Illustration / Close to greatness
I was in Melbourne last week and was struck once again by the striking contrasts between Sydney - where I live - and our southern neighbour. It may be a climatic thing (yes, Melbourne is cold!), but it really is a city geared towards the arts; towards creative expression that operates well outside the parameters of the mainstream. Just pop into the Greville Street Bookstore for proof. Inside is a thriving collection of independent zines, books, postcards, and posters, many of which have been lovingly assembled on a shoestring budget by any number of Melbourne-based collectives. It is a city where a good idea - a clever, quirky, and offbeat project - can quickly find a receptive audience. It’s interesting also that many of Melbourne’s secrets are hidden away down long winding alleyways. It’s here that the most original work is emerging - collaborative projects that tap into the strong sense of community which permeates throughout this invigorating, windswept town. Now if only they followed a decent code of football down there. [illustration by Hiroshi Tanabe]
Also by ZOLTON
Sydney pop starlets, Teenagers in Tokyo, have just released a new remix of their track End it Now dolled up and throttled into shape by local DJ group, Bagraiders. It’s as fun as a triple shot expresso with a dash of laphroaig.
Yves Klein Blue’s Silence Is Distance video premiere
Brisbane band, Yves Klein Blue, as energetic a mash-up of styles and textures as you’re ever going to find, have a new video out. And it’s good. Fun.
Celia Marais’ Field Excursion was originally started as a study for the website for electronic musician Amon Tobin. It consists of “nine portraits of strange creatures made out of pieces of meat and fish, and given the names of existing or imaginary bacterias”. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
If ever there were an apt description of our time, it would be that we are the ‘mobile generation’, in every sense of the word. We are a people of movers, we are offered choice on so many levels. And, in this way, we are far removed — both in ideology and practice — from those generations before us, who were generally more static and certainly less transitory. Read more
The incendiary energy of Canadian quartet, Tokyo Police Club is electric. We caught up with keyboardist, Graham Wright. Read more
I’ve been a big fan of Michelle Vandermeer’s work since I came across her Mini Majellen zines at this year’s Sydney Writers Festival. Describing herself as a doer — as in one of those people who are always doing or making something — Michelle’s work, which includes book binding, illustration, jewelery making and her zines, stems from an internal creative springboard and a double degree in architecture and graphic design. Her work is smart and succinct. Read more
In my next life, I want to sing like Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Oh, and grow a lush beard, so I can play in their band. Better start cracking.
The young architect Junya Ishigami is pushing the boundaries of the weightless aesthetic stream of architecture. Here, for the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, he has designed a glass and steel pavilion with a roof that floats on a sparse forest of thin steel columns or ‘flats’. Read more
A new idea has emerged in Norway that we think could be the precursor to things to come in the way our societies interact and develop. The general gradual demise of traditional gathering places such as town halls, community centers and churches has seemingly gone in hand with a generational shift and sharp increase in online virtual communities. However, humans still need to rub shoulders at some point to get things done, until, say, we perfect the sensitive hologram. Read more
The Virtual Shoe Museum was initiated by Liza Snook in 2004. Once the idea was born, a long search began for designers, photographers and publishers connected to shoes. New friendships developed and their mailbox filled with loads of material on fantastic shoes, art and design on shoes. The Shoe featured above is the Electric Light Shoe by Strawberry Frog.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
With just a matter of days before one of the most anticipated and controversial Olympic Games in years kicks off in Beijing, Boston.com has cobbled together a bunch of surreal photos from the wires that depicts the hyper-sanitized, white-washed, and quasi-futuristic city Beijing has become. Read more
Aurel Schmidt’s intricate drawings make me want to start a band just so I can use it as album art. The DIY-outsider tack many artists have taken of late has produced some art that makes you think ‘I could do that’, but Schmidt’s work is inimitable — her rendering of hair must make other artists furious with envy. Read more
Philip Toledano’s photo series, ‘Days with my Father’
Photographer Philip Toledano’s photo essay, Days with My Father, documents his 98-year-old father. Accompanied by some simple text, the images are intimate, heart-breaking, and ethereal, honestly depicting the nuances and tenderness of the photographer’s relationship with his subject. Read more
A master of juxtaposition, Canadian photographer Liz Wolfe has updated her site with her newest series which focuses on characters and confection. The photos are never what they first seem, revealing something a little more macabre on closer inspection: a meat tree, a diseased dear, a melting icy pole dripping blood. It’s all presented in hyper-real candy colours.
I was just recently introduced to the work of artist Misaki Kawai. I must say that my interest in her work has since become something of a creative obsession. Her trippy, child-like figures and animals, painted in the most expressive, perfectly satisfying candy colored hues, are more than enough to send me running for the bag of jelly beans and jolly ranchers hidden in my cupboard. Read more
Thanks to our friends at Universal Music, we have three Beck 7″ vinyl Chemtrails singles, off his new Modern Guilt album, to give away to randomly selected Australian subscribers. Read more
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
TAGS: acoustic music animals animation Australian artists Australian bands black and white illustrations black and white photography blogs Brooklyn Brooklyn artists Canada China collaboration colour colourful illustrations comics electronic music flash games folk music France Hip Hop Japan London Los Angeles magazines Melbourne New York New York artists New York bands New York illustrators New York photographers plush toys pop music portrait portraits rock music San Francisco soul music street art street fashion Sydney t-shirts Tokyo typography UK bands
POPULAR:
- Brittanie Pendleton - loved 45 times
- Elaine Biss's feminine charms - loved 24 times
- Prefab House - loved 18 times
- Andreco's brilliant visions - loved 17 times
- Dongyun Lee - loved 13 times
- Fly Apart - loved 13 times
- An artistic tribute to Bjork - loved 12 times
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Or if you’d just like to talk amongst yourselves, that’s cool too. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.









