BlogArt
PERMANENTLY MARKED February 22 2009
While the rest of Los Angeles was checking out the KAWS show, we went to Crewest to see The Sharpie show.
Tweet
HIPHOPOGRAPHY January 27 2009
To borrow from one of my favorite movies, Brown Sugar, I fell in love with hiphop when I was about 9. A Tribe Called Quest, The Fat Boys, and LL Cool J pretty much got me hooked. Not long after that, I became increasingly interested in the elements associated with hiphop. Besides the music, there was oversized fashion - jackets, tees, pants, and even laces. There was cardboard box breakdancing, a particular type of language, and graffiti art. But when I got older, I started to neglect the genre that reminded me so much of childhood.Until I became familiar with Martha Cooper. An American photojournalist now in her 60s, Cooper is responsible for photographing the most definitive images of the abovementioned culture. Largely shot in New York decades ago, she portrays the lives of the hustling young and old. Whether they'd be dancing, tagging, or MCing, these subjects wanted to send a message, just as hiphop wanted to.
Lucky for me, Shepard Fairey's gallery, Subliminal Projects, is currently home to some of these photos. The exhibit called "Street Shots" primarily focuses on inner city kids. I don't know their stories, but I felt a sense of imagination as they were photographed in abandoned lots, desolate alleys, and empty subway carts.
If you have time to spare, you should check it out. Studio Number One: 1331 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
Tweet
FROM THE GROUND UP January 26 2009
Yesterday I drove south to Long Beach for the opening reception of Ground Up Pirates at Beatrock. The Ground Up movement focuses on underground and independent art forms - music, photography, graff, and poetry (to name a few). This show featured work by Jerrell Connor, Kelli Murray, Ozwego, and Pancho Abalos, and ended with a live performance by Hawaii's Humble Soul. Beatrock, as you know, is our first account, a flagship store, and an art space. Props to Ground Up, Dave, and Ven, for providing a Sunday afternoon of positivity, and of course, eggrolls.
Tweet
ARTSY FARTSY December 28 2008
This year, LA was fortunate enough to have some good art exhibits. MOCA had Murakami, JANM had Mike Shinoda, the Michael Kohn Gallery had a rare look at Andy Warhol. We were lucky to experience a lot of them. For this best of, we chose the two best art shows of '08.KIM - Shepard Fairey's "Imperfect Union" at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery because "the message is in the medium".
WORDS TO LIVE BY December 11 2008
One of the sites I've patroned for a couple Christmas gifts has been Vans.com. The brand is definitive in both skate and street culture, and in my opinion, has become a staple in the Southern California repertoire. Their website matches in strength. I've revisited many times after purchasing because of their flash oriented homepage that has a pretty inspiring piece by Vans team skater, John Cardiel.
Given my infatuation with East Asian religions like Taosim, I especially liked the "true freedom is within the flow" part.
I failed to realize, though, that Cardiel's story was actually part of a bigger Vans project called ICONoclasts. It features Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Stacy Peralta (Z-Boys), Robert Williams (Juxtapoz), the abovementioned John Cardiel, Wes Humpston (Bulldog Skates), Joel Tudor (surfer), and Sarah (Collette Paris). I have a lot of interest in these people and in this endeavor because of the core message. Taking away the religious undertones, an iconoclast breaks the rules and goes against the norm. In some ways, that's what we're achieving here at CA. I've said this before - we want to creatively modify the way you think about cultural brands and about your identity. We march to the beat of our own drum, releasing shit that might only make sense to us. And still, that's all good.
Tweet