James Bullough.

The Falling.

The Falling.

James Bullough is an American born artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. His paintings, and huge monumentally scaled site-specific murals, are phenomenal combinations of realist painting technique and graphic punctuation. Inspired by gritty urban graffiti as a young artist growing up in Washington, DC, Bullough harnessed its energy in his work, and perfected a realistic oil painting technique from his study of the Old Masters. Combining the momentum of the one and the technical precision of the other, his work is about staging compelling contrasts and juxtapositions. Working in everything from oil, spray paint and ink on canvas, Bullough’s paintings strike a balance between realistic figurations and stylized interruption. Disjointing the realistic elements with graphic areas and fractured or striated planes, Bullough intends to challenge the viewer’s perception.

His work is stunning, and highly emotive. For his Breaking Point series:

In this new series of works, Bullough captures moments of existential fracture, disruption, and personal breach through the expressive movement of the body, asking his models to channel personal memory and to recall experiences of “breaking” at the moment of their capture. Working with dancers from Berlin, Bullough begins with the body in motion, arrested in an expense of negative space, then dissembles it further, splicing, striating, and fragmenting its surfaces and planes. The models remain anonymous and faceless throughout, an omission intended to reaffirm the symbolic universality of the emotive physical gesture.

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Enough.

Burst.

Burst.

Oil painting on old, found book.

Oil painting on old, found book.

Click images for full size. Have a wander around James’s gallery, it’s full of amazing works. James Bullough.com.

Lollipop Cool.

Vintage Confections has the coolest lollipops on the planet. They have planets you can eat.

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There’s much more in their space collection, too. They have nebulas, galaxies, phases of the moon, Lost in Space, and more. (I’m in love with the phases of the moon set, but I don’t know if I could bring myself to eat them.)

Vintage Confections has 2D lollis with a 3D effect, 3D lollis, flats, lollis without the stick, square and rectangle lollis, and shaped lollis. Marshmallows with images, too. :D You can even design your very own.

Serious temptations: Phases of the Moon, Creature Eyes, I love Geeks and Nerds, and Insects, Bugs, and Spiders. Oh, I have to stop.

Vintage Confections Online Catalogue.

Tiny Street Interventions.

Slinkachu © 2015.

Slinkachu © 2015.

Slinkachu © 2015.

 

Slinkachu © 2015.

Slinkachu © 2015.

 

Slinkachu © 2015.

Slinkachu © 2015.

These are so absolutely delightful!

Blink, and you’ll miss it. Secreted amongst weeds growing in the cracks of sidewalks or hidden in a tiny pile of trash, street artist Slinkachu creates site-specific interventions of miniature people living just under our feet. More than just hiding tiny figurines in public places, each of his artworks are carefully considered, crafted, and installed before the artist takes a photo to document it. While clearly humorous in nature, Slinkachu’s pieces touch on much larger ideas of environment, globalization, and a culture of isolation often found in large cities. Via Andipa Gallery:

These figures embody the estrangement spurred by the over-whelming nature of the modern metropolis, and incite a renewed perspective of the everyday urban experience to those who find them. This sense of isolation and melancholy, however, is accompanied by sense of irony and humour that makes Slinkachu’s commentary all the more poignant.

Via Colossal Art. Slinkachu’s Official Instagram. Slinkachu at Andipa Gallery, London. Oh, go have a look, you’ll definitely have a smile on your face.

I make simple things complicated.

Derek McDonald.

Derek McDonald.

I am an artist. I am a maker of things.

Derek McDonald Artworks was established in 1997 when I decided to dedicate more time to art. With that decision came the task of building a 900 square foot workshop from the ground up, equipped with special machines and tools. Every artist needs his creative space, and after four years, I finally had mine.

Design is at the center of everything I do. I like to get my hands dirty and put my welding torch to use, and I am proud to provide artisan-quality goods. My artwork is handcrafted and distinguished by clean, hidden welds and painstaking detail.

I am passionate about using recycled material, so I frequent scrap yards for pieces of metal and other nonsense. I like to incorporate motion and texture into my artwork, and I constantly experiment with wood, granite, and concrete. Unique finds get my imagination going, and I love the challenge of what could be crafted from my collection of presumed junk.

Derek McDonald Artworks. Fabulous works here, and a whole lot to see.

