Beautiful art that scares the shit out of me

Alexander Jansson is an incredibly talented artist whose gorgeously odd illustrations intrigue yet terrify me.  You can check out his unique portfolio here.

And since we're on the topic of art again, I'd like to introduce yet another talented photographer.  Normally I'm not a fan of self portrait photography (fucking narcissistic bastards), but in this case I admire the work of Kalliope Amorphous who's work is best described as performance art.  Unlike the usual vain erotic self-gratification crap plastered all over the internet, Kalliope takes a theatrical approach to her work which effectively establishes thought provoking and stunning results.  View her incredible work here.

Pictured below:  A piece from  Kalliope's Resurrecting Ophelia collection.

As usual I don't really know what's going on...

...but that won't stop me from passing on this blog.   It's basically a video which illustrates a photographic point of view, I really don't know how to explain it any better than that so you'll just have to trust me and watch it.  Ha ha, famous last words.

It's over 12 minutes long, but it's absolutely breathtaking and will be much better appreciated when viewed in full screen mode.  Sheesh, at least start it up and see how much you can tolerate before you cringe at its length...

Yibi Hu fucking depresses me but I can't stop watching his videos

Artist, animator and filmmaker Yibi Hu develops short films and also concepts and advertisements for television (BBC, CBBC, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics Channel).

Hu developed an amazing short film entitled Josie's Lalaland which was inspired by Josie Grove, a 16 year old Lukemia patient.

"I first heard about a 14-year-old girl who was a blood cancer patient from one of my friends over in Asia. After 4 years of life in a hospital she stopped treatment and I was deeply moved by the girl's courage.I began to research children who are in the same situation as her and one day I read the story of Josie Grove in the newspaper. Josie was 16-years old and had been a leukemia patient for many years. She had two bone marrow transplants and a course of anti-cancer drugs, all of which were unsuccessful in beating Josie's cancer. When Josie was told that her condition was terminal she decided not to undertake any further treatment and went home to reunite with her family and enjoy a normal teenage life for her last 3 months. Not only because of similarity of two stories, but also the courage of these two different young individuals, I was inspired to create something that would capture such a spirit."

To view this artists amazing portfolio, click here.  Incredibly beautiful, imaginative and magical, Josie's Lalaland has a run time of just over 3 1/2 minutes.  I was also deeply moved by Lucky... that's right. Deeply. Moved.  On a lighter note, be sure to check out A Day At Dunjanez.

Pictured below: A screen shot from A Day At Dunjanez. Who knew a portaloo could be a spot for sweet romance?

Stop F*ing with Nature

Artist Kate MacDowell beautifully hand sculpts porcelain which shows the relationship between natural world conflicts and contemporary impacts on the environment.  Each piece is in reaction to environmental stimulus (such as climate change and toxic pollution) and takes inspiration from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones.

"I chose porcelain for its luminous and ghostly qualities as well as its strength and ability to show fine texture.  It highlights both the impermanence and fragility of natural forms in a dying ecosystem, while paradoxically, being a material that can last for thousands of years and is historically associated with high status and value.  I see each piece as a captured and preserved specimen, a painstaking record of endangered natural forms and a commentary on our own culpability."

See more of Kate's amazing work here.

Pictured below: More talent. I am a huge fan of environmental artwork by Caia Koopman, check out her gallery here.

Braaaaaiiiiiinnnnns...

I stumbled upon some really cool artwork by chronic doodler Alexis Ayala.  Much like myself, Alexis seems to have an unexplainable fascination with zombies which is shamelessly embraced through the artists work.  You can check out the gory yet adorable details here.

For some fantastic zombie viewing, you might want to check out:
Zombieland - this place is so dead
Dance of the Dead - it's their night to come alive
Død snø - yes, you'll need subtitles for this one
Shaun of the Dead - it's just one of the days when you're feeling a little dead


Pictured below: What's on the dinner menu.

I want to sign all of my letters like this!

Fire Tagging is a new form of graffiti where NYC artists scrawl their signature in lighter fluid, then set it aflame. This is all done in controlled, approved environments, so don't go thinking you can walk into a bank with hairspray and a box of matches to sign your mortgage renewal.

Fun with cardboard boxes... unless of course, they are your home

Here we go again - - more crap being pawned as art. Dutch designer Wendy Plomp is participating in an art exhibit in Milan to present her latest work... Cardboard. Carpets.

You know who would really appreciate something like this? The guy down the street... you know, the one who sleeps on the corner and pisses on sewer grates. Actually, now that I think of it, this isn't a bad idea after all. Let's help out the homeless by sending them our little ones and a pack of crayons for an afternoon. I'm sure Wendy Plomp is getting a good dime for these, how many cardboard carpets do you think are needed to solve the homeless problem?....*pause*... That many huh? Wow, FREE babysitting service for the next ten years!

For people who like shit

OK, so I don't know if that is *really* what this is made of, BUT that's what it looks like to me. A bunny sculpture straight from the manure pile. Ew.

Toronto artist wants to give your children nightmares

Jessica Fortner is an illustrator who creates 3D scenes using a variety of materials and then photographs them to create final illustrations. The illustration above is called Furry Friend. Very ironic since the furry friend is NOT the little brown bear; the furry friend is the white dude covered in blood who appears to have just finished killing the little brown bear (and all of his little friends).

For a complete viewing of sadistic artist Jessica Fortner's work, and for an extreme close up of furry friends shaven ass, go to: http://www.jessicafortner.com/blog/

I have this odd feeling that you can probably find this art work strolling down Queen Street, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it at Nuit Blanche. You know what I'm talkin' about.

Pictured below: because my children aren't going to grow up to be woosy's, I'm stocking up for the nursery now.

The end is near

Some guy named Julian Beever decided he was going to try to fool us all into thinking the end of the world was here.

Check out more really cool 3D art by Beever here.

Guy locks himself up for one year, throws away key

Way back in 1978 - 79, a Taiwanese-born performance artist named Tehching Hsieh locked himself up and lived in almost solitary confinement for an entire year, all in the name of art. And then he did it four more times.

The Museum of Modern Art has dedicated a small exhibition to document year one of the "Cage Piece" performed by Hsieh.

Pictured below: Tehching Hsieh on days 1 and 365. I think I know who will be showcased as our modern day performance artist!

Simple Math: Take 2 people, dress them as 1 Q-Tip, now divide in half = Art ~ Ta Da!

The International Center of Photography (ICP, New York) is scheduled to present three showcases and a half dozen 'historical, contemporary, haute couture and antifashion' exhibits in May 2009.

I'm not sure if the above is supposed to be haute couture or anti fashion, I always seem to confuse the two. It doesn't really matter anyways, what's important is that I now know what I'm going to be for Halloween this year. Now, who's joining me as the other half of my costume?