Muto - New animation by Blu

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Previously: Letter A

BluBlu.org

Jon Krause Interview at Coolhunting

New interview up at Coolhunting profiling Philadelphian artist phi Jon Krause

With a folio that includes some of the world's most reputable publications, Philadelphia native artist Jon Krause has been causing waves in the art world for intelligent illustration and cutting-edge creations. CH caught up with the Tyler School of Art graduate to discuss inspiration, online galleries and transformers.

Link, JonKrause.com

Jayson Musson: Too Black for BET Release party

Mark your calendars for April 11th as Free News celebrates the release of Jayson Musson's Too Black for BET Episodes I & II book release party and exhibition at the Mad Decent Mausoleum. Musical stylings courtesy of Mr. William Pym and one Spank Rock aka DJ Leroy Jetson.

Don't forget every Monday its the Jang House at the Barbary with Spank Rock and Plastic Little DJ Si Young.

Zoe Starauss: I-95 Show May 4th

May 4th, Zoe Strauss I-95 show is back. Buy prints of her new and selected works at Front and Mifflin under I-95. Rain or shine.

ZoeStrauss.com

Letter A - Wall Animation by Blu

It plays twice. See more of their animations on Vimeo and YouTube. Visit their blog.

Thanks Awesome Andrea!

Marcel Duchamp - Anemic Cinema

Filmed in 1926 using rotating discs. This was officially by Rrose Selavy, Duchamp's female alter ego. Anemic Cinema, a near palindrome, was a collaboration between Duchamp and Man Ray. Their first encounter involved playing tennis without a net, yet carefully keeping score. Here in "Anemic Cinema" the authors explore wordplay intermixed with optical illusions. Duchamp enjoyed words, their sound as much as their meaning. Even his alter ego Rrose Selavy, created for his American audience, is a play on Rose C'est la vie. For Duchamp the interpretation was as much a part of the art, as the object itself.

The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.

Read more about Man Ray and Duchamp here and at Wikipedia.

Michelle McCoskey

Have you ever gotten bored with your H&M scarf and been like, "Damnit today I want to wear a squid as a scarf!". Well now you can thanks to Michelle McCoskey. Michelle is from Philly and one of her specialties is crocheting scarves. If you're not into squids and more into octopi or something completely different she will create a custom creature just for you. Need a suggestion? Do you like Firefox? I would totally get her to make one of these. Michelle is also quite skilled in painting and prints. This painting is totally going up on my wall.

Michelle McCoskey

A Kiss for Mayor Nutter

DesignPhiladelphia and the Fallon And Rosof Art Blog have teamed up to remind Michael Nutter to keep his promise of reestablishing the Office of Arts and Culture.

Here's the deal. We will create a series of photo posts on the blog called A Kiss for Mayor Nutter that will include images of artists and art lovers throughout the city. These images make the face of the "arts" constituency somehow more real than it seems when people talk about artists and the arts.

So, send us jpeg images of yourselves in the city, one per artist -- at Love Park, at a gallery, at the museums, the zoo, on Broad St....somewhere in Philly--you know you have these photos and we want em! Send medium resolution images (281 height x 375 width is the artblog standard size) with your name and the location of the picture. We will run these images in a stream under the heading "A Kiss for Mayor Nutter" in a continuing series of posts starting today.

Act now and send us your images (one per person, please). Email: libbyandroberta{at} gmail.

We are acting in collaboration with Kevin Derrick, of designphiladelphia blog, who proposed an image campaign to show the how Philadelphia artists love the city and love being artists here.

A Kiss for Mayor Nutter

Nothing Fancy Is Back

Nothing Fancy Volume 8 is now up. This version focuses on collections with 24 different artists and a musician. Also featured S P Lunny aka the director of Baby Rat and Bangers and Cash - Pussy. Be sure to check it out, some great stuff in there. Also, really cool is "Real Art Love Letters" from Jeremy Gecker. Following the rabbit hole I stumbled upon Mailbox Friends. All in all, good stuff.

