May 24, 2007
"PLANET UNICORN" HEY!
"Planet Unicorn" is a funny online animated comedy series. It is so ... well, you just have to see it and complete the sentence yourself.
Domo arigato to Kate L. for the tip!
Posted by Supercore at 01:28 AM
May 22, 2007
"Cave Rulz" Episode 1
What happens when a group of Flash developers and programmers in the interactive department of a major global advertising agency's New York office release pent-up creativity in the form of an episodic video comedy series about their work area? "Cave Rulz" ... that's what happens!
Posted by Supercore at 11:16 PM
May 15, 2007
Street Artist Banksy Gets Profiled in the New Yorker ...
If you're anybody of some minor consequence on the verge of being somebody of major consequence, then you know you've become the latter (or have "made it") when you have been profiled in the New Yorker magazine. Britain-based street artist Banksy is the subject of a full profile article in this week's issue of the esteemed New York weekly in a piece titled "Banksy Was Here" by Lauren Collins. Dubbed "the invisible man of graffiti art" -- a description that would apply equally to almost call "graffiti artists" -- Banksy is perhaps the street artist with the biggest name recognition of them all, at least in the United Kingdom. But his art and his name are becoming familiar to the global art world and pop-cultural cognescenti. Banksy is fast becoming the world's first international street-art star.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
May 11, 2007
Video: The Amazing "Automatic Graffiti Robot"!
Love it, mate. Freaking love it! Freaking brilliant! Now we know what we want for our birthday this year!
Posted by Supercore at 10:55 PM
May 10, 2007
Video: London Graffiti Writer in Action!
Caught on tape: Some graf-writing on a train in London. Sick, mate.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
May 09, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers Flash-Tag a Subway Train
This looks a little too staged, a little too easy, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. And the speed and coordination with which this group of taggers throw up these massive pieces of graffiti on the train (while it's still in the station, mind you) is like a carefully choreographed ballet. Impressive, in spite of it being total vandalism.
Posted by Supercore at 11:07 PM
May 02, 2007
An Interview with Bjork
The Icelandic songstress Bjork gives an interview to the New York Times about her new album. Bjork is a fascinating artist, but her recent output, including the new album "Volta" haven't been received by her fans or public as positively as her body fo work from the 1990's. We've seen a Bjork a few times, once playing a live a set on stage at the Fuji Rock Festival in Tokyo way back in 1998 -- her performance was stellar. (We also ran into her in a cafe in NYC a couple of years ago, but that's another story.) Can a musician who's CDs leave listeners scratching their heads redeem themselves as live performers? Yes, it's possible.
Posted by Supercore at 12:23 AM
April 30, 2007
Juicy Celebrity Gossip Links ...
Courtney Love to Sell Late Nirvana Singer Kurt Cobain's Pajamas ...
Lindsay Lohan Addicted to "Shopping and Sex" ...
Prince Allegedly Humiliates Paris Hilton at Las Vegas Concert ...
Britney Spears Wears See-Through Outfit ...
K-Fed Allegedly Drove Britney Spears to Brink of Suicide ...
Former "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham and Her Nipples Hit LA with See-Through Top ...
Alec Baldwin Rumored to Write Book Bashing Ex-Wife Kim Basinger ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:21 PM
April 19, 2007
Video: The "Unboxing" of a Sony PlayStation 3 Ordered Directly From Amazon Japan ...
Posted by Supercore at 11:37 PM
April 16, 2007
The End of Tonic - The Best Experimental Music Venue of All Time
Tonic, our favorite live-music performance space ever, has closed its doors in the Lower East Side of New York City. The venue was special in part because of the variety of music artists who performed there and because it was one of the few places in NYC to see experimental music. It was a home for many avant-garde and contemporary experimental jazz musicians. An official farewell is on the Tonic website. The club is closing due to the rent increases that have forced may a small business to close in the now ultra-hip Lower East Side, where the pace of gentrification has been mind-blowingly swift and driven real estate prices and rents sky high. A New York Times article published Monday provides the full back story. Over the past few years, we've seen acts as diverse as Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon, John Zorn, Menlo Park, Morricone Youth, Japanther, Arto Lindsay, Yoko Ono, Vincent Gallo, Damon and Naomi, many a Japanese noise band, various incarnations of bands involving various members of Sonic Youth, and more.
Photo courtesy GlobalGraphica.com
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
April 06, 2007
Video: Real-Life Spoof of Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer
This is a bit rough around the edges, but it's a pretty damn good spoof of the new Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. The creator used live-action footage culled and edited from various existing video clips posted to YouTube in order to make the spoof. Full marks, dude!
Posted by Supercore at 11:10 PM
April 02, 2007
Celebrity Gossip Linkage to Kick Off the Week ...
Anna Nicole Smith's Partner Howard Stern Gives Up Effort to Stop DNA Paternity Test ...
Creator of Life-Size , Naked Choclate Jesus Looks for New Home for His Confection ...
Usher to Get Married to Long-Time Girlfriend ...
Black Eye Peas Singer Fergie Reveals Lesbian Past ...
Sanjaya Markala and the American Idol Scandal in the Making ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:16 PM
March 29, 2007
Dolce & Gabbana Motorola RAZR Phone for Japan
Japanese fashionistas will soon be able to get their Ghetto-fab cell phone bling on when NTT DoCoMo releases a limited edition gold Motorola RAZR phone branded with the "D&G" of Italian design duo Dolce and Gabbana. The phone was jointly "developed" by D&G, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo. Dolce and Gabbana themselves created four ringtones that are unique to the phone. The device is offically called the M702iS DOLCE & GABBANA and will sell for about US $800.00. The Italian label also designed the carrying case for the phone, which will have a D&G-branded screen. Hmm ... no thank you.
Posted by Supercore at 11:11 PM
March 28, 2007
Giant Madonna in H&M Mural in New York
From the Global Graphica file ... there's a bunch recent photos of a new, massive mural being painted in Soho, New York City, that features Madonna in an ad for the H&M clothing store chain.
Posted by Supercore at 12:40 PM
March 23, 2007
Sneakers From Brazilian Designers OEStudio
These strikingly urbane kicks by Brazilian designers OEStudio are an innovative reconcept on the look and feel of the sneaker, something we're seeing more and more of these days when the variety and volume of sporty foootwear designs and models seems inifinite.
Posted by Supercore at 10:33 PM
March 18, 2007
Sick Kicks: Adidas Adi Color Winner
This is one of the sickest Adidas sneaker designs on the planet right now. The graphical design on this shoe is inspired by a classic Japanese woodblock print -- or ukiyo-e -- called "The Great Wave" by Hokusai. Give Adidas extra points for the high-top form factor on this "Adi Color" series model known as the "Winner." These torquoise-chalk trainers will set headz back a mere U.S. $550.00 from Fight Club New York. (Yup, there that special.)
Posted by Supercore at 01:41 PM
Minimalist "Muji" Brings Japanese Design to New York
Hot damn! Japanese lifestyle-goods chain Mujirushi Ryohin, or "Muji," will open it's first U.S. store this fall in New York City. We're pretty excited about this, being big fans of Muji for a many years.
Over the past decade, we've been buying Muji's minimalist furiniture, clothes, stationary and household goods on visits to Japan, Paris, and London (where Muji opened it's first shop outside of Japan back in the arly 1990s).
For the past couple of years, Muji has been selling a limited line of products in the U.S. through the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) Stores in New Yok City, where they've become something of a cult hit. Prior to MoMA, if you wanted your Muji you had to either go overseas or hunt the stuff down in small boutiques where "unoffically" imported merch (bought by small shop owners at retail prices in Japan and smuggled into the U.S.) could be found for sale at massive mark-up).
The first store in America will be located in the new New York Times Building, which was designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. Mujirushi Ryohin at Time Square will be the company's U.S. flagship shop.
Posted by Supercore at 12:39 PM
Street Art from Neckface in New York City
From the Global Graphica site ... fresh street art from NYC, including new images of works from Neckface on the Lower East Side of New York City. Rock it.
Posted by Supercore at 01:07 AM
March 13, 2007
The Designs of Thomas Heatherwick
The work of British designer Thomas Heatherwick relies heavily on engineering and sculptural aesthetics. Heatherwick's creations - a seaside cafe, a canal bridge, and landscape pieces - are mainly works of architecture, but ones sometimes mistaken for art, and there's an argument that some of it is. Sitooterie II (pictured above) is a mysterious and striking object that sits in the English countryside like a giant alien landmark.
