Judging a Book by It’s Cover

It might seem weird to many of you to return at a time like this, and even weirder not to spend much, or at least some time dwelling on it. But what’s done is done and it is in the past. So moving on, maybe I’ll post more and maybe I won’t. I will, however try to post more. And follow my title more while I’m at it. Anyway, thought this was kind of cool.

Done by a graphic designer based in London, he reimagines some classic albums as book covers– two of my favorite things. Though I haven’t discussed the latter here, my friends all know I belong to the school of treating a book well– not breaking the binding, no dogears, no getting it wet. They are works of art in more ways than one and how often I have discovered great novels or great albums because of the cover. In any case, these are done by a guy named Christophe Gowan, also known as See Gee on Flickr. And that’s about all that I could find on him. Enjoy more after the jump or all of them here.

 

Fleeting Moments at the River

While I feel that this series would have been better had the photographer Ruben Cox stayed more along the lines of the photo seen here, his ideas are interesting. His exploration of the theme of youth and structuring it around the flowing river may be obvious, but nicely done regardless. Not to mention that this isn’t the first time he’s dealing with youth. He did a whole set of photos revolving around a school bus and there are some winners there as well. The series is titled River Views and is on view at LA’s Hi Lite Gallery through August 14th.

New York, June 12, 23:05

Off-Color Humor

World Cup Art

The billions of us around the world who follow the World Cup every four years are already well aware of what an amazing event it is. So we need no convincing, but those of you who aren’t and read this blog may find this awesome as well. For the second time in its history, the FIFA World Cup has launched a major art project in collaboration with the competition. Since this year’s is in South Africa, the 17 internationally acclaimed artists who were commissioned have a “special” relation to the continent. I’m not sure what that means, but it doesn’t really matter. You should be able to guess the artist behind the one seen here, and a few of my other favorites are after the jump. Also, although the originals were auctioned off for quite a vast sum, you can get prints of these amazing pieces for fairly cheap, but they’re limited. Jump here, don’t run.

1 E + 3 Thank Yous

So today is a special day. Why? Well, if for no other reason, then because it is Kathryn Hepburn’s birthday. But that is of little importance compared with the fact that there have been 1,000 visits to my blog. So its a special occasion and for that, I thank you all for reading the rubbish I post on here. Even you who stumble upon this accidentally, thank you. I can only hope that you have been educated, entertained, or affected in some way by anything that you have come across on this blog. And why that photo? Because there are exactly 500 people in it, and hence, 1000 eyes. Thanks again…

Upside Down Celebrities

Oh, I know… it’s Monday, and you don’t want to go to work, and the weather isn’t ideal, but I do know what will get your spirits up… upside down celebrities, with their faces rightside up! What’s that? Well, you’ll see one above, and as silly and stupid as it all is, you just can’t stop looking at the next one and wondering what your favorite celebrity will look like with a beard… of their hair. Oh Photoshop. Click here to see all.

Life’s Hard… When You’re a Fat Dog

Really? It’s pretty funny nonetheless. Ads for Master Dog Lite, a dog food brand. Ad is by Prolam Y&R in Santiago, Chile. Creative Director was Alvaro Becker, art directors were Andres Echeverria, Cristian Costa, and the copywriter was Tomas Cisternas. Same dance: leap for more.

I Am Near

For those of you who know me, I love the fog. And while I have only been caught in a thick fog a few times, the surreal atmosphere that it creates has a profound impact on me. I love being caught in the midst of one, where all the lights around me are diffused and I feel like I’m half floating. But enough about me and fog, and on to Katrien Franken‘s terrific series, aptly titled I Am Near. A Dutch photographer based in Amsterdam, she has quite a few terrific pieces, but she manages to capture some of my fascination of the mist. The rest after the jump, and some portraits as well.

I Am Yours Now

By now, if you haven’t heard of the Brit belters XX, then get out from under your rock, and if you haven’t fallen in love with them, then find a soul. Regardless, while we all await their follow-up album eagerly, even though their debut still hasn’t gotten old, we can watch this terrific music video for Islands by Saam Farahmand of Partizan. Much like the song, the tension builds and you await that undefinable moment. Its a fantastic video– a great exercise in patience and subtlety, and terrific choreography. So watch closely, because you’ll suddenly realize that you’ve missed something and you’ll have to re-watch it. Not that that’s a punishment of any sorts. On the off chance you don’t have it, here’s the song as well.

Islands

The Lost Souls in Cassettes

Erika Iris Simmons is a self-taught artist who currently resides in Georgia. Her only work thus far seems to be from the series Ghost in the Machine, which uses the tape from old cassettes and film from old reels to create portraits of artists in that medium. She cites the British philosopher, Gilbert Ryle, as her inspiration for this project, from the idea of “how your spirit lives in your body. I [she] imagine we are all, like cassettes, thoughts wrapped up in awkward packaging.” It’s an interesting concept and approach, since the idea of the immortality of an artist has often been discussed. While its a rather literal interpretation, its certainly worth looking at. If nothing else, its fun to look at some of your favorite artists. Some of my favorites after the jump and you can see all of them here.

