corrugated cardboard bike helmet

Posted on December 7, 2012December 6, 2012 by Jake

In an apparent effort to get as fat as possible between now and March, I have virtually ceased all cycling activities. I seriously think that I have only ridden 3 or 4 times since the hurricane. That doesn’t stop me from perving on cool biking gear that I see online. I came across this awesome helmet by Ani Surabhi earlier this week. He calls it “Kranium.”

Surabhi developed the helmet as a student at the Royal College of Art. The guts of the helmet are made from corrugated cardboard. In addition to looking ridiculously cool, the helmet can absorb up to three times the the impact as traditional styrofoam helmets.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) helmets are proven to protect your head only 20% of the time. The Kranium liner has proven to absorb 3 times the amount of impact energy during collision. At the same time, it is 15% lighter than Polystyrene helmets. EPS helmets are made from petroleum based products where are the Kranium liner is made from recycled paper. They have been tested at several test labs across the globe, including TUV in Germany and HPE in the UK. They have been developed for mass production and will be available in the market in December 2012.

Check out the full article on Core77 to learn about how Surabhi initially got the idea from studying woodpeckers. If you are as nerdy as me, you will find it fascinating.

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If you aren’t into the cardboard look, there is always this option.

Herakut Mural in Miami

Posted on December 6, 2012December 4, 2012 by Jake

More news from Miami: I’m really digging this mural that Herakut put up earlier this week (presumably in connection with Basel). In addition to being a dope piece, this long exposure photo of it is boss. I love the way they captured the clouds moving.

I hate to say it, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the mural the Shepard Fairey put up for the event. I’m normally very keen on just about anything that SF touches. More images of the Herakut piece, here.

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Matterhorn snaps by Nenad Saljic

Posted on December 5, 2012December 5, 2012 by Jake

ISO 50 posted some gorgeous high contrast monochromatic photos of the Matterhorn, shot by Nenad Saljic. The style reminded me quite a bit of Ansel Adams’ images from Yosemite. Saljic captures the peak from the same vantage points at different times of day and night. Check out the full set over here.

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Sasita Samarnpharb

Posted on December 5, 2012December 4, 2012 by Jake

Sasita Samarnpharb it a Thai born illustrator currently residing in London. I came across her work this week on Jux, and am really enjoying it.

On an unrelated note, I was really wishing that I could hit Basel this year. I have been reading a lot about it. Apparently Levine is hosting a screening of a film that Invader made. And… there is Banksy drama.

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Open Education Photography Course

Posted on December 4, 2012December 4, 2012 by Jake

Cory Doctorow shared an awesome piece today on Boing Boing about an open education photography course that is conducted under the creative commons license. I think it is fantastic. Go here to sign up for the 2013 courses. Learn more about the project from the original BBC article.

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selects from etam cru

Posted on December 4, 2012December 2, 2012 by Jake

I’m totally digging these pieces by Etam Cru that Graf EU pulled from a show proposal. Check out more from Bezt and Sainer on their respective blogs. I love this style. It reminds me of illustrations from children’s books, but for adults. That probably doesn’t make sense. Anyway, I’m into it.

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‘world in bloom’ series by Linn Olofsdotter

Posted on December 3, 2012November 30, 2012 by Jake

I’m really digging this series by Swedish artist Linn Olofsdotter. I love the colors, and the way that they pop against the grayscale backdrops. Her work reminds me of a cleaner timeless version of a lot of the psychedelic neon art from the 60’s. View additional images from Olofsdotter’s ‘World in Bloom’ on Juxtapoz.

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New Vhils in London

Posted on November 30, 2012November 30, 2012 by Jake

Vhils has been a regular globe trotter, lately. Last month he was putting up in Brazilian favelas. He has already turned around an put up the piece above in London for an exhibition that he opened there this week. I love the unique way that he transforms existing media (usually stucco or plaster on a wall) into these intricate large scale portraits. There was also some work that he did a few years ago where he used flame to scorch a portrait onto a wall in a dilapidated building. Click through to complex to see the rest of the photos of the new London piece.

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Ed Fairburn’s Portraits on Maps

Posted on November 28, 2012December 2, 2012 by Jake

UK Based illustrator Ed Fairburn combines two of my favorite things: maps and portraits. I came across an entire set of his portraits created on maps, that Laughing Squid posted today. It isn’t the first time that I have seen this done. But I definitely appreciate Fairburn’s spin on the idea. Click through to check out the full set.

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All of Van Gogh’s Self Portraits

Posted on November 27, 2012November 26, 2012 by Jake

Yesterday I came across a collection of the 38 known self-portraits by Vincent Van Gogh. The portraits include sketches and paintings by the Dutch master. It is pretty incredible if you know any of his back story at all, to flip through all of these works and try to imagine what was going on in his life at the time each was created. Click through here for the full set.

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Some Desert Snaps

Posted on November 26, 2012November 25, 2012 by Jake

I found myself in the desert recently, working on a pro bono project. I grew up frequenting the dunes and canyons of Southern Utah and Nevada. It was quite a privilege for me to be able to revisit that overwhelming sense of vastness that one experiences in such places. It was even more of a privilege to be able to capture a few images while doing so. These are a handful of my faves.

