It's like a crazy dream!

Another callabo between Murakami and Louis Vuitton! Makes me want to go and get that trunk!

ERNIE BARNES (1938-2009)

A former professional football player, artist Ernie Barnes is best known for his unique figurative style of painting and is widely recognized as the foremost African American living artist today.

Born Ernest Barnes, Jr. on July 15, 1938 to Ernest Sr. and Fannie Mae Geer Barnes during the Jim Crow era in Durham, North Carolina, his mother worked as a domestic for a prominent attorney. As a child, young Ernest would accompany her to work and was allowed to peruse the extensive collection of art books. One day in junior high school, a teacher found the self-admitted fat, introverted young Barnes drawing in a notebook while hiding from the bullies who taunted him daily. This teacher put him on a weightlifting program and when Barnes graduated from high school, he had excelled in football and track and field.

Segregation prevented him from considering nearby UNC or Duke University, so he attended North Carolina College on a football scholarship and majored in art. He was drafted by the then-World Champion Baltimore Colts football team. He then spent the next five seasons as an offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. In 1965, New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin recognized Barnes’ artistic potential and replaced his football salary for one season so he could devote himself “to just paint.” One year later, Barnes made his debut in a critically acclaimed solo exhibition at Grand Central Art Galleries in Manhattan and retired from football. His autobiography “From Pads to Palette” chronicles his transition from athlete to artist.

Barnes’ ability to capture the powerful energy and movement of sports has earned him “America’s Best Painter of Sports” by the American Sports Art Museum. In 1984, he was appointed official sports artist for the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles. His sports commissions include “The Dream Unfolds,” for the NBA to commemorate their 50th anniversary; “Fastbreak” for Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss; and paintings for the owners of the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots football teams.

For over 40 years, his neo-mannerism style of art has been admired and collected internationally. His national traveling “Beauty of the Ghetto” exhibition in the 1970s featured some of his timeless works as “Storyteller,” “High Aspirations” and “The Graduate.” His famous 1971 “Sugar Shack” dance scene appeared on the “Good Times” television show and on the Marvin Gaye album “I Want You.” This image has been widely imitated and Barnes’ expressive style has influenced countless aspiring artists.

Barnes’ art has been used as an educational tool to empower youth. The power, grace, intensity and fluidity of his work – combined with his celebrated variation of genre and sports themes – has given him an unequaled place in the history of modern art, despite the domination of abstract art throughout his career.

SUPERFLAT FIRST LOVE - TAKASHI MURAKAMI FOR LOUIS VUITTON

Following up on the previous post about the new Takashi Murakami in-store decoration for Louis Vuitton and the new Multicolor Spring Pallet, the artist also produced a great little animation movie - Superflat First Love. The plush toys that are in store, appear in the animation movie as well.

Odd But Cool

MARGOT QUAN KNIGHT

Beginning with a sequence of photographic images created while a researcher at Fabrica—Benetton’s communications and research centre founded in 1994 to foster young creative talent from all over the world—Margot went on to develop her conceptual photography in bundles of themed images.

She draws inspiration from a rich history of photographic artists who focus on the body and her parents’ medical textbooks. She says, “I begin with objects or bodies or plants and try to give them more life, or a different kind of life. Loneliness, exuberance, and wonder take on physical form.” Her work has been exhibited all over the world and appeared in over 40 international publications. She currently lives and works in Seattle, where she is working on a new series called Procreation.

This is Crazy Beautiful!!!!

“SCINTILLATION”

Directed by Chassaing Xavier.

This is an experimental film made up of over 35,000 photographs. It combines an innovative mix of stop motion and live projection mapping techniques.


SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.

This Shit is crazy!!!!!

A piece by Bob Turek in a series called Object Remix.

speakers

fiberglass mannequin
hand built stereo amplifier
36" x18" x12"

Anthony Lister & WK Interactive at Elms Lesters Gallery

Video journalist Dan Fontanelli recently caught up with comic inspired artist Anthony Lister and WK Interactive at London’s Elms Lesters Gallery during an ongoing exhibition. The video provides some insight on the superb artwork and interesting personalities featured in the show.


