking that…
Taxidermist Brings Flying Monkeys and Frankensquirrels to Unlife
Lauren Davis writes on io9.com:
Need an unusual gift for the cryptozoologist in your life? Sculptor Sabrina Brewer’s medium is dead animals, which she mixes and matches to create fantastical creatures, from the more traditional griffins and unicorns to El Chupacabra and undead three-headed squirrels.
More on io9.com
H. R. Giger: Father of the Alien
Wolfgang Dios writes in the National Post:
Three decades ago, a loathsome, worm-like parasite burst from the chest of a hapless spaceship crew member — an electrifying moment that made cinematic history, as well as the reputations of pretty well everyone concerned. Sigourney Weaver, playing beleaguered Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, had previously best been known for a minor role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, and director Ridley Scott for his work in British television commercials.
The creature was designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger based on the nightmarish creature that had appeared in his then just-published art book, Necronomicon (Masks Of The Dead), which director Scott had seen. Together the two conferred on what the parasite should look like when it erupted from its human host’s body. Giger readily admits he was influenced by another artist. “It was Francis Bacon’s work that gave me the inspiration,” Giger said, “Of how this thing would come tearing out of the man’s flesh with its gaping mouth, grasping and with an explosion of teeth … it’s pure Bacon.”
Giger didn’t directly work on any of the sequels, and his subsequent Hollywood experiences were not always salutary. Though Alien brought him worldwide renown and an Oscar in 1980 for best achievement in visual effects, the filmmakers continued to use variations on Giger’s original creature without involving the artist. “With the fourth Alien film, they just took my creations, they used my ‘chest-burster’ and they didn’t even give me any credit. It’s offensive. I mean, one of the reasons the film became so famous was because of my Alien, wasn’t it?” The question is rhetorical. He pauses. “For the fourth Alien film, Sigourney Weaver got US$11 million. I received nothing.”
Read more in the National Post
R. Crumb Discusses His ‘Book Of Genesis’
Whether you like his art or not, R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis is an interesting work. I especially like that he has the Serpent in the Garden of Eden look like some sort of reptilian humanoid alien, as if it’s ripped from David Icke’s imagination.
Here’s an interview with Crumb on FORA.tv:
The Art of Death
During the past weekend’s festivities, many of us decorated ourselves and our surroundings in the trappings of the dead. Sometimes, the dear and deceased return the favor, allowing their bones and belongings to be transformed into sacred, artistic installations that remind us of our own fleeting days.
All things must pass…
The WebUrbanist offers this handy countdown of the world’s most gorgeous (ghastly?) ossuaries.
Shepard Fairey: Clandestine Asshole
Secrecy is of utmost importance to the graffiti artist. After all, their chosen medium remains illegal. And good graffiti rivals more traditional artistic pursuits, especially now, when controversy is valued much more than pure talent in the art world.
I used to be a huge fan of Shepard Fairey (of Obey/Giant fame) while he was still underground. He’s since ruined the surprise for everyone.
Fairey broke rule number one of guerilla art: you never, ever show your face. You are not doing this for publicity, after all, nor for money. You are doing this to get your anarchic message to the masses, whether they like it or not.
As well intentioned as Fairey’s Barack Obama portrait may have been (and I believe that is debatable) it will eventually prove to be his undoing.…
Shepard Fairey Responds To The AP: Yes, I Lied. But It Was Still Fair Use.
Jason Kincaid writes on TechCrunch:
We reached out to Shepard Fairey about the AP’s release this evening claiming that he had admitted lying about which image he used as the source image for his iconic Hope poster. He sent us a response (reproduced below), which effectively confirms what the AP says.
Tonight’s admission focuses on the photo that Fairey originally claimed to use during his creation of the ‘Hope’ poster — he claimed to use an image other than the one the AP claims to own, and then lied and deleted evidence when he realized he was wrong. Both were taken at the same press event. The one Fairey originally said he used showed Obama next to George Clooney, the one he really used was a close-up. The AP has succeeded in character…
Nazi Gnomes Invade German Town
Rob Quinn writes on Newser:
Some 1,250 controversial German gnomes giving the heil Hitler salute will greet visitors to the center of the German town of Straubing beginning today.
The artist behind the gnome blitzkrieg says the installation, Dance With the Devil, is designed “to get people to think, to react,” and to draw attention to the rise of far-right movements across Europe.
Giving the heil Hitler salute or displaying Nazi imagery is illegal in Germany, but artist Ottmar Hoerl has successfully defended his work in court, saying it ridicules rather than glorifies the Nazis.
“In 1942 it would have been the Nazis massacring me because of this piece of art,” he said. “I am presenting the master race as garden gnomes, and that falls into any sensible definition of satire.”
