I interviewed award winning New York-based, Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu a little while back and asked her whether she missed living in Japan and if she thought her cross-cultural heritage has influenced her artwork? ‘No I don’t. I haven’t gone back to Japan since I moved to New York in 1999. I partially grew up in upstate New York, and after I went back to Japan in the 80s, I couldn’t adjust back to their culture anymore. I was just waiting for the right time to get out, and I did, and I don’t miss it. I have to admit that my genes have an accumulation of Japanese history and culture, and it comes out in my work whether I like it or not. At first, I hated it and tried to get out of it. After a while I decided to admit who I am and just let my work be the way it should be. After that, it became easier to create. Sometimes people think I am drawing and using colour certain ways to stress my Japanese background, but it is not how it is. I don’t even think about it. It just works out that way’. [see also Yuko Shimizu; Deanne Cheuk]
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Also by ZOLTON
Oh Happy Day and Oh Crappy Day rings
Ring out the bad, and ring in the good, Yessir, these Happy Day and Crappy Day rings are just that: a jolt of brutal realism cloaked in saccharine sweet colourings.
Look very closely as your eyes are deceiving you. These are not innocent crayons, fit for small fingers. No, they are instead luxury health bars, made from a complex combination of flavours but featuring at their core chocolate covered sunflower seeds, fruity pebbles and melted marshmellow. They are Luxirare Edible Crayons, and they are amazing! Read more
Brightness Dawn collection by Setareh Mohtarez
Wow, wow, wow! These fashion designs by Setareh Mohtarez are part of her 2009 Brightness Dawn collection. Read more
HAVE YOUR SAY
Miss Miza is a fine example of that breed of illustrator who lives as fully immersed in the world of graphic design as she does in illustration proper. It’s nice to see her taking her own approach to this camp, an exceedingly fresh way of utilizing the same familiar digital illustration tricks that, more often than not, leads to a heck of a lot of redundant illustration. Read more
I spent several hours on Omegle, a weird new site that randomly pairs you with a stranger to have anonymous chats. Something about this feels naughty, even though the raciest thing we talked about was goat curry.
Now, c’mon, if you had the chance to lay a clever one liner on William Shatner, you would, right? Yeah. If you could look him in the eyes, gently brush his laser gun out of your face, and unleash that killer put down that you’ve had swirling around the deepest cavaties of your subconcious ever since episode six of the fourth series, you’d grab it with both hands and offer up a thanks to those strange looking alien creatures who rule our universe. Well, guess what? You can. And while you’re at it, why don’t you give Dustin Diamond an ear full, too. Ah, the joys of unrequited paybacks.
It’s pretty bold to release a 25 track double CD as your first album, but singer-songwriter Benji Hughes doesn’t care. Themes of love and heartbreak run though the album and his folk-tinged pop draws comparisons to Beck, The Eels and The Magnetic Fields. [portrait by Vanessa Prager]
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This café, cookie shop, ice cream place in Cobble Hill Brooklyn is all about flavor, aroma and family. Their cookies and ice cream are absolutely to-die-for, and the place is so well-designed, painted in vintage colors with old family pictures printed on the walls, that you’ll want to indulge yourself for more than just a few minutes. Try their Whoopies and Lucia cookies. They’re my favourite.
The philosophy of a beginning is to me, a wonderful concept. I really enjoy flicking through the back catalogues of a musician and discovering their origin, then tracing their musical journey to the present. So for American-born, Paris-based sister duo CocoRosie, who released their third album The Adventure of Ghosthouse and Stillborn to much acclaim, making the trip to their beginnings is more than worth the journey: their debut album, Le Maison de Mon Reve (released back in 2004) was a gentle stroll through their pop and classical influences, which melt together seamlessly into a backdrop for their unique and enchanting voices.
Anytime you find Houndstooth and Hoody in the same sentence you know it will be a good day. Well, today has been a great day and New Dandyism, the lovechild of a conglomate of lusty designers — Sons by Obedient Sons, wood wood and Call of the Wild — is the reason. It’s a surprisingly coherent and articulate project for one cooked up in a kitchen filled with chefs. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
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Damn hipster dogs coming in here with their parents’ money, acting like they own the place, not respecting us real dogs who know what real culture and art are. We were here first and we knew about all those bands before they did. Read more
Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Diane Koss’ recycled bottle monsters
Check out Diane Koss’ amazing handmade stuffed monsters if you’re looking for a last-minute gift. Her mostly cycloptic creatures are fashioned from felt made from one hundred percent recycled plastic bottles. Read more
Your enemies can always be counted upon to be just that. Unfortunately, your friends sometimes cannot.
Created by graphic-tee fashion label, the-affair, and printed on beautifully soft American Apparel in a limited edition of 200. Purchase now. Read more
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Margherita said | 23 November, 2006
I love the colour