This is what the bear probably looked like. Except real.

You Are Beautiful

Sometimes it just needs to be said. Because you are you know.  Yes indeed, you are my friend.

Urban Gunfighter Pt. 1

The first of the series. While the grey tones of this piece represent the lines and boundaries in which we live in between, the color represents inspiration. Some days you wake up and the sun seems to be shining a little brighter, colors are a little more vivid, and  smiles seem to come just a little bit easier. I was actually going for a hint of existentialism here and Im not sure if that came through.

Desmond Decker- Israelites

This song never gets old.

The Kiss

This ceramic sculpture in beautiful in its simple message.

Kids the Trailer

Wow! I just saw this trailer while surfing around, and boy did it take me back. The funny thing is that they look so young to me now, and when I saw this originally, I was about that age.



The New One

While still in progress, im happy with the metamorphosis that this painting has taken. The graph in the background started as a piece, but afterthought won me over. The writing in this painting came to symbolize an aztec curse: visually. The grey tones symbolize the lines and boundaries in which we exisist inbetween.  

The Slow Death of American Car Industry

This exhibit by Jonathan Schnipper is actually called "The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle." I think it was, however, conceived before the collapse of our national auto industry. These muscle cars are on a steel track, and set to collide over a period of six days in Brooklyn at the Pierogi Boiler. I think this is powerful in the sense that a series of graphs and charts would never have the visual impact of twisted metal. I also laugh when people fall though.

Dancing Headfones

Ooh Yeah - dancing headphones from beshart on Vimeo.

Netherlands to Close Prisons For Lack of Criminals

Apparently, a shortage of criminals is causing the closing of prisons. It is possible that Belgium might even rent out the empty prisons. This is definitive proof that cliched republican rhetoric against legalization of drugs and "democratic socialism" is all true. All of it...

William Spencer and Circus Tricks

Reggie Watts

I am not exactly sure what this all means, but I do know that is is absolutely genius.

Reggie Watts on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.

Rueben Margolin and kinetic sculpture

I just recently started getting into kinetic sculpture and Ruebens work is by far the best that I have come across. It is beautiful and peaceful. I especially enjoy that the inspiration for his work comes from nature- the sun, the water, and the wheat!?! What? This man is beautifully insane. Thank you Rueben Margolin. You have made me smile, and have made my day.

Boxi at Carmichael Gallery in LA

I have found my new favorite gallery. I was abandoned on the streets of LA, and suddenly found it.
I have been following Boxi's work for a couple years and was extremely glad to get the opportunity to get to see the work live. His technique doesn't just verge on neurotic- it is neurotic, but that only makes it more of a pleasure to stand in front of for hours.
The only thing that I like more than his paintings, is his own description of his artwork.
Boxi calls this work "post-apocalyptic romanticism." (Im pretty sure this is what a bachelors in art gets you.)

Evol in Berlin

Evol is mind-boggling me once again. The concept to take the texture and imprints from used cardboard boxes and turn that into the texture of the streets is so simple, and powerful. Don't even get me started on his cuts. Click of the above photos for larger ones. Check him out, if you hadn't heard of him before.

http://just.ekosystem.org/EVOL-EXHIBITION.html

The News Goes Kanye

Check this video out. Who knew Katie Couric was so fresh?

Revolutionary Treatment By British Medic

This British medic is apparently on the cutting edge of revolutionary medicine. The sheer genius in his approach is amazing. I wonder how his involuntary patients feel about this modern approach to medicine?

Machines That Almost Fall Over

Machines that Almost Fall Over from Michael Kontopoulos on Vimeo.


What doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger. This exhibit is so fucked up, but somehow strangely peaceful.  Powerful enough to resist the next attack.  Your violent attacks leave me wobbly, but I still stand. This medium demands questioning of how we recover.

