Art Wortd Coop

Still from Under Discussion, a video by Allora & Calzadilla (great interview with them here)
(via)


Excerpt from Tine Van Aerschot's first production, I have no thoughts and this is one. The actress is Forced Entertainment's Claire Marshall.
Another excerpt and a short bio here.

Here are three papertoys from the realm of Lovecraftian horror literature. Writer H. P. Lovecraft and his circle of authors created a shared fictional universe. In this universe there are various arcane books of forbidden lore which reveal secrets about ancient monstrous entities. The black book is a papertoy of Unaussprechlichen Kulten, a book first appearing in the works of Robert E. Howard. The yellow papertoy book is De Vermis Mysteriis first seen in the works of Robert Bloch. On top of the books is a papertoy of Cthulhu, one of the ancient entities often mentioned in Lovecraftian literature. Each of these toys was created by Jerom, France, 2007 and can be found here, here, and here.

These last couple days I've found myself pondering the idea of "escape". I've been thinking of the various ways in which I use the term "escape" and how I apply it to my life.

An escape is a break from the usual routine. Often the word is used with travel, vacation or adventure. It therefore connotes something outside the boundaries of daily existence. We escape from life's duties, life's routines; we break from the mundane world to take a vacation.

And yet have you noticed how many aspects of our culture are masquerading as escapes? The shadow side to a hyper-capitalist culture with a Protestant work-ethic is a profusion of escapes. Our escapist culture seeks solace in virtual worlds, food and drug addictions and sexual fantasies. I am a product of this culture and in many ways a poster child for it.

An escape doesn't have to be mindless. I consider my books an escape, my writing an escape. Perhaps there are healthy escapes and unhealthy ones, but they all seem to follow the same logic: I wish to be somewhere else right now, take me there.

It's true that I fear boredom and listlessness and thrive on work and productivity. It's true that I'm frequently restless and impatient with the slightest things, such as making a meal or preparing the coffee in the morning.

The churn of daily stuff--jobs and activities that consume me--begins to feel like an escape in itself. I ignore myself, how I feel, and my surroundings, the weather outside, the air. My mind is focused on one thing, sadly; what I have to do. Beyond this, I am aware of how time is passing. Recall Charles Van Doren's marvelous essay, "If We Loved Time,":

The fear of time -- of time lost, of time wasted -- is a mortal disease. It shortens a life to an instant -- this instant -- which will be followed by other instants that are equally fleeting. There can be no joy in moments that are carefully measured and doled out.

This creates a perpetually unsettled feeling inside of me. Always under the assault of fear and haste, my first impulse is to seek out an escape. I've put myself into a prison and now I'm craving release.

I retreat to Borders where I can grab a book off the shelves and buy a tall Vanilla latte. This atmosphere immediately calms me down while at the same time I'm aware that it too is not static. I will finish my latte, read a couple pages and have to return home where I will give myself another job to do. Even my moments of rest begin to feel rushed. But that's not the ironic part of this "mortal disease". I'll get to the irony in a minute.

I also escape into fattening, easy-to-find or easy-to-make meals. My girlfriend and I go out to Chipotle or Thai food instead of cooking at home. Instant gratification is a first cousin of escapism.

I escape into the dizzying vortex of consumerism. There is always some item, some product, some material thing bobbing on the horizon of my ever-expanding sea of desire. Recently I bought a new Mac computer. Shame on me! One week later I wanted to buy a video game to go with it. I haven't played video games in fifteen years. But the thrill of my usual escapes seems to fade with time. I'm constantly on the look out for fresh, new escapes, more immediate and easier to obtain. I seek to colonize new worlds (of pleasure).

My girlfriend and I watch the Daily Show almost every night. Another escape; nothing wrong in itself; but compared to the vast amounts of escapes we partake in, our lives seem to be strung together by numberless incidences of the same thing. I was getting bored with watching the same show with her every night so I suggested video games. We had played a car-racing game in a movie theater once and had a ball together, so when I purchased the computer I thought it might be fun to try something new.

The new Mac computer provided an enormous escape. Twenty-four inch LCD screen, superb graphics, lots of cool software, crystal-clear photos and video, you name it. And then with the Internet, I was so buried in possible escapes that purchasing a video game on top of it seemed on the verge of profligacy.

When I finally got the video game, it was more like an escape from my escape. I'd waited two weeks to receive an extra controller for the car-racing game. When the controller arrived I was ready to play.

