For More Art & Photography See Art/Photo II
More hip hop art and photography can be found in the Art/Photo II category.
|
|
Headlines to Your Site or Blog: Widgetbox MuseStorm Widget ProHipHop Network |
Hip-Hop News Plus Tupac Shakur Info |
More hip hop art and photography can be found in the Art/Photo II category.
Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents
Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents was released by Abrams Books on October 1st, 2007. I recently received a review copy and have to say it's quite a beautiful book.
From the Book Description:
"From New York and Los Angeles to the Brazilian mega-cities, South African townships, and Mumbai, authors Roger Gastman, Caleb Neelon, and Anthony Smyrski highlight cultural hotspots around the world. Divided into more than 50 topics and illustrated with more than 500 photographs, this book celebrates the street as a stage for the visual creativity of a generation."
About the Authors:
"Roger Gastman is the co-publisher of the magazine Swindle. He lives in Los Angeles. Caleb Neelon travels the world from his base in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the coauthor of Graffiti Brasil. Anthony Smyrski is the founder of Smyrski Creative, the art director for Swindle, a consultant, and an independent book and magazine publisher."
Wall by Revok - South Korea
The two images I have from the book are a bit misleading because they give one the idea that this is a street art book when it's really a street culture book in the best sense in that it connects multiple whole lifeways. I didn't fully grasp that fact until I spent some time roaming through Street World.
Browsing these images from over 95 photographers and artists, including Revok [above] and a still-to-be identified artist [below], that appear to go back at least as far as the 1970s, though the overall timeframe is unclear, I felt I'd dropped into an interconnected terrain more than a series of locales.
Murals by Jeff Zimmermann
There's an organization by themes and there's text, though the text only really works when it gets specific rather than general, but the true beauty of this book beyond the individual images is the sense of connection brought about by the viewer's movement across their juxtapositions.
It really is like dropping into a dream world that is as much about bodies, fashion, housing, transportation and material objects as it is about street art.
One could discuss this as a statement of postmodernity but that's a signal to wrap up this review. It's probably better to simply dive into this reminder that space and time can fold in unexpected ways and enjoy the fact that it's a truly stoned experience that creates new synaptic connections via imagery rather than chemistry.
[Photos from Street World, Courtesy Abrams]
PEEL: The Art of the Sticker by Dave & Holly Combs
PEEL: The Art of the Sticker by Dave & Holly Combs is due February 15th from the most excellent Mark Batty Publisher.
The book comes with an interesting backstory:
"Dave and Holly Combs traveled to New York City from Indianapolis, Indiana, to assist with Sept. 11 recovery efforts. While exploring Manhattan during their off hours, they were inspired by the wealth of stickers they saw all over the city. These stickers inspired the Combs couple to create the first street-art magazine to focus on stickers as an art form. PEEL gradually evolved from a black and white zine stuffed into plastic bags to a full-size, glossy, internationally distributed magazine..."
"Showcasing stickers, interviews and articles from the first eight issues of PEEL, this book celebrates the innovation and diversity of sticker and street art, including interviews with some of the scene's legendary figures like Shepard Fairey and SEEN, along with profiles of international sticker communities, and sticker designs from artists across the globe. And of course, the book comes with stickers, 69 of them."
More graphics at Mark Batty Publisher.
Mule by Jefferson Pinder
8 mm film transferred to digital video, 2006
Jefferson Pinder, courtesy of G Fine Art; © Jefferson Pinder
The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery got caught by surprise when they discovered hip hop bloggers posting hi-resolution images from the upcoming RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture show.
I spoke with NPG's Bethany Bentley who told me that they did not intend for the hi-res images to go online due to agreements with artists. But they are happy to send out lo-res images for folks that will use them to publicize the show. The truth is they haven't gotten this online response before so it's part of their learning curve.
I want to say that Ms. Bentley was very open and straightforward and she also gave me permission to post all the photos below in lo-res, web ready form and let people know that you can download them from here for use on your site as long as you do the two following things:
1) credit the artist
2) link to the show
Here's the link to the NPG site for RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/visit.html
If you do pick these up here, I'd love a link back but the main thing is to give the artists and the National Portrait Gallery props. I think if bloggers, in particular, work with such institutions when we can, it will lead to us getting more cool stuff in the long run.
