Illustration / Oda Valle
Oda Valle is an illustrator and graphic designer from Norway, with a bachelor degree in Visual Communication from the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. Of his work he says: ‘I get my inspiration from indie films, music, London, New York City, design books, Non-Format, and artistic people’.

Also by ZOLTON
Marla Olmstead, an eight year old art prodigy
I watched the controversial documentary last night, My Child Could Paint That, which looked at the then four-year old art ‘genius’, Marla Olmstead, who was already exhibiting regularly (and selling her works for thousands), despite her age and the questions that were being repeatedly raised about the influence her rather ambitious father might have been having on her artwork. It was fascinating to watch, both for the trainweck story plots which hijacked its generally reverential tone, and for the process by which Olmstead was creating her vibrant, colourful, and exciting modern art pieces. Apart from anything else, the documentary raised important questions about what actually constitutes ‘good’ art and why some art sells for so much more than others. It’s all subjective, of course, but the outcry that greeted claims of third party interference in her paintings (a claim which has been noticeably muted over the years) suggests that it’s often less about the work itself than about the story or personality behind the artist who created it. Either way, Marla Olmstead is now eight years old, is still painting, and is selling her work for remarkable amounts. If you have a spare thirty thousand dollars or so, this piece above is apparently still available. So crack open that well fed piggy bank and get some modern art on your walls.
New Antony and the Johnsons album, The Crying Light
The new Antony and the Johnsons album, The Crying Light, is the band’s follow up to the Mercury prize winning I Am a Bird Now. The album is available for instant digital download — along with a bonus track, My Lord, My Love — if you pre-order it from the band’s website as of today. This gives you a chance to hear the album in full before the official release date on January 19th. We have their track, Another World [listen below], available for free download in the Music Downloads section in the third column of the Lost At E Minor site.
Vanessa Prager’s Hunting and Gaming series
Los Feliz artist Vanessa Prager has been exhibited at the Robert Berman Gallery, Gallery 1988, and the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Her series, Hunting and Gaming, explores the ‘nature of sinister play’. Prager paints ’starkly-lit scenes of surrealistic moments in daily life; untangling holiday decorations, playing with old toys, driving or chatting. But her odd theatrical arrangements suggest something creepy going on behind the innocent façade’. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (3)
FizzGig said | 22 October, 2007
This style is crazy! Who’da thunked that such deconstructed art could be so amazing! And he hails from my home country too ![]()
andy p said | 21 November, 2007
he’s a she actually, her show was really good
HAVE YOUR SAY
Beautiful, delicate, fragile, a little bit collage, a little bit sketchfull. This is the work of Kelly Smith. Combining several mediums in a collaborative expose between pencil, paint and print to create timeless works of elegant splendour, it is easy to compare Smith’s works to the last snowflake of winter, fleeting but real, avoiding the brash bright mercantile world for the prettier climes of illustrative pleasure. Smith has a twelve-day exhibition on at the 696 Space in Brunswick, Melbourne, opening November 14.
Formerly of Arab Strap, Scottish songwriter Malcolm Middleton sings with all the integrity and smoky purity of someone who has spent way too much time puffing away in the back corner of a sketchy Dundee pub. Read more
Last night, I caught Pagan Fest at B.B. Kings in NYC. I missed the band that I was the most excited to see, T˘r, but Turisas and Ensiferum more than made up for it. Americans have been pretty late to warm up to folk and Viking metal, and bands of this sort almost never tour the States, so it was gratifying to see that the show was sold out, and that the crowd was so exuberant. Read more
We love the incessant rumble and roll of London’s The Duke Spirit. So we caught up with the group for a chat. Read more
DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.
I’m really excited about the Melbourne band Plug-in City. They remind me of Belle & Sebastian, The Kooks and Cut Copy all in one. What more can us New Yorkers ask for?
These small but innovative in-ear headphones from Audio-Technica are part of a new wave of noise canceling buds that claim to block up to 85 to 90 percent of outside sound. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Pictures taken at just the right time
You don’t have to be a skilled photographer to take the best snaps: some just appear out of absolutely nowhere. This site has collected together some of the funniest, cruelest, most alarming — yet completely spontaneous — photos circulating the web. Thank god for other people’s suffering! Read more
When I was a kid, I used to make all kinds of things out of cardboard boxes – tanks, cars, houses, robots, etc. The Box Doodle Project invites people to do it all over again, recycling cigarette packs, tissue boxes, emptied care packages, and all manner of cardboard containers into works of art. Read more
I acquired a new camera for Christmas, and with it a renewed appreciation of the skill — and difficulty — of good photography. This unnamed experimenter blew soap bubbles into the air on a freezing night and caught the beautiful patterns with a deft click of the shutter.
Freelance designer Alex Trochut uses typography, illustration and a solid idea to create works that communicate to each brief. He states that he doesn’t want to choose a particular style but instead enjoys ‘expressing himself and communicating though the needs of every project’. And his formula has worked: his clients include The Guardian G2, Nike Football, and my pencil-case favourite, Faber and Faber.
These stylish hoops of bronze have a profound effect on me. I’m seriously left singing If I Were A Boy Beyonce-style whenever I see them. Made by Stannard Inc, William the Brave bronze rings are stunning and the raw look exudes an air of individuality. But the cool thing is that you can actually get away with wearing them if you’re a chick, too. They’re made uni-sex in various sizes.
For visual people who rely on shapes and imagination, this eye test t-shirt by Hong Kong-based studio, WEME, is a perfect conversation starter. It’s available through the Lost At E Minor online store for just US$30. Read more
We have a stack of CDs and DVDs to give away to a lucky new subscriber who signs up to receive our free weekly email publication between now and January 9. There’s 50 new CDs in the pile, along with a handful of DVDs. So sign up now and leave a message here telling us what album you hope will be in the pile!
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Say Hello Beard said | 21 October, 2007
Nice find. I love the line work. Reminds me of Josh Cochran and P. Posti’s work.