This past summer José Parlá created two massive murals in Toronto for the Concord Project and to our delight he recently sent out a video of the process, with interviews and timelapse of the murals creation.
Parlá said of the project, "I made the works here in Brooklyn and installed them up in Canada after almost a year of work. My friend, Sarah Keenlyside, made a short video of the project."
Urban archivist Estevan Oriol and his father Eriberto were featured on Last Call With Carson Daly in this Spotlight. I didn’t realize that Estevan’s father also is a photographer, but it turns out they make a dynamic father and son combo. Watch the feature below which focuses on the themes of the father and son’s work, how they differ, the influence of LA and their shooting styles.
Das Racist made an appearance on"Late Night With Conan O'Brien" last night, they performed "Michael Jackson" off the recent LP Relax complete with a MJ impersonator, enjoy below…
Chan Hwee Chong is an illustrator from Singapore who has an amazing talent of recreating artistic masterpieces by drawing in a circular motion using one line. The result and is almost as amazing as the act itself. Pretty crazy. Some pieces will take Chong months of slowly moving the line. Being a perfectionist, any mistakes and a piece will be scraped and started over. He also appears to have a promotion with Faber Castell art pens as they creating a nice little video seen below.
Not much to report on this one outside of we have a new indoor Banksy piece. The piece sticks with the same technique or style of stick figures we have seen from the Bristol based artist as of late seemingly going with substance over style. Whatever the case it’s always fun to see new work from the man and it usually comes in batches so hopefully we will have more treats to share sooner than later.
I’m not the biggest fan of these deluxe edition re-releases, I mean they are great when an album has been out for ten years but when the band or label decide to re-releases one in the same 12 month period as the original drop it feels like a big F You to the fans who were there on day 1 buying it. On that note Jagjaguwar will be releasing a deluxe edition of Bon Iver's BNM'dalbumBon Ivertomorrow, and the package includes track-by-track video accompaniments. Take a one such example for track "Hinnom, TX", directed by Isaac Gale and David Jensen, below…
Fugazi’s Live Series project has been in the works for quite some time now and I am happy to say it was finally unveiled this holiday weekend , check out the details on this incredible resource below and then get to downloading!
“Between 1987 and 2003, Fugazi played over 1000 concerts in all 50 states and all over the world. Over 800 of these shows were recorded by the band's sound engineers. The goal of this project is to make each of these recordings available to download for a small fee. We will start with 130 shows and release more monthly until we're done. A searchable archive lists each show along with available photos, flyers and general show info. Each listing with a download offers a streaming preview of material for sound quality as well as the reading and posting of comments on the show and the recording.
The size and scope this archive dictates that it will remain a semi-permanent work-in-progress. We welcome visitors to contribute photos, recordings, corrections, and any additional info that may be missing from specific shows.
The standard suggested download price is $5 a show but we also offer a sliding scale option where you can set your own price, and an All Access site membership.”
This month’s Tattoo Age focuses on artist Freddy Corbin. In the first installment of the series we get familiar with Freddy's tattoos as well as see his two Oakland tattoo parlors, Temple and Tattoo 13. Freddy's style is further explained by his right hand man and fellow tattooer, Jason Mcafee. We also got a chance to speak with another Oakland legend, pro skater and chopper guy, Max Schaaf, about understanding Mr. Corbin's coolness.
Freddy has a long history in tattooing. Having worked with people like Dan Higgs and Ed Hardy early on in his career, Freddy has witnessed and made some important tattooing throughout his career. The second episode also has some great archival, courtesy of Michael O. Stearns, from some tattoo documentaries in the early 90's.
In the third and final part of the series and what might be the most personal of all the Tattoo Age episodes, Freddy talks about his family, the birth of his son, and what it took to get him clean from drugs. Freddy also opens up about an epic trip to India to tattoo the people of Varanasi for free on the banks of the Ganges River.
