Wayne White is an American artist and cartoonist and best known for his illustrations in the New York Times and the Village Voice. What’s more is that he’s also responsible for the designing some of the puppets on Pee Wee’s Playhouse and its set.
White’s current passion are his word paintings. He takes cheaply-made, mass-produced lithographs the likes of which are found in thrift and secondhand stores and paints cheeky words and phrases over them in stylized 3D lettering drawing comparisons Edward Ruscha.
Some of my favorites:
“Aw Cmon”.
“Boo Fuckin Hoo”.
“Maybe Now I’ll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve”.
“So, It Looks Like You Just Guessed With This One”.
Trying to get back into things over here at Art Brut(e) central. Does anyone know if WordPress has queue capabilities. Sometimes I write a bunch of posts at once, and want to post them all– but I really should be spacing things a little further apart (not three months apart, but you get get my drift). But I digress.
Lot of things have happened since my last post. Still kind of loving my job. If you ask nicely, I might tell you what it is I do and where– but I’ve been keeping kind of mum since I’m still so new. And really, I come from an arts background, but my job requires me to be technically proficient, and I’m ever so slightly paranoid enough where I constantly feel that they’re going to find out. (But that’s how I feel about every job to be honest.) Other than working 45+ hours a week, I’ve done the following:
Replaced my wallet.
Kind of a biggie for me. Remember when a crackhead stole my wallet in May? And I replaced it in August only to lose it only a few weeks after? Well, I’ve been using my passport as a wallet in the interim, that is until I got my Colorado ID back, which I did in November. So between November I’ve been rubber-banding my driver’s license, cash, debit card, and metrocard together. NOTHING BUT CLASS HERE, AM I RIGHT? Last week, I upgraded to an envelope, and after I lost my debit card (again) after dinner at Life Cafe– I got my shit together long enough to get a temporary ATM card, and just buy a simple wallet at a dollar store in Greenpoint. I don’t even know why it took me that long. Priorities. / kanyeshrug
Worked The Creators Project.
Had a rockstar flirt with me.
Went back to Colorado for a week.
Made new bartender friends.
Did a lot of bad karaoke.
Still trying to get into the groove of a new job, other than seeing a movie now and then, I’ve sort of let art fall by the wayside, both in its creating and viewing aspects. Well, I’m amending that. I think starting with the Carsten Höller exhbit at the New Museum, and the Jim Henson one at the Museum of the Moving Image.
But enough of me gabbing. Here’s some bonerjams for you to chew on. What I’ve been listening to lately:
Twin Sister’s “Kimmi in a Rice Field”.
As moody and atmospheric as the song is, I think I like the video even more. The video is a perfect blend of macabre fairy tale (A Tale of Two Sisters perhaps? Ironic given the band’s name), and asian art-school film. The ghoul that envelopes frontwoman Andrea Estella looks like something out of Japanese horror schlock-fest Hausu creating an end product that’s both creepy and beautiful.
Ninajsonik’s “Somebody Gonna Get Pregnant”.
Zak and I sing this to each other in the office. TRUE STORY.
2NE1′s “I Am the Best”.
Probably my current favorite K-pop group at the moment. Unlike Girls Generation, it seems that all of the members have their own personalities, and styles intact. And jesus, look at their studded jackets and chains, and hair horns from 2:25. Everything is on point, and really could someone just give me a leather jacket of my own already? God. Side Note: fans of NE1 are called “Black Jacks”, amazing.
Little Dragon’s “Brush the Heat”.
This little psychedelic jam looks like something that could’ve come from the bulk of my music video watching days of the late 90s, back when all I had was “The Box” and MTV. What’s even cooler still is that Yukimi Nagano’s father, artist Yusuke Nagano and his creative partner OLGA created all of the trippy illustrations showing that creativity does indeed run in the family.
Phantogram’s “When I’m Small”.
Nobody Beats the Drums’s “I’ve Got Some Blood on My Hands”.
Dirty electro beats? Check. An organ? Check. A hot but deranged redhead ready to render and fillet you in the kitchen? Check, check and check.
Alice Cooper’s “You and I”.
I’m a secret softy, shut it. Also, young Alice Cooper? Totally bangable.
Whoa, that last post got to be a little hand right? That’s why I karate-chopped it in two. You’re welcome. Here’s the rest of the jams that I was chilling out too.
Johnny Rivers’ “Summer Rain”. There are moments where I think I might be a lot older than what I am chronologically. This might be one of those times.
Shit Robot’s “Take ‘Em Up”. I love nu disco.
Cerebral Ballzy’s “Junky for Her”.
Montell Jordan’s “Get It On Tonight”.
Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”.
Drunken Tiger’s “Monster”. Oh he’s cute? And Korean? My mom would be over the moon if I brought DT home.
