Archive for the 'art' Category

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Feelin’ Sappy?

issue2callFeel this space! Tree Sapp magazine is looking for work for their upcoming second issue. Check out their website and blog and submit your watery works to their “River Beds, Sweat and Sheets” -themed issue by May 10th.

Tree Sap is a publication devoted to digging up, excavating and documenting the convergence of art & nature. Through artist features, collaborative projects, & personal narratives, we hope to offer commentary on the wild origin of our myths, sexuality, & inner lives.

-eds. Anika Sabin & John Wagner

Featured Book of the Day: Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume III

The final volume of this trilogy is the only one in print. The other volumes go for tons! If you’re not familiar with any of the books in the series, the deal is that they’re tattoos done with crude resources by Russian prisoners on each other, and they’re collected by this lifetime security guard Danzig Baldaev (his name is Danzig, heh heh hehheh). The KGB supported his collection! It was important to them to be able to establish facts about convicts by reading the images (both pictoral and text) on their bodies. You don’t need to have either of the other books in the trilogy to get into this one. Devils, penises (peni?), swords, SS cats, barbed wire, anti-party tatts — whether you’re an ink freak, photography nut, sociologist, political maverick (are any politicians really mavericks, I mean really?) or lowbrow art collector, this is the book for you. I particularly like the captions for many of the drawings that translate the meanings. Just as an example, dig the caption explaining the drawing of a rat with Russian text that translates to ‘Tightwad filcher’ for a convict sentenced for hooliganism: “He stole three packs of cigarettes and some sweets from the lockers of his fellow inmates. He was discovered and beaten up. It was decided by a group of ‘authoritative’ thieves that this tattoo should be forcibly applied as punishment.” Thazwutchoo get for stealin’ candy and smokes! These books have even influenced a movement in these parts where the youngins have actually started replicating these drawings on themselves by professional tattoo artistsĀ  — would they get their asses kicked in a Russian jail?

Today’s Featured Book: L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, Illustrated by Graham Rawle

This is no ordinary reprint. This version of The Wizard of Oz is an artbook illustrated by Graham Rawle, author of Woman’s World (a novel created entirely from fragments of found text from 60s womens mags, now being made into a movie). The text is the same — hence it being almost 300 pages long! There’s illustrations on almost every page, and they’re crazy. Collage-y type of stuff with dolls and toys and beads and doll slippers and bottles and things cut out from other things — like he cut up magazines and newspapers and then went crazy at American Science and Surplus. Kids would love this but adults may love it more. Even some of the font is spicy with cursive and italics and who knows what else. There’s little graphic surprises on almost every page. A lot of work went into this thing!

We have the new Mark Ryden book, Sweet Wishes!

With its vibrant and colorful pictures, Sweet Wishes tells the tale of Dolly, Baby and Bear and what happens when they are granted a wish from a magical fairy — regarding eating too many sweets. This 56 page book is hard covered and measures 11.25 x 9.5 inches. The story is based on a short film by the authors, Mark Ryden and Marion Peck. Published by Porterhouse Fine Art Editions in Pasadena, CA. Copies are limited so make sure you get yours now, ’cause like most Mark Ryden books for us, once they’re gone, they’re gone. Plus, note it’s only $20.00! It’s a pretty twisted title that could double as a lowbrow art and/or a kids book (By the way, we don’t have a lot of kids books, just ones that we think are cool, so take advantage of this while it’s here). Dolls and teddies making messes of cupcakes and themselves — hell yeah!

New Summer Window Display

Summer 2008 windows by Zachary Huelsing

In the neighborhood? Spend some time basking the glory of our new window display by artist Zachary Huelsing (of Eyerocket Books). With a cast of characters including a nun, a rapper, a baseball catcher, a calculator, a leather daddy, some dogs in love, and a rainbow, it’s kind of like a technicolor rebus for the forces of good.