Gaia is the focus of the second episode of Here Comes The Neighborhood Having just graduated from art school this year, Gaia is the youngest artist to join the Wynwood Walls. For the Wynwood Doors, a portrait gallery of murals within the collection, Gaia painted a mural of Henry Flagler, the powerful oil and railroad tycoon who is responsible for modern day Florida. With this, he continues a practice of implanting modernist figures into landscapes that they have drastically changed for better or worse.
Grizzly Bear bassist, Chris Taylor, dropped a video for his side project; CANT. “Too Late, Too Far” is a bizarre series of scenes that looks like it would be at home in a David Lynch production. If you like what you hear check out Dreams Come True out now on Terrible/Warp.
During a stop at BBC’s Live Lounge, Florence & The Machine covered Drake’s “Take Care.” In a scenario that could only be described as a Charlie Kaufman like screenplay in its layers “I’ll Take Care of You” was originally done by Gil Scott-Heron, then Jamie xx remixed it. Then Drake remixed that, and now Florence covers Drake’s version. So here is where we are now…
The Weeknd finally offered up an Official video, albeit going back to earlier in the year with their choice. Abel and the xo-crew gang have teamed up with director Mikael Colombu to offer up the video for House Of Balloons closer "The Knowing," enjoy below….
A Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and with that, a gift: Onomatopoeia’s exclusive Perestroika Giving Thanks EP. Five mashups from Alex and Dan slugged out over the past month or two featuring everything we’ve been hooked on of late, from A-Ha to Childish Gambino. IT TURNS OUT THE GREATEST GIFT IS FRIENDSHIP YOU GUYS.
Much love,
Perestroika.
Perestroika – Giving Thanks EP
Recorded October Through November 2011 in AstoriaNY, USA
Keeping in the theme of art related videos comes Art As A Weapon, directed by Jeff Durkin.
“Art As A Weapon” will look at the connection between Street Art, Buddhism and the struggle for Democracy by using the closed country of Burma as a case study. The film will follow a Buddhist monk who’s building a library, artist Shepard Fairey painting a 30′ tall mural, and a elementary school art class learning how to use spray paint- giving the audience a peek into the lives of artists and how art has the power to move and motivate people.
The film will look at the collision between the big forces that shape humanity- Art, Politics, and religion in both the eastern and western worlds. By combining cinematography, with Buddhist philosophy the project will illustrate the power Art has in the fight for Democracy. Part art film, part political film, the goal is to continue spreading the word by using art as a weapon for peace in Burma.
You can donate over at Kickstarter to help bring the project to life!
Last week we brought you a preview of the upcoming series Here Comes The Neighborhood and if you took a moment to watch the video you are probably just as excited as we are to be watching the first episode which we now have below for our readers.. In the first episode founder Tony Goldman explains his vision for a town center, while Jeffrey Deitch, Arts Manager Meghan Coleman and Co-Curator Medvin Sobio offer their insight into the project's significance, taking us into the present day expansion. In addition, Photographer Martha Cooper and Miami based Mural Project Primary Flight weigh in.
Participating artists in this episode include: Kenny Scharf, Shepherd Fairey, Kunle Martins (Earsnot), Gaia, Shie Moreno, and Patrick McNeal from the artist collective Faile.
Featuring Original Music from: Hanni El Khatib, Ducky, Tommy Mas and Clams Casino.
Sometimes this week Perestroika will be dropping a Thanksgiving gift to our loyal readers in the form of a new EP we are calling Giving Thanks. We are excited and thought we might share the cover art with you in the meantime, stay tuned for more in the upcoming days.
M83 popped in to see Jimmy Fallon last night on his NBC show, treating the audience to a live rendition of “Midnight City,” a song that I for one can’t get enough of even all these months after its début on the internet and consequently the recently released double LP Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Enjoy the clip below complete with sax solo!
Looks like Shepard Fairey has re-appropriated his famous Obama Hope desing from the 2008 presidential campaign for the Occupy Wall Street movement, Shepard shared his thoughts on the piece below….