That night my girlfriend and I sat in front of the computer, helplessly trying to figure out how to make the game two-player mode. Nothing on the menu of options (or the back of the box) suggested this was possible. We spent an hour clicking buttons until I realized that the game only allowed one person to play at a time.

Computers are solo vehicles. I forgot that part.

But when I played the video game myself, I wondered why I had bought it in the first place. I don't even enjoy video games. I'm a writer, an intellectual. Video games are anti-intellectual, anti-creative. How far I had drifted from my original desires!



Escapes can become addictive as well. My addiction to the Internet is unprecedented. I check my email on average eight times a day. I check my six blogs three or four times a day. I loiter in cyberspace, I wander, I get lost on purpose.

Not that there's anything wrong with wasting time. But I'm so driven to accomplish things that in an ironic reversal I find myself escaping more and more into a cloud of petty aggravation. What I'm saying is after a certain point, the escape blurs. You're no longer moving from routine to escape, from normal life to fantasy, from mundane to dream. Soon the routine becomes the escape and vice versa.

That's what happened to me. With all my escapes, I trapped myself in the very thing I was trying to break free from.

Just as a prison is mental, so is an escape. The two can easily switch on you when you're not paying attention. The desire for escape intensifies the prison.

I guess this leaves me with the hope that I can distinguish things from now on. My escape is supposed to be fun. My work might not always be. More importantly, I would like to return to those original escapes that once gave me a sense of fulfillment. Reading and writing are escapes that don't dull my mind. Reading and writing make me sharper. They are difficult pleasures that also happen to be magnificent escapes.

Or perhaps I don't need an escape at all. Maybe I just need to look around and check into reality once in a while--rather than longing for someplace else.

Stumble It!

A collection of three abstract Christmas Trees by mariannasm. The illustrations are in Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw file formats. Perfect for designing a Christmas card or a wallpaper...

To use the resource first, you need to expand the .zip file. Download

Diogenes Laertes, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Pythagoras, Bk. VIII, 8:

“When Leon the tyrant of Phlius asked Pythagoras who he was, he said, “a philosopher,” and that he compared life to the Great Games, where some went to compete for the prize and others went with wares to sell, but the best as spectators; for similarly, in life, some grow up with servile natures, greedy for fame and gain, but the philosopher seeks for truth.”

Video by comedian/musician Chris Cohen.
(via)

An eye-opening video that might be helpful for Adobe Illustrator beginners. It explores the use of linear and radial gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS3...

Random Tips: Dragging and dropping around the new panels can get kind of confusing. Make sure you always have your objects properly selected. When you create multiple color gradients save them as swatches, it is a big time saver.
Basic Gradients in Illustrator from Tom on Vimeo.

ONE DAY ONLY! Blog promo....
Save 30% on Electronic Gift Certificates at Art Paw. Let your loved one choose their favorite colors for their portrait after the holiday rush. This is an easy way to order a custom pet portrait for gift giving. You don't have to worry about trying to find that perfect photograph to work from. Let them send us their photos that they take of their favorite 4 legged kids. Click here to order.

A detailed anatomic heart vector illustration from ChaosIndustry.

If you are planning on using this resource as a design element, you can get some great effects by playing with scale. A lot of tiny details can be noticed in outline mode (Cmd+Y Adobe Illustrator)...

The artwork is saved in EPS file format, you can use any vector compatible program to modify the file. Download

A set of 31 cute vector coffee cups in EPS and PDF file formats from DragonArt. Each cup has aunique style but you are not restricted to applying your own style...

The pack may be helpful if you are designing a coffee shop menu, designing a cafeteria scene in Flash or use them as web icons. It's all up to you.

Download 4.56 MB

Three real nice eco lights. Perfect vector work.
Author unknown. Only for personal use.
1 AI : 360 KB

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The vector map of the San Francisca Metro. A really nice one here. Enjoy.
Author unknown.
1 AI : 1,5 MB

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A nice vectorized woodcut. Unfortunately I don't know the artist.
By vectorstuff.
1 AI : 4,8 MB

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Kamila Szejnoch's work Swing is the winner of this year's Szpilman Award ("awarded to works that exist only for a moment or a short period of time"). The Swing was suspended on one of Warsaw's largest (and scariest) monuments, the monument to the Berling Army Soldier. (for posters in the same vein and for Szejnoch's commentary, see here).