Electric Wizard’s “Saturn’s Children”. 15 minutes of pure bliss.
Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Spellbound”.
Helloween’s “Lay All Your Love on Me” (Abba cover). Arguably the best ABBA cover ever.
Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” (Megaforce Version).
Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. Obligatory during last weekend’s hurricane.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “The Waiting”. Tom Petty really is kind of attractive. Must be the scarecrow hair and the fucked up teeth.
Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”. Super sexy murderous revenge soundtrack.
I’ve been a little manic in my posts at Art Brut(e) lately. Disappear for a month and then you guys up with four back to back posts. Sorry about that– I’m trying to clear up my queue, which should be empty after this music dump, and then we can all go back to once a week postings at AB. But why JP, why did you go M.I.A. for so long? Glad you asked imaginary reader. In the last month or so I’ve:
Was in danger of losing my job. The photo department that I was in was moving to Jersey (knowing that I live in Brooklyn), and wouldn’t offer to comp me for transportation. Like I’d go to Jersey– but I offered. Because I’m a team player, and I’m willing to make compromises. That didn’t work out.
Drank a lot. I also fell down at some point, and have a nasty scar on my elbow as a result of falling.
Lost my wallet.
Had some out of town guests come over.
Got a new roommate.
Got a new job. Which I kind of love. Like really. I get excited about going to work in the mornings. And I’m nervous about doing well, and doing things the right way.
Survived an earthquake*.
Survived a hurricane.
Things have been a little topsy-turvy, to say the least. Which might explain why my music has been all over the place. In any case, here’s little musical snapshot.
Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil”. This one’s a deep cut.
Maxwell’s “Bad Habits”.
Dio’s “Aye” (featuring Sef). I don’t speak a word of Dutch, but the video is dope. I love the old found footage in the beginning of the video, the old VHS tape-like burps and transitions (Jeez JP, stop watching so much archival footage), and the wardrobe that looks they were raided from Run DMC and LL Cool J’s closets.
Amy Winehouse’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” This Shirelles cover caught me by surprise on my iPod the day after Amy’s death, which was both a little spooky, but mostly sad. Yeah, I get that she was an addict (I would too if my last name was Whiskeyhouse. That’s like naming your child Vodkamansion), and that she was most likely in a lot of pain, but part of me still held out the hope that she’d pull herself together and live a long and healthy life. I’m sorry, Amy. RIP.
Russell Brand (that guy? yeah that guy) wrote a beautiful eulogy for her, which is definitely worth reading.
Chromeo’s “I Can’t Tell You Why” (Eagles cover).
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “I Won’t Back Down”. I was in the midst of applying to new jobs, and worrying whether or not I’d be able to pay rent. There’s something pretty power about mouthing “You could stand me up at the gates of hell. But I won’t back down” to yourself while typing out cover letter after cover letter in front of your laptop.
Blue Cheer’s “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran cover).
Ozzy’s “I Don’t Know”. “It’s not how you play the game It’s if you win or loseyou can choose Don’t confuse win or lose, it’s up to you”
* WHICH WAS LAME BTW. Sorry, I lived on the West Coast and in Japan where we had earthquakes all the time. I rated the 5.9 a “bo-ring” on the Richter Scale.
If I was rich, like Oprah-rich, I’d charter private plans across the country to see openings all the time. I’d fly across the globe and visit Milan, Paris, and other international art cities. Or– I’d keep a stable* of young talented artists in a stable to paint, knit, sculpt and sew for me based on my whims. Nathan Stapley’s definitely one of those dudes. I’d fly to Los Angeles to check out his show at Gallery 1988, kidnap him and make him one of my pop culture boyfriends. We’d mostly hang out on my couch eating and drinking obscene amounts of Mountain Dew and Funyun and stay up all night talking about cult movies and public access TV.
Stapley’s current show “Same Gang” groups pop culture icons together by various shared characteristics. Some of my favorites below: Nathan Stapley
“The Ramones Meet The Warriors”
Watercolor on paper
12 x 9 inches
Nathan Stapley
“18 Dads”
Watercolor on paper
12 x 9 inches
Nathan Stapley
“Cheering Up Curly”
Watercolor on paper
12 x 9 inches
*It’d be an actual stable as I assume that the money would’ve gone straight to my head and made me insane**
** If I’m going to be rich, I’m also going to be insane. I want to be the type of rich person that isn’t “crazy” per say but is “eccentric”, much like the woman who wears gloves all year round, even in the summer.
Bear with me as my comprehension of Spanish outside of the type of patois spoken in bodegas is minimal, so most of what I’m inferring about Barcelona artist Guim Tió may be completely wrong or circumspect. I’m going by intuition and guesswork, people. From what I can gather he collects images from magazines and periodicals, and covers them with an assortment of mixed media (oil pastels?) to create work that is one part creepy (in the best way possible) conceptualism and one part German expressionist.
