Found it here.
Weekendness
On Sunday I ditched my school work and spent most of the day with my siblings. The weather was gorgeous and we all agreed that it was nice to be outside, enjoying each other’s company. We should do it more often.
We went downtown and checked out the recent exhibits at the art museum. Their newest exhibit is the Andy Warhol exhibit (did you know he was born Andrew Warhola?).
Make your own Andy Warhol pop art.
Other exihibits:
I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures because due to copyright issues they don’t allow photography of any kind. I had to be sneaky about taking these ones.
I’m glad a took a little time off, even if I had to catch up and stay up late later on. Being outside with company reduced the loneliness I’ve been feeling lately, which was nice. I wish I had more time to do these spontaneous outings.
Book covers
Although a book’s cover may not be able to ultimately sway my final judgment of its contents, a nice cover (and my tastes are varied) will pique my interest enough to pick it up and leaf through it, to discern whether or not I’m up for the commitment.
The Book Cover Archive recognizes the need to appreciate this artform and have began posting covers of all sorts. I hope the appreciation continues and flourishes as we enter an age where more and more books are becoming digitalized, and where the experience of holding a physical book while reading, something that you can smell and not only touch but feel becomes less cherished by many. How anyone could choose to read a book on a Kindle or computer screen is beyond me, but that’s another story.
Here’s a small collection of covers I fancy.
Analog photoshop.
This is the COOLEST thing I’ve seen in a very long time. Apart from the Obama cupcake portrait, of course. See the whole process here.
Photographer: Jamie Campbell
“Beasts of Burden”
This is a whimsical series of photographs by Canadian photographer Jamie Campbell. Each features a different animal, all hanging their head in forlornment or, as the title of the series suggests, with the weight of some heavy burden. Love them. See the rest here.
“Missed Connection” by Adrian Tomine, The New Yorker, November 8, 2004
Artist: Elsa Mora
This is a gorgeous papercut by Elsa Mora. She has a few more on display on her site—all equally intricate and impressive, not to mention marvelous; I need to pick up one for myself. Her work will be on display at the Three Graces Gallery in New Hampshire.
Artist: D.Billy
“Using colorful media such as twisting balloons, party streamers, and artist tape, I have begun to add visual representations of sound effects to public spaces as a sort of dimensional graffiti. After embellishing the found scenes and photographing the results, I leave my additions in place to engage passers-by for as long as the materials hold up. For me, this process encourages a reexamination of surroundings and objects that are usually taken for granted, and injects a hint of the fantastical surreality that I have established in my other work.
Or, at the very least, I hope someone thinks these things are kind of funny.” (via his website)
The cartoon-y additions to these urban settings crack me up. I almost feel as though they’d have the ability to change the atmosphere where they’re placed, adding a touch of light-heartedness and whimsy. But probably not enough to deter a mugger. And yes, they are biodegradable.
Illustrator: Yann Lebec
Another very talented illustrator whose intelligent and whimsical work bring a smile to my face.
I’ve been posting a lot of pictures and videos lately because I want to share some of the things I’ve taken delight in these past few weeks. Lately, I guess I feel as though I’ve been in this perpetual state of boredom that only momentarily goes away when I hang out with friends and family or when I listen to some music I really like, anything to distract my brain from thinking too much. I haven’t really been able to get much reading done because I can’t seem to concentrate, so it’s just been passive-media-only for me.
Illustrator: Matthieu Bessudo
via mcbess.com (click image to enlarge)
French-born, London-based Bessudo’s (aka mcbess) illustrations are pretty spectacular. His style is reminiscent of the old black and white cartoons, and I like the simplicity in his use of hues. But his illustrations are anything but simple—so much attention is paid to every detail, every pen stroke.
Photographer: Luke Stephenson
via Luke Stephenson or 20x200
How adorable is this? When it comes to photography or any sort of art, I like simplicity. And I love the use of animals and birds, both real and fake. This is part of an on-going series by young, British photographer Luke Stephenson who plans to photograph other various types of birds from around the globe.
Rowan Morrison: Found Paper Journal
Look what came in the mail yesterday! It’s a Found Paper Journal that features “128 randomly-assorted pages collected from old accounting ledgers, graph paper, legal pads, letterhead stationery, sheet music, grammer-school writing paper, loose leaf, braile, and vintage papers of all styles.” Such a great idea.
Available here: http://www.rowanmorrison.com/paper_foundpaper.html
Illustrator and Graphic Designer: Alex Ostrowski
“The Happiest Book
In one way or another we are all looking for happiness. Some people even say that man’s sole purpose for existence is to hunt down and capture this intangible and elusive treasure. In 2006 researchers at The University of Leicester concluded that Denmark is the happiest country in the world - this was good enough for me. In March 2008 I made the decision to visit happiness, and embarked upon a pilgrimage to find it. My experiences are presented in this book.” (via http://www.alexostrowski.com)
A must-read, I’m sure. He has produced a lot of really charming work, many of which is book-based. The above is one of my favs; I love the simplicity of the cover and the font.
I love this. By artist Sam Spenser in a piece he aptly titled, Bloom. There’s an article about him and his work here.