Beautiful, Shiny…Dirt.

Bruce Gardner.

Bruce Gardner.

What’s not to love about playing with dirt, and even better, playing with mud? Most all of us have done that in our lives at some point, and had a great time, too. Those of us who still love to play in dirt often use gardening as an excuse. I had never heard of dorodango though, a common occupation of children in Japan. Then there’s hikaru dorodango, the art of making shiny mud balls! I know I’m going to do this, it’s just one of those things that you see, and right away, you’re running outside for dirt.

Hikaru dorodango experienced a resurgence and brand new popularity thanks to Professor Fumio Kayo of the Kyoto University of Education: SHINY MUD BALLS: Kyoto Professor Taps into the Essence of Play. I really need to come out from under my rock more often, I had no idea, and this just looks so amazingly cool and fun. Professor Kayo’s personal recipe is included in that article, along with his method:

How to Make Shiny Dorodango

1. Pack some mud into your hand, and squeeze out the water while forming a sphere.

2. Add some dry dirt to the outside and continue to gently shape the mud into a sphere.

3. When the mass dries, pack it solid with your hands, and rub the surface until a smooth film begins to appear.

4. Rub your hands against the ground, patting and rubbing the fine, powdery dirt onto the sphere. Continue this for two hours.

5. Seal the ball in a plastic bag for three or four hours. Upon removing the sphere, repeat step 4, and then once again seal the sphere in a plastic bag.

6. Remove the ball from the bag, and if it is no longer wet, polish it with a cloth until it shines.

Over at The Creators Project, you can read about Bruce Gardner’s dorodango, along with beautiful photos and a brief video.

Magie du Bouddha has a nice, humorous tutorial.

dorodango-sample-open

Have fun playing with the dirt, I know I will!

The Beauty of Impermanence.

Chuan-Bin Chung.

Chuan-Bin Chung.

We are impermanent beings, and perhaps that is best illustrated with anatomy.

Chinese illustrator and anatomy instructor Chuan-Bin Chung encourages his students to understand the intricacies of the human body by drawing them. For many of his lessons he creates impermanent drawings on chalkboards as a helpful guide, but instead of quick sketches as one might be accustomed to, the pieces are exacting and colorful depictions of bones, muscles, and tendons—practically works of art in their own right.

I’ve seen many art pieces based on human anatomy, all of them stirring and beautiful. I would put these in that class. They may not last long, but there is a striking beauty there, which will reside in minds long after the chalk is gone.

Chuan-Bin Chung.

Chuan-Bin Chung.

Those of you with Facebook accounts can hit the above links, fortunately, for the those of us without FB accounts, Chuan-Bin Chung has a youtube channel. There’s much to enjoy!

Via Colossal Art.

Best Wedding Photos. Ever.

Even though much of the work here is wedding photography, it reads much more simply as love photography. Maybe Happy! Happy! Happy! photography, too. Whatever it some photographers have, Viet Duc Nguyen has it in abundance. The absolutely stunning locations get to feature as well, and it’s hard to imagine a more beautiful place for a wedding. Click on over and have a look, you won’t be disappointed. You will be busy for a while.

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© Viet Duc Nguyen.

 

© Viet Duc Nguyen.

© Viet Duc Nguyen.

Viet Duc Nguyen.

Indiginerds Unite!

Indigicon

Join us this fall in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the National Hispanic Cultural Center for the very first Indigenous Comic Con!  Featuring Indigenous creators, illustrators, writers, designers, actors, and producers from the worlds of comic books, games, sci-fi, fantasy, film, tv, and graphic novels. The Indigenous Comic Con seeks to highlight the amazing work that brings understanding about the Indigenous experience to the world of popular culture!  The action begins Friday afternoon and continues through Sunday evening!

 Everyone is welcome!

You can buy tickets now.

Red Wolf creator, Award-Winning Native American Comic Artist & Designer from the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, Jeffrey Veregge will be one of many special guests at this year's Indigenous Comic Con.

Red Wolf creator, Award-Winning Native American Comic Artist & Designer from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Jeffrey Veregge will be one of many special guests at this year’s Indigenous Comic Con.

With a growing number of Native people making comics and designing videogames as a way to revitalize their languages, one great way to break down stereotypes is a Native-centered event. The inaugural Indigenous Comic Con on November 18-20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hopes to do just that.

