Converse artist series

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Adrian Tomine is one of the finest cartoonists and illustrators of this generation, alongside the iconic Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes. He began his career Xeroxing copies of his comics for distribution, and stubbornly chooses to work in a medium as deliberately obscure as independent comics. While he continues to develop his ongoing series Optic Nerve (currently entering its fifteenth year of publication), he’s also the illustrator of choice for the New Yorker.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

As part of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity organization whose mission it is to fight poverty in New York City, Lost At E Minor contributor and in-demand illustrator in her own right, Yuko Shimizu — in collaboration with designer Stefan Sagmeister — recently completed an eleven panel mural at PS96 in The Bronx. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

The Hussy Summer 2009 Exotic Escape collection is up for viewing. I quite like the leather Zanzibar sandals for a stylish casual look that’s slightly sophisticated. While there are a few nice dresses in the new line, I much prefer the accessories and clutches. That’s partially why the rest of the globe has come to love this iconic Aussie label, right?

WE'RE THINKING

Ze Frank’s iconic videoblog may be long dead, but he’s been plugging away, filling his little corner of the interweb with awesome stuff. His latest invention is a little voice-based face drawing toy that creates lines that differenciate according to the volume of the user’s voice.

WE'RE READING

I am really into Hong Kong action flicks from the 1980s and 90s. When I first moved to New York, there were a handful of curious friends who were also interested in watching movies such as City on Fire by Ringo Lam, which Reservoir Dogs was based on. How did they find videos like thus? At the legendary Kim’s Video in New York City. These days, City on Fire can be find online, and Kim’s is history. But all the videos that entertained the film geeks of this city for more than twenty years have found a new home in, wait for it, Salemi, Sicily. Yes, the southern island of Italy. Kim has recently relocated there, as this sad but heartwarming story about him in yesterday’s New York Times reveals.

Artist David Shrigley’s animated music video for Blur is so simple, so sweet, so perfect. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it, yet it still makes me cry every time.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Chicago’s Cheer Accident started as a post-no-wave weirdo band typical of the Skin Graft roster, but of late, they’ve been doing some unrestrained pop and rock. They even have harmonized vocals and an occasional horn. This isn’t to say they’re commercializing – their songs are just as complex as ever, and there’s still a hint of discordance beneath the shimmering new sound.