"This image represents my support for the Occupy movement, a grassroots movement spawned to stand up against corruption, imbalance of power, and failure of our democracy to represent and help average Americans. On the other hand, as flawed as the system is, I see Obama as a potential ally of the Occupy movement if the energy of the movement is perceived as constructive, not destructive. I still see Obama as the closest thing to “a man on the inside” that we have presently. Obviously, just voting is not enough. We need to use all of our tools to help us achieve our goals and ideals. However, I think idealism and realism need to exist hand in hand. Change is not about one election, one rally, one leader, it is about a constant dedication to progress and a constant push in the right direction. Let’s be the people doing the right thing as outsiders and simultaneously push the insiders to do the right thing for the people. I’m still trying to work out copyright issues I may face with this image, but feel free to share it and stay tuned…"
-Shepard Fairey
Fleet Foxes have posted the new video for "The Shrine/An Argument" from their 2011 LP Helplessness Blues. Watch the animated clip below, which was directed by FF frontman Robin Pecknold's brother Sean Pecknold.
I am a big fan of Steven Harrington's work. It is simple but well-designed and give me a vibe of why I miss living in California. He was recently chosen to take part in Beck's Green Box Project to create a representation of his "You & I" character.
I haven't come across any of these green boxes and have yet to try them out but it is an interesting concept.
"Travellers" is a short animation created by the talented animator Leo Campasso and was originally used for a the music video,"Despues de Ahora" by Buscando El Camino. Luckily he released it as a short film as the music in the video is quite annoying and it works better this way. It starts off slow, but gets nice and trippy by the middle.
I love his character work and clean style. Check out his site, for more including some sweet 8-bit style animation.
As a child growing up I loved the Guiness Book Of World Records, I think I pretty much picked up the book annualy with a whole lot of enthusiasm so you know I was taken right back to my youth yesterday on Guinness World Records Day as folks around the world attemopted to make their mark on history and get in the book.
In London’s Canary Wharf, Reebok CrossFit teamed up London-based street art duo 3D Joe and Max to complete what will go down as the world’s largest 3D street artwork to date. The piece measures 1,160.4 metres square and is 106.5m long, beating the previous 892.15metre square record set by China’s Qi Xinghua, and will remain on display for the rest of today. Check out some video’s of the process below…
James Blake has a new EP coming out on December 11th called Love What Happened Here and today we get to hear a little preview in the form of a radio rip of track “Curbside.” The tune is built around the same deconstructed percussion that characterised the young producers early releases, enjoy...
This weeks Happy Friday is for my ladies out there, never met one that didn't love horses. Check out the unorthadox hip hop dressage in the clip below and thanks to my budddy Jonathan Till for showing me this.
More news from the Florence + The Machine camp as the third video off the band's sophomore LP Ceremonials dropped in the form of track “No Light, No Light.” Check out the video below….
‘Here Comes The Neighborhood’ is a Short-Form documentary series focusing on the power of public art to uplift, inspire, and revitalize urban communities. The Pilot Season revolves around the district of Wynwood Miami, featuring a small army of internationally acclaimed and locally respected street artists, graffiti writers and muralists.
In 2009, urban planner Tony Goldman partnered with Jeffrey Deitch (Deitch Projects, MoCa Los Angeles) to create the Wynwood Walls. What began as a modest projectwith a series of drab parking lots and factory facades gained steam quickly to became a breeding ground of murals from some of the biggest names in Street Art including Futura, Shepard Fairey, OS Gemeos and others. The Walls opened for Art Basel 2009, and now two years later the collection has expanded to include over thirty artists from around the globe, becoming one of the largest concentrations of commissioned public art murals in the World.
