Travis Louie
You hear the words ‘unique’ and ‘original’ thrown around quite a lot these days. I use them myself regularly. But every now and then you find an artist who truly deserves those terms to be used in relation to their work. Travis Louie is one such artist. His work is quite hard to describe. In a nutshell he makes traditional turn-of-the-century styled portraits of very strange looking ‘people’. It’s almost like looking at a family album from a ye-olde freak show.
Tagged: portraits
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I love monsters. I love old photographs. I love Travis Louie’s paintings. His masterfully refined technique allows him to take stunning portraits of the monsters in the recesses of his endless imagination. A beautiful balance of the grotesque and the comic, they are the perfect metaphor for the modern human. Once you acquire a taste for his product, you just keep wanting more and thankfully he keeps delivering his miniature masterpieces at an inhuman pace.
Matsu’s photographic wine series
Renowned photographers Bèla Adler and Salvador Fresneda have paired together with Spanish agency Moruba to create a modern project for sustainable viticulture: Matsu’s photographic wine series. In this beautiful packaging, the labels for Spanish-based organic winery Matsu reveal the portraits of three generations that devote their lives to the vineyard. Each personality featured on the different bottles embodies the distinctiveness of that wine. Adler and Fresneda’s work captures the characters in a way that brings to life Matsu’s philosophy of linking nature with those that care about it. Through this portrait series, Matsu’s wine trilogy of ‘El Pícaro’, ‘El Recio’ and ‘El Viejo’ is stunningly realized.
Also by ANDREW JOHNSTONE
On a recent trip to San Francisco, I was lucky enough to meet with John Trippe, the main man behind the popular arts based site, Fecal Face. Read more
When I first saw Gregory Jacobsen’s work, I wasn’t sure whether to be enthralled or disgusted. I think I was somewhere in between, and still am. Read more
Portraiture and realism have always been my cup-of-tea, so to speak. I love realism in artwork. Stephen Earl Rogers is a young British artist who works in realism and is becoming well known for his portraits. He has a unique way of capturing a person’s character and his works are technically stunning with just the right level of realism whilst not trying to be photographic. He has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London, amongst other places.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Russian illustrator Vania Zouravliov’s drawings has a turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century dark gothic feel to them, mixed with the colors and styles of communist Eastern Europe and pop Asia. The result is extremely cool without being too hip. Read more
Already with a Spectrum show under their belt, The Archerbolds are an up and coming Australian band well worth checking out. I saw the Sydney-based lads play recently at the Mars Hill Café and it was evident that they should be permanently rocking out on a real stage; not in front of coffee sippers. Their floating lyrics, smart guitar riffs and meaty bass lines are infused by The Strokes, Mars Volta, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin — ultimately producing a freshly spun modern-vintage sound. Lead vocalist and guitarist Geoffrey ‘Gep’ Rectin says The Archerbolds plan to create a solid sound for next year: ‘Over summer, we’re recording an EP and working on a set sound, defining more of an image’. If their track, Rest Your Soul, is anything to go by, then it should be pretty dandy.
Austin-based photographer William Hundley loves juxtaposing completely absurd and unrelated objects. Whether it’s fabric-draped people in mid jump or chihuahuas and Easter Island heads standing on cheeseburgers, Hundley takes an almost Dadaist joy in making random, giddily puzzling images. Read more
George Lois is the god of good ideas, or at least one of them. When I am stuck on ideas, I pray to George the God, or look through his works in hope of doing something one hundredth as good as his work. Read more
Rarely is a film politically poignant as well as wonderfully written, acted and shot. The second feature from director Kimberly Peirce of Boys Don’t Cry was inspired by her brother, who joined the army, and was only possible after months of meticulous research. Read more
I’ve been living in Greenpoint Brooklyn for a couple of years now and one of the highlights is brunch on the weekends. After living in Crown Heights for seven years, where your only choices are Tom’s Diner or Popeye’s Fried Chicken, it’s an amazing change of pace. Brooklyn Label is a classic, old Brooklyn style restaurant with a great menu and when you’re a regular, you get seated before the masses. It’s definitely worth the trip to Greenpoint. But beware of the long waits at around 1pm when the hipsters wake up.
The eagerly anticipated collaboration between Spanish footwear label Camper and Bernhard Willhelm debuted on the catwalk for the designer’s Spring 09 collection. Camper Together fuses the references and inspirations from Willhelm latest collection with Campers’ quality production techniques. Most popular is sure to be Willhelms’ take on the gladiator, with sandals constructed of ribbons and piping.
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I’m a sucker for just about anything to do with printmaking. UK illustrator Jonny Hannah makes a very strong case. Busy, colorful, spontaneous and brimming with inspiration, THIS is the stuff amazing is made of. Read more
When I did the Master Cleanse diet a few years ago — the one where you consume nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for ten days — I sat at work looking at pictures of food as if they were porn. Scanwiches would have gotten me hot and bothered like nothing else.
Chris Ware is my favorite comic book artist. If there’s a new Chris Ware book out, I buy it, no questions asked. He writes the most somber, sad stories about the simplest of people, but they’re written and illustrated with such beauty and elegance. All of the text and graphic design is done by hand. It’s absolutely mind blowing. Read more
Saira McLaren’s interpretation of the spiritual world
Saira McLaren is a Canadian born, Brooklyn-based artist whose blurred paintings of the natural and spiritual world are disturbing for what they reference as well as what they deny. McLaren has shown at Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY, Acuna-Hansen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, and Mississippi State University. Read more
Marci Washington’s gothic paintings have an Edward Gorey-esque romanticism about them, her vampiric figures suggesting dark and mystical narratives. Read more
Legendary pop culture artist and Agit Pop founder Ron English will be a guest compiler of an upcoming issue of our email newsletter, writing about his favorite cultural discoveries. To read Ron’s edition of Lost At E Minor, simply sign up to our weekly newsletter. It’s free, you win!
The Demekin is an ultra compact camera with a preference for wide angles. It is the world’s first 110mm film camera with the fisheye lens, which gives each shot a soft focus, creating a gentle curve within the frame. We have them in the Lost At E Minor store for just $55. Read more
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fernanda said | 31 August, 2007
really amazing!