Christian Russo crafts illustrations that seem to both utilize and parody elements from popular culture. The Chicago-based artist blends multiple approaches to each aspect of a work, showing an ability in emulating tattoo art, comic characters, realism, and other styles.
Currently on view at Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Tokyo, Japan is contemporary master James Jean’s solo exhibition of fascinating new works entitled “Azimuth.”
Jean has delighted a generation of visual and imaginative senses since the early 2000s through his colorful and surreal ocular dreamscapes that defy categorization and are truly one of a kind artistic visions.
From the gallery: “The title of this exhibition, “Azimuth” – defined as the position of a celestial object in the sky in relation to the Earth’s horizon – poetically alludes to the artist’s internal compass in approaching the creation of these works, guided forth by the energy of blood bonds and filial love. Jean’s signature artwork style of delicate lines and ambient tones, described by many as moody dreamscapes of the fantastical and romantic, have often tended to veer into muted, darker themes. “Azimuth,” however, marks a turning point in the artist’s emotional landscape: The heart of the exhibition plays on the radiance of color and light, and conveys the hope of a somber spirit re-saturated by the brightness and innocence of his son’s childhood. We invite you to come witness the artist’s journey this time as he transcends his own atmospheric limits and embarks toward a new horizon.”
The exhibition is on view until May 3rd, 2018 and under no circumstances should be missed if you have the means of attending.
For the first 25 days of December 2017, as a celebration of art and also gift ideas, I’ll be showcasing a brand new artist each day from INPRNT. Today’s selection is Christian Orrillo, whose magically colorful illustrations are all available as fine art prints in his INPRNT Shop.
A series of drawings by Tokyo-based animator Thomas Romain and his sons. Romain documents their fun collaborations on Instagram as @thomasintokyo. For many of them it’s actually kinda hard to choose which we like more! Check out more of their artwork below.
to the opalescent nudibranch of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, which preys on hydroids and anemones. During digestion, the hydroid and anemone stinging cells actually travel into the nudibranch’s colorful appendages and can be used against the nudibranch’s own predators!
Nudibranchs are found all over the world’s ocean and in many of your national marine sanctuaries.
This amazing megalodon sculpture—created by an appropriately named artist, Nemo Gould—resembles a submarine complete with a periscope, radio antenna, and fin-shaped sail. When switched on, its tail moves and propellers spin on its fins. Even more impressive is what goes on behind the scenes: When you look at the other side of the shark, you can see a cross-section of the action inside.
HOUSTON—Responding to moderator Wolf Blitzer’s question about why voters who look at him are overwhelmed with feelings of intense aggravation and disgust, presidential candidate Ted Cruz provided a comprehensive outline during Thursday night’s GOP debate laying out exactly why his face is so fucking infuriating. “Ever since I was a child, I have had a weaselly, piece-of-shit face that you can’t help but want to hit, and that’s never changed—how many other candidates on this stage can say that?” said Cruz, adding that oftentimes when he looks in the mirror, even he wants to drive a screwdriver through his eyes so he never has to see his stupid, boxy head and waggling, doughy chin ever again. “Let me be clear: When voters look at my shit-eating, smug-as-fuck smirk, they can’t help but want to wipe it off by grabbing me by my waxy ...
There are two persistent clichés about Pinterest—that its users are mostly women, and that it's a less fruitful social platform for creativity than networks like Twitter and Facebook.
"If my boards were on Tumblr, people would think they're funny but unremarkable," Hall tells AdFreak. "But because Pinterest skews toward wedding cakes and life hacks, it provided an odd context."
See a sampling of a few of his boards here:
Sexy Chewbaccas
Rad Bros
Dinosaur Erotica
Laser Portraits
Hall started using Pinterest as a way to "bomb" his sister with surreal and unexpected bursts of content. "My sister starts every weekend with it," he says, "and I was able to spam her feed with things like 'artisanal prison shanks.' Lots of people use social media to get famous, but I only care that I can connect with one person using a platform that she loves."
The ad veteran, who has also worked at MRY, iris, Digitas and other agencies, calls his Pinterest habit "part art project" that aims to achieve the subverse nature of The Onion. "On the surface, their headlines are stupid, but underneath they're really interesting," he says.
Pinning allows Hall to engage in a form of social commentary, as in the case of "supermodels blinking," which he calls "a comment on Photoshop standards for beauty" that also happens to be hilarious.
Are there lessons to be learned from his success for agencies and their clients? "In any creative ideation session, the best and, by extension, the worst ideas will come to mind first because they're familiar," Hall says. "How do we push beyond the obvious territory to ideas which might at first glance seem a little off?"
Hall approaches his creative work for clients like Doritos, Adult Swim and Nintendo in the same sort of way. For example, his agency created a series of documentaries for Facebook's 10th anniversary. "We told the story of Humans of New York, which is way more interesting than a video about the progression of Facebook," he says.
"A lot of companies talk about being on Pinterest," Hall says, "but [consumers] who live in it smell that a mile away. I use a sensibility of how the platform works to make it remarkable as my sister scrolls through it. It's like a sandbox: It's what you make of it. If your content is boring, that's your fault—not Pinterest's."
Hall's personal favorite board? Spelling bee eliminations. "I went through the last 10 years of spelling bees and took screenshots of the exact moment when each kid went, 'Oh no,' " he explains.
Hall's boards haven't gone unnoticed by those outside his immediate family. He tells AdFreak that he has received (unaccepted) job offers from parties who came upon his pages, adding, "My colleagues constantly rag me about this work. The overwhelming sentiment is that this is actually an interesting use of the platform to laugh at the absurditity of it all."
That sentiment feeds into Hall's general approach to advertising: The goal, he says, "is not to be right but to be remarkable."
Christian Russo crafts illustrations that seem to both utilize and parody elements from popular culture. The Chicago-based artist blends multiple approaches to each aspect of a work, showing an ability in emulating tattoo art, comic characters, realism, and other styles.
The valet service guarantees you a drop-off slot when you bike to a popular Divvy station. Like, say, a station right outside Pitchfork. [ more › ]