‘Here Comes The Neighborhood’ examines the project in the first person, using this season’s new artists and their commissions as a lens to explore a neighborhood in transition. The Series is framed by insightful overview and concluding episodes, providing the full scope of past, present and future. There to capture it all is legendary documentary photographer Martha Cooper, who has been photographing the walls since they began in 2009. Her photographs will also appear in a Special Edition Art Book “The Wynwood Walls and Doors” released in connection with this years new commissions and Art Basel 2011.
Several episodes of the HCTN series will release leading up to Art Basel Miami 2011. To keep up with the latest ones, make sure to check HCTN.tv.
Feist has revealed her new video for “How Come You Never Go There” off of her recently released sophomore LP Metals. Check out the black and white clip of our lady wondering a forest below…
It has been a long time since there was a new Primus video, eleven or so years to be exact which is a shame since the boys always had such fun clips. With the recent release of a new LP, Green Naugahyde, it was only a matter of time before we would be getting some new visuals from the band, check out “Tragedy’s a’ Comin’” below…
If you've been sippin' on som' syzzurp chances are you'll really enjoy this (Sincerely Yours approved) chopped & screwed version of jj's excellent mixtape "kills" (which was given away by the Swedish duo last Christmas and is still available as a free download here) by newcomer Joel Rampage. If slowed down hip-hop is your cup of drank than you should definitely give this a go. Download it for free here.
Really enjoying this sunny track by San Fransico producer Blackbird Blackbird. While the Bay Area is far from the Balearic Islands, there is much in BB's sound, surfy guitar riff aside, that ties him to the balearic sound whose revival has been spearheaded by Swedes such as Air France, Tough Alliance and jj. Listen to or download "Tear" the lead track from his upcoming EP "Boracay Planet" below:
The Rapture have released two videos to accompany "Sail Away” off of their latest LP In the Grace of Your Love, a short version and an extended version. The clips were directed byKris Moyes, view the shorter of the two below…
REVOK will be bringing a new body of work he is preparing in Detroit for a show in Germany at Vicious Gallery this December. While in the ever deteriorating city, the graffiti artist explored the abandoned, homes and commercial building for materials to incorporate into his art. Collecting old signs, walls, parts of furniture, and more he then fashioned his findings into wood constructs thereby adding a little bit of the city’s history into the creations. Check out the short video below to see firsthand…
Vice catches up with Mr. Powers in this episode of Art Talk to explore his new project "Love Letter to Brooklyn" in the heart of downtown at the old Macy's parking garage. We get a behind the scenes look into his career as ESPO, how his work has developed over the years, and his life as a dad.
For those in the NYC area, make sure to hit up Livingston Street Market this Saturday.
Radiohead remixes are coming out left and right these days, some hits but most of them are misses. Misses in the sense that the original is just so much better, so why listen to another version.
I was pleasantly surprised to see one from Deadmau5, who is known for having somewhat of a heavy chaotic sound. His instumental remix of Radiohead's "Codex" is quite beautiful and not what I was expecting at all. Hopefully more to come.
In 2010, musician Nick Pittsinger took a boring pop song, "U Smile" by Justin Bieber and made it interesting. How? He slowed it down by 800 percent and it become a 35-minute ambient opus.
It has been out for a while and there have been remixes left and right and knock offs but it is still an interesting listen even as background music.
Not sure if the Bieber folk are to blame but it has been pulled from most sites that were sharing it as if it was recognizable in the 1st place. This stream is from the NY Post who will probably kick our ass.
I’m not the biggest fan of the Bloody Beetroots but they always seem to work with artists that I respect and their latest video is a prime example of that. Dennis Lyxzén of legendary hardcore band Refused guest’s on “Church Of Noise” below…
If you like deer being deer but in slow motion to dubstep then you'll love this video for UK-based band Mattawhich wasdirected/animated Kim Holm. That's about all that can be said about this video.
November 22 marks the release of Salem’s follow up to last year's King Night long player with a new EP, I'm Still in the Night, via IAMSOUND. Check out the video of the Michigan bands cover of Alice Deejay's trance anthem "Better Off Alone". Directed by Salem, it features "found footage" of paparazzi following Gisele Bündchen.
