Frida

When I saw the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Moder Art, I was fascinated by her work and personal life. Her art is so intriguingly honest, autobiographical and at times painful, that I wanted to learn more about her. This film tells the story of her life and the struggles and achievements she goes through.

At 18, she was involved in a serious bus accident that caused serious injuries. She was temporarily unable to walk and although she eventually recovered, she suffered relapses of pain for the rest of her life that would leave her bedridden for months. She would pass the time painting and it was this ordeal that created the birth of her career. The film documents the tempestuous relationship between her and her husband, the artist Diego Rivera. Being hurt by his many affairs, she too was promiscuous with both women and men (including Leon Trotsky). As her life goes on, you learn about her political involvement in communism and how her health eventually deteriorates while her career escalates. The film is beautifully shot, integrating colourful scenes and animated sequences that bring her thoughts and art to life.

Visionaire

Visionaire is a magazine with a difference. In fact, I don't know if you can even call it a magazine. It's described as a 'multi format album of fashion and art produced in exclusive numbered limited editions'. Whatever it is, if you buy it, you're officially too cool for school. It's published three times a year and each issue features a different format and theme. Famous artists from the fashion, design and art world collaborate with each issue, making each one completely unique. With a volume costing around £135- it doesn't come cheap. But they always sell out fast.
Issue 26 (above) had the theme 'Fantasy'. A round box held pieces of round, unbound artwork. Featuring work from Tim Burton and Victor & Rolf, it also included a mask designed by Hermes.
To celebrate the 50th issue, 'Artists Toys' came as a collection of ten toys by ten different artists that sat in a white tray with a silk screened clear cover. Each toy took the form of a Russian doll, housing another two, within it.
Issue number 54 'Sport', is now available and you can you actually wear it. Using special printing technology, photographically printed Lacoste polo shirts feature work by artists including Nick Knight, Phil Poynter and Karl Lagerfeld to name a few. This issue is available in four different sets, each housing three collectable shirts.

Click here to visit the website, where you can see more of its amazing issues.

Little People

In one of my earlier posts entitled 'Mini Polaroid People' I found some cool photographs of tiny figurines, but I didn't know who the artist was. I'm chuffed as I think I've discovered who it is. The mystery artist is called Slinkachu.

He's a street artist who positions these little people around London. He creates amusing situations, photographs them then leaves them to survive in the big wide world. Slinkachu says, "It should be a universal kind of feeling that you get living in any big city when you're just one tiny person living among millions of people. It is that kind of feeling that most people feel at one time or another, where they feel a bit lost." He says, "I don't often check back on them once I've placed them on the street. If I do, I usually find that they have long gone." I'm not surprised- they're so tiny, I wouldn't mind betting that half of them get stuck to the bottom of people's shoes. It's a real shame as they'll either be destroyed or most people will walk by without noticing them. But I guess that's the charm of it. For the few people who do discover the real life situations, it's a rare wonder.

Luckily for us, Slinkachu posts the photos on his blog, allowing us to appreciate them, thereby making them immortal. Check out his blog at http://little-people.blogspot.com

Gregoire Alexandre

I've recently discovered the work of Gregoire Alexandre and I'm already a huge fan. He's a French photographer who's work features in various fashion, design and music magazines. These include, Wallpaper, Esquire, Liberation, and GQ, to name a few. His work is playful and composition is always his main focus. Experimenting with scale, natural and man made objects, clutter and clean, his work often resembles large scale art installations.
To see more of his work, click here.

Quirky Korea part 4: New Media

"Turn and Widen" is an international exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art. It explores how new forms of media are turning into art and the influence this has had on the art world. The exhibition focuses on three different areas: light, communication and time.

The light part of the exhibition was my favorite as it was so visually striking. This exhibit is called Reincarnation by Li, Hui. In a dark room you find this bed covered in glowing red lights. It's quite eerie, but somehow the atmosphere creates a sense of calm.



This is a video of an installation called Augmented Sculpture Series by Pablo Valbuena. Different light patterns are beamed onto the white sculpture, showing how the light changes its appearance.

This hanging neon sculpture is from the time section. It's a piece called Sin Lugar (Nowhere) by Carlos Coronas. I'm not quite sure what it has to do with time but it was really impressive.




