Sometimes the coolest art isn’t completely the artist’s doing. There’s a certain beauty and humility in letting nature or the universe create something for you, simply by running its own course. That’s definitely the case with Lakes and Reservoirs, a recent project from photographer and visual artist Matthew Brandt. The collection features photographs of bodies of water, which after being taken, were dipped by Brandt into those very same bodies of water. The result is a group of images twisted, distorted and discolored by water, which interestingly enough, came out visually stunning. I suppose all you need to get started is an idea. You never know what you might end up with.
Pretty much any time you can combine art and humor, you’re winning. The overall tone of artist Jayson Musson‘s work is playful and unassuming, and the result is work that’s as clever as it is simple. His largest collection of work, entitled Miscellaneous Things That Resemble Paintings, consists largely of single sentence observations, satire and sex jokes. Another, the Flaming Lips-referencing Barack Obama Battles the Pink Robots pokes fun at the deification of Obama, depicting him saving kittens, rescuing Jesus Christ and battling giant terrorists. All in all, just quality work all around. Check out Jayson’s full catalog of work here.
Photography by Tiago Sperotto By Tiago Sperotto
Rio de Janeiro, city purgatory of beauty and chaos. The city where everything happens at once. The contrast is strong, sharing and manifesting itself in many ways, from the beautiful scenery to traffic turmoil, the slums to luxury apartments.
Written By Reed Windle
I’m a sucker for films about blind ambition. A friend of mine once said, “People know what they want from life, but they don’t know how not to get it.” It’s a little cynical, but there is some truth behind these words. We have a tendency to want a dream with all of our soul, but we forget that to receive anything in this world we must give something up. Life’s a balance; you take one thing off and put on another. You can’t move to New York and still want the sun and the ocean of Los Angeles. You can’t be with a new partner without giving up the good times you had with your last. You can’t achieve success without losing some of that purity you had when you and your friends sat around dreaming about the future. If you don’t believe me, look no further than your favorite artists. From newcomers like the folks in Odd Future to Goethe to Robert Johnson to Basquiat to the Beatles they all have discussed or displayed the pitfalls of an ambition satisfied.
Capturing the essence of New York street culture throughout the 70′s and 80′s, photographer and visionary Jamel Shabazz emerged as one of the preeminent artists of his era. Frequenting the places where hip hop was born, Jamel became an instrumental part of the culture, artfully portraying the vibrancy of the times. Releasing two photo books entitled Back in the Days and A Time Before Crack, Jamel’s pictures relate a time where style and substance were nearly one in the same. Recently, filmmaker Charlie Ahearn has completed a documentary on Jamel which will premiere at the BAMcinemaFest on June 26th. Hit the MORE for some images from Jamel along with a preview of his biographical film.
Sasha Grey, like myself was born in 1988, and I’d be willing to bet that her 22 years on the planet have been pretty different from mine. I guess that’s part of my fascination with her. The whole story of the precocious porn star who actually comes off as cultured and intelligent certainly has an allure to it, and even if she’s just pushing that particular image, it certainly seems to be working. The transition to legit acting with Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience and last year’s stint on Entourage, and a full-on art-photography book published by Vice this year all added credibility to her mission, as well.
For his short film portrayal of Ms. Grey, artist Richard Phillips shot her on location at John Lautner’s legendary Chemosphere House on Mulholland Drive. Briefly overlooking the San Fernando Valley from the Hollywood Hills, Phillips’ piece aims to “focus on her expressive and psychological transformation into a cinematic actor”, rather than strictly playing off her former career. Whether we can separate her from the “performance artist” perception, when her grimier moments are a Google search away, is questionable. But the film is still pretty dope.
More films, less movies. We said it a couple weeks ago to relate the fact that although movies like Scream 4, and Tranformers 8 might be in theaters now for $15, great films like The Godfather, Casablanca and Half Baked are just a few clicks away for no more than $5. Films are a bit of a time investment, an hour and a half of your precious precious time, which is why it’s important to invest it wisely. So with the arrival of this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival, we’d like to highlight a few films that may pique your interest or provoke a thought or two. With films showing at both the Downtown Independent & The Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live we’ve included a few synopses of some particularly extraordinary looking films. But be sure to check out the festival website for a full list of films and times.
For all the sex scandals and bankruptcy talk, you’ve gotta give it to American Apparel for maintaining their taste and aesthetic throughout. Shot by Tony Kelly and featuring the likes of Jalen Testerman and Lil Demon as the stars of the short, the latest offering from American Apparel serves to portray the company through a more abstract lens. Something about this video is just beautiful though. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the juxtaposition of break dancing and classical music against the backdrop of Downtown Los Angeles. Or maybe this is simply a work of art.
Art critics tend to say a lot about Jason Rhoades, if only because his intentions weren’t always easy to figure out. Listen to some tell it, and he was one of the most quietly influential artists of the past decade or two. In any case, the consensus is generally that Rhoades’ work was, to say the least, seriously imaginative. Most notably, Rhoades was known for his installations, which pieced together elements of his own lifestyle with sprawling messes of kitschy objects and arrangements.
The last of Rhoades strange experience-oriented pieces produced before his death in 2006 was entitled The Black Pussy, which presumably took its name from the piece depicted here. All in all, the installation boasted 427 slang terms for vaginas, spelled out in hanging neon lights. A commentary on the pervasive nature of sexuality in our culture? A clever “fuck you” to art snobs? Despite the strange claim that the project was inspired by Islamic religion (the title being a not-so-subtle allusion to the Black Box), pinning down Rhoades’ “intent” isn’t easy to do. For some artists though, words like “intent” or “point” don’t always apply.
Running into each other in the press pit of the Jazz Reggae Festival a few weeks back, Will and I were pleased to put a face to the name of rising photographer Andrew Quesada. Originally featuring his work on Wine & Bowties a few months ago, Andrew has recently worked with streetwear brand Lime Almost Lemon to photograph their recent campaigns, while also finding time to shoot L.A. artists from the likes of Dom Kennedy to Pac Div. We caught up with Andrew in the middle of a haircut, yet he still managed to relate a little of himself in the process. Read on for a conversation with Andrew Quesada.
