Mike Perry

WE'RE SUPPORTING

For the longest time I was an enormous admirer of the loopy, distinct line drawings of Brooklyn-illustrator Matt Hollister. Having seemingly lost track of his work for a couple of years (who knows how that manages to happen), I was shocked to stumble across his work yet again recently while perusing the New York Times. I had to check out his website immediately, and from there I wandered into his blog. The best part was that you could almost watch a new style emerge chronologically, beginning with the old drawings and then a small experiment, a mono print and then, more and more, mono prints and experiments, less and less loopy drawings. Even the subject matter seems to have changed and become much quirkier to accommodate the new style. I’m certainly feeling that staying abreast of Hollister’s work should now prove pretty inescapable.

WE'RE THINKING

There’s been an interesting trend recently in print and advertising work in particular away from the perfect symmetry and airbrushed cleanliness of vector art and back towards a looser form of hand-drawn illustration. I see it everywhere, from the middle pages of highbrow pop culture publications to the style sections of local broadsheets. And yet, it’s unexpected, especially so soon after the wave of vector art which swamped the print world just a few years back. Read more

Produced by our talented friends over at Miami-based studio, Common Machine, this is the first installment of a new bi-monthly series of exclusive Lost At E Minor videos that they will be putting together for us. This one is on marionette maker, Pablo Cano, who uses ‘mundane objects to create magic on a string’. And he does. We hope you enjoy!

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

71 is the kind of place which is small enough to miss, but once you see it, you realize everyone somehow knows about it. It’s set three steps down from the sidewalk level, and it’s always packed, except for week late nights and mid-mornings. Even though their service is not the friendliest — like any other spot in New York that’s too cool for school — 71 has a noticeably loyal clientele. Lots of writers hang out with their computers, while photographers check out the scene, and artists meet up with their reps. Besides hot and cold drinks, including their own coffee, they also offer a great selection of pastries, sandwiches and my friend Nicolas’ favorite chicken soup ever.

WE'RE READING

We love sex in art. No, not in a smutty Benny Hill kinda way, but rather the way in which Australian-based website Sex In Art takes a healthy peek at all things arty and well … sexual. There’s some beautiful illustration work up there and some evocative photography. Heck, I’m getting a little hot under the collar just writing about it. While most of the work they feature is work friendly, some of it isn’t. Still, it’s worth more than a casual glance, like this painting by Chinese artist, Guan Zeju.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

A culmination of nearly four years of writing and recording, Omaha quintet, The Faint are preparing to release their fifth album, Fasciinatiion, on August 5 on the band’s own newly-formed label, blank.wav. Working without any time constraints, the songs went through many recorded incarnations before finding their final forms. The result is the best album in the band’s career, a record that is the purest culmination of The Faint’s brilliant musical instincts, ideas and aesthetic, with each member contributing equally to its creation.

WE'RE WEARING

Just when I thought my favourite flip flops couldn’t get any better, Havaiana are still offering their thong straps laced with Swarovski crystals. I reckon the bling bling lover in you won’t mind forking out a little extra moolah if it means adding some sparkle to your Havis. Read more