To contact Bethany Bentley:
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
+1-202-633-8293
LL Cool J By Kehinde Wiley
Oil on canvas, 2005
LL Cool J; © Kehinde Wiley
Dilated Peoples, DJ Babu, Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five by Kehinde Wiley
Oil on canvas, 2005
Collection Glenn Fuhrman, New York; © Kehinde Wiley
Erykah Badu, Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
Ice T by Kehinde Wiley
Oil on canvas, 2005
Private Collection, courtesy Rhona Hoffman Gallery; © Kehinde Wiley
Jean Grae, Coachella, Indio, CA by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
KRS One, Paramount, Santa Fe, NM by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
Jurassic 5, Akil, Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
The Pharcyde, Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM by David Scheinbaum
Gelatin silver print, 2002
David Scheinbaum; © David Scheinbaum
Recognize! Mural by Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp
Montana spray paint on Sintra panel, 2007
Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp; photograph by Mark Gulezian
Over at Hip Hop Press:
RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture Opens Feb. 8 at the National Portrait Gallery
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop & Contemporary Portraiture @ Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture
From the press release:
"LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Common and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are just a few of the hip hop artists featured in paintings and photographs in 'RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture'"...
"The exhibition includes photographs by David Scheinbaum, paintings by Kehinde Wiley, video self-portraits by Jefferson Pinder and several works commissioned specifically for the show. Award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni has written an ode to hip hop that will be published in the accompanying booklet. Her poem, entitled "It's Not a Just Situation," will be graphically displayed in an exhibition gallery. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist Shinique Smith will interpret the poem and create an installation in the same gallery that will include an audio component. Two Washington, D.C.-based graffiti artists -- Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp -- were commissioned to create four 20-foot-long murals that will be installed in the corridor that connects the galleries."
This should be a great show and a good reason for a road trip. You've got lots of time cause it opens February 8th but doesn't close until October 6th.
It's always a good thing to see the Smithsonian, in this case their National Portrait Gallery, representing hip hop. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announced in early 2006 that they were developing a major collection focused on hip hop called Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, The Rhymes, The Life and this show is more serious legitimation at a time when we really need it.
Official Site:
RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Photos from National Portrait Gallery's Hip Hop Portraiture Show for Your Web Use
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm
NPR interviews MF Grimm, aka Percy Carey, who has written an autobiographical graphic novel, Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, with the collaboration of artist Ronald Wimberly.
I am definitely going to cop this.
Via GRANDGOOD.
The Breaks: Stylin' and Profilin' 1982-1990 Exhibition
The powerHouse Arena is currently holding a photography exhibition at their Brooklyn location for photos from two powerHouse Books:
The Breaks: Stylin' and Profilin' 1982-1990 - Photos by Janette Beckman
Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop - Photos by Joe Conzo
They also have event pics from an artist reception on Friday featuring Grand Wizzard Theodore and more information about the exhibition and the books.
Via Mare 139.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Born in the Bronx to Feature Joe Conzo's Photography
Mare 139 drops some pics of graf decorations he did for Emporio Armani NYC in 2002.
Detail of Murakami Art in Kanye West's VMA Suite
As part of MTV's VMA festivities Kanye West took over the Palms' Hugh Hefner suite adding art by Takashi Murakami [pics by mtvjames]:
Kanye Suite 1 ~
Kanye Suite 2 ~
Kanye Suite 3
Kanye West - Graduation
Lots of folks in the States first heard about Takashi Murakami when graphics for Kanye West's Graduation hit the web. However Murakami has crossed over from the gallery setting to commercial art settings and back in so many ways that you never know who's already a fan.
Takashi Murakami - Superflat
I first found out about Murakami through his writing and curatorial work beginning with the Superflat exhibition. Murakami is a serious heavyweight in high art who has also chosen to work in popular realms. His edited volume, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, does an incredible job of making the connections between Japan's high art and pop culture avant-gardes.
Murakami/Louis Vuitton Scarf on Ebay
One big point of introduction to the West has been Murakami's work for Louis Vuitton.
