Thu Tran

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Says New York-based illustrator Yuko Shimizu on the work of artist Marilyn Minter: ‘I was extremely lucky to be able to study fine arts with Marilyn Minter as my professor before she became too busy and stopped teaching the course. She was brutally honest about students work, which sometimes made me cry but made me grow like nobody else did. I owe her a lot’. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

The digitization of music seems to have put the art of good album covers in jeopardy, and now with the Kindle, even good book design seems to be threatened. The Book Cover Archive is gallery of great book cover designs from recent years.

WE'RE READING

I’m enjoying reading the insight and witticisms of the Indie Breakfast Club blog, which casts a wide net over entrepreneurship and what it means to be one and still have a conscience.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Though most people in the West think of mahjong as a mysterious game old Chinese people play, it’s actually gets quite rowdy when people get together to play it. Rowdy is certainly a good adjective for Mahjongg, the exquisitely danceable electro-whatever outfit from Chicago who draw as much from Afrobeat as they do vocoder-laden sleaze rock from the 70s.

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WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

The Suit Up exhibition comprises a number of artworks from various Australian street, comic, and illustration artists, each of whom has applied their unique style to that ubiquitous — yet, rarely tapped — canvas, the playing card. The designs have been produced as giclee prints, signed and numbered by the artists, and are limited to 10 prints of each design. Real-size decks of cards have also been produced for sale. The Suit Up crew is a close-knit group of predominantly Melbourne-based artists who are passionate about Australia’s ‘low-brow’ art scene, which is more collaborative and less ego-driven than much of the the high-brow art world. The exhibition runs between February 13 and 25.

Sufjan Stevens creates autistic music for introverts — soft, shy, naive, full of shadows, windows, and insecurities. Yet it all sounds slightly forced, his enigmatic songwriting as comforting as it is unsettling.

WE'RE WEARING

I’m not much of a jewelry guy, but if bling is in order, it’s ordered from my man Osa at Complete Technique. Originally from Japan, Osa is now based in Dumbo, Brooklyn and makes the finest metal jewelry, on par with any of his ancestor’s samurai swords. From speaker rings to turntable pendants, it’s all fresh and mostly music or hip-hop related. He’s been at it for about ten years and works harder than most people I know. If you need some jewelry, show him some love.