Valerie Hegarty

Rothko Sunset 2007

Foamcore, canvas, paper, paint, glue, wire, tape, sand, gel medium

42″ x 32″ x 8″

Rothko Reflection 2007

Foamcore, wood, wire, canvas, glue, paper, paint, gel medium, sand, tape

89″ x 60″ x 5″

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Evol

Totally rad stencil work from Berlin. Yeah, that is a power box he worked on there, which is rad.

He also does work on cardboard that is MIND BLOWING. Check his Flickr set for more

Emmanuel Polanco

Just brilliant collage work.

do yourself a favor and really spend some time here. I mean it, this work is beyond amazing.

ITEM ONE
“Liquids & Bubbles” is a Flickr set by Janet Waters where she uses liquids as a kind of photographic paint. She creates a wide range of images from what I would consider to be “text book” (as in could be seen in a text book, not run of the mill) to truly wondrous and unique images that smack of space(s) both large and small.

ITEM TWO
Noferin
A husband and wife team (Candy and Nick) creating some excellent art and toys. For those either over or looking for an alternative to vinyl toys these two are working with wood. All the nostalgia of wooden toys mixed with a forward thinking design and unique design aesthetic. I love them.

They’re new line launches soon so keep an eye out if that kind of thing floats your boat.

ITEM THREE
DesignedMade is a new British design label from product designer Jonathan Krawczuk. Their first product are these lovely little tea lights with an arachnid sensibility. I really like them view the site for more details

That is what I’ve got for now. I’ll be back on a more regular schedule soon.
<3
/nate

Item One:

Seeing Colors Mix Tape
This has been out for a bit, but I’m just getting to giving it a listen. Thrown down by Ghostly label head Sam Valenti IV (SV4) and Michna it is well worth your time.
Tracklist =
Orbital - Halcyon & On & On (FFRR)
Joey Beltram - Enegy Flash (R+S)
The Persuader - What’s The Time, Mr Templar (Svek)
Sascha Funke - Safety First (Kompakt)
Pantha Du Prince - Suzan (Dial)
Klein & MBO - Dirty Talk (Zanza)
Gino Soccio - Remember (Atlantic)
Giorgio Moroder - The Chase (Casablanca)
Der Zyklus -Elektronisches Zeitecho (Gigolo)
I-F - Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Interdimensional Transmissions)
Kraftwerk - Numbers (WEA)
Air - Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi (Dopplereffekt Mix) (Source)
Depeche Mode - Everything Counts (Maxi Single Live Version) (Mute)
The Smiths - Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (Rough Trade)
The Cure - Close To Me (WEA)
The Cure - Close To Me (Closest Remix) (WEA)

Item Two:

drewfunk and artist now residing in Melbourne is doing some excellent excellent graffiti inspired work. Have a look.
drewfunk’s website
drewfunk’s flickr photstream

Item Three:

Akina, out of Australia is re-imagining fairy tales and making hand made books to illustrate them. I think it is brilliant and I want one, badly.

Well that is all for now, there will be more to come on a more reliable schedule. I promise.
xo

Ghosts of Techno: Ghostly International from Ghostly International on Vimeo.

In time for Christmas present buying there are some hot new shirts being done up to celebrate the artists who choose to work in the medium. So often screen printing and t-shirt design is equated with flash in the pan ’street culture’ where the “art” is nothing more than a foil to push along trends with the half-life of a week.

That project statement from Pale Horse Design and Hydro 74 in conjunction with Back in Black Apparel reads a little something like this:

Hydro 74 and Pale Horse Design proudly present the “Back in Black” T-Shirt Exhibit - Showcasing limited-edition, one-color t-shirt designs by some of the world’s leading digital artists (who are the backbone of many of the major apparel brands we see today).

The purpose of this show is to highlight the artwork of the uncelebrated designers whose art you’ve probably been collecting in your closet for years, as well as to establish the t-shirt as a new medium for fine art.

Have a look at what they are doing, pick one or two up, I think I will as well.

As for the brass tacks on this project: it was commissioned for the Human Rights Action Center and the design was handled by Seth Brau, check out what he is up on:
He designs (draws) custom kicks for five three footware. You can also find him writing at Cool Hunting, and I guess he kicks a little ass at After Effects.
Have at it.
xo

I’ve really been having the desire to get my hands inky again, so much time on the computer will do that I guess. With that said expect to see more artists up here as I pull out reams of paper and dig out boxes of paints and dust of some monotype plates.

In mean time here is is Ian Francis, a forward thinking, ass kicking UK based artist. Here is a little bio:

Ian Francis was born in 1979 in Bristol, England, and graduated from the University of the West of England with a degree in Illustration. His work concentrates on the particulars of modern experiences — things like television, world events, celebrities, and day-to-day living. He held his first US solo show at BLK/MRKT in 2007.

Here is a pretty good interview with Ian Francis. There is also some more really great work not seen on his website.

Aside from just amazing art he also has really kick ass titles for his work:

• A Cheerleader Decides to Shoot Her Friend (This Scene is Real).
• A girl watches her lover’s plane leave the airport (this scene ends badly)

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

I went back to DJ in Iowa over the weekend and spend a little face time with the fam. My mom and I were hiding from a dinner party run awry when I saw Oberto’s new campaign. This is their first foray into national advertising and though I guess it launched about 2 weeks ago I had yet to see it.

