Shanetron.

Original Fake Earmuffs. I’ve been looking for a $100+ dollar solution to keep my ears warm in the winter.

Hopefully this census job pans out.

No, I will not recklessly spend my first paycheck on earmuffs, the way I should.

chirpinhard:

thegang:

“Randerson Romualdo Cordeiro (The World Stage; Brazil)” by Kehinde Wiley

I went out to get the mail today and peeped Mr. Wiley himself on the cover of Juxtapoz this month. I must say it’s about time because dude has been blowing up for a minute now doing portraits for the hip-hop honors, a clothing line, and a shoe collabo with Puma. However, I haven’t heard him discuss the connection/intersection between his sexuality and his artwork very often (which is shocking because his portraits, although not nude, evoke what seems to be very intentional erotic undertones).

Juxtapoz did ask, however. Here’s a piece of the interview:

Since you’re a gay man, which youth culture often finds hard to come to terms with, did the guys you cast care or know? Is there even a need to be upfront about that?

That’s a very important question. I think a lot of people prefer not to talk about that part of the work because so many other aspects of it satisfies even the most homophobic that they just deal with it.

Like the aspect of power?

Sure, but power and sexuality are so intricately laced for me I can’t separate them really. Yet there’s another part of the art-consuming public that’s fascinated by this because there has been very little space for a type of Black male sexuality to be expressed that isn’t hyper-sexualized. For me, I’ve been able to exist in the world of Black male representation because I’m in the art world and it’s almost expected that there be some weird shit in there. You know what I mean? It’s like art world street cred, “oh, and he’s gay too.”

Male beauty is a pursuit that’s a very fixed and specific vocabulary. We feel comfortable talking about the vocabulary surrounding beautiful women because women have been relegated that type of power. That’s the power they’re said to posses most strongly in the world. Men feel emasculated when associated with that type of power because they feel it’s superficial and they have “actual” power, material power. Any serious man, even if he possesses physical beauty as a type of power or currency within the world, would never discuss it as such because it’s considered effete. The fear of the illusive disarming strength of beauty, all that stuff, is a very potent and strong calculus with the black body, which is fun to play with. I’m really having a fun time pulling these strings and seeing what happens.

It’s interesting to hear his take on, and understanding of being kind of “exotified” in the art world by having all of these unique identities at work (unique to the art world canon at least). But he still didn’t speak to the dialogue that happens between him and the men who pose for him. That would also be interesting to hear.

I must say that the rest of the article is also quite interesting, as well as the beautiful images of his work. check it out if you have a chance…

Kehinde Wiley!!  Randomly the Toledo Museum of Art owns one of his beautiful pieces.

A Barack Obama poster that I designed.

Thanks, Cage, for giving me a name to a face.

If I have to explain it, don’t bother.



Also, it’s a lot larger than this and there is considerably more detail, but I’m tired of giving away things for free.

Jyck and Juicy are huge

KAWS wins again.

Ed Templeton, one of my favorite illustrators from the skateboard world (he runs Toy Machine Skateboards), recently had a show. Hypebeast has the details.

I remember loving Toy Machine decks as a kid, the illustrations, the toys and their merch was always the most innovative for skateboard company graphics.

I was under the impression this bridge was intended to be more sculptural, a conceptual statement that the Art Institute is closely connected to the city. But, apparently, it’s going to be functional. This will take the pain out of waiting a minute for traffic to stop on Monroe.

An iconographic analysis and commentary of four stills from the music video by Kanye West for the song “Heartless”.

In the first image, we see Kanye West on a commuter train. This helps the audience relate with him, and is a far cry from the days of “Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips”, a reference to the luxury automobile, the Maybach-Benz, a vehicle so luxurious, it’s windows are curtained instead of tinted. That is so long ago, as we see West here on public transportation, with no curtained windows, but among the public, or as the audience sees, among us. Also interesting to note is the “P” on the varsity jacket. This is placed here to let the public know that his upcoming clothing line, Pastelle, is still on the way.

The second image features Kanye West smoking (see Kanye’s commentary on smoking on Addiction), in a night time scene, featuring self referencing Flashing Lights (see #1, #2 & #3). As well, there is connected imagery in the lyrics of the two songs. The visual aesthetic of this scene is very reminiscent of the art direction by So-Me, as best exhibited in Justice’s award winning music video for D.A.N.C.E. (note the aftermath) and Kanye West’s own music video for The Good Life. Though, the neon line work on a black background is nothing new, and is often employed at aiming towards a younger demographic for viewers and participanys, as it has also been used in the Strokes video for 12:51, and has been exhibited previously in the 1990’s with the video game Earthbound, and it’s fifth “level” Moonside. It was an interactive “art form” in the 1980’s with the Lite Brite. This scene strengthens the song and video with Kanye West’s discography via connections to his videography.



The third image gives us a look on Kanye West’s life style. In the image is the woman, who is painted as the antagonist in the lyrics of this song (based on real life ex-fiancé Alexis Phifer). As well, we see a Louis Vuitton Damier trunk, a must have item for the jet setting Louis Vuitton Don. The woman and the trunk assist the audience into realizing how she is just as temporary as Kanye’s own trips. They help paint the picture of the past few years of his life from The College Dropout to Graduation, constantly moving and growing, and it all being so temporary. What’s interesting about this scene is the inclusion of Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup cans. These may be Kanye’s own possessions, (as seen as the inclusion of the artwork included in the fourth image), but they way they are displayed in the scene shares a lavish connection to the way Kanye’s friend, Nigo (mogul behind all things A Bathing Ape) displays his. Indeed, Kanye west still has his “homies”, and his taste for the well designed, and culturally alluring.



The fourth image is the most personal, as it is a direct shot of his home. This is clearly visible with the Burton Morris’s reworkings of Jetson characters. Here, Kanye West is finally letting us into his life, letting his emotions and himself go as public as he did in the first still. It’s also interesting to note that, while in his home (which seems to be a rare occurence between all of the touring, recording, and just plain vacationing (link included as Don C better illustrates the travels of Kanye West than West himself does) he is performing. He never ceases to work for us, the audience, and he gives us all he has, whether it’s a view of his possessions, or a look into his life and emotions.



Ultimately, these images paint Kanye West as a humanist, driven by his tongue, his wit, and his heart. They make us feel connected to the protagonist as he asks “How could you be so heartless?”