Tag: art

Mark Ryden: Art for Obama

September 26th, 2008

Boing Boing just called attention to Mark Ryden’s Art for Hope project.

The incomparable painter Mark Ryden and the Merry Karnowsky Gallery are offering this limited edition lithographic poster with all proceeds going to the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign. The artwork is titled “The Pumpkin President.” There are only 500 posters available and they’re $500 each.

What could be better than seeing my favorite artist support my preferred candidate? I suppose being able to shell out $500 for a poster…not this year.
Etched Bottles Left by “Mystery Artist”

September 24th, 2008

Reading the news is never a pleasant experience these days, and I tend to dislike the “human interest” stories designed to be uplifting. But this story made my day.

A mystery artist has been taking empty milk bottles from the doorsteps of suburbia and returning them with elaborate glass etchings. The bottles clearly take time and effort, and idea that someone is willing to leave them anonymously gives me some hope for the beautiful gestures of which mankind is capable.

Of course, the response of one recipient shot that hope down instantly:

“Who knows, it might be worth something one day.”

Typical.

Still, I’ve left anonymous little gifts for people to find, Amelie style, and I just may do it again.

Source
Schaffas

September 23rd, 2008

What a great project concept. Invent a creature, give it a name, gather a group of talented folks to bring it to life.

“The International Fauna Dossier describes a schaffas (Marcum-Schaffidius) as a gentle and un-aspiring creature of great mystery…SCREAMDANCE have hand-picked art-friends from all over the world to customize their own breed of schaffas. They were each sent a similar blank shape and given free reign to add, subtract, paint or destroy these objects.”

Here is the template:

And a couple of examples of what people have done with it:

You can see the whole collection here, and it’s quite entertaining.

I love the emerging trend of DIY toys. Mildly anthropomorphic shapes have become a new canvas, and it’s lovely to see the variety of what people project upon them.
Sushipot Art Objects

September 22nd, 2008

I felt very much at home on Sushipot’s Etsy site. She is a mixed media artist, whose work is very similar to some of mine.

This would fit nicely above my toy shelf.

She also makes jewelery out of vintage medical diagrams, like I do!

And lovely greeting cards with obscure ephemera.

Yep, Sushipot and I are cut from the same cloth. I wonder what we’d come up with if we each brought a bunch of supplies and sat down to collaborate!
Jason Freeny

September 21st, 2008

I’ve referenced Jason Freeny’s work over the years. How could I resist art so clearly obsessed with anatomy AND candy?

This was the image that first introduced me to his unique brand of genius:

And…

Are these the textbook images pulled from some fictional world in which gummi bears teach biology? Don’t you wish YOUR textbooks looked like this?

I was drawn back to Freeny’s site after Random Good Stuff posted his new Anatomical Skateboard Deck.

Sadly, if I tried to skateboard I’m sure my guts would be sprawled on the sidewalk in a much less appealing configuration.

Artists often simply go for the gore with medical imagery, but Freeny uses smooth surfaces, bright colors and a good sense of lighting. I enjoy the rather ominous sense of sterility…as if medicine is a giant mechanized entity.

Well, it is.

If I could give one suggestion, it would be to take “Visible Vinyl” (below) from a print to an actual model. I’d want one. Pretty badly.
Graham Rawle

September 20th, 2008

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.
Wesley Fleming

September 20th, 2008

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.
Amy Leonard: Under Glass

September 18th, 2008

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!
The Best NY Art Exhibits I Won’t Get To See

September 18th, 2008

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.
Joe Blow Glassworks

September 17th, 2008

Along the lines of my previous Delicately Deadly post are Joe Blow’s Glassworks. I’m a big fan of the “Raygunz.”

If I could order his entire glass raygun collection in miniatures, I’d hang them on my Christmas tree. I think they’d make delightful ornaments.