Posted by Supercore at 07:44 AM
March 04, 2007
Rosemary Goes to The Mall
Video and installation artist Rosemary Williams says she had an anxiety attack the first time she visited the famously gargantuan Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an art project and means to deal with her personal mall-shopping issues, Williams created the "Wall of the Mall," an installation made of shopping bags from store in the MOA. She also a produced a podcast series documenting the project, to which the Rosemary Goes to the Mall website is devoted.
The weekly Consumed column by Rob Walker in this week's Sunday new York Times Magazine explores William's project and the phenomenon of the Mall of America as a place that has transcended being just a place to buy stuff to being a tourist attraction in and of itself, comeplte with souvenirs shops and t-shirts.
Posted by Supercore at 01:38 PM
March 01, 2007
GEICO Caveman Saga Continues ....
This recent 30-second ad by GEICO featuring the ever-annoyed Caveman has actually already been running for a while, but we're including here along with some posts of the other latest ads. It's not the best nor our favorite of the Caveman spots so far, but it's still amusing work. Whether it's effective advertising or not, the jury may still be out.
Posted by Supercore at 11:43 PM
February 28, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers on Venice Beach
Cool clip of a group of graf writers working on massive pieces in Venice Beach, in Los Angeles.
Posted by Supercore at 11:06 PM
February 22, 2007
Shepard Fairey's Paste-Ups at 11 Spring St., New York City
Over on Global Graphica we've posted a bunch of images from the recent street art exhibition at 11 Spring Street in New York City. Included are these images of massive art works by Shephard Fairey of "Obey/Giant Has a Posse" fame. Good stuff. Check it out, y'all.
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
February 19, 2007
Speed Racer Intro
Speaking of the Toyota "Speed Racer" homage on this past weekend's New York Time Magazine cover, here's a video of the intro to the American version of the Japanese anime series.
Posted by Supercore at 11:08 PM
New York Times Mag's "Speed Racer" Cover
Yesterday's New York Times Magazine ran a massive article on Japanese automaking giant Toyota and how the company has surprassed General Motors as the world's largest producer of cars. The magazine's cover touted the feature with an eye-catching piece of illustration. The cover art shows a salaryman in white suit posing in front of a recent model Toyota. The pose and composition of the image is a direct reference to the iconic still frame shown in the intro of every episode of television anime classic "Speed Racer," known in Japanese as Mach Go Go Go.
Posted by Supercore at 10:49 PM
February 16, 2007
Rockin' the Denim from "For All Mankind"
We tapped into the Air Massive Premium Denim Fund (PMF) last week and bought a pair of jeans by Seven For All Mankind. We'd been eyeing these for a while, admiring the denim, the stitching, the cut. We tried them not once, but twice, to be extra sure. Our as colleague D.J. explained, finding pair that fit well is the hardest part about shopping for jeans. Due to the financial constraints of PMF, we have to conduct careful denim research before dipping into the fund. The Standard "Brown Munich" jean by For All Mankind is neither brown (it's a deep, dark indigo) nor made in Munich, but it fits extremely well. We deemed it, ahem, fit for purchase and shelled out for a pair. We absolutley love these jeans! The PMF is now depleted, but we've got the rockingest pair of jeans in wardrobe ever.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
February 14, 2007
Video: Anti-Advertising by Graffiti Research Lab
Posted this on sister site Global Graphica ...
The folks at the ever ingenious and creative Graffiti Research Lab have made a clip of their recent anti-advertising campaign. The guerilla effort exploits video panels that display commercials outside subway entrances around New York City. The point is that the thousands of marketing messages we are exposed to on a daily basis is the true graf problem urban dwellers face.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
February 12, 2007
"Save Boston" Game Lets Players Smoke Out the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Lite-Brite Mooninites
Somebody has developed a quickie Flash game on the Web making fun of Boston and Bostonians and the whole recent brouhaha over the guerilla ad campaign involving LED light boards to promote the television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The light boards were mistaken for bombs, and the security response to the supposed terror threat cost the city millions of dollars. Anyway, the silly game is called "Save Boston." It's a whack-a-mole type of amusement that will provide minutes of senseless entertainment on your PC when you should be working.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
Going to the Archive: Our Top 6 Favorite Late Night Movie Reruns on IFC...
1. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Bloody hell! The British underworld doesn't mess around when it comes to illegal poker games and a half-million pounds worth of illicit herb. Did we mention the copious gunplay? Well, this flick's got that, too. It's bloody, violent AND funny, like Pulp Fiction, but with bad teeth, cockney rhyming slang and a cameo by Sting.
2. The Limey - So, your a 50-something British ex-con just released from prison and you're angry as hell. What are ya' gonna do? You're getting on a plane to L.A. where you will unleash a shitstorm of violence and psychological terror on the dude that double-crossed you years ago.
3. The Anniversary Party - A suprisingly accurate portrayal of Los Angeles' flaky thirty-something entertainment- media- arts-cognoscenti types as they wrestle with dropping ecstasy, barking dogs and hillside home ownership.
4. La Femme Nikita - A sexy, slightly unstable woman works as an assasin for the French government. Sweet!
5. Barton Fink - Dude, this is what happens to New York writers in L.A. when they don't get enough sex.
6. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - This movie ROCKS! Hell hath no fury like a partially trans-gendered woman scorned.
Posted by Supercore at 11:26 PM
February 09, 2007
The Turnstyles "Photomentary" Work of Bill Sullivan
Among the art projects of photographer Bill Sullivan is one in which he snaps images of people faced with the same physical obstacle, in this case the turnstyles of the New York City subway system. Sullivan secretly took 87 pictures of people, each just at that moment when walking through the exit gates. The result is a series of exhibitions and installations of the images in galleries, as well as on the Web, where you can view all of the
subway turnstyle photos via a cool horizontal-scroll widget.
Domo arigato to Jess E. for the tip.
Posted by Supercore at 08:06 AM
February 08, 2007
Video: Music by 8-Bit Band Anamanaguchi
Anamanaguchi are one of a dzoen or so bands who make up the nascent 8-bit music scene. In 8-bit, musicians use 8-bit electronic equipment -- old computer, Nintendo GameBoys, whatever from the prehistoric age of basic computing -- to create a sound palette. Anamanguchi run traditional instrument through sequencers and filters to pump out the blippy and bleepy 8-bit sound.
(Domo arigato to Chris for the tip.)
Posted by Supercore at 07:48 AM
February 06, 2007
Guerilla Ad Agency "Miami" of Sweden
In the week after a guerilla marketing agency launched an under-the-radar marketing campaign that turned into a massive bomb scare, we've come across a small guerilla marketing agency in Sweden that is starting to explode onto the ad scene and get on the radar. The company has a most intriguing name. The firm is called Miami, as in the Florida city, except that Miami the agency is in Sweden, as in Scandanavian country known for Absolut vodka, IKEA furniture, and the birthplace of the Volvo. Anyhoo, Miami has a cool -- if kind of dorky -- and unconventionally simple and unintuitive website that shows some of its work.
Posted by Supercore at 10:18 PM
February 05, 2007
Without Pockets Graphical Tees Contest
They come from the land Down Under. They're awesome graphical t-shirts for sale on the Web from Without Pockets, which runs an online design contest. Oh, boy ... time to pull out our credit card.
Posted by Supercore at 08:10 AM
February 02, 2007
Video of the Making of Those "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" LED Ads
Here's an excellent video clip showing how those those "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" LED Ads, which caused the bomb scare in Boston earlier this week, were produced and installed.
Posted by Supercore at 01:05 PM
Geniuses Behind "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" LED Ads Give Surreal Press Conference ...
The avant-garde artists and guerilla marketers who were arrested after installing myseterious LED ads for Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," give a surreal, ridiculous press conference upon emerging from jail. It's pure theater when a couple of guys tell -- with the straightest of faces -- a throng of reporters that they will answers only questions pertaining to "haircuts in the 70's."
Posted by Supercore at 12:49 PM
February 01, 2007
In Japan: New Osaka Noise Music
Japanzine magazine, an English-language monthly published in Japan, has an article about two avant-garde musicians from the new generation of Osaka noise bands, Doddodo and OVe-NaXx, whose music is described as "A barrage of pleasurably painful breakcore ..." Move over, Melt Banana.
Posted by Supercore at 01:53 AM
January 22, 2007
Cool New Volkswagen German VW Phaeton Commercial
Who knew hand-shadow puppetry could be so modern? Super liquid-awesomely cool. Whatever you may think of the Volkswagen cars (or how well-made or not the cars actually are), the coomercials of VW have always been a cut above.