Superflat Monogram - Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton
The video above is probably Murakami's coolest work for Vuitton and a piece that merges art and commercial interests quite nicely.
Murakami Light Switch Cover on Ebay
I'm particularly fond of this Murakami light switch cover. It's a really nice blend of old school surrealism and kawaii.
Kanye West at Kaikai Kiki
Kanye West visits the Kaikai Kiki studio.
Wired:
The Two Faces of Takashi Murakami
Official Site:
Kaikai Kiki
Update:
Edie Cohen checks out the art in Kanye West's LA home:
In the living room beyond, Vuitton darling Murakami is introduced via a canvas almost 6 feet square. Sure, the black and white skulls on the blood-red background appear macabre on first view. But gaze closely at those eyes. Their lighthearted flower motif is a Murakami trademark—and it shows up again in the playful pillows spread out in the office below.
"In the past year and a half, I've been stepping up my relationship with Murakami," West says. Involvement goes far beyond the music video. Those fortunate to have attended West's 30th-birthday bash—at Vuitton's New York flagship—should have framed the invitation. Yes, it was a Murakami. West is currently designing a mega-bling medallion with. . .Murakami again. And Murakami is responsible for the covers of all the singles on West's album Graduation, slated for release September 11.
Panorama by David LaChappelle
Rihanna
Fall Out Boy
Kanye West
Foo Fighters
Chris Brown
[All Photos: David LaChappelle; Courtesy: MTV]
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
MTV VMA's at the Palms, Gift Bag, Sponsor Booths
One of my favorite features at World Cypher has been the Flickr photo strip for photos tagged hiphop. When big shows are on, like Rock The Bells, I'll usually see photos there first and you'll see stuff from all over the world. But what provoked this post was seeing these 80s hip hop flyers from jairoo.
See, marketing history can be fun!
George Clooney to Jay-Z
Vanity Fair is releasing a July Africa issue with 20 different covers by Annie Liebowitz featuring celebs posing or edited together.
Jay-Z to Alicia Keys
Jay-Z gets two of them.
Alicia Keys to Iman
You can order them by cover at Amazon.
Iman to Don Cheadle
Very smart.
Don Cheadle to Barack Obama
Initial alert via Nah Right.
Limited Edition Gallery Box of Graffiti Bars
A new line of chocolate bars, called Graffiti Bars, will debut in March from New York based Alison Nelson's Chocolate Bar featuring wrappers designed by:
Ten legendary New York City graffiti artists including Blade, Crash,
Crachee, Crime 79, Dondi, Dr. Revolt, Iz the Wiz, Lady Pink, Spar One
and Voice of the Ghetto (Stay High 149).
Graffiti Bar Wrappers
More from the press release:
Individual bars can be purchased for $4.00 each or a Limited Edition “gallery box” includes the full 10 bars and an authentic graffiti stencil created by Brooklyn-based artist Stencil1 used for customizing wallets, walls, t-shirts or whatever. Price $40.
The All-Stars Project will receive a "portion of the proceeds" but, though they may be doing good work, I find it difficult to support projects with ties to the left cult New Alliance Party via the Castillo Theatre.
I had absolutely no intention of posting anything today, except for that last note and the new album releases which are still not done, but I somehow ran across the Street Knowledge Media blog for Street Knowledge TV.
I'm bringing this up because their storyboard/comic strip about the debut of the new Cherry Coke can is just an awesome way to cover the news (though a bit worshipful for my taste).
If you go to the home page and scroll down past the cartoon post, you'll see some backstory on the design work and another post about the event. I think they did a video too but I'm a little confused by how it's explained and gots to run!
Check out this cool Old School Party Flyers collection hosted at ToledoHipHop.org.
I love this quote from dustykid:
These Cats Worked on big Art tables and had all the tools to make these flyers by hand including those Rub on Letters, wax Machines, exacto knives, Graph Paper and many other tools that are extinct today in the modern artwork world.
I can't remember what "those Rub on Letters" were called but I used those quite a bit making flyers in the 80s. Most of mine were pretty simple and weren't for hip hop but it's a trip thinking of all those local artists all over the States making stuff by hand.