“There are a lot of Indigenerds out there,” said Indigenous Comic Con artistic director and Laguna Pueblo member, Dr. Lee Francis IV. “We joke about that word, but the idea that Native People, Indigenous People, get to participate in pop culture…We wanted to create a space of celebration and say ‘Hey. We are in these spaces.’ A lot of wonderful creators are doing some incredible work in these areas. It’s time to celebrate that.”

After a year of planning and a joint sponsorship between Francis’s Native Realities Publishing and A Tribe Called Geek, the organizers selected the November 18-20 date and the site of the comic con at Albuquerque’s National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 4th St. S.W. Francis said the NHCC has the facility requirements as well as a long history with hosting Native poetry and other indigenous workshops.

At press time, the keynote panelists scheduled are Jeffrey Veregge (Port Gamble S’Klallam), the artist for Marvel Comics’ Red Wolf, and Arigon Starr (Kickapoo), the creator of Super Indian Comics. Other events include an exhibition hall, live music and cosplay contests.

In the FAQ section of their website, there is a disclaimer about the cosplay and costumes that states “no Tontos or other Indigenous stereotypes.” Although this Comic Con will be fun, the panels will not shy away from serious subjects such as stereotypes, marginalization and the issue of Natives being “historicized.”

[…]

“Our approach is to be very positive,” Francis said. “We’re looking for positive images. We’re vetting the folks that we want to come in. We’re not going to be bringing in folks that were in a random Indian movie. We want folks who are going to be thoughtful about the portrayals, whether they’re a comic book creator, an actor, someone doing games or science fiction. Being very thoughtful about the work that they’re putting into the world because of all these stereotypes and historicizations. The sheer number of folks we’re trying to get on panels and the conversations that we want to spark, I think, are going to address those negative representations of Indigenous people in pop culture.”

ICTMN has the full story.

Look Past Pink And Blue Campaign.

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New York City Commission on Human Rights

“Use the restroom consistent with who you are,” say the ads, sponsored by the New York City Commission on Human Rights. They will appear in subway cars, bus shelters, phone booths, newspapers, and more. The ads will also run in ethnic newspapers in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Bengali.

“In NYC, it’s the law,” the ads say. “No questions asked.”

The campaign, which will cost $265,000, comes after transgender people filed complaints with the city about being barred from restrooms and facing other types of discrimination in places of public accommodation.

Seth Hoy, spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights, told BuzzFeed News in a statement that the agency “has investigated such cases in the past and continues to receive and investigate complaints where individuals are harassed or denied entry to restrooms because of their actual or perceived gender identity.”

That sort of discrimination is illegal in New York City.

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New York City Commission on Human Rights

In December, the commission released enforcement guidance on gender identity protections under the city’s 2002 nondiscrimination law, making clear that transgender people are entitled to access restrooms consistent with their gender.

Mayor Bill de Blasio followed up in March with an executive order directing agencies to provide access to single­-sex facilities without requiring people to show identification or other documents that verify their gender.

The ads feature trans New Yorkers, including Alisha King and Charles Solidum.

“Bathroom discrimination is a regular occurrence for the transgender community,” King said in a statement. “So much so that many of us avoid even using public restrooms to begin with. I sincerely hope these ads help people understand that transgender people are just people just like you. We just want to use the restroom safely and be treated with respect.”

Via Buzzfeed.

Day to Night.

STEPHEN WILKES Pont de la Tournelle, Paris (from the series Day to Night), 2013.

STEPHEN WILKES
Pont de la Tournelle, Paris (from the series Day to Night), 2013.

Stephen Wilkes blends photographs taken over the course of a day, so there’s day and evening in a single photo. Fascinating and beautiful work, showing at the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston until August 20th, 2016.

Day to Night, Wilkes’ most defining project, began in 2009. These epic cityscapes and landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of full day.

Day to Night has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning as well as dozens of other prominent media outlets and, with a grant from the National Geographic Society, was recently extended to include America’s National Parks in celebration of their centennial anniversary.

STEPHEN WILKES Central Park Snow, New York City (from the series Day to Night), 2010.

STEPHEN WILKES
Central Park Snow, New York City (from the series Day to Night), 2010.

You can see more of this stunning series here.