This series by photographer Fred Lebain looks like a modern re-interepretaion of surrealist painting. Lebain has shot at various locations around NYC, printed the results, then returned to the locations to create a cut and paste juxtaposition of art and reality. The real character in this series comes from what Lebain chooses to hide, show, or mask, with the re-incorporated prints. There’s something very Magritte about this, but it still feels fresh and fun despite the conceptual reference.
SSIN, AKA Kim Sin Hye, is a recent graduate of Hong-Ik University in Seoul. In the painting shown, 21st Century Boys & Girls Golden Mountain, elaborate, highly detailed pieces which resemble maps and topography as much as paintings. As we look we are easily lost in the painting’s details. The piece effectively creates various textures, combined to create an overall composition. Gold pigment and Korean ink on Korean paper. You can explore more of the artists work here.
The highly anticipated release of The Red Book of C. G. Jung has propelled the publication to #71 on the Amazon best seller’s list. Not too shabby for a book with a $195 MSRP. The 199 numbered copies of the deluxe edition, hand tooled in red leather like the original, were made available only to members of the Philemon Foundation for a donation of $2,450. Had we known the book would virtually sell out in less than a month, we would have capitalized on the pre-order or October 19th initial offering. Captivated by Red Book fever we combed the net to no avail and were finally relegated to calling individual book stores all over the country in an attempt to snag a first edition copy. We are happy to report it’s in the mail and we just can’t wait.
It’s worth mentioning that the original Red Book may be seen in its first public exhibition at New York’s Rubin Museum of Art until 25 January 2010. Next year it will be on display at the Library of Congress from 17 June to 31 July. To compliment the book release and public viewing the RMA is hosting a choice group of cultural icons for The Red Book Dialogues. Speakers include musicians David Byrne and Billy Corgan, designer Stefan Sagmeister, and novelist Gloria Vanderbilt among others. Guest speakers will be paired on stage with a psychoanalyst and invited to respond to and interpret a folio from Jung’s Red Book as a starting point for a wide ranging conversation.
With the holiday shopping season almost upon us, we’ve been combing the interwebs looking for new shops. Central Illustration Agency houses a collection of prints, accessories and gift items perfect for holiday giving. This ‘Call of the Wild’ wallpaper by Kai & Sunny goes for about $100 USD shipping to US included, and is printed in an edition of 100 rolls. The cushion covers by Lojja Designs are silk screened prints on drill fabric run about $60 USD, shipping included. Not bad for super unique items not regularly available here in the US. Nothing says I care like “I had this shipped from over seas.”
It’s always fun to look at visions of the future from previous generations. Magic Highway USA is an excerpt from a 1958 Disneyland TV Show that’s particularly well illustrated and an excellent reference for those that dig the 50’s-ish retro-futuristic style. It would seem our infrastructure is still lagging a bit by the standards of the Jetson’s era visionaries. But at least there’s a good sound track to get your imagination working on how to build a hover car.
KERNSPIRACY is a community building and peer support project for designers and creative professionals. Los Angeles is a tough place to work; it’s easy to feel like you’re out there all on your own. KERNSPIRACY is intended to address
this issue by creating forums for people to ask for advice, feedback and support from their creative peers.
KERNSPIRACY hosts bi-monthly get togethers where designers and other creatives come to meet one another and trade ideas and critiques. If you’re a designer, please come and bring a question, a design you’d like some feedback on or just a business card. If you know other designers, please encourage them to join you. At the very least, we can all have drinks together and complain about Quark.
KERNSPIRACY
A Place for Designers to Share Secrets
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Barbara’s at the Brewery
620 Moulton Ave., L.A., 90031
(inside the Brewery Arts Complex)
For this series, artist Ben Turnbull whittled symbols of violence into school desks. The series explores childhood fascination with violence. Born in 1974 and and working out of London, he is a passionate critic of the contemporary American political system, and explains why toys are central to his work: “Force fed on violence, abused by a controlling superpower and blackmailed through patriotism, the public are ultimately as disposable as the toys they once played with.”
Turnbull is fascinated by the global dominance of American culture, and his works unsettling effects result from re-presenting the toys of our innocent youth in symbolic forms that reveal the shocking truths about war, death and guns in the world’s most powerful country. Above all they take a satirical look at the lengths that the country’s political elites go to in order to control and manipulate the way we think, from our first days of play to the last time we cast our vote.
Thurs, Nov. 5th 7-10PM
Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
1257 N. La Brea Ave in West Hollywood / 323.969.0600
“Dark Doings” featuring new works and an installation from Dan Witz
(On view through Dec. 3rd)
www.carmichaelgallery.com
Fri, Nov. 6th 7-11PM
C.A.V.E. Gallery
507 Rose Ave in Venice / 310.428.6387
“The Hinterland In My Room” featuring new works from Anthony Clarkson, Ciou, Emma Overman, Macsorro and Rudy Fig + live painting from John Park
(On view through Nov. 28th)
www.cavegallery.net
Fri, Nov. 6th 8-11PM
La Luz De Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles / 323.666.7667
“And We All Go” featuring new works from Mark Bodnar
(On view through Nov. 29th)
www.laluzdejesus.com
We recently stumbled upon the work of Slovakian illustrator Peter Stuller. In the tradition the editorial illustration of Art Department fame, Stuller has added refreshing graphic elements to his work. While not much is known about his history Peter has introduced us to his unique approach to line drawing and pattern.
In most cases we would consider automated font adjustment (using the bold button in MS word rather than using a bolder font weight) a crime against the printed word. LAIKA however, seems to have taken the automated rendering of typography in a new direction with shockingly good results. LAIKA is the BA thesis work of Nicolas Kunz and Michael Flückiger and is one of the first examples we’ve come across of real time dynamic type rendering.
“Type has always been something static.
In considering type we speak, for example, in terms of bold, thin, grotesque, classical, roman, italic: terms that all describe a defined variant of the font family. Thus we only ever see individual fixed points in what is actually an infinitely wide space of possibilities.
With digitalisation, however, typeface has left its manifest image – cast in lead – behind, and with it all the associated limitations. Computer-based applications, the Internet and new, fluid advertising media allow us to go beyond the existing, static view of typography.” -from LAIKA website.
