fashion photography is dope

i remember flipping through the glossy pages of my baba's Elle magazine when i was a kid. i would examine page after page of posing women in dramatic angles, with wild makeup and abstracted accessories, jutting shadows and a moody focus. to me it looked more like a carnival than a fashion shoot. those magazines enthralled and terrified me. now, i am less terrified but equally captivated by the immense amount of skill and creativity that stands behind these circus-esque action shots that use fabric and skin as props for a canvas. fashion photography is an amazing art form. here is one amazing artist, Richard Avedon:





and here is some music:


Federico Aubele- Un Lugar

i really wish i could see this

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei along with 1,600 assisting artisans have put together a beautiful installation at the Tate Modern. there, over 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds cover the ground like sand on the beach. each seed was hand-crafted and painted in a 30-step process taking a total of 2 years to finish the installation. the sunflower seeds have cultural and political significance for the Chinese people. sunflower seeds have been a popular street snack during times of hardship, and even more powerfully reflect the Communist representation of the people as sunflowers turning their heads in unison to the sun (Chairman Mau Zedong). for a few days only visitors at the Tate were allowed to walk on and play with the seeds.

jokes

there are a million and one of these and they are all funny to me because of the delivery. i crack up at the way ol' Eli stumbles on his words.

stars

a video about our connection to, yet lack of understanding for the universe.

Malcom Sutherland



Gorillaz- Broken

rad toys

i was doin' a little blog browsing tonight and came across a few toy designs that i thought were pretty cool:
the first is a rubik's cube for the blind designed by Konstantin Datz. instead of different colors, braille is printed on each square. the only thing i might do differently is correspond colors to the braille. it is beautiful all white but adding color to the squares would encourage seeing and vision impaired children to play together.



the second is designed by Weng Jieso and is awesome to me in the happiest way. it is part pillow, part play mat, part toy and part vegetable. it is unstoppable. the pics speak for themselves.




the third design i found has extremely high levels of merriment and wonder. it combines a wooden train set and a music box to create an experience of creation and delight for any child. the designer is Ricardo Seola.




the video is pretty good, too:

i really like Massive Attack's new album and i'm happy to discover a handful of recent album releases that are more than just filler space to accompany one hit single. this one off 'heligoland' has made me happy this evening:

Massive Attack- Splitting the Atom



this song showed on their 2009 ep and is freaky fresh

also, i have discovered my new favorite artist thanks to the rad new art gallery/bar space in oakland called Era. if you haven't been there, you should really check it out. it's a beautiful space that has been built and designed from scratch by a few town locals. the artist's name that Era introduced me to is Joshua Dildine and i wish that my paintings looked like his. see them:

top ten reasons why i love david hasselhoff

1) this whole video, esp. the dance he does at 2:12

2) the way he eats a burger

3) this quote:

"There are many dying children out there whose last wish is to meet me."

4-10) his dreamy gaze

"Put the lobster down. Put it down!"

i've been cracking up at this dude. his wife records the things he says in his sleep and then posts them on the internet. he has an amazing dream life. these quotes are really too good to be true, but like santa claus and psychokinetic powers, some things are just worth believing in.

some good ones:

"I haven't put on weight. Your eyes are fat."

"Don't leave the duck there. It's totally irresponsible. Put it on the swing, it'll have much more fun."

"I'm better than Superman. He's just a cunt.... in underpants."

here's the link:
http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/

Basement Jaxx- Gimme Somethin' True