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Posts tagged with Winnipeg

September 16, 2008 | Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

Winnipeg Illustrator Kenneth Lavalee makes some lovely work. His delicate linework, muted colors and twisted tongue in cheek, drama-esque themes (all blood, obesity and creepy little lump people) are certainly worth a good look.

 

Well, it seems I’ve been in a vacuum of art since the spring. And now, its just a week or so out from the upcoming Young Blood exhibit, which features my paintings and opens at the Opera Gallery in New York. I find myself feeling both excited and nervous at the thought that this show is just around the corner. These past few months have seemed like one of the great feats of my lifetime. I have been working for five months on these two upcoming shows, immersed deeply in the studio, being on a complete mission to create what will be my debut show in Manhattan alongside a handful of other rising international artists. I would wake at once at 4:30 in the morning, to a strict regimen of coffee by five, and paint through the sunny summer days into late in the evening to complete these works. Read more

I tossed and turned through three chapters of an epic Russian novel last night. Or so it felt as a constant stream of characters made their way past the stringent casting couch and into the deepest reaches of my dreams. Read more


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Just a few days ago, Benjamin Verdoncke climbed out of the human-sized nest he’d been residing in for the past seven days. The Dutch artist took six weeks to build the nest, which hung fifty metres high against a skyscraper in Rotterdam. Read more


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Man, I remember shaking my tail to Come on Eileen many moons ago — when rat-tails were a right of passage and Molly Ringwald held both the lock and the key to my tiny pitter pattering heart. Back then it was all ice-skating and fairy floss; skateboards and trading cards. It was bags of chips by the rusty school fence and sunburnt faces on crackling summer days. It was Pepsi and Milo; showbags at the Easter show; and games of Twister by the electric heater. And all the while a soundtrack of pure musical and lyrical indulgence played on and on and on. Mighty props to the 80s. If it weren’t for the misdemeanors and feeing of unbridled potential that pervaded that decade like a bad New Romantic haircut, then every year since wouldn’t have made any sense at all.

Listen to Nouvelle Vague’s version of Come on Eileen.

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.

Films involving characters faced with an impossible choice never make easy viewing, an example being the Nick Cave Australian gem, The Proposition. A nightclub manager, played with understated power by Joaquin Phoenix, is the victim here, and you actually feel truly uncomfortable as his predicament unfolds. Set in the 1980s, We Own The Night shows a real nostalgia for that period — particularly in the costumes. Read more

From an artist selection of t-shirts comes this limited edition David Bray illustrated silkscreened tee, distributed in a vinyl sleeve with a biography of the artist on the back of the sleeve. Every t-shirt is numbered and signed by the artist, and comes in organic American Apparel cotton. We like! Read more

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William the Brave rings

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.

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Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass

My little heart just about stopped when I stumbled across the intensely colorful work of Copenhagen illustration duo, Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass. I’m already a predisposed sucker for busy, vibrant work but Hannibal and Hvass’ illustrations just send me into an overexcited tizzy. There are just so many fantastic shapes and layers to soak up! I’ve yet to come across a piece on their website (and there’s a whole lot there) that doesn’t make me want to get up and dance around the room in circles. Read more

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Adult Hotel opens in Nanning, China

State-controlled news outlet Xinhua reports that a new ‘adult hotel‘ is opening in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province in southern China. Apparently state censors think homosexuals and tattoo parlors sully their nation’s image, but not establishments aimed at facilitating heterosexual unions. The owner is apparently worried his business will be perceived as a brothel. Hmmm. In any case, the photos of a staff member demonstrating the, uh, equipment is caption-worthy for sure.

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Andy Espinoza

Florida-based artist, Andy Espinoza, studies at the Ringling College of Art and Design, majoring in Illustration. His paintings are beautifully conceptualised, rich in narrative and technically impressive. Of his work, he says: ‘I see each human figure as a unique challenge. I am coaxed to find the unique relationship between the shapes and tones that give the particular subject its subtle appeal and unrepeatable vitality. My paintings are not photographic representations of my subjects, but rather are my elaboration of what I find to be of value in them’. Read more

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Agata Nowicka’s new website

Polish illustration superstar, hipster mum, edgy creative director of lifestyle magazine, Exklusiv, and my best friend, Agata Nowicka’s site finally got a makeover, with tons of new exciting work. Be the first to witness the coolest of Warsaw. Read more

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

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