July 3, 2009 | New Art | by Gerry Mak |
Shannon Freshwater makes a lot of design-y, abstract images and illustrations, but her more involved figure drawings and portraits, as well as her sculptures and photography, reveal a bit of a darker, gothic side. Read more
- 2
- 0
July 3, 2009 | New Music | 
by Gerry Mak 
|
Daniel Higgs came to prominence as frontman for Baltimore hardcore band Reptile House and later Lungfish, the first non-DC band to sign to Dischord. Now primarily playing solo, improvised, experimental sets with a banjo and a jaw harp, Higgs has become a bit of a Baltimore icon and counterculture prophet, spouting mystical, Eastern-influenced philosophy and spirituality through his lyrics, spoken word, and amazing art work. He is also a renowned tattoo artist, as evidenced by his own extensive ink.
- 1
- 0
July 3, 2009 | Video | by Gerry Mak |
M.I.A., quick to recognize talent in her own ranks, signed the first act to her N.E.E.T. label — backup dancer and rapper Rye Rye. Ryeisha Berrain made a name for herself in her hometown of Baltimore working with DJ-producer Blaqstarr. Now, with the video for the single Bang, featuring M.I.A., making the Internet rounds, Berrain is set to release an already overdue debut album.
- 1
- 0
July 3, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |
The jerry-rigged repair jobs featured in There I Fixed It range from smartly resourceful to stunningly stupid, with the bulk of them being the latter.
- 1
- 0
July 3, 2009 | New Photography | by Gerry Mak |
Jon Huck’s Breakfast series is simple — just photographs of people and what they had for breakfast that morning. The sheer number of images in the series tells an interesting story about our habits as individuals and as a whole.
- 2
- 0
July 3, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |
Toronto-based illustrator Jessica Fortner creates really elaborate 3D scenes that she photographs to make final images that resemble stills from a claymation movie. Read more
- 2
- 0
July 1, 2009 | New Design | by Gerry Mak |
The Munsell Hue Test gauges how good your color vision is. Arrange all the little blocks in order from one hue to the next.
- 3
- 1
July 1, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Gerry Mak |
I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I’ve got to say that I’m pretty fed up with New York City. Space and time constraints, prohibitively high rents, and the sheer density of the city crush the creative and generative spirit of even some of the most imaginative people I know, turning even idealistic artists into cut-throat opportunists and cynical sociopaths. Read more
- 25
- 28
July 1, 2009 | Video | 
by Gerry Mak |
The upside of the recent unrest in Iran is that it has shown a more dynamic and complex image of Iran than the West is used to. Unbeknownst to many Americans, the Iranian population is one of the most educated and progressive in the Middle East, and though they endure countless strictures from their theocratic government, daily life for Iranians is much more nuanced than many outsiders understand. People in the Islamic republic actually enjoy more freedom than people in neighboring countries, and though the government may attempt to control information, Iranians are exceedingly informed and technologically savvy. Indeed, Iran even has access to pop culture — much to the mullahs’ chagrin — and though Iranian death metal bands such as Arthimoth face challenges unknown to their counterparts in other countries, they exist and have at least enough freedom to record and distribute their music.
- 7
- 0
July 1, 2009 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
It’s hard to pin down The Psychic Paramounts. The New York band sounds a bit like My Bloody Valentine at times, and nightmarish David Lynch soundtracks at others, layering folk, rock, and electronic elements to create a moody, auditory haze.
- 3
- 0
July 1, 2009 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
The Tinklers suck, but that’s what makes them so great. Their atonal, monotonous singing, and nearly non-existent musicianship have certainly won them some virulent detractors, but their unabashed niceness has attracted just as many loyal fans. Much in the vein of Half Japanese and Daniel Johnston, the Baltimore duo has plunked out silly, out-of-tune folk and pop numbers for 30 years, becoming indie icons in the process. Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason are classic underdogs, plugging on against all odds, and their harshest critics miss the point of what they do. A recent documentary about them, Everybody Loves the Tinklers, explores the impact the band has made, and addresses the controversial space they occupy in pop culture.
- 1
- 0
June 30, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |
Chicago-based RISD graduate Lauren Nassef has some unimpeachable skills as a draftsman, but I appreciate her work for its restraint and elegant minimalism. Check out her A Drawing A Day blog to keep up with what she’s working on. Read more
- 1
- 0
June 29, 2009 | New Events | by Gerry Mak |
New York City artist Ji Lee’s piece, Duchamp Reloaded, which consists of a replica of Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel placed on the street and locked up like a bike, is a pretty hilarious one-liner for art nerds.