Posted by Supercore at 12:42 AM
January 17, 2007
In Japan: Graffiti and Street Art in Osaka ...
Over on the Global Graphica website, we've got a whole bunch of new images showing graf, street art and mor from Osaka, Japan. The graf in the picture above is in a fenced-off area in the Kita-Horie neighborhood of Osaka. (Photo Courtesy of Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo. All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 04:04 AM
In Japan: Flipping Through Recent Issue of "Studio Voice" ...
Studio Voice is a Japanese magazine devoted to design and style. The monthly mag is a must-read for Japanese designers and has something of a cult readership among global design creatives working in advertising, interactive media, the graphic arts and fashion. Though we can't read all the Japanese articles, flipping through the pages and absorbing the gorgeous graphics and layouts is enough to tell us Studio Voice is quality.
Posted by Supercore at 03:55 AM
January 10, 2007
The Apple iPhone -- We Want One!
It's here .... it's finally here. Well, almost. The much talked- and speculated-about Apple iPhone was announced at MacWorld by Steve Jobs during his keynote speech. Wow! Wow! Wow! It's a stunner of design. The new phone will be like a video iPod, cell phone and small computer/PDA all rolled up into one. The first phone will be available from Cingular in June. Now, the question is how much of what we're being shown is a reality in terms of what will actually be a functional phone. And will it be buggy? Will it be durable? Nobody is getting a chance to give the device a full test battering yet. We'll have to wait and see. But for now ... yes, we're in love.
Posted by Supercore at 12:16 AM
January 06, 2007
In Japan: Late Nights with "Oden-kun"
"The Adventure of Oden-kun" is a childish anime series targeted toward adults watching late-night Japanese television. Even if you don't understand Japanese, the show is intriguing in its droll, surreal premise. In the cartoon, various ingredients -- tofu, eggs, radishes, and so on -- used in a tradional wintertime stew called oden come to life as anthropomorphic characters inhabiting an "oden world" and embarking on myriad mini adventures, kind of like the way Sponge Bob and his pals do in their fantastic undersea world. Except the ingredients in oden are food afterall and eventually will get eaten by customers. That's when things really get interesting.
Posted by Supercore at 09:09 AM
December 23, 2006
The Nintendo Wii - A Deep, Detailed Look of How It Works
There's no denying what we would want as present this holiday season if there was such a thing as a Santa Claus. The Nintendo Wii, with its motion-sensor controller, is the most original and innovative videogame platform to emerge in practically a decade. It also -- and more importantly -- just looks like a helluva lot of fun. And really, really, really want one. (Even in spite of the nototious strap problem.) But how does it work? The Times gives us a detailed breakdown on the technology.
Posted by Supercore at 10:41 AM
December 19, 2006
MissBehave Magazine Rocks It!
Though we're probably not as a group part of the target demographic, MissBehave magazine has seriously left an impression on us. The new Brooklyn-based "girls" lifestyle mag reads and looks like an editorial DNA-mashup of Mass Appeal, Nylon, and Tokion, but with more of the streetyness and flava' of Mass Appeal. The magazine design is gorgeous, vibrant, fresh and sick. The second issue features the delicious British poptress Lily Allen on the cover and it's a prize. Check it. Rock it. Love it. Be it.
Posted by Supercore at 11:42 PM
December 14, 2006
The Last Stand of Street-Art Landmark 11 Spring Street
The building at 11 Spring Street in downtown New York City has been a landmark and mecca for ephemeral street art, attracting artists from around the world. The mysterious building, also known as the "Candle Building," appeared uninhabited for many years, during which time wheat-paste posters, installation art and graffiti went up, went down, got covered over or faded away in an ever-unfolding ebb and flow of street-level expression. The building was recently purchased by a group of developers who will turn the building into luxury condos. Sensitive to the artistic significance of the building, the new owners have worked with the global street-art massive to to organize one last exhibition of art on the exterior and interior of the building before the rennovation crew come and start re-developing the structure.
Posted by Supercore at 02:31 AM
December 13, 2006
The Year in Ideas
In our opinion, it's the most interesting and stimulating annual issue of any magazine in the English-publishing world. It's the New York Times Magazine "The Year in Ideas." Some of the many ideas explored in this issue that got our attention include "Trash-talk Exegesis," "Jujitsu Advertising," "Digital Maoism," and "For-Profit Philanthropy." Kudos, NYTM, for another great issue.
Posted by Supercore at 01:33 AM
December 08, 2006
Bookslut's Best Book Covers of 2006 List
We love great book covers. It's amazing sometimes just how effective a good book cover can be. When the jacket design can grab your attention from across a room and make you pick up a book, especially one that you eventually purchase, that's a testament to the power of design. Over at literary blog Bookslut, there's a list of the best book covers of 2006. There are a few books not included that we would have expected to have seen, but overall it's a pretty good list.
Posted by Supercore at 01:10 AM
Animation Created by Using Post-It Notes
Posted by Supercore at 12:59 AM
December 05, 2006
Fresh Street Art in New York City
From the Global Graphica file this week ... an assortment of fresh wheat-paste street art at 11 Spring St. in downtown New York City. (Photo Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa -- All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 02:58 AM
December 01, 2006
Funny Japanese Packaging for Frito-Lay Doritos
This has to be one of the all-time greats when it comes to amusing Japanese product packaging. The design for this variation of the "Doritos" bag is ball-bustingly funny. The chips here are touted as having a spicy "black pepper and salt flavor," which, we presume, requires the consumer to have a big pair of cajones. Love it.
Posted by Supercore at 02:57 AM
2006 Blip Festival Powers Up in New York City
A while back we posted an item about an electronic music group from Poland called Gameboyzzzz. The band records and performs music composed of the blips and bleeps that emanate from a half-dozen or so Nintendo Gameboy handhelds. The band is one of many to emerge as part of the global "8-bit" music scene. This week sees the kick off of 2006 Blip Festival, or "BlipFest, a four-day event in New York City celebrating and showcasing the work of musicians and artists who, like Japanese duo Portalenz pictured above, use low-bit videogame and computer hardware to make music and video. While Gameboyzzzz themselves will not be performing at BlipFest, dozens of other artists from all over the globe will be. It's going to be electric. It's going to be sublime. (Domo arigato to Chris G. for the tip!)
Posted by Supercore at 01:30 AM
November 21, 2006
Ouch! New York Times Reviewer Dumps on the New Sony PlayStation 3 Big Time!
As the Sony PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States last Friday and patient gamers finally got their hands on the much-anticipated and much-coveted gaming console, a New York Times journalist was busy wrapping up a week spent test-driving the PS3 for his technology review. After thirty hours of putting the new Sony platform through its paces, Times scribe Seth Shiesel penned his review, which appeared in today's edition of the Old Gray Lady. His verdict on the PS3 is pretty hurtful. To quote his article, "... it often feels as if the PlayStation 3 can’t walk and chew bubble gum at the same time." Ouch!
(Domo arigatoo to Jess for the tip.)
Posted by Supercore at 01:53 AM
November 19, 2006
Turning "Obsessive Consumption" Into Art
In a fascinating, multi-layered twist on illustrating how art meets commerce, "Obsessive Consumption" is an art project inspired by the artist's monthly credit card statements -- actual paintings of her mailed Chase-logoed, computer-spewed statements. The artwork is for sale, naturally, on the Internet, and Obsessive Consumption has become something of an art-cult brand.
Posted by Supercore at 04:39 AM
"Freaky Delicious" Gnarls Barkley Video for "Gone Daddy Gone"
The latest music video from the Dangermouse and Cee Lo collaboration known as Gnarls Barkley is a clever and amusing CG-heavy clip for the track "Gone Daddy Gone." As Air Massive tipster Jess E. put it, the video is "freaky delicious." And indeed it is.
Posted by Supercore at 04:26 AM
November 16, 2006
Video: Street Artist "Cheeky" at Work in NYC
The street artist Cheeky was puting the finishing touches on a big piece he put up last night at that famous 11 Spring St. building in downtown New York City. The new work was put up in a massive new wave of street art going up on the building this past weekend.
Posted by Supercore at 12:21 AM
November 15, 2006
Yet Even More Fun with Japanese Mac Ads
Okay, okay, we admit it -- we can't get enough of these ads. It's interesting to compare the U.S. versions of the ads to the Japanese versions. Apple relies on the advertising agency TBWA/Chiat Day, and the concept for these TV ads campaigns were created out of the Los Angeles office (it handles all of the Apple work).
