Obey Andre the Giant

Last night I visited the Shepard Fairey exhibition for a second time at the Institute of Contemporary Art in South Boston. (On Thursday nights there is free admission.) Two LHS alumni came along and we had a fun time looking through looking all of the great work. The show closes August 16th and I would try to catch it if you haven't already. It amazes me how this artist began by playing around with graffiti and stickers and over the years his art has continued developing and has led him to fame and recognition. Proof enough for me, that if you stick with something your passionate about, exciting things can happen.

Gorillas

So, there I was, looking through the wacky pictures of art installations at the 2009 Venice Biennale when I came upon Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo and his giant gorilla paintings and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. You see, when I was in graduate school many years ago I also made giant monochromatic gorilla paintings with really thick paint. I had taken an Animal Behavior class at the University of Washington and was allowed a semester pass to the Woodland Park Zoo. Everyday I was allowed to watch the animals before all of the visitors would arrive and I did as many drawings as I possibly could. What fascinating subjects to observe and try to capture. I will try to find some pictures of my paintings so that you can see them next to Miquel's.

Nelson Mandela Comic Book

From the website ArtisanCam (which is a fascinating place to look around) comes a short documentary about South African comic book artist Umlando Wezithombe who was commissioned to draw about the life of Nelson Mandela. Check it out here. There are also all kinds of activities and images to browse.

Behind The Scenes

It is interesting to see how animated films are created. There seems to be an entire army of artists who bring an idea into a completed production. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a great educational website for teens called The Red Studio. They have put together an interview with wonderful images and videos from Pixar's Ralph Eggleston. Click here to see.

Art Museums Are Cool

I'm really enjoying how the internet has been a vehicle for learning about artists on a more personal level. I am discovering that most major art museums have great educational outreach via their web pages. If you feel like you need more art in your life, spend some time browsing. Check out how the Tate Modern allowed the public to ask David Hockney questions in this interview. If you have never heard of David Hockney, he is an extremely influential contemporary artist and you can check out his website here.

Where The Wild Things Are

I just wanted to share how excited I am that Where The Wild Things Are is being made into a movie and the trailer is so good it practically brings tears to my eyes when I watch it. You can can play it here on the Apple website. Maurice Sendak tapped into the unconscious language of our hearts when he wrote and illustrated the book. It is an all time favorite of mine. I hope I like this movie as much as I liked the trailer. If I have an Illustration class in the fall, then this piece of work will definitely be a centerpiece to my teaching. Field trip in October?

Also...
There is a fantastic image blog called Terrible Yellow Eyes that celebrates Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak with artwork from loads of great contemporary illustrators. It is fun to see how various artists respond to the story in different mediums and styles. None of the art has been done for any profit but has all been created out of admiration for Maurice Sendak and Where the Wild Things Are. Check it out here.

Color Magic Trick

I just discovered a great science blog called Bad Astronomy which presented this amazing color illusion. Believe it or not, the blue and the green spirals are actually the same color. They appear to be separate colors because they are surrounded by different hues. If you don't believe me, test it in Photoshop. Click here to learn more.