A nice array of styles and subject matter can be found on the portfolio of photographer Marc Alain.
October 19th, 2011
By now you know I have a soft spot for illustrators that delve into the dark side so it should be of no surprise that I’m posting the blood covered, head splitting, and eye popping drawings of turkish illustrator Elif Varol Ergen. Not only are these works delightfully grotesque but they are beautifully drawn with an iconic color palette of red, black, and baby blue for good measure.
October 19th, 2011
Following David Patterson, a personal trainer and competitive regional bodybuilder, this documentary delves into the sport of bodybuilding. We are guided into the world where only the strongest survive and the only the committed make it. With many, many wins under his belt over 34 years David discusses how building a body with weight training is both an art and a sport. Watch the full documentary after the jump.
October 19th, 2011
Graphic design and government protest collide on Occupy George where fact-based infographics are stamped on dollar bills and distributed in the hope of informing the public about America’s daunting economic disparity one bill at a time. Learn more about Occupy George and download templates to occupy your own money at Occupygeorge.com.
October 19th, 2011
Rashaad Newsome’s obsessively-handmade collages in customized antique frames comprise a visual vocabulary that combines high neo-Baroque style with low pop-advertising imagery. His richly-detailed compositions form a kind of Rosetta stone for hip-hop culture. Newsome culls familiar images of luxury goods from glossy consumer magazines: sports gear, jewel-encrusted brooches, rings, watches, furs and yachts, which he then uses to create contemporary coats of arms set against meticulously-patterned backgrounds. See Newsome’s work from October 20th-December 3rd 2011 at Marblorough Gallery.
October 19th, 2011
RISD student Sam D’Orazio’s paintings of blob head dudes, dogs wearing sweaters, drunk bugs, and mysterious floating heads borrow equally from underground comics as well as surrealism. My favorite images are the ones that are on the brink of abstraction but have enough representational queues to pull you back into reality.
October 18th, 2011
Travis LeRoy Southworth‘s spit wad ceiling installation The Growing Metaphysical Void at the Center of My Bedroom Ceiling immediately transports me to a simpler time when throwing things at the ceiling and watching them stick was king and snapping girls bra’s was the ultimate form of flirting.
October 18th, 2011
Ashkahn Shahparnia, (pronounced ASH-CON SHAW-PAR-NEEYA) is a Los Angeles based graphic design artist whose work is colorful, whimsical, funny, and immensely clever. His designs, which seem to come from a world that is forever changing from spring to summer and back again, transition easily from one product to the next. Graphics for tote bags, t-shirts and pillows, album cover art, patterns for wall paper, some killer custom typefaces and much more, all fit snuggly into his portfolio (along with just about every color imaginable). Capturing the age-old and elusive ‘show-not-tell’ mantra of artists everywhere, Shahparnia’s fonts and graphics truly have personalities of their own. What is perhaps the most exciting is Shahparnia’s use of unexpected items in his designs and graphics, such as the elements of a dismantled avocado to create a minimalist, geometric pattern. Or the graphic representation of the evolution of bikini wax styles from the 1960s to 2000s, matter-of-factly printed on the side of a tote bag. Which makes sense when you look at the extensive list of his inspirations on his website, crediting everything from Lil’ Wayne to Carl Andre to an adorable baby polar bear. While much of Shahparnia’s work is very tongue ‘n cheek, he demonstrates a true understanding of how graphic design can completely dictate the emotional value of an image. Celebrating all styles, be they kitsch, cute or cool, the designs all have one thing in common: they’re great to look at and you’ll probably have a hard time not smiling.
