Ryan Johnson was born in 1978 in Karachi, Pakistan. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He recently exhibited at Guild and Greyshkul at 28 Wooster Street in New York, NY.
I really like some of his work. It’s very contemporary. The energy conveyed in the sculpture above is palpable. It’s a highly original piece of art.
Is world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy really well-to-do Bristol suburbanite Robin Gunningham? After an exhaustive year long search The Mail on Sunday has built a case that potentially supports that possibility. Of course everyone involved, even Gunningham’s parents, are denying that the man even exists. It’s another notch in Banksy lore, and it is an interesting story. You can read all about it here and decide for yourself if there is anything to it or if it is just another red herring load of Banksy-driven BS.
Even if Banksy is Robin Gunningham, does it really matter? It doesn’t change what he has done, and that to me has a hell of a lot more to do with who he is than how or where he grew up. A man is the summation of his decisions, and Gunningham or not, he has chosen to be Banksy and that is who he is now.
Tom Judd is currently completing a Masters in Animation at the Royal College of Art. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan with a 1st class BA(hons) in Illustration and Animation. He then founded 5oup in 2006 with partner James Chambers and has worked with clients such as Barclays, Burton, BBC and Doritos.
That’s all fine and dandy right? So what is really interesting, somewhat maddening and very inspiring about Mr. Judd is that he has committed to drawing in his sketchbook every single day for an entire year. Twice. He plans to do this a year on and a year off for a long time to come and he has recorded his progress. It’s pretty insane and there are actually some pretty interesting drawings in his sketchbook.
You can see how round two came out, day by day, everyday, here.
I saw this at Kitsune Noir this morning and it kind of blew my mind. The video is a little slow going at first but picks up about a minute in. The video is of a kinetic sculpture at the BMW Museum in Munich (I know, who knew BMW had a museum right?). 714 steel balls attached to string “moves through a cycle of free abstractions and typical BMW vehicle forms.”
It’s almost hard to explain, you kind of have to see it to believe it.
The sculpture was created by Art+Com.
I have to admit, I never know what to expect with online art and design magazines but I was really surprised by the quality of the work and the curating by the editors of Digital Temple Magazine. It’s a great flip through and there is some really spectacular work for both design and photography there that is ready to inspire. It was nice to see some artistic nudity and some racier work as well that isn’t afraid to go out on the edge. It is liberating to see artists being unafraid to express themselves and not being censored as a result.
You can check their back issue here as well.
A new version of Format Magazine (issue 44, The Design Issue) is online and ready for your viewing and reading pleasure.
Geoff McFetridge has finally launched an official website that chronicles some of his work at Champion Don’t Stop. A lot of people have been waiting a long time for him to gather some of his work on an actual site and here it is.
If you want to see the images larger, be sure to click the ‘download’ button.
The pure imagination that is Studio Spooky left me speechless.
Ben Lawson is a unique individual who defies explanation. I love people like that. I can’t say it better than he does himself so I may as well let his own words do the talking:
“I kicked around as a physicist and engineer for many years before becoming an artist and I’ve done some pretty random things in between including finding squirrels for Rumanian TV and reporting on nuclear terrorism for the Japanese government.
Much of my work describes a fascination with scientific illustration, the antiquarian imagination and the blurring between the real and the obviously not true.
I live beyond the borders of the Roman Empire with my wife and 4 year old son in Newcastle upon Tyne.”
There is some pretty tasty stuff in the newest issue of online art ‘e-magazine’ IdeaFixa. You have to create a free account to login and flip through it but there is always quality work in it and it’s always an inspirational flip-through. Buy the ticket and take the ride if you catch my drift.
An important and timely exhibition about the life and work of Buckminster Fuller entitled, ‘Starting with the Universe’ opened this week on Thursday at the Whitney Museum. It looks like a really amazing exhibition about a person more people need to know about now more than ever. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and attend. I wish desperately I could go but I am currently enslaved in the system Bucky railed against and even if I could go, I wouldn’t be able to afford to. So if you can, go for me and tell me how it was. I’d love to hear. Here are the details and explanation of the show from the official Whitney Museum website.