Finding Faith in Macau

Macau, 21:43, August 17th, 2009

Eye-Catching

It is indeed. This is how internationally acclaimed Dutch design group Moooi (which minus one “o” means beautiful in Dutch, but they added the extra vowel because they claim it is extra beautiful) guided people to their permanent new showroom in Zona Tortona. (In case you didn’t realize, its a huge balloon). The “o”s in their logo are generally represented by eyes such as this one, so I suppose it is rather appropriate, but certainly looks amazing as well. And with that eye-widening image, good morning.

Street Art Mania

With Banksy’s new documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop in theatres, the hullabaloo about street art has risen once again. Not that it’s really ever stopped, what with artists like Shepard Fairey constantly being in the headlines. Regardless, while I wasn’t sure about the film, his new stunts in LA (above), marking his arrival makes me rather interested because I really like this piece. This is actually the second piece, his first can be seen after the jump.

The street artist that I really wanted to talk about however, is not Mr. B, but Escif, who is primarily based in Valencia, Spain, but seems to work all over the place. But that is pretty much that I could find on him and hence, I won’t be really talking about him but showing his work, which I think is amazing. Somewhat surreal at times, political at others, his work seems to be tinged with a subtle mix of melancholy and humor which I find irresistible. But judge for yourself. His work is in an exhibit at the Pictures on Walls gallery in London through May 30th. More after the jump.

Another Street Fair

You can add this onto your list of things to do in New York City, alongside the Brooklyn Flea and those other streets fairs/markets that take place all over the city: the Hester Street Fair. But this one is different. Why you ask? Well, simply because this used to be the city’s oldest and largest pushcart market. It was established in 1895 and I don’t know when it stopped, but this weekend marks the much awaited return of the Lower East Side’s once famous market. And like all opening weekends, this should be more exciting than the other ones to come between now and December. So put on your walking boots, or your rain boots for Sunday, and get out there.

Cute Animals vs Disabled People

Ads for Fundacion Par in Argentina, which helps disabled persons receive equal opportunity. The ads were by the Buenos Aires branch of Mccann Erickson, with Sebastián Castañeda as creative director and art director Nacho Coste. It reads “People with disabilities are not so hot in the news as Penguins, but they also need your help.” I don’t know, I thought they were kind of funny and creative. Click to enlarge.

Biking Hotel

I’m biking to work on this wonderfully beautiful day and since it’s almost summer and I’ve graduated, which means that there really isn’t a summer anymore, I wish that I could be on vacation in some beautiful place biking instead. Take for instance Lake Garda in Italy, a couple miles out of fair Verona, in which lays this scene:

What’s that you ask? Well, it’s a biker’s wet dream. Well, at least it is to me. Named Hiding in Triangles, this is a proposed hotel by design firm Philip Modest Schambelan +Anton Fromm. The hotel is placed on the tip of Pregasina, a hill on the northern side of the lake, and since the area is a huge attraction for mountain bikers, the firm has made it such that the hotel is accessible on every floor by your two wheeled machine. The whole thing is not only a feat of engineering as every ramp is angled at precisely 12 degrees, but also a gorgeous work of design and architecture. With stunning views of the lake and the surrounding hills and the closest feeling to flying that man gets, who could ask for more. Unfortunately, this is only proposed at the moment. More pics after the jump!

Paperclip Nest

With the coming of spring, you’ll probably begin to see some birds nests in a variety of nooks and crannies around you. But even though you will still have to envy their power of flight, you no longer have to stare at their nests in amazement as you can build your own with Taiwanese designers Feng Cheng-Tsung and Wang Bo-Jin’s newest piece. What appears as an ostrich egg actually doubles as a paper clip collector. With a strong magnet in it’s bottom half, it attracts your paper clips, which helps to stabilize the egg as the volume grows. It’s gorgeous, fun, and an all around amazing idea. Kudos to them.

Storm Thorgerson

There’s something about Surrealism that’s always really appealed to me, especially those that involve a faceless man, which explains why Magritte’s Le Fils de L’Homme is among my favorite paintings. Perhaps it was my early introduction to Hitchcock’s Spellbound or Dick Tracy, but whatever it was, there has always been something fascinating about that image. Which brings me to one of my favorite album covers of all time, Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Most of us are probably familiar with the album cover of the two men shaking hands, one of whom is on fire. But its the piece inside that I love. A man, faceless of course, stands on hill in a desert holding a vinyl, with one leg up on a suitcase. And he appears not to have any wrists either. In any case, I’m having some trouble locating the image, but if you own the album, flip through the art. In fact, any of Pink Floyd’s album art, which is mostly done by Storm Thorgerson. And while I have selected these images to talk about briefly, he’s really quite an amazing artist and you’ve probably come across his album covers as he’s done them for Biffy Clyro, Alan Parsons, Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, The Muse, The Cranberries, and The Mars Volta, to name a few. His new book that features his cover art is on sale now (what a great cover), and if you’re in London, there is an exhibit of his works at the Idea Generation Gallery through May 2nd. And of course, if you went to college, you’ve seen the below image. Some of my favorites after the jump.

The Way We Were

I think that it inevitably happens to every blog reader. A favorite blog suddenly stops having new posts… without explanation or warnings, it just ends, and the reader is left to dwell in misery. This has of course just happened to you, as I neither shot nor talked for the past week and well, you were saddened and felt betrayed, but I’m back. For some time at least, I hope, before I take another unannounced break. So here we go again, contemplating art, as it were. Or whatever it is that I do here. Thanks for being faithful.