Category: art

nice one! so simple. ultra-minimalist and exemplifies the essence of contemporary art for me.

Someday I may move out of NYC so I like to collect things that exemplify it’s essence, the everyday bits that comprise the NYC experience,  the things you experience only if you live here, not if you just come by for a visit.

This is a slow motion video made by Vicente Sahuc using only the video capabilities of his Casio EX-F1, pretty nice result.

(via todayandtomorrow)

I’m not sure what to make of it, but I think there is something to it. “this is every single curse, from every single episode of the sopranos, ever.” If you like swearing and if you like the sopranos then this is the video for you, though I have never watched a single episode, so I guess I’m fascinated by the formal qualities of all the expletives. I think the sheer length of the video amazes me. (NSFW if you have speakers on, NSFChildren probably either)

At many stops in the subway, mostly concentrated along the G and L lines (in NYC), you will notice ads that are slightly off. They range from super obvious alterations bordering on the juvenile need to leave your mark and spell out fart, to the more subtle pieces like above which make a comment on our world at large but always within the framework of advertising, after all that is their medium (quite literally).

I thought all of these ad alterings were just kids mucking around and occasionally, accidentally, they made something good. I guess there are a lot of copy cats out there, but it looks like the bulk of it is Poster Boy.

In addition to some great ad altering I also like the bright tape line boxes that he makes and the pieces that reference pixelation. Make sure you check out his full portfolio on flickr.

I think there is a fine line between pranks and art, and just because I appreciate these mostly as art doesn;t mean that they aren’t also acts of vandalism (or are breaking the law). Lot’s of art in the past was of an anti-establishment, prankish nature, just look at Duchamp, so there is a lot of precendent, but I’m still conflicted and I feel a lot of “street” art really is just pranks and uses the label “art” as an excuse. Maybe poster boy is just pranks I happen to like, or maybe time will show him to be a “famous legitimate artist.”

It also looks like Poster Boy occasionally collaborates with Jordan Seiler. I’m a fan of his more minimalist approach. Jordan is smart and he also knows what he is talking about when it comes to this kind of art which often has to cross the line into legally murky territory.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago (I think it is still there!), I noticed a really great piece at a gas station on 15th street and 10th ave:

I had no idea it was Jordan’s!

I call it Richard Serra in the boondocks.

apropos of nothing came across this artist, never seen the work in person, but I love the texture, color, materials and overall mood of this piece and many of her other pieces (like this one or this one), file this one under inspiration.

This is almost an art project, but really made by someone in advertising.*
A day in the life of […], through logos…

*I guess the two are not mutually exclusive, but one would really have to argue the case. see also

(found here: http://dearjanesample.wordpress.com)

You’ve been PSD’d! Interesting street art project. (Just in case you’ve forgotten how pervasive photoshopping is in our world.) Definitely enjoy the site-specific nature of this altering.

Here’s an interesting art project from turbulence.org:

“Tumbarumba is an add-on for Firefox web browsers. It quietly sits in the background, occasionally inserts a fragment of a story into a webpage that is being viewed. The result is an absurd sentence that is reminiscent of the surrealist exquisite corpse game. If the inserted fragment (we call the fragments “tumbarumbas”) is spotted and clicked upon, the entire story will emerge and eventually take over the page.”

I love projects that deal with disrupting and exposing the workings of the internet (see Mark Napier‘s Shredder or Riot projects), and I think this one is a great idea. I’m just not sure if this one is very successful. I think the digital interruption work is really great, but I think the content and the context are at odds with each other and it’s hard to relate the two.

I love electronic/eletric pieces where all of the wiring that is needed to run the thing, and is usually painstakenly hidden (not part of the artwork), is actually incorporated aesthetically into the work itself. In this piece the wiring is just as much part of the aesthetic as the machine. fantastic. would love to see some of his work in person.