| Home | My Account | Directories |
Ralph McQuarrie
Published on 2012-03-07 14:04:00
Having been founded only within the last 300 years, America is, in the large scope of things, a relatively young country. While this may make us the plucky, optimisitic youngster on the global scene, it also means we have no where near the bredth and depth of national identity that has been crafted in ancient societies like China, Japan, or the old world nations of Europe. In the past, attempts have been made (by individuals as well as the national subconscious) to fill this cultural gap--f [..] > read more
Phillip Low
Published on 2012-02-28 10:57:00
So it's been a while. I realize that. But what better way to get back into the swing of things than in a discussion of something at the core of every piece of art, architecture, clothing, and object that we encounter--the mindset of the constant consumer. Now I'm not talking about the money-spending type of consumption. I'm referring to the great extent of our unsung consumption of media. With the advent of iphones, Pinterest, and the rabbit hole that is Reddit, we live in an time and spac [..] > read more
Fumi Mini Nakamura
Published on 2011-11-22 10:21:00
It's hard to make art that describes the intricate connection the human soul has to the natural. Sure, you can say you relate to the power and majesty of the gray wolf, but try to depict that, most of the time, you're going to end up with some horrible piece of detritus like the three wolf moon shirt, of meme fame. Though, in tri-wolf's defense, the rules for wolf art have been clear cut since at least the early 70's: While one wolf is good, more wolves are better, and none should be depicted wi [..] > read more
Simon Bent
Published on 2011-11-16 08:52:00
In a world dominated by a constant stream of images and sounds, work, and "modern life", it becomes easy to simply stop thinking for ourselves, and allow a comfortable mindlessness to wash over us in in a constant high tide of consumer-driven media. A thinking life becomes an endless struggle against a system that has so much control over your being, your body, your soul. I cannot fault people for taking the easy way out. This, however, makes those individuals that still grasp for a better unde [..] > read more
James Jirat Patradoon
Published on 2011-10-13 00:35:00
As a huge comic book nerd, I've bumbled my way through dozens of colorful narratives, most of the time nitpicking through all the oversized breasts and made up muscle groups that make comics so great. It is not often, however, that I am stunned by this kind of art--I mean, you can only go so far with your art without detracting from the plot (ask Frank Miller), so you could say comic book art is limited. For this reason, I find the comic-book like stylings of James Jirat to be a delightfully fun [..] > read more
Alfons Mucha
Published on 2011-10-04 09:56:00
Little needs to be said about the tightly controlled, whimsical work of Art Nouveau artsist, Alfons Mucha. His beautiful females have probably graced more puzzles, t-shirts, and black light posters than Bob Marley, and his work never ceases to amaze. Few artists have the intricate mastery of line and color that together make Mucha's work so stunning, and his smooth shading techniques would make a digitial artist envious. Mucha's work is now mostly over 100 years old, however, with his work's emp [..] > read more
Willem de Kooning
Published on 2011-09-20 10:13:00
So artists and art critics have been drooling over abstract expressionist Willem deKooning's work for the better half of the last century, and for good reason. The guy painted for over 70 years, and produced a huge body of diverse work, including paintings, drawings, and some particularly lumpy sculptures. But, most of what can be said about his work has already been addressed, either in hours of boring modern art lectures, or in the pompous overwrought musings of internet art nerds (myself not [..] > read more
Walter Potter
Published on 2011-08-29 09:16:00
As we move further into the 21st century, it becomes obvious that as a culture, we are at a loss as to how to deal with mortality, to the point where we'd rather hide that fact behind the beauty of innovation, surgery, and media than face it as the only definite truth to our humanity. A hundred years ago, one winter could wipe out one's entire family, and the idea of death was a local, personal idea that was not shied away from. Our move away from this can be seen in the near extinction of funer [..] > read more
Deborah Butterfield
Published on 2011-08-22 09:17:00
There's nothing that can express the duality of domestication like the horse. They are powerful, spirited, amazing animals capable of incredible feats of majesty and unrestrained force and beauty. At the same time, most of their species exists in the humble service of man, willing to run and work until their backs are broken, or they collapse in death from the struggle against the reigns. This makes the mercurial works of Deborah Butterfield so magical. With each piece, made from metal castings [..] > read more
Laurie Lipton
Published on 2011-08-19 14:16:00
Surrealist art is probably one of the easiest types of art for anyone to make. None of the content really has to make sense (maybe not even to the artist) and any lack of artistic talent can be explained by "stylistic experimentation". However, if you take a stroll through the pages of DeviantArt, and after sifting through all the paintings of furries, you'll find that surrealist art also probably one of the hardest genres to actually do well. As much as art teachers want to say surrealist work [..] > read more
Jenny Odell
Published on 2011-08-16 08:22:00
In this day and age, the ubiquity of satellite imagery has left the realm of science fiction, and has moved into the commonplace. As a child of the nineties, I remember revelling in the fear experienced by characters in movies as they tried to escape the ever seeing eye of Big Brother, how something hundreds of miles away in space can pinpoint a zit on your face, and then pop it with a nuclear weapon. Today, however, with the advent of things like Google Earth, these world images are as part of [..] > read more