Posted by Supercore at 11:53 PM
More Fun Japanese Apple Mac vs. PC Commercials
This is one is the spot that talks about "cool apps" and how Macs have that easy-to-use iLife suite of software.
Posted by Supercore at 11:51 PM
Japanese Versions of Those Clever Apple Mac Vs. PC Television Commercials
Now this is what we call being in control of your brand. For the Japanese market, Apple Computer has rolled out a television ad campaign based on the same 30-second concept the company deployed in the U.S. Like the ads broadcast in America, the Japanese commercials (or "CM's," as our friends in the Tokyo ad world call them) feature two men chatting with each other in front of a white backdrop. One man is a stiff, buttoned-up, businessy salaryman who represents a PC (presumably a Windows-based machine). The other guy is a relaxed, casually hip and slightly smug twenty-something. The commercials are doppelgangers of the U.S. spots, except that the actors are Japanese and naturally speak in their native tongue. The music is the same, as are the themes -- how Macs are easy to use, relatively immune to viruses, and so on. Even if you don't understand Japanese, they're fun to watch.
Posted by Supercore at 11:30 PM
November 11, 2006
Yet Another Cool Sony PlayStation 3 TV Commercial
This one is the "eggs" television spot for the soon-to-be-realeased (Nov. 17) Sony PlayStation 3, or PS3. Loving this ad campaign.
Posted by Supercore at 02:44 PM
November 10, 2006
Rubik's Cube Stars in Another Cool New Sony PlayStation 3 TV Ad
Here's another one of those cool new television commercials for the soon-to-be-released PlayStation3 game console. Like the baby-doll TV spot, this one is set in a stark-white, empty room. A Rubik's Cube levitates in the presence of a new PS3, which stands monolith-like and seems to be emanating some invisible, supernatural force that solves the Rubik's Cube puzzle. Cool.
Posted by Supercore at 02:34 AM
November 09, 2006
U.K. Street Art Collective "The London Police" Strike Downtown New York City Once Again
Boo-ya and big up! The London Police have put up a massive new work in downtown New York City. This new piece is at 11 Spring Street, that famous cynosure of street art and graf in the Nolita neighborhood of lower Manhattan. There's a bunch of new photos documenting this latest work over on our sister site Global Graphica. Sick. (Photo courtesy Ivan Corsa / Global Graphica)
Posted by Supercore at 12:55 AM
November 07, 2006
Video: The Workspace "Idea Catcher"
Love what Ethan, a copywriter in New York, has done to his workspace at an advertising agency. With a little help from some colleagues, he's created what has been dubbed the "Idea Catcher," a web of blue tape used to "snag" paper and objects of inspiration. Cool.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
November 06, 2006
Bamboo is the New Black
In this week's "Consumed" column in the New York Times Magazine, Rob Walker looks at how bamboo is becoming known as kind of miracle textile and being used ever more widely by designers and architects. One of the things that makes bamboo attractive is it's eco-freindliness, though in some instances using it when shipped from China might be less environmentally sound than use locally produced lumber. But bamboo's real appeal seems to lie more in its aesthetic and practical qualities.
Posted by Robsam at 12:18 AM
November 04, 2006
Video: Stephen Wiltshire Draws Perfect Landscapes of Cities From Memory
Amazing. Fascinating. Unbelieveable, but true.
Posted by Robsam at 02:59 AM
October 31, 2006
Cool NYC Graffiti and Street Art
More cool New York City graf and street artistry from the Global Graphica file, including a new series of images documenting truck graf and fresh work at 11 Spring Street in downtown Manhattan. (Photo courtesy Ivan Corsa / Global Graphica)
Posted by Supercore at 03:14 AM
Toyota Scion Car Will Be Sold in Second Life
Fo' realzzz, yo ... Japanese carmaker Toyota will soon start to sell digital versions of its popular Scion cars in the online community Second Life (SL). The virtual version of hot box-shaped car will sell for $2.00. The plan to sell the cars in SL came as Toyota's ad agency developed its new marketing campaign for the car, which included advertising and giving away digital Scions in SL. The agency soon realized, however, that people in SL would actually pay to own virtual models. The rest is virtual marketing history.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:03 AM
October 26, 2006
The Style of 1993 Lives On in 2006
A New York Times Style Magazine article looks at style trends inspired by the fashions of 1993, when the grunge look emerged from the music underground of Seattle. We're not quite sure we see it. But some of the make-up (or, rather, the lack of make-up) and clothing of the grunge era have become a part of the contemporary style kit. We can't see flannel shirts coming back in a big way anytime soon, but Nirvana's "Nevermind" will always be a part of our MP3 collection.
Posted by Robsam at 11:53 PM
October 24, 2006
Celebrity Portraits on Toast
We've all heard of people selling toast with images of the Virgin Mayry, et. al., on eBay, but now there's an artist creating toast with celebrity images burned into the bread. And he's making a small fortune selling these creations to collectors. Dude, we are in the wrong business. Time to get a new toaster.
Posted by Supercore at 09:18 PM
October 23, 2006
Starbucks "Salon" Brings Culture to the Latte-Set
Satrbucks recently opened a new type of coffee shop called Starbucks Salon. We visited the one in SoHo, New York City, recently and it's a big, impressive, and arty two-floor Starbucks space complete with coffee bar and an added professional performance space and stage. The Seattle-based coffee retailer and chain has been putting and out selling CDs for years and recently entered the movie business. This is the subject ofan interesting New Times article about the "Starbuck's aesthetic." Which makes us wonder about the extent that a business like Starbucks can play a role as arbiter of popular cultural tastes and patron to the arts. For many Starbucks plays a unique role in their lives. It's not only a place to buy and consume coffee but it has become for many people an extension of their living room, den, study or library. The very spaces that we often relax and consume culture in their homes.
Posted by Supercore at 07:38 PM
October 19, 2006
Jay Z Gets a Marketing Job for Beer Brand
That's right, homies. Jay Z is taking on another job title, but this time it's for a company of which he owns no part and it's not involved in music, fashion, basketball or vodka. Jay Z, a.k.a. Shaun Carter, is going into advertising and marketing. He's going to become is going to be "co-brand director" for the Budweiser Select beer line at Anheuser-Busch. The company is HQed in St. Louis, which is territory for rapper Nelly and Chingy, so one has to wonder if these guys will feel at all slighted by not being hooked up with one of the great, iconic brands of their hometown, especially 'cause they like it right thurrr.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:39 AM
October 18, 2006
... And the Project Runway 3 Finale Winner is ...
Jeffrey WINS!!! Woo-hoooooooo!!!
Posted by Supercore at 10:57 PM
The Project Runway Finale
It all comes down to four designers showing at Olympus Fashion Week at Bryant Park, New York City. Within the next 15 minutes we'll know who the Project Runway Season 3 winner is. The question is Who will it be: Jeffrey, Michael, Laura, or Ulli. The designers have just shown and are now being critiqued by Heidi Klum and the judges. Some of our thoughts ... So far, we're disappointed with Michael Knight's collection, though there is no doubt he has enormous talent and potential. Ulli's collection was excellent and far more ambitious in terms of her usual range, but it was mostly predictable. Laura's collection is top class and elegant. Jeffrey's clothes are amazing. In terms of originality and craft, we like Laura and Jeffrey for their quality and innovation. We think Laura, Ulli or Jeffrey can win. Michael won't win it, but he's really popular, so who knows. Ulli would sell big -- her style is accessible. Laura is almost too classic and uptown for her own good. Jeffrey is a total original. Our favortie is Jeffrey and we want him to win. Our money is on him. But we're not convinced that he will win. Fingers crossed, kids. Anyway, in the next ten minutes we will know the winner ...
Posted by Supercore at 10:41 PM
A Mysterious Downtown NYC Building Explained
There's a building at 11 Spring Street in downtown New York City that has been a mystery to most people, including long-time residents of the Nolita neighborhood where the stucture is situated. The building's exterior is a world-famous spot for street art and graffiti, which the owners in recent decades have left to salutary neglect. The New York Times recently ran an article about the building. The property was recently purchased from Lachlan Murdoch, the son of Rupert of News Corp. and Fox News fame, and as a result a lot of information regarding the building has suddenly become available.
(A domo arigato to Darren for the tip!)
Posted by Supercore at 02:06 AM
October 15, 2006
More New York City Street Art ...