- 2
- 1
June 29, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |
I’m totally digging Andrew Schoultz’s dense line-work and limited palette. The San Francisco-based artist deals with political and social issues, but isn’t overtly a topical artist — the textures he achieves are similar to what I strive for in my own work. Read more
- 1
- 0
June 29, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |
I’ve posted a bunch of flash-based games before, but Windosill is probably the first one that has truly engaged me. It’s a surreal, atmospheric puzzle game where you have to figure out how to obtain a cube on each level that will unlock the door to the next one. The free online version only let’s you play half of the whole game, but for a mere $3, you can download the whole thing.
- 1
- 0
Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal spent an entire month living in a Chicago art gallery where he had rigged a webcam and remote controlled paintball gun which visitors online or at the actual gallery could use to shoot at him. The piece highlighted the danger everyday Iraqi citizens face both in terms of actual violence and the vitriol generated by the controversial and geopolitically convoluted war. The experience re-triggered the post-traumatic stress disorder that Bilal had acquired in his home country. The installation as well as his life as an activist, artist, and refugee are documented in his book, Shoot An Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun.
Brilliance can be handed down in many ways — through your voice, your hands, your mind. One individual that possesses it in many ways is young French musician, M83. Read more
Aurie Ramirez’s elegant watercolors have something outsider-y about them, with a slight nod of Henry Darger, but the fantasy world she depicts is less manic and angry — the whimsical and characters that inhabit her work seem more playful and less tormented by religious repression. Read more
Our friends over at SNAP!, Montreal’s only free and independent arts and lifestyle magazine have just released their fourth issue in which they look back and celebrate the faded beauty of past eras, grandmas and grandpas, Polaroids, antique finds, old wisdom and vintage style. Yeeha! They also remember the best of 2008 in Montreal arts, with a variety of writers and photographers giving their take on their favourite cultural discoveries.
‘Lost’ is the most recent film production in the urban art series produced by Tokyo-based art crew Rinpa Eshidan. Read more
This remarkable construction is located in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi and is built entirely from scratch every year. It features 10,000 tonnes of ice from the nearby Torne River, and 30,000 tonnes of snow, covering more than 30,000 square feet in total. Oh, it even has its own ice chapel. But be sure to bring your winter woollens. It could get a little, errr, chilly at night. Read more
Converse kicks off its hundredth anniversary with 1HUND(RED), a special artist series with proceeds going to the Global Fund. The project is a year-long release of shoes designed by notable artists, including Auckland-based illustrator, Dennis Juan Ma, whose shoe [above] is number twenty in the series.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
This remarkable construction is located in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi and is built entirely from scratch every year. It features 10,000 tonnes of ice from the nearby Torne River, and 30,000 tonnes of snow, covering more than 30,000 square feet in total. Oh, it even has its own ice chapel. But be sure to bring your winter woollens. It could get a little, errr, chilly at night. Read more
Argentine illustrator Poly Bernatene miraculously creates many of his beautifully textured, painterly images in Photoshop. Despite his twenty-first century method, his illustrations achieve a sort of timelessness that is bound to mesmerize children for years to come. Read more
Frank Kozik’s Emperor of the Golden Throne
Limited to a set of just sixty-six pieces, each Frank Kozik Hand Painted Emperor Of The Golden Throne El Panda vinyl toy is signed by Kozik and comes bagged with a hand-numbered header card.
Japanese designers Keiichi Muramatsu and Noriko Seki founded the Tokyo-based fashion label, Everlasting Sprout, in 2005, based on their mutual interest in knit design. Each intricate creation in their Spring/Summer 2009 range took up to a week for them to construct. Read more
The work of Chicago artist Nigel Evan Dennis is emphatically modern and sparse, with textures and clean geometric shapes dominating the frame. I get the feeling I could really relax and breathe deeply with one of these beautiful images hanging on the wall. 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!
Your enemies can always be counted upon to be just that. Unfortunately, your friends sometimes cannot.
Created by graphic-tee fashion label, the-affair, and printed on beautifully soft American Apparel in a limited edition of 200. Purchase now. Read more
Discuss
- hdacvt on "The Relentless Eye"
- Stomp on "Gutter Twins Announce Sideshows"
- JamieD on "Melbourne Bride Wedding Expo"
- shoebuy on "art in shoes"
- lucebaz on "Freelance Graphic Designer in London"
- lucebaz on "Freelance Graphic Designer in London"
- JaneAbma on "The Grafik Museum"
- teacut on "Illustration vs fine art"
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Or if you’d just like to talk amongst yourselves, that’s cool too. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