John Martin
Published on 2011-06-30 13:52:00
So, let's face it, the bible can be boring. For every action-packed pillar of fire and brimstone episode, there's a couple hundred pages of what fabrics not to wear and whose dad was whose. Luckily for us, most of the cool stuff in the bib > read more
JOB update
Published on 2011-06-09 11:29:00
The kickstarter for JOB is up and running and ready for donations. JOB has recently been added as a recommended project, so please get out there and start donating to get this project underway.http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/762567073/job-a-comic > read more
JOB
Published on 2011-06-01 16:21:00
I regularly feature different artists on this blog, but since one of my personal projects is really getting under way, I'd like to invite you to check out some of my own work, namely my comic book, "JOB". JOB chronicles the life of seventeen year old > read more
Alex Pardee
Published on 2011-05-26 00:20:00
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of cutesy art, especially paintings. I feel like the art medium of splashy watercolor backdrops behind over-rendered, graffiti knock-off line art is over and done, and any issue of High Fructose can attest to that > read more
Abelardo Morell
Published on 2011-05-14 12:15:00
Photography can seem like one of those mediums that has been explored to its limit. With the dawn of digital technology and phones that can take better photos than most cameras I've ever owned, now everyone's an artist...and a critic. It's harde > read more
Ron Mueck
Published on 2011-04-15 09:34:00
Some of my favorite art is that which causes the viewer to give a double take--art whose illusion of reality nearly overwhelms the act of its creation. Ron Mueck's work is an example of such art. While Mueck began his artistic career working on scene > read more
Ernst Haekel
Published on 2011-04-02 19:33:00
If you ever want to feel like an under achiever, look no further than the works of Ernst Haekel, actually, just look at his life. Haekel lived from 1834 to 1919, and was notable for simultaneously being a biologist, artist, physician, professor, > read more
Frank Frazetta
Published on 2011-03-24 11:39:00
We've probably all seen some of Frank Frazetta's work. Back when quality still counted when it came to book covers, movie posters, and pin ups of Arnold Swarzinegger, Frank Frazetta's paintings were everywhere. He's done a huge amount of work for the > read more
Sarina Brewer
Published on 2011-03-22 10:39:00
When we think about sculpture, there are always a few mediums that come to mind: wood, stone, metal, paper mache. These are all versatile, and many great things have been made out of them. However, it is the deviation from the norm that I find most w > read more
Will Cotton
Published on 2011-03-18 10:55:00
If there's two things Americans love, it's beautiful women and high fructose corn syrup. This can be seen no better than in the sultry, sugary works of Will Cotton. Cotton's paintings (yes, they are all paintings), can be described as surrealist, but > read more
David O'Brien
Published on 2011-03-17 11:13:00
There are a lot of artists out there whose work is a dry one note; a single image repeated to the point of creating a nauseating corporate logo passed off as art (I'm talking to you, George Rodrigue). Then there are some artists that d > read more
Hakuin
Published on 2011-03-17 00:36:00
What is the sound of one hand clapping? Don't ask me, I'm not a big clapper. Japanese Zen Master Hakuin ("shrouded in white"), however, asked this question pretty much of everyone he knew until he figured it out for himself. Born in 1686, he achieved > read more
Dust
Published on 2011-03-01 09:29:00
I guess I've been on a photography kick lately. This series of images, entitled "Dust," was put together by photographers Ujin Lee and Tom Edwards, both known individually for a variety of photography styles-- mostly revolving around captur > read more
Philip Lorca de Corcia
Published on 2011-02-22 10:56:00
I'm not usually impressed with most modern photography. I find most photographers focus on dragging unimaginative, uncompelling compositions through a fancy filter and then expect everyone to care. This is especially moot considering the ease of deri > read more
Miss Rockaway Armada
Published on 2011-02-15 10:45:00
So I set out today searching for information on one of my favorite street artists, Swoon, whose wheatpaste work has tickled my whimsey for a while. In my net wanderings, however, I came across a project that she has been a part of that is, to be blun > read more
Apocalyptic Hedonism: Kris Kuksi
Published on 2011-02-03 10:31:00
”When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls – the world”. This quote by Lord Byron begins the web biography of Kris Kuksi, sculptor, genius, and general madman. His sculptural pieces, self-described as post-i > read more
John Williams Waterhouse
Published on 2011-02-02 09:45:00
Depicting human drama in two dimensions is a challenge that artists have grappled with prettty much since the beginning of time. I mean, without sound, or movement, how can one really touch each of the senses in a single painting? Sure, methods have > read more
Jennifer Maestre
Published on 2011-02-01 10:53:00
I'll admit it, I'm a biology nerd. All kinds of living things delight and fascinate me, which may be why I find the work of Sculptor Jennifer Meastre particularly amusing. Her undulating forms are reminiscent of overlooked deep sea creatures, like th > read more
Craig Tracy
Published on 2011-01-31 09:51:00
When most people hear the term, "body painting," they usually think of either that cheezy Pink Floyd poster or a strategically-placed butterfly flitting across some lady's titties at Bonnaroo. At this point, it's safe to say that most of the world ca > read more
Troll Country
Published on 2011-01-28 10:40:00
Very few mythical creatures can capture the imagination like those from the nordic tradition. Children the world over can tell you what a troll is, or describe a fairie, without ever opening a text book, or being tested on what Gods control whom. The > read more