More New York City street art from the Global Graphica file. Heaps of news images, including a new series of paste-up portraits in downtown Manhattan.
Posted by Supercore at 02:20 PM
September 21, 2006
Street Art by Bast in New York City
One of our favorite street artists is the Brooklyn-based Bast, whose wheat-paste works can be found around the New York City, especially in SoHo, the East Village and the Lower East Side of downtown Manhattan. There's a new series of images
posted on the Global Graphica web site showing some recent Bast work in SoHo .
(Photo courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Supercore at 04:05 AM
September 15, 2006
Chris Johnson's ASCII Text Art Collection
Chris Johnson has been collecting and archiving ASCII art -- images created using computer keyboard text and symbols -- on his Web site since 1994, the very early days of the Web. Like the image of the great Leonardo da Vinci classic the "Mona Lisa," above, some of the works in his collection are stunning renderings of well-known masterpieces. Others are droll interpretations of pop-culture icons, such as the kids of South Park.
Posted by Supercore at 03:05 AM
August 21, 2006
New York Street Art by Tiki
In the Global Graphica street art file this week ... there's a bunch of new images showing fresh paste-ups by Tiki in Nolita, New York City.
Photo courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo
Posted by Supercore at 11:17 AM
August 10, 2006
NYC Street Art by the Artist Swoon
From the Global Graphica files this week comes this series of images showing some downtown street art in the form of paste-ups by the Brooklyn-based artist Swoon. Hands down, Swoon is by far our favorite contemporary artist putting creativity on the streets and galleries of New York and other cities around the globe.
Posted by Supercore at 01:33 AM
July 27, 2006
Part 2 - Video Interview with Street Artist Shepard Fairey
Posted by Supercore at 03:49 AM
Video Interview with Street Artist Shepard Fairey - Part 1
Posted by Supercore at 03:47 AM
July 22, 2006
Fresh New York City Street Art
From the Global Graphica file ... fresh images of New York City street art, including a series of paste-ups depicting a pegasus skeleton in SoHo. More here.
(Photo courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Supercore at 02:01 AM
July 19, 2006
Artist Makes Paintings of Web Sites
Since 1998, artist Valery Grancher has been painting pictures of well-known Web site interfaces like those of Google, Wired News, and Hotmail
. In the text explaining the concept, Grancher has said "For artist from my generation, we grew up with video games and computers. The first iconology I perceived were icons from interface and software. The screen has defined a new window and has killed the camera obscura. Pictured above is Grancher's "Hotmail.com" from 2004 (acrylic and charcoal on canvas).
Posted by Supercore at 02:29 AM
July 12, 2006
Etch-a- Sketch Craaaaazy
Since the late 1980's, George Vlosich has been making and perfecting the singular art of creating incredibly detailed illustrations on the good ol' Etch-A-Sketch. His works have become valuable collectibles. He was even invited to the White House in the 1990's.
Posted by Supercore at 12:23 AM
June 21, 2006
Klimt Painting Sold for Record $135 Million!
The sale of this Gustav Klimt painting, titled "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," beats the record price paid for an art work at auction, which was $104 million for a Picasso in 2004.
Read the New York Times' report of the sale here.
Posted by Robsam at 07:59 PM
June 07, 2006
New York City Street Art by Bäst
In this week's Global Graphica street art file is a series of images documenting an awesome fresh paste-up by the artist Bäst in New York City. (Photo courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo).
Posted by Supercore at 12:09 AM
May 29, 2006
Fresh NYC Street Art by Swoon
From the Global Graphica "Street Art" file ... this week there are a couple of images of fresh work from the Brooklyn, New York artist Swoon. This paste-up was caught on Mercer Street in NoHo, in downtown Manhattan. (Photo courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo).
Posted by Thurston Ali at 08:49 PM
May 04, 2006
Graf by "Goal" in Downtown New York City
This week from the Global Graphica street art and graf file ... new images of graf by "Goal" in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Plus more great images of street art and graf from Ivan and crew on the Global Graphica Web site. (Above photo courtesy Ivan Corsa / Global Graphica).
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:54 AM
April 12, 2006
"Drawing Restraint 9": Bjork and Mathew Barney's New Art-Film Collaboration
Icelandic songstress Bjork and American artist Matthew Barney have collaborated on a new art-film project called "Drawing Restraint 9." The movie can be seen as the next logical artistic and cinematic step after the "Cremaster" series of films Barney produced in the 1990's and early 00's. (Some Barney fans may even see it as an extension of the "Cremaster" saga.) For "Drawing Restraint 9," Barney enlisted Bjork, his wife, to create the movie's soundtrack and star in the film with him. Like "Cremaster" before it, "Drawing" stands as a work of filmed performance art and dwells in a surrealist world, with little dialogue, but much strong visual narrative. From the trailer, the film promises to be a stunning, vivid experience.
Posted by Supercore at 04:36 AM
April 09, 2006
New York City "Rheingold" Street Art by Justink
From the Global Graphica file comes this example of Rheingold-sponsored street art by Justink in the Lower East Side of New York City. The appropriation of the street art vernacular by marketers is a recent phenomenon that seems to be on the rise in recent months. Sometimes it works well, like the Rheingold Beer Company street-art ads. Sometimes it doesn't, as was the case with those Sony PSP ads last year.
(Photo Courtesy Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa)
Posted by Supercore at 03:08 PM
April 08, 2006
Wonderful Stencil Art of "Banksy"
A couple of weeks ago we posted about an article by the street artist Banksy in the U.K. newspaper The Gaurdian. Banksy was writing about recent efforts by the city of Melbourne, Australia to clean up the city's graffiti, which includes much of the stencil art for which the Victoria capital has become famous. Fortunately, you can still see lots of greta stencil art in other major cities around the world, including London, where Banksy is based. You can also see some of Banksy best work on the artist's web site.
Posted by Supercore at 05:17 AM
April 06, 2006
Street Art by Faro Inc., New York City
From the Global Graphica file this week comes this series of images detailing wheat-pasted illustrated work by "Faro Inc." in SoHo, in downtown Manhattan.
Posted by Supercore at 08:08 AM
March 29, 2006
NYC Street Art: "Blockhead"
From this week's Global Graphica file ... some fresh street art and graf from SoHo and the Lower East Side of New York City. Pictured above is "Blockhead" on Orchard Street in the heart of the L.E.S. More at GlobalGraphica.com (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo. All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 10:29 AM
March 25, 2006
Street Artist "Banksy" on the Removal of Stencil Art in Melbourne, Australia
There is an interesting article today in U.K. newspaper the Guardian about how the urban landscape of Melbourne, Australia, has changed since the city tidied itself in preparation of the recent Commonwealth Games. The clean-up is a result of an initiative to remove graffiti and street art. The report, titled "The writing on the wall," was penned by the well-known British street artist "Banksy." According to the story, Melbourne's effort to paint over its rich tapestry of urban art is enforced by the city's new official zero-tolerance stance on anything that constitutes graffiti. This includes stencil art for which Australia's second city has become famous internationally among followers and creators of street art. (Props to Robin for the tip.)
Posted by Supercore at 08:47 AM
March 23, 2006
NYC "Sky Graf" Photo Series
From the Global Graphica file ... there's a new series of New York City graf images worth checking out. The photo series show examples of "sky graf" -- large tags along the top edges of old high-rise buildings in NoHo, in downtown Manhattan. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:17 AM
March 15, 2006
NYC Graf: "DaysFares"
From this week's Global Graphica file, recent NYC graf by "DaysFares" in the East Village of Manhattan.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:59 PM
March 10, 2006
NYC Graf by A. Charles
From the Global Graphica file this week, there are some fresh images of New York City street art by famous graf artist A. Charles.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 03:20 AM
February 28, 2006
NYC Street Art: Girl-Face Stencil in Soho
From the Global Graphica file this week ... Here's an amazingly crisp stencil portrait of a girl's face we found on a lamp-post base along West Broadway (between Houston and Prince streets) in Soho yesterday evening. More images at Global Graphica. (Global Graphica /Ivan Corsa Photo).