About the Exhibition
on view June 26 – September 21, 2008
One of the great American visionaries of the twentieth century, R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) endeavored to see what he, a single individual, might do to benefit the largest segment of humanity while consuming the minimum of the earth’s resources. Doing “more with less” was Fuller’s credo. He described himself as a “comprehensive anticipatory design scientist,” setting forth to solve the escalating challenges that faced humanity before they became insurmountable.
Fuller’s innovative theories and designs addressed fields ranging from architecture, the visual arts, and literature to mathematics, engineering, and sustainability. He refused to treat these diverse spheres as specialized areas of investigation because it inhibited his ability to think intuitively, independently, and, in his words, “comprehensively.”
Although Fuller believed in utilizing the latest technology, much of his work developed from his inquiry into “how nature builds.” He believed that the tetrahedron was the most fundamental, structurally sound form found in nature; this shape is an essential part of most of his designs, which range in scale from domestic to global. As the many drawings and models in this exhibition attest, Fuller was committed to the physical exploration and visual presentation of his ideas.
The results of more than five decades of Fuller’s integrated approach toward the design and technology of housing, transportation, cartography, and communication are displayed here, much of it for the first time. This exhibition offers a fresh look at Fuller’s life’s work for everyone who shares his sense of urgency about homelessness, poverty, diminishing natural resources, and the future of our planet.
Word on the street is that there is a new issue of Faesthetic out there so think faest. I was lucky enough to be in issue number 7 (the luckiest numbered issue if anything). There is always something interesting in Faesthetic guaranteed. It is now supported by Threadless as well which means there are going to be a lot more issues now so that is also very exciting. I was lucky enough to meet Faesthetic curator and founder, Dustin last year at an art show here in Denver. I actually met him and his wife and they were both wonderful people. Dusting is sincerely just a really nice guy who loves art all the way down to his bones and does all he can to support and perpetuate creativity. So, if anything, buy and issue to support him because he deserves it.
Congratulations on the support from Threadless Dustin.
I wrote about Ronald Kurniawan on my last blog but that was a long time back and he has updated with some really spectacular new work that is bursting with vibrant color.
Here is his bio from his site as I am too lazy to rewrite it:
“Ronald Kurniawan graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Inspired by ideograms, syllables, letterforms, beasts and heroic landscapes, he slowly but surely continues to create a visual language where the wilderness and civilization could merge happily together. With the belief that the sublime and nuclear age could coexist, he paints romantic environments and breaks the quiet scene with juxtaposed imagery taking the shape of icons and letterforms. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles where he paints meticulously and happily accompanied by his pug Ruffles, an avid artist himself.”
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t a big fan of Anthony Lister’s work when it first hit the artistic airwaves. I thought it was kind of gimmicky and the kind of tongue-in-cheek pop culture low brow superheroes and monsters kind of thing that I am not always a big fan of. I am just being honest. I guess that is a little hypocritical for me to say though since I was pretty into that scene for a while before I did a 180 back into graphic design and typography.
Since then, I have been keeping up on him and now I have to say he is winning me over. There is something going on in his work under the surface that serves as an ironic social commentary on the mental state of America. I like that a lot. I am also a die hard fan of any and all things Francis Bacon and there is a link between Lister’s work and Bacon. I like that a lot too.
Johan Lorbeer is a German street performer who has become famous over the last few years for his impromptu and seemingly impossible street ‘still life’ performances. He stands in a relaxed state suspended as if on an invisible platform above the street as onlookers crowd around him. As far as I can tell he doesn’t really talk to anyone although he does look at the crowd. His refusing to verbally communicate with the crowd heightens the anticipation of what is happening and sometimes inspires people to reach out and touch him just to confirm what they are seeing is real. It’s an interesting idea and I am always a fan of anything that inspires people to wonder. Even if it is only for a moment. If you can spark people’s imagination you have reminded them they are alive. I love that.
You can read see a brief video of one of his performances, see more images and read more about him here.
I am really enjoying some of the abstract graphic layouts of Dew Europeo at Grafikas.
I am really enjoying the strange and eclectic art of Virginia Echeverria. She also has a Flickr page you can visit here.