If you're into historical flyers, you might find A Punk Rock Flyer Archive 1982-1984. The contrast with hip hop flyers of the same period is quite striking. The hip hop flyers seem to continue the tradition of black entertainment marketing while the punk rock flyers are much more rebellious, though partly benefiting from rock's rebellious history.
Old School Party Flyers found via Rappcats.
Wu-Tang Clan - Disciples Of The 36 Chambers: Chapter 1
Format Magazine's Kendra Desrosiers takes an interesting look at variations in the Wu Tang Clan emblem on a variety of album covers. Great commentary but I was a little disappointed in the small graphics and decided to bite her idea and present a selection at Weekly Hip Hop Albums:
Special Edition: Enter the Wu-Tang Logo
Via Nah Right.
I was feeling my snarkish nature try to take over in the last couple of posts so I decided to take a break. But here's a graphic I like for its literal depiction of spitting fire.
Just found out about the San Diego Hip Hop calendar at eventful where the following graphic from the Milk Money Swindlers Tour caught my attention.
J. Space reminded me of the Gnarls Barkley Crazy poster design contest held through their MySpace page. Can't believe I didn't check that out further because the winners produced some beautiful work. J. Space said there was great response during the contest and you can see the winners in the left hand column of their page.
Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Chuck D, Diddy, Crash and Futura 2000 have each contributed customized artistic lunchboxes to an auction to benefit The Food Bank For New York City and The Lunchbox Fund. The event is designed to raise money for hungry kids and the hip hop lunchboxes will join those created by over 100 celebrities in the arts.
Actually, rumor has it that Diddy "executive coproduced" his while Mike D and Chuck D (no relation) actually got out the spray paint and went to work!
Unless I'm misreading the press release, lunchboxes will be sold in groups of 10 which makes me think that resellers will be especially active and that the overall money taken in will be less than if each lunchbox was auctioned individually. Psychologically speaking, folks will get attached to trying to get the lunchbox by somebody they really dig, not by somebody they dig plus additional expense for various people that they like ok plus some they could really care less about.
The Lunchbox Auction begins today, Oct. 14th at 6 pm PST.
According to Adrants, Time Inc. has hired graffiti artist COPE2 to bomb a New York billboard with a series of tags that will culminate in a Time logo with promotional copy.
The NY Times reviews a movie written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough about taggers in New York called Bomb The System. The film has won a variety of festival awards and the score was created by El-P of Definitive Jux. Official website: Bomb The System
Grafedia is a weird combination of real world graffiti and online media that was created by John Geraci, an NYU student. The project is not limited to NY and you can get an explanation at the site or in this NY Times piece by Ethan Todras-Whitehill.
For those of you in the New York area, you have through Sunday to check out the Basquiat show at the Brooklyn Museum featuring the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat was one of the great painters of the late 20th Century who first gained attention as a graffiti artist along with folks like Keith Haring, who were working during the period that hip hop related graffiti artists were also entering the gallery system.
Basquiat and Haring were not hip hop artists and, unlike graffiti artists aligned with hip hop, they were able to make the transition into galleries and museums as something other than temporary oddities. Nevertheless, if you relate to graffiti as an art form, you might find Basquiat's paintings of interest. The show has over a 100 works, including some never before shown in the U.S. and I'd have gone if it were at all possible because I really love his work.
Australian documentary filmmaker and visual artist George Gittoes has most recently received attention for his documentary work on the Iraq war Soundtrack To War. That project has led him to working with young hip hop artists that he met during filming. It's a fascinating story and illustrates the odd routes people sometimes take to becoming professionally involved with hip hop. In Gittoes' case, it's leading to another documentary plus a record label to promote artists that he's met in the military.
As I've mentioned before, there are a lot of hip hop artists in the military. In fact, if I were an A&R, I'd be checking out that talent pool for real.
Soundtrack To War: Official Website.
George Gittoes' site also shows his excellent paintings.
Martha Cooper's book of photographs Hip Hop Files: Photographs, 1979-1984 was released in late November. However, the powerHouse gallery in New York held an opening for a show of those photographs last week. Lynn Del Sol's account of the event includes pictures.
Available from Amazon:
Martha Cooper - Hip Hop Files: Photographs, 1979-1984.
Recent Comments