Posted by Supercore at 11:51 PM
February 24, 2006
Washington, DC Graf
From the Global Graphica file ... We were out of town visiting Washington, DC last weekend and snapped this series of graf images in the Adams Morgan district of the Amercian capital. Washington is a famously clean, well-groomed and orderly city (or, at least, it is in most of the city, that is, in those areas where the well-heeled work, live and play). While in Adams Morgan, the only graf we saw was hidden in narrow back alleys. Most of it was aesthetically insginificant, but some, like the throw-ups we found in this alley off 18th Street, across from the Caribou Coffee, was really good, first-rate stuff. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Supercore at 12:05 AM
February 22, 2006
Design: "Just for the 'F' of It"
Cable music-video channel Fuse TV has just rolled off a spin-off Web site that has some of the hottest, freshest Web design, illustration and animation we've seen in along time. The site is called "Just for the 'F' of It." When you land on the splash page, you get try to shoot down a flying angel by aiming a bow and arrow. Once in the site, on the main page, you get to see a small, beret-wearing French rodent sitting in a comfy chair, smoking a cigarette and watching telly. It's good, fun, tongue-in-cheek Web design from some very talented creatives at Fuse. P.S., we think the site's name is brilliant.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:49 PM
February 21, 2006
NYC Graffiti Trucks
From the Global Graphica file ... Graf is pretty rare on the posh and anodyne Upper East Side of Manhattan, a district that is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the America, if not the world. (That is, it's pretty rare below East 96th Street and Spanish Harlem. ) But one way graf appears in famed U.E.S. nabes like Yorkville and Carnegie Hill is when "bombed" delivery trucks arrive. Here's one in the process of unloading produce at a local deli. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:22 PM
February 14, 2006
NYC Street Art: "Teflon Don" by Bast
From the Global Graphica file ... Here's a close-up of an awesome color paste-up by the artist Bast (or Bäst) in Chinatown, New York City. The subject of this wheat-paste work is John Gotti, the late, convicted NYC crime boss who was dubbed the "Teflon Don" by the media. This black-and-white version of this artwork appears in Nolita, a few blocks to the north of C-town and Little Italy, where Gotti managed his business out of a storefront "social club." (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Linkage
"Teflon Don" Gotti Paste-up by Bast - No. 1 [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
Posted by icorsa at 07:53 PM
February 09, 2006
An Interview with Photographer Ryan McGinley
There's an excellent profile-interview of photographer Ryan McGinley on Artnet. Penned by by Ana Finel Honigman, the article is titled "24-7." By now, you may have seen McGinley's work without knowing who the photographer was. Or, given McGinley's meteoric rise and influence, you may have seen images used in advertising and produced "in the style of" McGinley. (Yet further appropriation by marketers ... Whateva'.) His subjects are often young people, his friends, partying, mucking about, and just being themselves. What first garnered attention for McGinley was a self-produced and self-published 50-page book of his photos. The D.I.Y. art tome was called "The Kids are Alright." According to Artnet, he sent copies of the book to a hundred magazine editors and artists. Later his work started appearing in mags like Index, Vice, and Dazed and Confused. Our favorite image by McGinley of all time is a photo titled "Dash Bombing," which as the title suggests, shows the graf writer named "Dash" perched on a building spraypainting his tag in the dark of night. We've been a fan ever since we saw this image.
Essential Links
Interview with Photographer Ryan McGinley [Artnet]
"Dash Bombing" (2000) by Ryan McGinley [Artnet]
Ryan McGinley Web Site]
Posted by Supercore at 01:17 AM
February 02, 2006
NYC Graf by "Shapes"
From our Global Graphica file ... And here's the wider, context shot of "Shapes." Not your average East Village-graf, "Shapes" is a stencil-like splatter-work of red paint and sans-serif letters in all-caps. While the artistry and style is neither "wild" nor "hip-hop" by the standard of traditional techniques, this is a highly distinctive and original tag. Even though it's small, you can't miss it on East 9th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues, a stretch of gentrified and expensive downtown Manhattan real-estate with practically zero graf but least a half-down Japanese restaurants. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
"Shapes" in East Village, NYC - #1 Detail [Global Graphica]
"Shapes" in East Village, NYC - #2 Context [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
http://www.globalgraphica.com/main/archives/000388.html
Posted by Supercore at 02:15 AM
January 27, 2006
Fresh and Tasty NYC Street Art by "Momo"
Fresh and tasty street art from our Global Graphica file ... Once again, the street artist Momo strikes the building at 11 Spring St., in Nolita, New York City. This wheat-paste is a sweet tongue-in-cheek poster. The black-and-white work is of a fictional New Yorker magazine cover depicting Momo in the act of pasting up his (her?) work. Brilliant, fresh stuff.
(Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
New Yorker Cover Paste-Up by Momo at 11 Spring St. - #1 [Global Graphica]
New Yorker Cover Paste-Up by Momo at 11 Spring St. - #2 Detail [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
Posted by Supercore at 02:09 AM
January 24, 2006
More Cutting-Edge iPod Gear: The "Tetran" Earbud Cable Winder by Tunewear
Ok, just when you thought you had seen just about every conceiveable iPod accessory, there's Tetran, a rubbery, spiky sea-urchin like monster designed as -- you guessed it -- an "earbud cable winder," you know, that thingie for wrappping your iPod earbuds cord around so that it doesn't get into a tangled mess. The little figure has a "mouth" in which you can place the actual earbuds themselves. We think Tetran is pretty cool actually, because it looks so funky and can be used for something beyond which it was intended. That is, Tetran can be used as a fun desktop objet, something you can keep next to your Kid Robot Dunny figures and toys without it lookng out of place. Made by a company called Tunewear, the Tetran comes in a variety of colors, as pictured above, and can be ordered online, naturally.
Essential Links
Tetran by Tunewear
"Microbe TETRAN" walkman headset organizer [Akihabara News]
Posted by Ray Chan at 11:42 PM
"Neckface" Sticker in NYC
More from the Global Graphica street art file ... The work of Neckface is among the most familiar array of street-art images in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City. Neckface works in several mediums and is known for stickers and wall pieces featuring creepy characters who have little if any neck (hence the apt name "Neckface"). Neckface also often simply scrawls his name in large child-like lettering on the sides of buildings and other urban surfaces. But it is for his stickers that he is probably best known. These can be found in many major cities, including NYC, San Francisco and Tokyo. The Brooklyn-based artist is oringally from California. He has exhibited his work in galleries throughout the world and has had his art (and himself) featured in magazines and newspapers.
Essential Links
Neckface Sticker, NYC - Detail [Global Graphica]
Neckface Sticker, NYC - Context [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
BBC "Collective" Magazine Article About Neckface
Posted by Supercore at 01:32 AM
January 22, 2006
Fresh Street Art By "Swoon" in NYC
From the Global Graphica file ... There's some fresh work by the artist Swoon on Rivington St., between Bowery and Chrystie, in that interzone between Nolita/Soho and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Brooklyn-based Swoon is our favorite New York street artist. This work, which depicts an African-American boy with first pumped, continues Swoon's series of life-size cut-out wheat-paste images of people engaged in everyday activities on the streets of the city.
Essential Links
Street Artist Swoon Hits Rivington St. - No. 2 [Global Graphica]
Street Artist Swoon Hits Rivington St. - No. 1 [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
Swoon Info at Deitch Projects NYC
Posted by Supercore at 09:42 PM
January 18, 2006
Cool "Tetris" Graf in NYC
Via Global Graphica, some cool NYC graf documented ... We've walked along the stretch of Charlton St. between Varick and Greenwich in Soho, NYC, at least a dozen times during the past year. Yet it was only yesterday that we notcied one of coolest tags we've ever seen in the west Soho neighborhood known as Hudson Square. The tag is that of "Tetris," which, of course, is also the name of one of the most popular old-school arcade-style video games of all time. The tag is on the wall of a warehouse between a pair of truck bays. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
"Tetris" Graf No. 2
Global Graphica Website
Posted by icorsa at 08:25 PM
January 11, 2006
Pop Artist Ed Ruscha "Course of Empire" Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
The Massive spent last Sunday afternoon at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. We were there to check out an exhibition of works by the influential pop artist Ed Ruscha. The show is titled "Course of Empire: Paintings by Ed Ruscha," and it consists of just ten works. As a collection, this set of Ruscha's works were exhibited as the U.S. contribution to this year's Venice Bienniale.
We've been fans of Ruscha's work ever since we first laid eyes on it as a teenager at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Course of Empire" is an update on what is perhaps Ruscha's most famous paintings, a series of black-and-white minimalist perspective landscapes called "Blue Collar." The paintings depict 20th Century industrial buildings and scenes.
For "Course of Empire," Ruscha has added a series of color paintings depicting the same buildings and scenes in their re-purposed post-industrial state 13 years later. The corresponding paintings are displayed across from each other in the Whitney Museum's massive fifth floor gallery.