Shepard Fairey and Fair Use

While the AP threatened to sue Shepard Fairey for his use of their Obama photo from which he fashioned his iconic Hope painting, his attorney, Anthony Falzone beat them to court. Falzone filed suit against the AP demanding a statement declaring that Fairey's artwork does not infringe on their copyright and, in fact, is protected by the Fair Use Doctrine.

Falzone heads The Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School and probably saw the broader artistic issues at play and jumped at the chance to defend the evolving interpretation of fair use laws. As our perceptions of art continue to evolve, the Fair Use Doctrine is constantly pushed to its limits with judges often making inconsistent rulings. 

Fairey, over the years has been criticized for using  existing political posters and artwork to create his images and has continually blurred the lines between originality and inspiration. While his arrest in Boston outside the Boston Museum of Contemporary Art seems to have backfired, and has only gained Fairey more popularity, one is propelled to question what the fair use of the Fair Use Doctrine is- especially when  an Austin based artist is hit with a cease and desist from Fairey himself for parodying Fairey's classic Obey Image.

Subtext San Diego Grand Opening

Subtext has moved to a larger space at the corner of Kettner and Laurel. Frank Rogozienski had the pleasure of being the first show in the new location as he exhibited his new "Picture a Day" project. He took a photograph everyday for a grand (leap year) total of 366. The opening on Jan. 21st had everything an opening dreams of- wine, a keg of beer, a cool band, and plenty of hipsters contemplating art, life, and their outfits. The show is a must see and is up until February 15th.

Fifty People and One Question

Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Crush + Lovely on Vimeo.
Filmed in Brooklyn, this viral video will make you smile. The question itself is so disarming that people respond in perfect innocence and beautiful honesty. At certain points, its almost as if we have a lens into the very depths of their souls. Absolutely brilliant!

Obey Makes the Smithsonian

Shepherd Fairey, or Obey, as he is known in the artworld, has finally made the big-time. His now iconic Obama image, which was seen much throughout our new President's grassroots campaign, was purchased by The Smithsonian Institue. Odd, however, that Fairey's  anti-establishment artwork has been so readily accepted by the establishment. Has the establishment become anti-establishment? The sheer irony.

Ron English

Ron English, creator of the iconic Obama/Lincoln image, has been extremely busy this past week as seen by these photos of a "liberated billboard" in LA courtesy of our friends at supertouch. This image has become an instant classic, exhibiting at several art shows from San Francisco to Washington DC's latest star-studded Manifest Hope show, curated by the one-time San Diego resident Shepherd Fairey. Fairey's own Obama portrait was just purchased by The Smithsonian Institue where it now hangs.

Will Ryman @Saatchi Gallery in London

This monstrous bed is 26' long and is the latest sculptural installation at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea's art district of London. Will Ryman's lonely and self-indulgent piece is absolutely powerful in its message and medium. I love it, it resonates with me in a very deep place. Either that or it is actually me.

You Are Beautiful

I just finished reading The Five People That You Meet in Heaven and this quote really popped out at me. "Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge. His thoughts still haunt him."
That, in turn, reminded me of Thoreau's quote, "the mass of men lead lives of silent desperation."
This is why I love street art- selfless acts of beauty, hoping to affect strangers in a positive way. It seems that a happy thought, or a smile- i know the world could use more of them- is what is hoped to be inspired. Sometimes the walls speak to you. These are photos of random graffiti in San Diego.

Vhils Getting it Done

Even if You Win the Rat Race, You're Still a Rat- Vhils is having a solo show in lisbon until early Feb. I love the drippy faces.

Horses With Wigs

 It seems only too obvious that a photographer should indulge themselves with portraits such as these. It is also fairly hilarious. Julia Wolkenstein is an incredibly talented and witty photographer as seen by her photos of people in hamster cages. The message of these photos  seems to strike a chord with me, illustrating how people can sometimes build their own walls- and feel trapped inside. Check out julian wolkenstein, and prepare to be humored and amazed.