In Estonia, the average person spends several hours a day in front of their television. Artist Andris Feldmanis explores that fact in his ongoing series “TV Portraits”. His series captures the other side of theirs and by extension our viewing experience by capturing what it is that the television sees. Simple, yet effective — Feldmanis series becomes more poignant as our lives tend to revolve more around screens. For example, I spend a large portion of my day staring at computers monitors (at home and at work) and the display on my phone with intermittent intervals of actual face-to-face time with that of my peers.
As usual, I’m posting some of my favorites. Enjoy.
For more of Feldmanis’ work check out his website here.
Coming off as a bizarro version of Chuck Close, Pennsylvanian artist Daniel Kornrumpf uses embroidery to create portraits. I’m actually blown away by his ability to use stitching to mimic brushwork. Can some of my friends who work in textiles– give me an estimate as to how long one of these would take considering the level of detail that goes into one of these pieces?
Some of my favorites:
“Diamonds on My Neck. Diamonds on My Grill” (2007).
Hand embroidered on linen.
42″x36″.
Detail of “Diamonds on My Neck. Diamonds on My Grill”.
“Brooklyn Bobby” (2007).
Hand embroidered on linen.
50″x44″.
Detail of “Brooklyn Bobby”.
For more Kornrumpf’s work, check out his website here.
I was actually tipped onto Canadian artist Lauren Kaiser series “Angels with Dirty Faces” by my friend Gemma. Not to be confused with the movie James Cagney movie Angels with Dirty Faces, Kaiser’s series features imagined portraits of serial killers when they were children. Other than the subject matter which initially caught my eye because hey, I have a penchant for the macabre and oft times inappropriate — it’s the way in which they were painted that really made it for me. Painted in pastels and outlined, Kaiser’s portraits is evocative of the Golden Books I was weaned on, which I feel juxtaposes both the sweet and sinister qualities of her paintings quite nicely.
Some of my favorites:
“Richard Ramirez.”
“Ted Bundy.”
“Ed Gein”.
“Jeffrey Dahmer”.
For more of Lauren’s work, check out her website here.
Hey everyone, I’ve got some exciting posts upcoming up. I’ve been clearing out all of my bookmarks and and my Google Reader with cool, new artists and hopefully more fun content. But first of all, can I just say that I am beyond excited that longtime friend and collaborator of mine, Sam from Studded Magnolia is leaving Florida to run away with me visit me in New York. I am beyond excited. You know what’s my favorite thing about entertaining all of my out-of-town guests? It’s not the fact that I’m spending time with someone’s company I enjoy (which sure is a big part of my excitement), or finally having them have context to my outlandish stories and adventures (there’s only so much I convey over the phone), or even showing off all of my secret places and dive bars (and boy buddy, I sure love me some dive bars*), it’s the chance to do tacky, tourist shit. Or to get away with eating at horrible themed restaurants. I live off that! I’ve already mentally bookmarked the chain restaurant we’ll have a boozy brunch at that has a Dolly Parton-themed bathroom (in Hell’s Kitchen) and Katz’s Deli for a pastrami sandwich for starters…
But enough about that, here are some jams that I’ve been listening since I dropped my last “mixtape”.
Stereo MC’s “Connected”.
Rye Rye’s “Hardcore Girls”.
Neneh Cherry’s “Kisses on the Wind”.
Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears”.
Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”.
Maxwell’s “Bad Habits”.
Rhianna’s “Man Down”.
That plume of smoke she releases at 3:55 slays me every single time. Also I think it’s extremely interesting and canny for Rhi Rhi to release this single right on the heels of “S&M”. I think it shows a well-rounded and greater understanding and grasp on what exactly is female sexuality and consent that I’ve seen in a while. Usually women, especially women of color are seen as sex objects in videos, but Rhianna is killing it by showing that complex can be sexy. Even is she is borrowing heavily from Dave Chapelle.
L7′s “Pretend We’re Dead”.
The Kills’ “Satellite”.
Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”. This is pretty much a quintessential summer jam for me. It always makes me think of sunshine, taco stands, and driving down the highway with the wind in my hair, and a cigarette dangling from my hand. It’s also been a song that I automatically associate with California and basically the entire teen girl mall-culture. Favorite verse?
“All the vampires walkin’ through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts”
Also Tom Petty is actually kind of a babe in this. My lady-boners totally don’t make sense sometimes.
Foreginer’s “Blue Morning, Blue Day”.
“Out in the street, it’s six am
Another sleepless night
Three cups of coffee but I can’t clear my head”
Perfectly moody, and atmospheric. Plus I have too many nights like this.
* My friends sort of have a running game every time we go into a bar where they try to guess if I already know the bartender or not. Chances are, I usually do.
