No one portrays the Wizard of Oz like Graham Rawle (number 2-8 in his portfolio section).
The Emerald City never looked like THIS before:
And remember when Dorothy doused the Wicked Witch of the West with water?
“Oh what a world…what a world…who would’ve thought that a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?”
I love that line.
Chenman combines photography with digital 3-D rendering for a spectacular, vivid otherworldly effect.
Only in her early 20’s, Chenman has already worked for some of the most reputable magazines in the world.
Flash websites are the bane of my existence, yet I still took the time to look through hers. It was so worth it…especially the “highlights” section under “work.”
I know I did a glassworks post recently, but I’m beginning to realize that a number of exceptional artists use this medium. Take Wesley Fleming, for example.
The detailed realism is exquisite.
From the artist statement: With some of my glass beetles for example, I try to capture and mimic an actual species with intricate detail on the tiny limbs and thorax. While in other pieces, I attempt to bring into being a creature from an inner reality or a dream. In some cases I merge the fantastical with the real through choice of color palette or by referencing familiar images in a mythical work.
Some of his subject matter is unconventional.
The colors and patterns here are amazing (of course I had to include the cephalopod…I really want this little guy!).
The whole gallery is wonderful.
It all began with this image, which I intended to post by itself:
Clearly, in days of yore, the streets teemed with giant pig-drawn lard buckets, spreading the joy of saturated fat. Ice cream trucks were a way off yet.
Unnervingly, the pigs mange to display the entire range of class division. The aristocrat on the right, no doubt schooling his piglet on the virtues of capitalism. Move up, and we find the bourgeois passengers, and the working class “drivers.” On the ground, poor laborers, harnessed and whipped into submission. And let’s not forget the ultimate unfortunates: the ones who actually ARE the lard. This is not just an ad…it’s a complete HOG SOCIETY (which I find sad, since one redeeming quality of hogs is their lack of class division).
But I digress. The ad above prompted me to go on a “vintage lard” google image odyssey.
Silver Leaf appealed to refined, distinguished types. But they had some competition from Snowdrift.
Some took a slightly less dainty approach.
And sometimes the need for lard was OLYMPIC!
Here’s a dish that would thrill the modern cardiologist: hot dogs, bacon and processed cheese, lovingly sealed into blocks with…you guessed it…lard.
I’ve saved the best for last. The ultimate irony: man uses a pig to make lard, and subsequently uses lard to make a pig.
I can almost hear the anguished spirit of the pigs cry out “We were already pigs! No rendering and rebuilding necessary! Why on earth did this seem like a good idea to anyone?”
On Wiki, you can find out more about lard than you ever cared to know.
You’re welcome. 🙂
Andrew Huang is an artist, animator and director who makes rather impressive short films and music videos.
I just revisited “Doll Face;” a surrealist piece of anthropomorphic tragedy in which a robot struggles to attain a human physical ideal found on TV. Perhaps all young girls should view this short film as a cautionary tale.
The clips in Huang’s Art and Experimental section use film projection to lend life to inanimate sculpture (very cool visual illusions). Simple paper mache and yarn take on life.
I love the creeping branches that give way to…well, something you should see…in the end of All Remote & No Control. This video wonderfully defies time, space, nature and gravity, all with a perfectly apocalyptic color scheme.
Thanks so much for the reminder of Huang’s work, Matt!
I never developed my origami skills to an advanced level, so I have a lot of respect for people who can manipulate paper in ways that paper is arguably not designed to go.
It’s delicate and tedious work to create this kind of fluidity with paper.
This Flickr set has many more photos.
Other incredible origami pieces on display at Joseph Wu’s Origami Page. I really love this one:
It’s hard to believe that paper is the medium!
This 1961 release is without a doubt the best rare music I’ve come across all year.
Back cover (click to enlarge):
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog has three songs available for download:
“Will to Fail”
“Repressed Hostility Blues”
“It Must be Something Psychological”
Run…don’t walk…to get these songs! “Will to Fail” is my favorite.
I have talents that I never use
I try to win but I love to lose
because I’ve got the will to fail
I secretly am enjoying myself
but slowly I’m destroying myself
(Not my personal anthem, but I think we all know people the song describes)
If only all psychological issues could be transformed into catchy, chipper tunes.
Thanks so much, Tom from Mind Hacks, for posting this.
Sometimes there’s a moment of synergy that makes me feel aligned with the universe.
Right on the tail of my Eric Joyner Post, which centered around my desire to live in a world filled entirely with robots and donuts, a friend with no knowledge the post forwarded THIS to me after receiving it from a co-worker:
Source (I hope these kind strangers don’t mind the citation)
Someone out there has made my fantasy a sweet, sweet reality!
Supposedly, we attract the energy we put out into the universe. I guess my personal “Robot and Donuts” energy was strong enough to produce immediate returns! I promise to use this power only for good.
This is not your typical shoebox diorama.
Amy Leonard assembles lovely, bizarre little worlds of nature and kitsch under glass.
If you let yourself get drawn in, the details seem to harbor stories; a chaotic yet beautiful atmosphere and flow.
Her subtle lighting effects are brilliant.
Click to enlarge this spectacle of “childhood imagination:”
How they look from afar:
I wish she had a personal website!
Oh New York…why must you torture me with a slew of phenomenal exhibits right as I’m about to leave town? I’ve already mentioned Wunderkammer at MoMa, and missed Dali and Film.
I wish I could find pictures from the Japan C showcase at Felissimo.
“The collection features an exciting mix of the traditional and eclectic: robots are alongside fine stationery, kawaii animé characters next to high-tech rice cookers promising the perfect bowl of rice.”
And of course…Camille Rose Garcia’s Ambien Somnambulants exhibit at Jonathan Levine.
Is it possible to actually be in love with artwork? Camille makes me believe it is. I saved the images of this exhibit so I can drool over them at my leisure. I’m not sure what psychological tick of mine keeps me so delightfully hypnotized by sweet and sinister visions.
SheWalksSoftly 