WK INTERACT + ANTHONY LISTER at Elms Lesters Gallery, London. from Dan Fontanelli on Vimeo.

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Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak Album Cover by KAWS

You’ve probably already heard the leak tracks from Kanye West’s new album, 808s & Heartbreak. Whether or not you like his new musical approach, the album will be dropping next week on November 24th, 2008. For the iTunes release of 808s & Heartbreak, Brooklyn based artist KAWS has created a special a special album cover as well as some album art.

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XLarge x Takashi Murakami Watch

Looks like XLarge is hooking up with renown Japanese artist Takashi Murakami on a watch made by Citizen. The piece features a futuristic animated design, much like Murakami’s cartoony renditions while his artwork is the centerpiece showcased on the backing. Details are dim but it certainly looks like something to look forward to.



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Li Wei

Li Wei is a beijing artist who is well-known for his gravity defying photographs.

Most of wei’s work include himself in the image, typically in a surreal and impossible pose. whether he is upside down or hanging off a buildings, his images often spark the viewers imagination.

Damien Hirst “Hallucinatory Head” Sculpture

Damien Hirst presents a new series of 50 skull sculptures - the Hallucinatory Heads. Painted with the Spin painting technique, that First is known for and has also heavily used in his last Levi’s collaboration collection, the sculptures are available through Other Criteria.

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Richard Prince “Canal Zone” Exhibition

Looking back upon his roots and the source of much political controversy, the Panama Canal is the focus of eclectic American artist Richard Prince’s latest exhibition the “Canal Zone”. Under the show’s pretense, the Panama Canal Zone has been reappropriated as a post-apocalyptic area featuring “leshy female pin-ups, Rastafarians with massive dreadlocks, electric guitars, and virile black bodies” as they run riot against a sub-tropical backdrop. The presentation takes on a distinct look as Prince creates a literal story-board style approach including printing pictures onto canvases. Another notable approach includes a “pulled on” style, a technique which involves “a primitive collage technique whereby printed figures are roughly cut out, then the backs of those figures painted and pasted directly onto the base canvas with a squeegee so that the excess paint squirts out on and around the image.” The exhibition is currently on display at the Gagosian Gallery until December 20th.





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Ron English "The Secret of Kiss"

The work of pop-artist Ron English is the recent focus of his “The Secret of Kiss” exhibition at San Francisco’s Shooting Gallery. Re-interpreting a number of classical works of art with the careful application of notable Kiss influences, the art sets out to entice the viewer into assessing climates of politics, society and media using his signature style. The Secret of Kiss runs from now until December 6th, 2008.
Ron English “The Secret of Kiss” ExhibitionShooting GalleryTuesday - Saturday 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm839 Larkin St.San Francisco, CA








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Charles Krafft

Charles Krafft from Patricia O'Brien on Vimeo.

Taking cues from military imagery, ceramic specialist Charles Krafft takes his skill of porcelain making into another realm of design with the creation of “disasterware”, combining highly controversial historical themes within the ancient art of ceramics. Definitely taking a step away from the “norm”, Mr. Krafft explains his reasoning for the creation of such pieces and how they represent his true form as an artist.

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LOUIS VUITTON STORE NYC X TAKASHI MURAKAMI

The only thing that would get me to walk in a Louis Vuitton store without money.

ARTIST BRIAN VIVEROS

Brian’s recognition accelerated with his participation in The Art of Porn exhibition held in Switzerland (1997), where he exhibited with H.R. Giger, thanks to a friend and art advisor Les Barany (Giger’s agent).

Since then, Brian’s work has been in numerous gallery shows and exhibitions in the United States and Europe, and has appeared in Secret Magazine, In the Flesh, Skin Two, Drawing Blood, Darks Art, and the short story, “The Magdalena” in Fetish Magazine.