Visit Nothing Fancy Volumes

Doin It Well Calendar

Art can always compensate for, how do you say, uh risque images. Take for example Loose, in the future there will be term papers written about the social significance of Bangers and Cash. Meanwhile, fellow Philly artists have compiled an artistic calendar fit for friends, brothers and side jawns alike. Enter the Doing It Well 12 Month Calendar:

Recipients will be able to savor that holiday magic year round with twelve full color 9x9 glossy illustrations of everyone's biggest fantasies. Acts made popular by internet creeps and urban legend are brought to life in fantastic illustrations inspired by The Angry Pirate, The Donkey Punch, and everyone's favorite, Dog in a Bathtub [plus 9 more!].

Sadly 2 Girls 1 (insert finale here) was too much of a late phenomenon to make it, but hopefully next year. Order Doing it Well for less than the cost of a cab ride and cheap bottle of wine ($12) from Bent Stationery.

The Love Movement - YoYoYo

TLM Episode 005 - 12.12.07


From The Love Movement, my favorite Philly artists not living in Philly any more.

Thanks for putting up with us for another year, from our art shows in LA to Art Basel in Miami it has been a long year. Now it's time for your reward, our 2nd Annual Holiday Giveaway. We are giving away more sh*t than Oprah... 75 Hand Screenprinted Wave Prints, 12 TLM Shirts, 10 Yo! What Happened To Peace Books, and 4 Art Pieces From Previous Gallery Shows.

In order to win a present check the video below and follow the instructions.

Hurry up cause I just sent my email. Pick up any of The Love Movement shirts from Ropeadope. Tom Jonze already told you, but this is a perfect time for a Christmakwanaka present.

TLMPhilly

Space 1026: 10 Year Anniversary

Space 1026,recent Citypaper Choice Award winner, is celebrating their 10 year anniversary with their opening of "Never Forget!: Do It Yourself With Others". The gallery looks back at their 10 year anniversary and their over 40 members who have participated at one time or another. From Citypaper Art Picks:

What places like 1026 and Spector (RIP) did was loosen everybody up, throw open the doors to young talent and set the precedent for the new independent gallery. Now Philly's scene is thriving on that philosophy. (Just don't tell 1026 they're any kind of institution.) This show gives us all a chance to catch up, surveying the work of the more than 40 members they've had over the years as well as their spontaneous collaborations and inspirations. Given this group's past, it would be foolish to predict what this show will be like beyond that.

If you don't recognize the graphic above its from the book Big Kids Little Kids a wonderful book explaining the philosophy and history of Space 1026 in their first 8 years. Pick it up from their website or at various Urban Outfitters.

Citypaper First Friday Focus, Space 1026, Big Kids Little Kids

Phileb Choice

• Philebrity.TV relaunched today. Its snazzy and the player at the top of the page plays episodes consecutively like a real TV would. They also have commercials like real TV does too. Woohoo!
• Citypaper Choice Awards have been announced. You can read all about them, preferably in print cause I'm hoping they make more sense there. I personally linked these two together to highlight the ongoing tiff between Brian Hickey and Joey Sweeney. See Phileb's side here and Brian Hickey's stab here. Oh I think I get it now, there is the clever make up awards for people narrative section then there is the actual listing where the awards make sense.
  
• Citypaper Choice winner Damon Abnormal deserves his own section and link. Follow him along on Flickr as he dominates street art popping up everywhere, most notably in recent months with the pink soldiers and the stickmen on the street. See a sticker and want to know the name? Damon knows and saw it two weeks ago.
  

The Magic Word

So I Guess I am going to start contributing around here so I would like to take a minute to give you a run down on what to expect from my side....art,culture,fashion,and,booze,places to get free booze while looking at art and being fashionable and pretending to be cultured...I was diagnosed with Dyslexia in 3 grade, and slept during all my writing classes so I am going to substitute flawless grammar with the "F" word and tons of misspellings. Sue me! I was born and raised in Philly, and love this city with all my heart. Let's get this show on the road!