Though this is a small exhibtiion (albeit in a big space), it's most defintiely worth seeing.
Essential Links
Catching Up with Ed Ruscha [N+1 Magazine]
Ed Ruscha Biography [Wikipedia]
Whitney Museum of American Art
Posted by Supercore at 11:55 PM
January 10, 2006
Street Art: Brooklyn Sharks
From the Global Graphica file ... The well-groomed and excessively gentrified (and real estate crazy) Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope isn't full of the street art and graf so common in other parts of New York's largest borough, such as Williamsburg. But the street art is there, tucked between apartments and brownstones, especially the further down the slope and away Prospect Park one heads. Such is the case of these wonderful stencilled silhouettes of sharks near the 7th Avenue F-Train subway station. (Global Graphica /Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Brooklyn Street Art: Sharks on the Slope 1 [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
Posted by Supercore at 07:48 AM
January 03, 2006
Paris Street Art: "Paris is My Baghdad"
From the Global Graphica street art file ... This phrase has greater resonance in light of recent riots in the suburbs of Paris and other cities throughout France, as well as ongoing events in Iraq. We found this phrase sprayed in English and Arabic on the asphalt outside the entrance to the Swiss cutural center's art gallery in Les Marais in Paris. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Linkage
Global Graphica
Paris: "X" Mural at Swiss Cultural Center [Global Graphica]
Paris is My Baghdad [Global Graphica]
Posted by Robsam at 11:14 PM
December 23, 2005
Global Graphica's "Best Soho Graf Truck Ever"?
From the Global Graphica file: Well ... okay, maybe not the best forever-ever, ever-ever, ever-ever ... but close. This truck, which is often parked near a flea market in Soho in New York City, is one of our all-time favorite examples of graf-on-vehicle aeresol art. And it's certainly one of the most colorful in all of lower Manhattan. We haven't seen this truck in a while, so we suspect it may have been painted over already. If so, it's a damn shame. Then again, the ephemeral quality of street art -- that it gets covered over, dispappears, fades, and so on -- that is part of its beauty. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Posted by Supercore at 04:20 AM
December 16, 2005
Lovin' Those Sony PSP "Street" Ads
From the Global Graphica file ... During the past few months, we've seen dozens of these street art pieces of kids engaged with various handheld toys and other objects that, upon closer inspection, are actually Sony PlayStation Portable devices, that is, the PSP. This image was taken in Soho. Most of the ads are confined to downtown Manhattan. This "graf" is really a clever attempt by Sony to appropriate the street art vernacular for advertising purposes as part of its guerilla marketing efforts for the PSP. We have to admit that the ads are cool; we like 'em. Unfortunately, when we spotted this one, the batteries on our Nikon digital camera were out of juice, so we had to shoot these images with the lower resolution of the camera embedded in our Palm Treo 650 Smartphone. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Linkage
Global Graphica
Sony PlayStation Portable Street Art / Guerrilla Marketing 1[Global Graphica]
Sony PSP Website
Posted by Supercore at 03:08 AM
December 14, 2005
More NYC Graphica
While we're on the subject of spaces and places in downtown Manhattan that are no more, here's a shot of the recently torn down Gaseteria gas station at the corner of Houston and Lafayette streets in Soho, New York City. More precisely, it's a picture of a billboard advertisement of the station at the station. We've always loved this sign because it's so obviously from a different stylistic era of advertising and retail signage. Even the messaging is quaint: "Thank you for making us #1" and "New York's 'House Brand'" are presented in an almost laughable, but endearing, way. Most of all, we love the design aesthetic and the illustration of the station itself, with bright yellow NYC taxis sitting at all the pumps. It's a big surprise that Gaseteria wasn't demolished to make room for new luxury apartments and condos (given the location, the land and air-rights alone are worth potentially tens of millions of dollars.) No, what replaced this old petrol stop was a new, shiny, modern service station of a well-known brand franchise. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Global Graphica Website
Thank You for Making Us #1
Posted by Supercore at 01:27 AM
December 13, 2005
New York City Street Art: 295 Bowery
From the Global Graphica file ... The building pictured above no longer exists. The tenement at 295 Bowery was torn down earlier this year by Avalon Bay Partners, a real-estate investment trust, as part of their multi-building Avalon Chrystie condo development that straddles Houston St. and the Bowery on the border of the East Village and Soho. The building was a haven for lots of graf and street art, none more symbolic than that the wheat-paste poster of a skull talking into a cell phone on the facade. The 295 Bowery building had been a decrepit structure for decades, but was actually still home to a few artists who were paying extremely low rents on what had become extremely valuable real estate. The building is also known as "McGurk's Suicide Hall" because about a hundred years ago it was home to McGurk's Saloon, which was often frequented by hookers and their customers. The saloon was the scene of many suicides by desperate prostitutes looking to escape the misery of the Bowery. (Global Graphica /Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Global Graphica Website
295 Bowery, McGurk's Suicide Hall No. 1 - Detail
295 Bowery, McGurk's Suicide Hall No. 2
295 Bowery, McGurk's Suicide Hall No. 3 - Context
Posted by Supercore at 03:15 AM
December 10, 2005
Paris Street Art
Meow! Lots going on in this image taken in Le Marais -- street signs, some very French architecture, and a wheat-paste of a black-and-white cathead. As pure street art goes, wheat pastes are probably our favorite medium. That this cathead is approximately actual size and appears so random gives it a sense playfulness and disarms passersby. We found about half a dozen or so of these catheads around Paris, mostly in Les Marais. The cat's face and pattern make it a dead ringer for one of our cats in NYC.
(Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Paris Street Art: Cat Head in Les Marais [Global Graphica]
Global Graphica
Posted by Supercore at 03:36 AM
December 07, 2005
Bandage Street Art in Soho, NYC
There's a bit of drippy black graf on this green relay-mailbox in Soho in New York City. But it's covered by a cheeky piece of street art in the form of a giant adhesive bandage: A street art dressing for a graf writer's boo boo. Here's a close-up shot (with photog's hand in view) displaying the bandage design. This image was shot using the built-in camera on a Palm Treo 650 Smartphone.
(Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Link
Posted by Supercore at 01:19 AM
November 23, 2005
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's ... Superfeen by ESPO
"Superfeen" is the latest brilliant installment of graf-cum-street art by the renowned New York artist ESPO on this always-parked Soho truck. This panel reads "Go Superfeen Go!" Note the superhero Superfeen's key qualities noted at the sides: "He's not for truth and justice" and "He's for the American Way."The back of the truck is a panel dubbed "Caffeine and Nicotine," wherein an anti-superhero takes a coffee and smoke break. Unfortunately, we weren't carrying the heavier-duty Nikon digital camera that's usually in our bag, so we had to make do with our Treo 650 camera phone, and thus image resolution quality is a bit wanting. (Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Superfeen Caffeine and Nicotine Panel
Global Graphica
Posted by Supercore at 12:14 AM
November 10, 2005
Buff Monster Takes Manhattan
Courtesy of sister street art site Global Graphica ... Here's some recently found work by the street artist known as Buff Monster. This pink Japanese-anime-like character - the "Buff Monster" - can be found in many places in Los Angeles, where the artist lives. But this example is a continent away in lower Manhattan, NYC. Sometimes one of Buff Monster's "X" eyes sports an eyepatch. Sometimes the character's domehead has devil horns or antennae. Here, it sprouts breasts that could be the envy of many a pornstar. According to Tristan Manco in his excellent book "Street Logos," Buff Monster has said that the inspiration for his pink street-art icon was inspired by the rememberance of a sticker he saw in Tokyo, Japan when he was a child. (Global Graphica/Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Link
Global Graphica
Buff Monster Strikes Downtown New York City #2
Buff Monster Strikes Downtown New York City #1
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:14 AM
November 08, 2005
All is Muji
We found this interesting Guardian newspaper article on Muji and its new foray into taking the company's product line one giant step farther by building houses in Japan. The story by Fiona Rattray for the Guardian's recent Observer Design Special does a good job of profiling the company and explaining its business and design philosophy.
First, some disclosure. We are admitted Muji freaks. We became infected with Muji-love in the early 1990's while in the U.K. and a visit to the Japanese chain's London branch in the West End. We developed our addiction and a full-blown case of hopeless devotion to all things Muji years later while in Japan.
Muji, in case you don't know, is the iconic Japanese designer and brand retailer of stationary, household goods, clothes, furniture, CD cases -- almost anything you can imagine for your home or office -- that are utterly devoid of unnecesary decorative flourishes.