Two other works I particularly like from among the finalists are Sai Hua Kuan's Space Drawing
and Kate Mitchell's I am Not A Joke:

What I find fascinating in Kristine Moran's paintings is the sense of discipline. The disasters that keep appearing, the huge messes of messes, the total wreck of a reality she introduces us into, seem like a carefuly planned catastrophy.
No wonder she arrived at theater interiors, with their settings ready for the show, with the wardrobe mirrors reflecting every possible aspect of the mask, with their ridiculously decorative shapes that are bound to disappear when it happens.
This stage is set for failure. A beautiful failure of something that seemed to be going right. Everything was set, every rule was applied and every hope was nurtured.
And yet, the closer to what matters, to the subject (the topic, the I, the eye), the bigger the tension.
Until it all just blows up in pieces.

But not entirely. And call me an optimist, but this structure which reappears even in the most amorphous circumstances sustains not just the painting, but also, whatever is left of me, the empathic viewer.

Moran's pictures have evolved into an astonishing universe where 3D space that contains, well, how do I put it... paint. Color. Texture. Painting is the better word here. It is as if the painting, a 2D picture, moved into a 3D space. And the space accepted it, incorporating it in its realm. If you think this is a metaphor, see this:

Kristine Moran has been compared to Francis Bacon. Yes, sure, the inter-dependence of form and reality, their perverse games of hide-and-seek... But Moran's work seemingly leaves the human body - though certainly not the human - much further behind. And maybe because of that, it appears as not so much a struggle of the artist, as a struggle between the forms themselves. As she watches them, cooly, from a distance.

The titles are, in order of appearance: You Used To Be Alright, What Happened ; The World Is Yours ; Collapse of Will ; Hunter - Gatherer.

Okay. This is not an easy moment. All this attention is getting me nervous, and I feel like everything I write is being observed... After all, this has all along been about a private journey into the realm of some contemporary art.
So, just to make sure it is still a blog, let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, I was an addict of skiing. I trained and I raced (without too much of a success) and I even got to spend some time with the Polish Ski Team. My first encounter with them was in a hotel in the French village of Les Deux Alpes. I entered the hotel room, and there they were, Poland's finest skiers. Most of them were concentrated on a Playstation game of Formula 1, with its volume set to maximum level. The rest of the young sportsmen were watching TV - it was a formula 1 race, and its noise was competing with the game. Everyone was completely mesmerized by the two screens. It took me at least a minute to realize there was someone else in the room, though. It was Andrzej Bachleda, by far Poland's best skier, who has lived most of his life in France, and whom I considered a strange guy - not very talkative, some sort of an odd case... In the midst of the overwhelming noise, the man was sitting on the bed, tucked into a corner, and reading Hemingway.
Well, this man has also come a long way since that moment. He has recently put out another album. Here is one song. (Besides the charming music, do appreciate the Polish mountains in the background).

A must-have vector set from YSR1. The pack contains around 80 vector illustrations. Inside you can find, heraldic symbols, laurel leaves, girl illustrations, a security camera, birds, skylines and many more...

Perfect for logo design brainstorming. The artwork is saved in Adobe Illustrator file format. Download

Ridiculous post by a Russian artist by the nickname razer on conceptart.org.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!






















RAZER conceptships weekly header #37 November 28th - December 12th, 2008 (two weeks)

Keywords: professional digital technical concept spaceship vehicle art from a conceptart.org post by razer russian artist residing in moscow russia

This CMYK Turkey hand cracks me up. Click here to check out this Flickr member's Turkey hand photo set and then go make your own turkey hand. Or better yet make your list of things you are grateful for.

Today I want to thank my dog art blogging buddies for the many things I learn from your blogs. I don't have time to list you all, but I will link to a few of you today with gratitude.

Melissa ...thanks for teaching me that life is supposed to be fun and there is always time for non commercial creating, crafting, classes, and ... and, ok I can't think of a 4rth thing that starts with C. Cute Creatures?

Manon ... thanks for teaching me that discipline is a choice we make every day. Your work is lovely girl and it is matched only by your fierce determination.

Kathy ... thanks for teaching me the importance of our 4 legged client's stories. Your work embraces the mythology we create for our fur-kids.