This is a collage from communication. It's made up of hundreds of video clips of newsreaders all over the world. It's intriguing watching these tiny heads chattering away, each voice blending into a blur of noise. The changing images create moving patterns of light that dance across the screen.

Overall, the exhibition was a mixed bag. Some of the exhibits were really magnificent and a lot of the interactive ones were good fun. However quite a few were rather wanky and a bit too 'experimental' for my liking.

Photography Takes On Art

I came across this extraordinary fashion shoot by the photographer Michael Thompson for Italian Vogue. He's incorporated photography with 2D painting, using the style of Matisse as his inspiration. I was looking through Matisse's work and came across his piece, Odalisque's, 1928. The image below, must have been inspired by this piece as the resemblance is striking.

Odalisque's, 1928

I'm not quite sure whether these were created using Photoshop or if they were cut out and hand painted. Whatever the method, the bold colours and brush strokes of the paint combined with the detail in the photography creates a surreal and striking effect.

Odalisque In Red Trousers, 1924-1925

You can see more of Michael Thompson's work at: http://http://www.jedroot.com/

Migration

Migration, a piece by Hellovon- a London based illustrator, is taking place across two cities. At the end of August a " flock of abstracted birds" first appears at the Truman Brewery in London. They then fly to New York, where they will reappear in September at the Espeis gallery in Williamsburg. It's a stunning piece and a great way to convey its meaning.

Robert Deyber Paintings

Rock and Roll

My Ass Is On The Line

The Chick Magnet

These are some pieces by the artist Robert Deyber. I discovered his work when I was in San Francisco looking around the Martin Lawrence Gallery. His work is all about visually interpreting well known cliches and euphemisms. He says, "In creating these works the challenge is to take whimsical imagery and attempt to render it in a contemplative and elegant manner without being obtuse. My goal is also to take something common and elevate it to the uncommon and create theater, an unfamiliar and unexplored scene."

It seems ironic, but by painting words as their literal meaning, he's thinking laterally. We're so used to these phrases that they just skim over us- we don't see them. When you look at his work, it makes you realize how quirky the English language is. You can see his work at http://www.martinlawrence.com

The House of Victor and Rolf

The exhibition at The Barbican is a fascinating showcase of the fashion designer's work. It's based around a giant dolls house where the dolls model miniature versions of their key pieces. Surrounding this, the exhibition is divided into sections representing each season of their work. Life size dolls display the clothes and in the background their catwalk shows are projected on the walls. At first it seems a little creepy- the dolls and their blank expressions can look a bit disturbing. But as you wonder round, learning about the inspiration behind each collection, you start to appreciate the theatrical nature and master craftsmanship of their work.

One of the most impressive collections is from A/W 2002-2003 entitled "Long Live The Immaterial (Bluescreen)". The designers adapted bluescreen technology into their work to "go beyond the product, to design something that is immaterial". The clothes contain elements of chromakey blue which when combined with a live video feed, seem to come to life. The models become walking screens, displaying moving footage from the urban and natural world, making them look almost 2D. You can see it below (it's 18 minutes long and gets better towards the end so it might be worth winding forward if you don't fancy watching the whole thing).

Viktor & Rolf Fall 02 Fashion Show (Full)
Uploaded by FBK1976

Among their other talents, I discovered that the duo are masters of self publicity. In 1996, early on in their career, Victor & Rolf were feeling frustrated with their status as novice artists. So, to gain some publicity the pair launched a fake fragrance entitled "Le Parfum". In the fashion world, a perfume is the symbol of a fashion houses success. They produced 250 limited edition bottles, that were sealed shut, with a publicity still to accompany it. Later that year, they rebelled against the dictatorship of the fashion industry by refusing to stage an A/W collection. During fashion week they plastered the streets of Paris with posters announcing "Victor and Rolf On Strike" which were also sent to magazine editors. There's nothing like kicking up a bit of a fuss to get you noticed...

Street Art

Each time I walk past the Tate Modern, I can't help but be blown away by it's outdoor exhibition of street art.  It's the first time they've used the facade of the building as a canvas for artists.  The sheer scale of it alone, is impressive.  My favourite piece is by JR, of the black man holding what on first impressions seems to be a gun, but when you look closer is a video camera.  It's not only technically brilliant with it's photographic quality, but it also challenges your negative assumptions.  