If you haven't already seen this get your ass in gear!

Steve Powers: The Magic Word

October 20, 2007, to January 27, 2008

Morris Gallery, Historic Landmark Building


Powers, who was born and raised in Philadelphia’s Overbrook section and has resided in New York since 1995, is an internationally known graffiti artist who has recently been embraced by the contemporary art world. Using the idiom of the billboard and the storefront, Powers, using his graffiti moniker ESPO, has created many illicit outdoor murals which riff off the capitalist marketing experience. Beginning in 2004 and ongoing, Powers participated in and co-curated Dreamland Artist Club an ambitious project on the Coney Island amusement boardwalk, in which he and several other artists worked with low-income business owners to improve commercial signage. Recently, Powers has been making narrative painting installations, still very much informed by signage, in which he recounts through a clever balance of verbiage and imagery, graffiti tall tales, autobiographical missives, and various urban legends.

Ignite Whats Next - Live Painting Philly Stop

EXIT PHILADELPHIA, Juxtapoz Magazine, and Upper Playground. Present David Choe, Saber, Revok, and Retna LIVE PAINTING AT EXIT PHILADELPHIA!

Thursday October 18th, Come check out 4 world renowned artist kicking it, signing autographs, and painting all for you! It kicks off at 2pm and ends around 5:30.

This totally sucks that its during the day. Check the video below from part of their West Coast tour. Also, were you at FUEL on First Friday? Did anybody else see random older couples posted up just chilling with black Sparks? Most surreal thing I've seen in awhile.


More pics and videos over at ExitPhiladelphia.com

Neighborhood Bike Works Bike Parts Art

Art show and auction tonight at the Power Plant building on 2nd between Race and Vine. Opens at 5 PM and features live music, food, drinks, raffle prizes and more.

More info

Secret Service Confiscates Art Installation

Be careful who you add on MySpace as the proprietors of Bobo's art gallery in South Philadelphia found out.

The window... complete with one-sided photocopies of dollars in numerous denominations. One afternoon the window drew an inquiry from a gentleman who "wished to purchase the piece", the proprietors of Bobo's thought this was odd but made an appointment with the gentleman anyways.
On the appointed day the gentleman was back with no less then eight other gentlemen, members of the secret service, who told Drew, Nick, and Phil to put their hands in the air. The secret service men came bearing files, thick with photocopies from each of the artist's myspace pages. The window display was confiscated.

The rest of the gallery is still intact so be sure to check Bobo's out at 1134 South 9th Street.

Full Story at AitAoMR

Jayson's Mood and a danse party

So every time I see Jayson, he's always "Blog about my mood son." So straight from the source:

My tummy hurts

To keep this on a livejournal tip, I'm assuming he's listening to Hail Social or Fischer Spooner or maybe Massive Attack but with his current mood, I doubt it. Yo son, kick it with some Pepto Bismol. Anyways, check out the new Plastic Little jumpoff "Married to the Mirror" at the M Room on Saturday June 23rd with DJ Si Young and DJ Dee Jay. Somewhere I had copy of this from Jayson but that was probably in a bulletin I got on myspace 3days ago which is over my 25 page limit. So instead check out Black Like Me at Philadelphia weekly. Oh and please send letters to PW saying how much you hate/love the column so they keep printing it and don't get scared that T5S is going to stop advertising. Also, check out the art opening of Phantom Limb from Jayson and Heather Rae Morton at Topstitch on July 6th. Also, I did some guest dj'ing at WKDU today so I can have my own show and I played "Get Close" the clean version but it wasn't, oops sorry Oriel. Also, I don't think I said also enough times in this post.