Famous for being a brand based on the concept of no-brand, Muji products are often made of translucent plastics, polished stainless steel and brown paper and they come almost exclusively in white, gray or brown.
Muji is about good -- no, first-rate -- design and minimalist style in a way that seems the quintessence of contemporary Japanese aesthetics. Though as Rattray's article points out, one look around the landscape of Tokyo would suggest the Muji style is not so much the essence of Japan as much as a reaction to the nation's cluttered, garish, neon-filled urban environments.
Now Muji is running nature camps and building homes and planning further overseas expansion (a store -- FINALLY -- in New York City in 2006!). Muji, we heart ya'!
Essential Links
Design Special: Your Life in Their Hands [The Guardian, UK]
Muji Online UK
Muji Japan
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:27 AM
November 05, 2005
NYC Sticker Art: "Overconsum"
From the Global Graphica file: This sticker image of a boy's (man's) face is drawn in such a manner that the illustration could work well as a stencil. The face looks Asian and the bandanna suggests a Japanese sushi maker. "Overconsum" is written on the headcover. Message, anyone?
[Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo]
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Posted by Supercore at 08:54 PM
November 02, 2005
NYC Graf
Here's an example of some top-drawer graf on Spring St. in Soho, New York City. We love how the tag bleeds. Nice touch. The tag reads "Kuko," but we could be wrong -- we don't recognize the writer's name or the tag itself. Great style, without being overdone. Making a simple, clean tag stand out with an original design (and without going "wild-style" overboard) is much harder than it looks. (Ivan Corsa Photo)
Essential Links
Global Graphica: Sublime Soho Graf
Posted by Supercore at 11:04 AM
October 12, 2005
Roll Your Own Rooftop - Cooper Mini Rolls Out Rooftop Studio
Now we really, really, REALLY want a Cooper Mini. Actually, we had orginally wanted one of those Cooper Mini convertibles, but we had some serious reservations about driving a car as small as the Mini in a nation filled with big, tall and bulky SUVs barreling down the the country's highways (not to mention the inherent safety issues with convertibles in general). But in the end, what attracts us to the car most is its style. Now with its new series of customizable rooftops, style has won us over completely. Not only can you select a design for your Mini rooftop, but you can create your very own design via the Rooftop Studio website. check it out via the link below. Cheerio!
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Posted by Ray Chan at 09:10 PM
October 06, 2005
NYC Street Series: "Lafayette Street Girl"
Air Massive sister website Global Graphica, as usual, has some awesome new photos of street art and graf from New York City and Paris. Their recent post and photo on a street artwork called "Lafayette Street Girl" just caught our eye. Here's the text from the site (photo courtesy of Ivan Corsa, aka "Supercore") ...
Love this. That instance when you experience that mix of surprise and excitement you feel when you see a clever or beautiful piece of street art (or art in general, or anything, for that matter) -- that's what we felt when we saw this wheat-paste of a girl's face on Lafayette Street in Soho, New York City. (We've dubbed her "Lafayette Street Girl.") Note the the Sharpie marker tag/graf scrawled on her forward. Since we snapped this shot a few days ago, we've seen this wheat-paste elsewhere downtown, more precisely, we saw her in the chic Nolita nabe, where apartments and lofts are now very valuable New York real estate.
So true.
Posted by Robsam at 01:44 AM
August 24, 2005
Thundercut Takes Sticker Art to a New Level
Duuuude! Thundercut rules! We were walking around downtown New York City last year when we noticed several crosswalks (Walk-Dont Walk) signals that had been partially covered by stickers. The stickers were carefully designed cut-outs made to look like little adhesive articles of clothing. The stickers were affixed to the signals in such a way that the lit-up humanoid Walk and Don't Walk figures appeared to be "wearing" the clothes. There were various types of "outfits" -- a hip-hop dude carrying a boombox on one signal; a tennis pro in whites on another; a Yankees fan with a 40-ounce beer. (see above) on another. We later learned that the artist(s) responsible for these is called Thundercut. NYC street art doesn't get much cleverer nor much more playful than this. Now there's a web site where you can see some of Thundercut's best work. Check it out at www.thundercut.com and tell 'em Thurston sent ya'!
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:06 AM
August 07, 2005
Lovin' the Awesome Illustrations of Brazilian Artist Gian Barbera
Gian Barbera is a name you probably don't know. But chances are you do know this Brazilian artist's work. If you've flipped through the recent issue of UK mag Dazed & Confused, you would've seen Barbera's illustration featured. Or maybe you saw his colorful, musically inspired design in the American undergroundish hip-hop mag Wax Poetics. Or maybe you saw an album cover or magazine ad that uses his work. In any case, Barbera's style is unmistakeable. Much of his portfolio consists of portraits of musicians from all over the world, but especially Brazil, where Barbera Estudio is based. The link below take's you Barbera's online portfolio. Check it!
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Posted by at 06:08 PM
February 28, 2005
I Love the '80s! East Village Style! Exhibition at New Museum Revisits Legendary NYC Art Scene!
Hey, Everybody! It's the Eighties! At least for two full floors of cavernous envy-inducing loft space at the temporary home in Chelsea of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. That's where we recently caught the other current buzz NYC exhibition (Christo's The Gates at Central Park being the buzz exhibition), titled East Village USA. If you can manage it, you should definitely check out this show before it closes March 19.
The curator for East Village USA has produced a definitive art collection that features the work of some of the best known figures of the downtown New York art scene between 1980 and 1987. It was in the many small galleries and event spaces of the East Village, which at the height of the art boom could be counted in the hundreds, where many of the artists whose work is shown here first gained critical acclaim and, for a few, enormous commercial success and international fame.
Futura, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mark Kostabi, Ann Magnuson, and the influential art-post-punk/indie rock band Sonic Youth were some of the important and more widely known creators to come out the era. The show is includes of lot of the first art to emerge from--or to be directly influenced by--early hip-hop culture: graffiti and street art, painting, film, music and and dance.
Of course, in terms of art, the East Village today is a shadow of its former self; the nabe has gentrified to the point where it's now a place where the word "luxury" describes apartments selling for millions of dollars. Sure, there are still signs, however, of the area's historic importance as the center of American radical bohemianism, both artistic and political. The East Village no longer attracts artists because they've simply been priced out.
The current artists' magnet of NYC is Williamsburg in Brooklyn, which lies directly across the East River from the East Village. But Williamsburg doesn't possess quite the same vibe--the hood is a relatively sedate and mostly residential area without the history of severe urban decay, violence and drugs that was once the edgy hallmark of life in the East Village and Lower East Side. What's more, because Williamsburg is in Brooklyn, it isn't as directly affected by the hyper-urban bustle of Manhattan.
Still, there are now dozens upon dozens of art galleries and hundreds of artists' studios in W'burg that we won't be surprised to see twenty years from now an exhibition at the New Museum called "Williamsburg USA."
That said, the New Museum of Contemporary Art is fittingly moving into its new, permanent home next year in a futuristic building designed by avant-garde Japanese arhitects on the Bowery in the Lower East Side, at the heart of where much of the art of East Village USA was originally conceived and created.
Related Links
The New Museum of Cntemporary Art Website
East Village USA - New Yorker Magazine Review
East Village USA - NY Magazine Review [NY Metro]
Posted by at 01:48 AM
June 03, 2004
You've Seen the iPod, But Have You Seen the "iRaq"? Ads Get Extreme Makeover by NYC Artist
Forget 10,000 songs in your pocket. Forget the Apple iPod. The latest gadget fetish--if you believe what you see advertised-- is the "iRaq," which offers, as its poster's tagline reads, "10,000 volts in your pocket, guilty or innocent."
While the iRaq poster is a brilliant street-level spoof on the nearly ubiqituous ads for Apple Computer's immensely popular portable MP3 player, it also refers to the all-too-real Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in an all-too-real country. As guerrilla street art goes, this is as political-activist as it gets.
This isn't the first time that the iPod poster has been treated to a third-party guerilla marketing campaign. Last year, an iPod owner, frustrated at Apple's poor handling of a then little-known battery flaw in the device, created a campaign in which he stencilled an anti-Apple message over New York City iPod posters.
So are we just seeing some clever street art? Or is this just an artful form of protest? Or both? Is it vandalism or fun for fun's sake? Whatever your take, it's a powerful example of culture-jamming made more potent by the Internet's exponential reach.
--Insta