You can also take the Street Art walking tour, but I wouldn't recommend it.  I started it with my friends, feeling positive about the combination of culture and exercise the walk would bring.  But it was a big disappointment.  The first few pieces were nothing to write home about, and you could easily walk past them without a second thought.  The walk then took us through Borough, one of the most depressing, nondescript areas of London I've been to.  After that, we gave up and went in search for a cup of tea which was much more rewarding.

Chinatown Art

When I was in San Francisco, I was taking a stroll through Chinatown when I came across this fantastic building.  It's been covered in murals that depict the cross culture in the surrounding area.  On one side, are traditional Chinese characters and motifs and on the other are symbols of American life.  But it was the clothes hanging to dry on the balconies that I found the most charming.  It's nice to see people living, doing normal activities within this eye catching structure.  Sometimes it's the most ordinary, real things that make you smile.

Mini Polaroid People

I found these images on http://www.ffffound.com and I think they're really intriguing.  They were an entry to a polaroid competition, but I don't know who the artist is.  The shallow depth of field creates an obscure feel, focussing your attention on the miniature characters.  The person that made these wee little people must have had tiny fingers- they're microscopic!

Green Graffiti

I think the concept of environmentally friendly graffiti is really interesting.  Graffiti can be seen as damaging our environment, but when using a biological medium, it can only be seen as a positive thing.  This was created by Anna Garforth, an illustrator.  You can see more of her work at:

http://www.crosshatchling.co.uk 

Bela Borsodi

One of my favourite artists of the moment is the still life photographer Bela Borsodi.  He looks at objects in a whole new light, challenging our perception of them by giving them personality.

His work is always imaginative and often humorous.  Being in the world of fashion, it's a refreshing change to see some fun injected into a fickle industry that takes itself so seriously.  

In his series "Foot Fetish", featured in V Magazine (above), he visually explores the way high heels change the shape of the female body and sexualize it.  He looks at how the body fits the shoe in an exaggerated way by playing with shape and proportions.  Rather than doing it on Photoshop, he shot the nude models, cut out the prints then placed them within the shoes.  I love the way he's transformed shoes into these surreal, striking images and brought attention to the connotations associated with shoes.

You may recognize the image above which was shot as part of a series of ads for Selfridges.  If you want to check out his work go to: 

http://www.art-dept.com/artists/borsodi

Psycho Buildings- Artists Take On Architecture

This is one of those brilliant exhibitions that's fun, fascinating and people friendly.  It's not too wanky as far as modern art goes.  There are 10 exhibits in total, ranging from an eerie village of 200 lit up dolls houses to a room frozen in an explosion.

The exhibition takes place both within and outside the Hayward Gallery, with the outdoor exhibits being more interactive.  The first is a boating lake that's been built on one of the terraces.  It's a surreal experience rowing above ground looking down on London.   The downfall is that we queued for almost an hour to have a go, which wasn't exactly worth the time.  So if you go and there's a long queue, just take a peek as you'll get the idea.

My favourite outdoor exhibit was the "Observatory, Air-Port-City" by Tomas Saraceno.  It's a transparent dome with a roof that allows people to walk about, giving the illusion that they're floating.  Inside, is a space that's protected by an air lock door which keeps the atmospheric pressure balanced.  You lie down, looking up at the people floating above being supported on the pillow of air.   The best way to describe it is to imagine yourself as an ant trapped inside a transparent ball.  A pretty cool experience for £10 I think...    

Frieda Kahlo

During my time in San Francisco I couldn't help but notice images of Frieda Kahlo's work all over the city.  Publicity for her exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was plastered everywhere.  So being the sheep that I am, I thought I'd follow the crowds and check out what all the hype was about.  The queues were huge to get in and you had to get in with a special timed ticket.  But it was well worth the wait. 

 

Although her work isn't something I'd necessarily want hanging up in my room, it is amazing.  Her folkloric style is influenced by her Mexican roots and many of her paintings have a Surrealist feel to them.  Although she denied she was a Surrealist, stating "I never painted dreams.  I painted my own reality".  It's this reality about her life and thoughts, that makes her work so intriguing.  It's shockingly personal and you can't help but get sucked in by the tragedies in her life, wanting to discover more about her.