Jayson Musson, Plastic Little, DJ Si Young, DJ Dee Jay

You Are Beautiful

No. Libs residents will recognize this sign installed at 2nd and Spring Garden. This is courtesy of who else but You Are Beautiful while the photo is from Kristie Lee at Emulsion Emotion a recent addition to our link list. Check the current exhibition of YAB at the Temple Art Gallery in Olde City as they exhibit their work in a group show with A/WAY, Celebrate People's History: Poster Project, Project Hello, Tit Pin (that is not a typo), University of the Poor's School of Arts and Culture and the West Philadelphia Re-signage Committee. Learn more about You Are Beautiful here and here.

Emulsion Emotion is a photoblog courtesy of professional photographers The Weekly Conversation. TWC consists of "John Yeomans and Kristie Lee Krause... We capture images together dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively to achieve specified, shared and valued objectives. We handle commercial assignments for major magazines, corporations, record companies, and advertising agencies." You can also buy select photos from them on Etsy.

Deck Heads

Ok, I'm working on the What It Do but you may not read those before you leave for work and then you would be missing Deck Heads. If you're into skateboarding or art or free beer and food, then you should go to Exit Philadelphia tonite from 6 - 10 at 440 E. Girard. Even the Weekly says its an A List pick:

Exit Skateshop and 37 local and international artists don’t suffer from the same lack of imagination. They’ve put together “Deck Heads,” a one-night show featuring a collection of art on boards. You’ll get to see what amazing artists like Sean “Mr. G,” Josh Hoffman and Alex Curtis came up with, and participate in a silent auction. Beyond the art, this is a great chance to check out one of the city’s coolest new spots.

Exit Philadelphia

Cerealart: McGinness and Murakami soccer balls

Cerealart makes fantastic toys, tzotchkes, and other pop multiples created by artists like Yoshitomo Nara, Dalek, and Kenny Scharf. The stuff is super-high quality and beautifully designed and packaged. In the last year, I've bought Nara's PupCup and Little Wanderer kinetic dolls and Marcel Dzama's Saddest Ghost Lamp for my son, and he absolutely loves them. Ryan McGinness's Bucky Ball (left, $150) and Takashi Murakami's Flower Ball (right, $400) look like a lot of fun too.

Cerealart is located at 149 North 3rd Street
Link (via BoingBoing)

This is This - Alex Da Corte at ICA

You may remember Alex Da Corte from his imaginative "Welcome Your Sorrows" at the Black Floor Gallery. Well he is back with a new project entitled This is This debuting tonite on his birthday at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Party runs until 8PM and features Dave P djing. As you may be able to tell, the exhibit revolves around a deer. Photo credit PW, which has more on the artwork. Also playing are Plastic Little and Sweatheart with cover charge of a $1. Officially its sold out, but if you show up, you may be able to get in. Also at the ICA is the Daydreamer Magazine launch party featuring DJ Phillee Blunt from the Illvibe Collective. From their MySpace (where else?)

Daydreamer is a magazine that profiles people in their 20's and 30's who have taken exceptional risks, both professional and personal, in order to make their daydreams a reality, living the lives that they want to live. We're highlighting artists, social entrepreneurs, musicians, activists, anyone who has made a sizeable impact in actively shaping the world that they daydream about.

Seems interesting enough, Daydream magazine is scheduled to be a pilot as that most magazines tend to fail within the first two years.

Also tonite is last Wednesdays which means only one thing, Josh Wink and Ovum at Fluid. Get on the guestlist here for free admission.