What they done did

This new direction was spurred on by Tom Ennis, the new VP of Marketing for Oberto. Ennis made the jump from Brinker International–you know the national restaurant chain behind such “giants of the industry” as Chili’s and Romano’s Macaroni Grill–about a year ago. In his words this campaign goes a little something like this:

…the campaign was preceded by months of research, including segmentation and ethnographic studies, to determine the self-confident “leader of the pack” young males to target. “They like being guys’ guys, and they’re a little more sophisticated than the typical beef-jerky guy. They love their meat snacks,” he said.

Still, Ennis credited the Jack Links advertising for “talking to regular Joes” and “stimulating the category.” He said that competitor enjoys an estimated 35 percent market share lead, compared to Oberto’s 12 percent. Despite the No. 1 venue for sales occurring in convenience stores typically attached to gas stations, the category is still growing within those outlets, despite fewer customers due to high gas prices.

Because Oberto targets a “more upscale, ex-urban, suburban male, not the traditional camper/fisher/hiker type,” the spots are often set in an office environment, like in one commercial where a Japanese executive is lauded by an acolyte before subserviently suggesting that he’d accompany the executive to the bathroom. “Woodsiness,” says ecd Curt Detweiler, “is a self-imposed limit on the category. We’re opening it up to an afternoon outing, the workplace, to an exchange as casual as a pack of gum.”

“Our challenge is to find what will grow the category,” said Anyssa Bromley, account director at the agency here. “That is, thinking of Oberto in an everyday context and making it relevant to everyone.”

The spots, directed by Smuggler’s Randy Krallman, ed: that site has some really worthwhile moments on it, check it out.) will run on ESPN, Comedy Central and Spike TV, among other male-oriented outlets.

(thanks ad week).
The spot was designed by LA based Firm Ground Zero.

Does it work?

The first viewing is really funny, like pretty damn funny, maybe I was really burnt out but I had a hearty full body laugh; my mom also really liked it–though she isn’t the target demographic, doesn’t hurt I’m sure. Additionally working to its credit was the fact that their choices for network and programming to air the spot during work well. I saw it during The Sarah Silverman show and the segue from episode to ad was really good which I think enhances the effect of the ad. So yeah, all of that is pretty spot on; but I’m not sure that the ad stands up to repeated viewing once you know the gag, the payoff just isn’t there. It is stronger than most freshmen efforts and I think shows an aptitude for creating creative ads that get people talking, and really thats the whole point right? Its funny–for the most part–the cop one is the winner for me, and shows real promise.

Have a look

xo

I have been a loyal subscriber to the Blogariddims podcast from damn near the start of their impressive run. They have constantly provided some of the most diverse, compelling, at times challenging and always entertaining podcasts with thoughtful prose to accompany the mixes. So it is with heavy heart that this week ushers in the end. Playing host to such disparate ‘mixologists’ as Driod + Slug, Dj Flack, The Heatwave Collective, Gutterbreakz, Wayne and Wax, John Eden and SO many more (*editors note: most of those links will take you to more personal eulogies for Blogariddims by those fine artists who have staked claim to it’s shores.)

I urge you to visit Blogariddim’s home on the web if you are unfamiliar with this monster of an online institution and sink your ears into some serious music. I PROMISE you will not be disappointed.
Some of my favorite mixes over the past few years are these:

Belated bigups for this excellent contribution to the series courtesy of Boston based DJ Flack. A multi-genre maelstrom, and another Ableton masterclass (following Wayne’s and Paul Autonomic’s contributions last year), this episode is a real labour of love which spans multiple styles and decades in consumate style. As Flack says:

In the spirit of “Beat Research” I made it a point to switch genres with each new addition and was particularly open to playing tracks at odd speeds. Another thing I wanted to do was include some of my favorite songs that are outside of the hip-hop/electronica world but that mean a lot to me personally - I was psyched to include tracks from two of my all time favorite records; “Double Nickels on the Dime” by the Minutemen and “Remain in Light” by the Talking Heads. I like to take advantage of the fact that we have the entire history of recorded music at our fingertips and put older music in a new context…

Get the mix here. Read the notes here, check out the tracklisting here (theres a nice little extra when you rollover it), and leave your comments here. Things are heating up with an excellent start to this years contributions, and heres hoping the next episode (from yours truly) keeps up the high standards!

We’ve always had an interest in local talent and from when we started buying records in the ’90s we were drawn to rappers like Blak Twang, Rodney P and Roots Manuva, whose lyrics described life in urban Britain and made reference to the peculiarities of British culture. The received wisdom then was that MCing could only be done well by Americans and at the time many UK rappers seemed compelled to adopt mid-Atlantic accents. We felt, and still feel, that one of the best ways in which British MCs can really and fashion their own identity was and is to draw on the unique relationship that the UK has with the Caribbean.

Read the rest and grab the mix over at Heatwave.

There is really SO much more but that gives you place to start. It was a good run Blogariddims thanks for all the music!