On Paper: music by Canadian band Arkells
Reader Find
I recently checked out the Canadian band the Arkells at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago. The show was as good as the album. And it was like having a personal concert because the place was empty. I know that this was a rare opportunity; this band is going to blow up. I am still listening to their album [...]
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Fourth is King streetwear
Reader Find
For the last three years, in addition to being an artist and graphic designer, I have been working on building up my Chicago streetwear brand Fourth is King. We make t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, skate decks… stuff like that. And our focus is on comfort and simplicity. We recently had the opportunity to put together a [...]
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Photorealistic paintings of America by Nathan Walsh
Contributor
Do you think you’re looking at photography? Think again. Contemporary British Realist Painter Nathan Walsh has created these amazing photorealistic paintings of Chicago and New York. Nathan Walsh belongs to a new generation of artists who are extending the boundaries of realist painting. Each work takes three months to complete. Not an easy job if [...]
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Stunning photo portraits of Chicago by Jon Damaschke
Reader Find
Jon Damaschke is a Chicago animator-turned-photographer whose work blows us away. He has an incredible vintage aesthetic, which is easy to love, and a unique photographic perspective. Considering how amazing his work is, it’s stunning that he’s only been pursuing photography for a few years.
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James Swanberg has recorded a song a day for two years
Reader Find
Chicago musician James Swanberg (under the moniker Today’s Hits) is in the midst of a song-a-day project running on two years. That’s right, for 685 consecutive days (and counting) he’s written and home-recorded a new song, without exception. His mostly garage rock songs are usually around a minute long. They get to the point and [...]
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Invaders 1938: the debut album from Chicago’s Terrible Spaceship
Reader Find
Chicago’s Terrible Spaceship have just released their debut album, Invaders 1938. The Chicago Tribune says that the band is ‘equally influenced by Danny Elfman, Portishead and Orson and H.G. Welles’. And who are we to disagree.
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Photographs of Chicago warehouse fire encased in ice
Contributor
So this is what fire looks like under single-digit temperatures. An empty warehouse in Chicago was recently ensnared in a massive blaze that had a third of Chicago’s firefighting force spraying water at the scene. They ended up covering affected areas — including surrounding buildings and cars — in ice. Even icicles formed on the fire hoses.
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Beautiful tattoos by San Francisco’s Joseph Realubit
Reader Find
Tattoo artist Joseph Realubit began his artistic studies in the Phillippines before earning a second BFA in Chicago. Realubit now works as an artist in San Francisco. He has a supreme understanding of the physical musculature of the body and how to work with vibrant pigments of ink, creating tattoo art with deeper meaning. Howlya to that!
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Colourful urban art by Chicago’s Chris Silva
Reader Find
Being a street artist himself in Chicago, Chris Silva loves to collaborate with people using found objects and colorful murals to create amazing art that reflects its urban setting. Of his work, he says: ‘I am interested in the visually poetic, employ ambiguity in my work and strive to express the essence rather than the details. I see opportunities in accidents, enjoy unusual combinations of materials, the unpredictable outcomes of collaboration and the general adventure of the creative process’.
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New music by The Retar Crew
Reader Find
The Retar Crew is a Chicago-based hip hop group comprised of MCs/actors J.Q., G.Q., P.O. and Jackson. The Crew has built a rabid following via their YouTube channel and by offering regular free music downloads via their Website. Their most recent download is entitled Lake Effect.
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Logos that float in midair
Contributor
Chicago-based artist Mark Siber snaps tall advertising signs in the United States and Europe, then digitally erases their supporting pillars, lending them an almost reverent appeal as they appear to float in mid-air. It says something about the absurdly blind idol worship that people can ascribe to brands.
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Photos of Al Capone during his 1931 trial for tax evasion
Reader Find
Recently, some folks at the Chicago Tribune headed down to the basement and found a bunch of glass-plate negatives from the 1920s and 30s. Some of these glorious old photographs were of famed mobster Al Capone during his 1931 trial for tax evasion. At one time a populist hero, Al brought booze to the people when uptight sycophants thought it best to keep everyone sober and agitated. Now his legend lives on in black and white.
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Samantha Alaimo covers objects in Skittles
Contributor
We’re not quite sure why Chicago-based artist Samantha Alaimo decided, “Let’s cover all the things in Skittles”, but we’re glad she did. She covered all kinds of objects in these colorful candies, and the results are pretty interesting.
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The OutsideIn Festival in Sydney
Contributor
OutsideIn, a boutique electronic music festival, was held at Sydney’s Factory Theatre last week. The inaugural event featured the likes of Oliver Tank, HTRK, FISHING, Flume and Jesse Boykins III in what was a day of smoke, lasers and a lot of bass. As I walked through the gates into the courtyard, the bass was [...]
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Time-lapse video of Chicago cityscape
Reader Find
There is something incredibly familiar and also utterly unique about the flood of timelapse videos we currently see, a complex network of actions all forming an intricate visual ballet. I vote for a channel dedicated to streaming the best of these 24/7, a throwback to the backdrops we used to see on CNN. Like having [...]
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