A new video has appeared from the Wu Lyf camp. The clip is a fast-paced run through rural areas set to the groups excellent frshman LP highlight "We Bros", watch it below…
There is a growing interest in bootlegging video game cinematography to create something totally new, especially with the use of open world games as source material. This one takes music and landscape scenes from the hugely successful western title "Red Dead Redemption" by Rockstar Games, (who are better know for their Grand Theft Auto series) and gives them that Koyaanisqatsi treatment. Watch below:
After the release of early single "Stay Gold", The Big Pink release yet another single ahead of their album "Future This" set to come out in mid January. "Hit the Ground (Superman)" demonstrates the mellower yet always infectious songwriting ability of the British duo. According to the press release and judging by the brilliant AraabMUZIK remix of "Stay Gold" we can expect some big remixes of the track soon. Until then listen to the original directly on the 4AD website.
Looks like DJ Shadow and Little Dragon‘s collaboration “Scale It Back” is the next track off of the producer’s recently released LP The Less You Know, The Better to get the video treatment. The video was directed by Ewan Jones Morris & Casey Raymond, enjoy…
This week Sunday Matinee was shot at NYCWTF in January 2010 and is a whimsical journey into audio and sound from London’s Eclectic Method (You MUST SEE their video autobiography) – The trio made up of Jonny Wilson, Ian Edgar and Geoff Gamlen – helped pioneer the emerging art of audio- visual mixing since first cutting U2’s Mysterious Ways music video with the Beastie Boys’ Intergalactic as an experiment back in 2002. The group’s audio-visual mash-ups feature television, film, music and video game footage sliced and diced into blistering, post-modern dance floor events. It’s a cyclone of music and images mashed together in a world where Kill Bill fight scenes and Dave Chappelle’s Rick James rants are ingeniously cut and looped over bootleg samples, DVD scratches and pumped-up dance anthems. It’s a real-time subversion of technology and media performed live on video turntables for what LA Weekly called a “mesmerizing” sensory overload.”
I know this video has been posted to death all over the place but I feel it needs a comeback like every 6 months. A viral video made before videos went viral.
Birthed as a parody of the famous 1985 Chicago Bears "Superbowl Shuffle", the "Super Broker Shuffle" was an attempt by the Southern Food Brokerage, a Alabama based food brokerage company,to still up interest in placing basic groceries in stores like margarine, Hawaiian Punch and Cheese Puffs. Some employees are obviously putting in the effort and others don't. Either way unfortunately it does a good job of perpetuating the myth that white people have absolutely no rhythm.
There is a new Banksy piece in London at the same canal spot where Banksy and Robbo have been battling back and forth. But this piece is a 'Robbo' tribute, It features a silver outline of the original piece King Robbo did back in 1985 along with a 'candle' stencil fashioned out of an industrial spray piece.
Surely a sign of making peace by Banksy as Robbo has been in the hospital since sustaining a head injury months ago.
Korean artist Kyung Sunghyun’s work has a diverse and layered narrative. His work is created through various frameworks, with one of the main foundations being about ‘shakiness’. It’s as if the image is shaky due to an incorrect over exposure on a photograph. In fact, Kyung Sunghyun’s paintings reinvent the overexposed photographic image. However, his reinventions don’t speak specifically about the shakiness of the image, nor does he emphasize that shakiness. To Kyung, shakiness blurs the shape, at the same time revealing his subject’s true emotional and psychological state. At a closer look at his paintings, one finds that images of faces from different angles, such as frontal and side views, are superimposed upon one another. This expression exposes his desire to better reveal his subject in the portrait.
The results often capture a feeling of uneasiness, paranoia, and alienation which is what personally draws me to the work, enjoy….
"Scar Violet" - 2007 , Oil on Canvas, 75.2x54.7cm
"The Student" - 2007, Oil on Canvas , 161.5x161.5cm