Miss Linda... thanks for teaching me that it is ok to step away from the web when life takes over. I am glad you are back on-line, I missed your work while you were away.

Jamie ... you are a crazy workaholic and you remind me of me. I have been meaning to thank you for some time for the Smug Mug site idea on proofing. It has saved my but this season. I will probably return to site proofing during slower times, but Smug Mug rocks.

Moira ... thanks for exposing me to so much dog art!!!! You continue to remind us all that dog art is a genera that deserves respect.

Jill ... thanks for your continual support. Your blog is another read that seems to speak of the amazing reality of a "balanced life" where family & work can coexist.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The Wooster Collective published an interview with Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. The answers to the following three questions are a brilliant introduction to his work. (My favorite, of course, is the third answer.)

Wooster: What other artists do you most admire?

I admire artists from different periods because of how they have impacted me at different times in my life. Leonardo da Vinci, Jean Giraud, Marcel Duchamp, John Heartfield, Ana Mendieta, Chris Burden, Barbara Kruger, Mark Pauline, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer are each a little part of me as an artist. With my contemporaries I would have to say that Swoon, Blu, and Marc Jenkins have impressed me not only with what they say with what they create, but also because of who they are as people.

Wooster: How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?

My art is usually found within the urban landscape. City textures are my favorite background for my work. I like to work with ephemeral materials. One of my directions is to create large charcoal portraits of anonymous people on inner city walls that fade away with the wind and rain.

Wooster: What other talent would most like to have?

If I had another lifetime to devote to something else I would probably be an archeologist.

There is one thing about these portraits from the Identity Series I find awe-inspiring. They are modest. They bring forward the anonymous faces in a way that inspires both empathy and awe. They put them forward, fighting the war with commercial works as well as any. And yet, they are not shining at us with attractive colors. Their truthfulness is more than honest. It is humble. And yet - proud. And one more crucial thing: these faces, they fade away with time. This rare combination of grandiosity and modesty is something truly impressive.

Which brings us to Rodriguez-Gerada's latest project, the one most of us came to know him for.
He is the author of a huge portrait of Barack Obama (although actually the work is still not finished). But I think this has received enough publicity already. Appropriately enough, the work will be called Expectations, and is yesterday's news even before it inaugurated. Which tells us as much about the reception of directly political art as about the work itself. (On the other hand, this expectation is also about preparing the desinchantment, isn't it?)

Two documentaries about Rodriguez-Gerada's work in Spain:

Unbelieveble vector work. A BMW 1.
Author unknown. Only for personal use.
1 AI : 1,9 Mb

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Real cool vector map of the London Tube. The London Underground is
the world's oldest underground railway and the oldest rapid transit
system. It was also the first underground railway to operate electric
trains. It is usually referred to as the Underground or the Tube.
Author unknown.
1 AI : 550 KB

Download

Some nice chinese style vector design elements.
Author unknown. Only for personal use.
1 AI : 2,4 MB

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The whole metro vector map of Washington D.C. USA.
By WMATA.
1 AI : 800 KB

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I hope to proof in the morning ... crossing fingers.
This boy's humans are local. My client found me with one of those world wide web Google queries that will throw you almost into your own zip code... by total coincidence.

Yes, I know there is that new gated pattern again. Nobody has chosen it yet. Buckley will have a wide variety of background options before I am finished.

Ronan's portfolio. His post on conceptships.org.







Keywords: Professional concept artist Ronan LE FUR paris france proficient in modeling texturing shading rendering compositing design

I have finished my second papercraft design! This model is of Mjolnir, the weapon of the Marvel Comics superhero Thor. The character of Thor was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and is based loosely on the god of thunder of the same name from Norse mythology. Mjolnir, among other things, enables Thor to fly, summon lightning, and create interdimensional portals. Rumor has it that a Thor movie will be released in 2010. Let's hope it will be as good as Marvel's Ironman was in 2008.

Template Info
Scale: 1:2
Finished Size: 5 1/2" (14 cm) x 10 1/4" (26 cm)
Number of sheets: 3
Number of parts: 7
Difficulty: 3/5
Download: Here

Beautiful vector light bulb.
Author unknown.
1 AI : 3,7 MB

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Vector set with financial icons.
Author unknown. Only for personal use.
1 AI : 4,4 MB

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Vector silhouettes of some big maschines from the harbour. Enjoy it!
By vectorstuff.
1 AI : 2,2 MB

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