Randomn3ss

Juan Francisco Casas uses blue Bic pens to create some of the most amazing pieces of art I’ve seen in a while. I’m a big fan of art for the sake of enjoyment, not art that I need to know the meaning behind, how it was made and what was going through the artist’s mind while they created it. In this case, knowing the time put in makes one appreciate this art slightly more, but it is still amazing for what it is.

Casas will spend weeks on one piece, using up to four pens to create works as large as ten foot by three foot that fetch nearly $7,000. This isn’t your average pen drawing in the back of a school text book.

See more and the full article on Daily Mail.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Lego, one of the most creative toys ever created.

The LEGO history began in 1932 in Denmark, when Ole Kirk Christansen founded a small factory for wooden toys in the unknown town of Billund in the south of the country. To find a name for his company he organized a competition among his employees. As fate would have it however, he himself came up with the best name: LEGO – a fusion of the Danish words “LEg” and “GOdt” (“play well”).

Source: BoingBoing

I was at gallery crawl last night, visiting Olaf Starorypinski’s photography studio. (Olaf is an outstanding photographer I am honored to have worked with, and continue to enjoy to know. Check out the previous article on him on Randomn3ss.)

Olaf was projecting videos by a most amazing artist I hadn’t heard of before. Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor who uses pieces of nature, found tools, and his body to create visually stunning and contemplative art, much of which is fluid, fleeting, decays or will change, on purpose.

Here’s one image:

Check out this video to see the broad range of his work.

And check out these stills and comments by the artist.

Thanks, Olaf!

Here is an interesting project to send a message to a loved one, a friend, or just because you can and want to. For 30 euros (about $60 usd) your short message will be sprayed on a wall in Palestine that is currently separating people and families. Info on the wall can be found here, most of the money will be going to Palestinian NGO’s (independent foundations) doing the work. They will fund small social, cultural and educational projects with the money earned (from buying bicycles to fixing the roof).

I’ve seen this same concept from people who live near a beach who will write a message in the sand and take a photo for you of it, but this project carries a bit more meaning to it. I’m also thinking you could use this to help promote websites, companies, bands, etc.

Create your unique mark with send.a.message

Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D recently did a collaboration with legendary Dogtown skater, surfer and skateboard designer Wes “Bulldog” Humpston on a deck with the intention of selling it and giving all the money to charity. This just aired on Von D’s TV show, LA Ink, YouTube clips are below. 100% of the sale will go to the Tony Hawk Foundation, a nice twist to see that all the money will be going to charity, not just some of it. The auction can be seen here on eBay, it is already over $3,000 and still has 6 days to go.

Kat Meets Wes

They start to draw the deck

The Los Angeles art gallery, Art Bridges Gallery has announced that it will be providing a special selection of contemporary and traditional artworks from November 2, 2007 to January 31, 2008. Sixty percent (60%) of the proceeds will be designated for the fire victims of Southern California through the American Red Cross.

Art can be viewed on their site, or contact them to make in person if you are local.

Contact:
Joan deBruin
Creative Art Bridges
Telephone: 877-278-7829 or 626-355-6189
Email: joan@artbridgesgallery.com
Web site address: http://www.artbridgesgallery.com

Late last night while jumping from website to website, I came across an interesting blog whose sole intention is to share doodles, some more eye-pleasing than others, but all shared a common bond, the Moleskine notebook. These notebooks are once again becoming the must have for any coffee shop regular or commuter to doodle in while being transported from place to place, rising to an almost cult status, but they have also been used for centuries by very famous people. I’m not one to hop on a bandwagon and buy one, I have zero use for a notebook as I barely write anything down, but I do appreciate a well-built, high quality product.

In any event, the Moleskine Project is a blog dedicated to
showing off what you’ve been doodling in that dark corner of the coffee shop or in the back row of your economics class or wherever it is that you doodle. They seem to have a really open door on what they will publish and always include links to the submitters websites. Just going through the first few pages I was really impressed with some of the work that people create, that might otherwise never been seen.

The blog impressed me enough that I subscribed to the RSS feed and hope that one day I’ll recognize someone’s name as a submitting artist. Right now the only notebook that I carry around in both my laptop bag and my camera bag is some scrap paper from work that is about 3” x 4”, white on both sides and held together with a binder clip, cost me about nothing and does what I need it to. If you feel you have a need to buy a Moleskine, they are available here.

Thank you to the boys over at MetalSucks for basically ruining my plan to save money by reposting the following announcement from the band TOOL:

My friends, we can no longer hide the terrible truth. The holidays are rapidly approaching, and with them the NEW TOOL DVD/VIDEO for VICARIOUS is scheduled to be released on DECEMBER 18th (or 19th) and will include an EXTENDED CUT, lots of BONUS MATERIAL and, of course, SPECIAL PACKAGING.

This means that I will shell out between $20 and $40 for some music DVD that will sit next to my dusty copy of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars rarely to be viewed. Now, that’s not to say that it’s not an interesting DVD - as I’m sure the new Tool one shall be - it’s just that the CD drive on my laptop is broken and I can’t figure out how to hook up my DVD player to my HDTV. Also, I need to make rent and, you know, eat, but my rampant American consumerism won’t let me - I must have this DVD. I’m apparently a lazy piece of shit who doesn’t deserve the fabulous electronics that litter my house. But I do love me some Maynard!!

Seriously, if this DVD is anything like the live show, it is going to have ridiculously amazing graphics/visuals (think acid trip but you don’t need the drugs… but they help) and my face is going to be melted off by the end. I would seriously try to explain it like a competent writer, but I’m too much of a fan to do so. In other MJK news, Puscifer’s new album drops at the end of this month… freaking hell, it drops just around the same time that rent is due. Damnit. Looks like I won’t be eating anymore this month… but at least I’ll be skinny and have the Puscifer CD.

Street art, legal or otherwise has always intrigued me. Some do graffiti just to get their name up, others do it for the public to enjoy, usually with little concern about what the property owner thinks. Regardless of the motive, there are some amazingly talented artists out there tearing up the streets.

Back in September I showed you the graffiti stairs illusion, a simple yet complex piece on a subway platform. Today while browsing Randomn3ss commenter Insomnic Dreams website, I was introduced to Julian Beever who’s work is simply breath taking.

By all means, take the time to look through the other work he has done on pavement here and share it with your friends.

Source: Insomnic Dreams

Here is another great story about artists helping out other artists. Coming up on October 25th, 2007 in Manhattan, nAscent New York will be hosting Art On The Block art event and auction for the emerging artists. This is the first foray into the popular art destination of the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan. Nearly 30 artists will be showcased, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and photography, will be sold, with 20% of the profits going to the Fountain Gallery.

Fountain Gallery is a not-for-profit organization that provides an environment for artists living and working with mental illness. These gifted artists are members of Fountain House, an internationally renowned organization dedicated for more than 50 years to improving the lives of individual with mental illness.

Art On The Block will take place Thursday, October 25th, at 508 West 26th Street #9E in Chelsea. The event and auction will take place from 5:30-9:00pm. A preview of the art will be available on Wednesday October 24th from 6:00-8:00pm. Art On The Block will feature live jazz, food, wine, and beer. Sponsors include Wine Cellar Sorbet, Chatham Imports, Singha Beer, Nook Restaurant, Tagine Restaurant, and Clifford Henderson III Interior Design. Limited complementary tickets are available, please visit http://nascentartny.com or email info@nascentartny.com.

Source: nAscent Art New York

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