InLiquid Update

• Attention Artists! Monday, February 26 is your last chance to participate in InLiquid and Dane Décor’s second annual Art and Furniture Experience. This year InLiquid is distributing 100 pillows to 100 artists to create one-of-a-kind designs. The resulting works will be sold at an April 18th party to benefit InLiquid and MANNA. To create a pillow, and receive a $25 gift certificate to Dane Decor, download a participation form now. All forms must be received by Monday, February 26.
• Do you wield a mean chisel? Does a pure, crystalline slab of ice make you shiver with creative possibilities? InLiquid, Skytop Rover Co., and Star Cellars will present "Winterfest IV: Ice Carving Contest and Cold Sake Chill Out"on March 18, and now is the time to sign up for the amazing Ice Carving Contest. The deadline to sign up for the contest is Friday, March 2! Click here for the registration form and to find out more details on how to participate.
• We hope you will attend the second Feast Your Eyes Salon Dinner, “Barbeque the World Over,” taking place on Friday, February 23. Tickets are $65 pp. The Fair Food Project is the Beneficiary for the evening.

InLiquid Newsletter, InLiquid on MySpace

Public Wall Writing in Philadelphia

Tonight, come to Fleisher Ollman Gallery to check out the book release party for Public Wall Writing in Philadelphia. The book features 96 black and white photos featuring graffiti on the streets, SEPTA stops, and corners as it permeated Philadelphia in the 60's, 70's and 80's. As many of you may know, Philly is the home to modern graffiti with Cornbread being one of the first known writers. Each book measures 9.5 x 13.5 inches and includes an 18 x 24 inch two-color poster and are printed in a limitied edition of 1000.

You are invited to join us for a book release party for Public Wall Writing in Philadelphia on Wednesday January 31st, 2006. The event will be held at the Fleisher Ollman gallery at 1616 Walnut Street, Suite 100 (upstairs), and will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

Food will be provided by Wadada
Audio / visual / sound installations by Megawords Magazine. Beer by Yards

Copies of the Public Wall Writing in Philadelphia will be available for sale for $20.00. We will also have a limited number of Megawords Magazine number 6, which is as always free of cost.

At 8 follow everyone over to the after party at Bar Noir ( 112 S. 18th Street) hosted by Nicky $$$. Drink specials from 8-10PM

Order your own copy here, more info at Megawords Magazine

HiRes Banksy

Hi res images (1600 x 1200) of some of Banksy's work are now available at his website in the shop. No attack helicopter with the pink bowtie but there is kissing coppers, the maid in london, laugh now, house on hill, bombed village and more.

The Love Movement at Threadless

The Love Movement is an incredible art collective originally based out of Philly but now in LA still loving and representing Philly always. Check out what Ropeadope has to say:

Trippin through Philly I picked up on the scent of The Love Movement - one of the city's more prolific and creative coalitions. With love as the backbone, and social awareness as the neckbone, art & design take over as the weapons of choice. Dropping bits and pieces of objects in the community that beautifies and educates. An idea worth emulating.

Their main social awareness project right now has to deal
TLM currently has three tee shirts up on Threadless for you to vote on. Check 'em out as they're killer. My personal favorites are the one above and this one asking the all important question, "What if Saddam Skated?"


All money from the Darfur shirt will go to benefit the efforts with SaveDarfur.org. Click now to sign the pledge.

Additionally, all sales from The Love Movement art go to a village in the West African nation of Benin. Their most recent project was to build a well.

Vote now for With Our Two Hands, Save Darfur, What if Saddam Skated? and NBA or Art?

New from Minnow

Check out the new arrivals at Minnow on 6th and Bainbridge.

New graf book from KR covering his career in photography, graffitti, creator of Krink and more.

Another graf book from Also Known As brought to you by the infamous 12oz prophets

Finally, ladies Kinked Works is now available at Minnow. Who is Kinkedworks?

Kylie and Kurt, Kurt and Kylie, Kinkedworks, or just plain Kinked is what you can call this slightly prolific operation comprised of 2 part time workaholics, part time bff's, and part time pimps with art school bfa's. We work much, and when work is fun, it doesn't matter what you're doing because you'll always enjoy it, right? So, we have lots of fun, and sometimes we even yell, because this is all just so fun...

You may also know Kurt as NBC (No Body's Child) from Plastic Little who happen to have a single coming out soon along with an album in stores in June.

Link