In the early 1990’s a loose-knit group of like minded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art reflected the lifestyles they led…
Popularity: 55% [?]
Looking for a piece of art for your home, office or car? Simple! Select the colour you’d like. How much you’d prefer to spend. The dimensions of the space you have. And Ta Dah! Boundless will spit out a list of objet d’art that match your green curtains or lilac bed sheets.
It sounds like a good thing right? It gives minor artists exposure to a public that prefers to be told what to like. You can get a painting that matches your curtain pattern. It’s as easy and painless as only Web 2.0 can be.
Then why do I find this service quite horrible? Perhaps it’s too many years of liking art.
Popularity: 27% [?]
Ideafixa.com is a cool publication. It’s an e-mag that publishes bimonthly on specific themes. Issue 8 is Self-Portraits. While that has all the hallmarks of student disaster, the quality of the work is very impressive. The depth of the collection is fantastic, you just keep turning page after page after page. A lot of the work comes from South America and it’s refreshing to get exposed to the talent of the South. There is also a bio section for some of the artists which makes for some interesting reading. They work on a submission policy and the next theme is Food. So get out your pencils, camera, wacom, emo, etc and try and overwhelm the curators with your genius.
Popularity: 36% [?]
A friend asked to see some art that I reckon is fairly decent at the moment. Instead of hiding it in an e-mail, let me share with everyone. I’ve blogged about most of these people or sites before but there’s no substitute for an easy to click blog post to get motivated to look again. So, in no particular order, here’s some food for thought:
John Copeland - Probably my favourite painter at the moment.
Jim Woodring - A great contemporary Surrealist
Jeff Soto - Giant robots and rainbows never looked this good. Jeff’s work has been translated into a short film by 3 Legged Legs. It’s amazing to see this fine-art-street-type style in motion.
Ashley Wood - Famous for concept art, comic books and being a “little” brash at times. He paints on real boards and sells the original pieces to collectors. He qualifies as a real artist.
Hoogerbrugge - A Netherlands artist who uses drawings of himself to lay waste to the repititions of modern culture. Or something like that. This music video is the quick sampler of his work but check out the website for classic focussed Hoogerbrugge.
Michel Gagne - This is his 6th book, Frenzied Fauna: From A to Z.
ICanHasCheezBurger -The meme called Lolcats is something that many would not consider to be art, but it has been accepted adopted by the masses and shares some of the traits of art: visual aesthetic, an underlying theory, self-imposed executional rules, a sense of history. Is it -ism or is it -crapism? Will people in 100 years time have retrospectives of Lolcats? And in case you think I’m writing total rubbish look up the definition of Art.
Artshole - A UK listing for art
Art Krush - The e-mail publication and this list will see you right.
Drawn! - All about Drawers!
Popularity: 25% [?]
Jill Calder is a Scottish illustrator who has an amazing line style that she applies to type on occasion. I’d love to see some of this sensibility applied to standard corporate brand work. People might actually pay attention. Her illustration work is beautiful as well.
ps. There are some more images at Friend & Johnson, just look in the Illustrators section.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Julia Fullerton-Batten is a photographer who creates compelling images from the seemingly mundane. The old woman in the washroom. The school girls in a playground. The house of cards on a table. They all take on an unreal quality that just sucked me in. They’re sophisticated paintings of light and quite beautiful to sit and look at. The visual depth she puts into her images make them seem like stolen moments. Julia has shown her work in The National Portrait Gallery in London and the work must be quite something to see in person.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Colour Lovers have an article about colour used by some of the great painters, written in a 2.0 kinda way. They’ve grabbed the colours from these classic images and turned them into easy to borrow pallettes. If you have a website that’s looking a little dull, why not base it on your favourite Renoir and skin it right?
Popularity: 12% [?]
Gelaskins, removable vinyl skins for protecting and customizing portable devices, look great on iPods and laptops, and come in many art loving varieties. I’m eying this vintage Ralph Steadman take on Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. Or maybe this dark portrait of the Mario Brothers by Bob Dob. $14.95 and $32.95 (US) respectively.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Yes, there is no technology in this post more interesting than pencils and brushes. Which is why this stuff is amazing. John Copeland is the kind of painter I wish I could be. Aware, talented and prolific. I was blown away by his figure work and the painting above betrays his sense of humour. There’s a great interview with him at Fecal Face which reveals of few of his opinions and he talks about his Journals (which are art pieces unto themselves). If in doubt about your creativity, draw on paper.
John Copeland’s website
Fecal Face interview with Copeland
Excerpt from Fecal Face about his Journals:
Barron Storey got me started on those in 96, and I’ve been keeping them ever since. Small scale intensive sketchbooks where each page is made into a finished statement. Best part of that practice is the discipline and learning to follow through with each page till it works, experimentation and play. Anything goes in those, so you learn to play with images while working hard.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Andrew Bawidamann has made the 40’s pinup his own. Lots of slick renderings of army gals packing heat make for an interesting couple of minutes cheescake. If you collect gig posters, check out his collection.
Popularity: 9% [?]
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