If you scrolled all of the way down here, chances are that you like me, enjoy photos of the desert. If you like them enough to make into phone wall paper, here are a couple of images that I cropped into iphone shaped wallpaper. Feel free to download: Here is the first … Here is the second. Enjoy.

El Mac on the Adobe Campus in Utah

Posted on November 25, 2012November 25, 2012 by Jake

El Mac is back at it with this new commissioned piece in the Adobe Campus located in Utah. It is so new that it isn’t even showing up on Mac’s site yet. I came across this Image, and several others on Arrested Motion, courtesy of Wes Colton. I had the pleasure of Meeting Mac and shooting him at work when he showed at Liner, back in 2010. I am a huge fan of his work, and of him as a person. I am hoping to check out this new piece in person next time I find myself in SLC.

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ana teresa barboza’s embroidery art

Posted on November 17, 2012November 16, 2012 by Jake

Ana Teresa Barboza has created an amusing set of embroidery art with the theme of animals turning on humans. The piece above was the one that I liked the most. I actually thought it was kind of hilarious. Check out the rest of the set on Laughing Squid.

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Bozic at Liner

Posted on November 16, 2012November 14, 2012 by Jake

I first discovered Tiffany Bozic during Armory Week, a couple of years ago. I am a huge fan of her work. She is currently showing at Joshua Liner until December 1. I previously mentioned what a sucker I am for art involving birds. Bozic heavily incorporates birds in her work. She describes herself as having grown up observing the intricacies of nature. In her paintings she juxtaposes those intricacies in a way that is extremely interesting and has a very unique aesthetic quality (in my opinion). If you can’t make it over to Liner to see in person, check out the set here.

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Street Art by Ethos

Posted on November 15, 2012November 13, 2012 by Jake

I came across these fresh new pieces by Ethos on Boooooom!, the other day. There are a few things that I really like about Claudio Ethos. I really like the scale of his outdoor work. He goes reaaaallly big. I also like the aesthetic that the he creates by distorting reality. I once heard beauty described as a strangeness in proportion. I think that Ethos accomplishes that in his work.

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portraits made from scribble lines, by ayaka ito

Posted on November 14, 2012November 14, 2012 by Jake

I absolutely love these scribble drawing portraits by Akaya Ito. I’m not 100% sure how this was done. I just know that the images are are composites of photographic portraits and scribble lines merged with some sort of 3D Flash program. I think that the work is both genius and beautiful. I see so much art that has been digitally modified to the point that it is no longer appealing to me. In this instance, my opinion is that Ito found the perfect balance of digital manipulation of the subject without losing the integrity of the final work.

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Gabriel Moreno

Posted on November 13, 2012November 13, 2012 by Jake

Earlier this week, Jux turned me onto the illustrations of Madrid based Gabriel Moreno. I also loved the description that Juxtapoz gave of Moreno’s work:

psychedelic figural images almost read like streams of consciousness. With drastic color gradients and multi-layered imagery that both emerge from and envelop his figures, Moreno creates dreamlike scenes in which his subjects’ thoughts seem to bleed through their skin.

After pouring over his website, I discovered that even his commercial illustrations are right up my alley. Definitely worth checking out.

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Corrie White and coffee

Posted on November 13, 2012November 13, 2012 by Jake

Corrie White‘s work it appealing to me for reasons beyond just its aesthetics. It is a great mixture of photography, and nerdiness (two things I love). White’s has an entire series of work consists of high shutter speed shots of drops and liquid. In a recent set, she explored milk dripping into coffee. I’m a fan.

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Josh Keyes ‘Circus and the Sea’

Posted on November 12, 2012November 13, 2012 by Jake

One of my favorite contemporary artists, Josh Keyes, just opened a show in Seattle last week. The name of the show is ‘Circus and the Sea.’ His paintings incorporate realistic looking images of wildlife, with surrealist environments. Here is how the press release describes his style:

Keyes’ style is reminiscent of the diagrammatic vocabulary found in scientific textbook illustrations that often express, through a detached and clinical viewpoint, an empirical representation of the natural world. Assembled into this virtual stage set are references to contemporary events along with images and themes from his personal mythology. Josh Keyes’ work is a hybrid of eco-surrealism and dystopian folktales that express a concern for our time and the Earth’s future.

If I was in Seattle I would definitely check it out.

Josh Keyes
The Circus and The Sea
November 9 – December 1 2012
Roq La Rue Gallery
Seattle, Washington

Here is one of my favorite pieces by Keyes that he painted and sold prints of to raise money for the gulf oil spill (not a part of his current show). I mean, sharks and fire? Not sure how that could be topped–

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‘NYC Dark’

Posted on November 11, 2012November 9, 2012 by Jake

This is one of the many videos that I have watched featuring footage of NYC when the power was out in hurricane Sandy’s aftermath. It was produced by an outfit called “We are Already Alive.” I like the combination of timelapse and slow shutter stills. The soundtrack consists of commentary by the videographer. If you want to enhance the experience put on some dark electronica of the top of it. If you have 20 more minutes and want to see another good hurricane film, check this one.