Author Archive

The A.skate Foundation is once again looking for artists to donate work to their annual “1 in 91″ art show. For those unfamiliar, A.skate is a non-profit, grass roots organization that “allows children with autism to be a part of the social world through skateboarding. They hold clinics for children with autism at no cost to the families, give grants to children with autism for skateboard gear, as well as promote awareness and educate families about the skateboard industry”. A worthy cause for sure. I donated a piece to last year’s event and will definitely be participating in round 3.

This year’s auction will take place at The Lab in Costa Mesa, CA on Saturday, April 21st.  Email  info@askate.org for details of how to donate work.  Art is due no later than April 12.

Super hyped on this new promo from Pontus Alv’s Polar Skate Co. So sick – love the art direction and the vibe in general. And, yes, I was also a big fan of Strongest of the Strange.  Looking forward to see what they do next.

I took a trip down to Kinetic this weekend to peep the new 5Boro vid and to personally congratulate long time underground ripper and FDR local Willy Akers, on joining the pro ranks.  Always humble and permanently stoked, he may be the one guy out there who could give Theotis a run for the “nicest pro skater” title.  Delaware’s finest for sure – the kid kills it on all fronts.

And the whole Join or Die video is super sick.  With gritty super 8 footage of the Big Apple and a rugged soundtrack of classic tunes, it definitely delivers that raw, east coast vibe you’d expect from the good dudes over at 5Boro. Easily one of the most underrated squads out there. Tookmanian, Falla, Jimmy MacDonald, Pensyl – everyone on the team kills it with style.

If you haven’t caught it already at one of the premiers, the new 5Boro video, Join or Die, will be up on the Thrasher site this Friday, Feb 24. Don’t sleep on this one.

Artist and designer Jason Vivona is showing some new work this month at the Slingluff Gallery in Philly – the opening party’s this Saturday night, February 4 from 6-9pm. Stop by if you’re in town – should be a pretty sick show.  11 W. Girard in Fishtown.

Read more

Joe Castro

This Saturday night in Philly is the opening for the Slingluff Gallery’s For Penn Treaty group show. Lots of great artists involved, including fellow Mumbler John Fellows, Jim Houser, Nosego, Shawn Beeks, Kevin Margitich, the Slingluff’s and more. Above is my contribution – a new painting entitled Iodine.

Anyway, the party’s from 6-9 pm with beverages provided by Art in the Age distillers and East Girard Gastropub. A portion from each sale will go toward helping maintain Penn Treaty Park in Philly, which is in need of a pretty serious face lift.  Should be a good time so don’t blow it – stop by if you’re in town.  11 W. Girard, Philadephia, PA.  You can also RSVP on facebook if that’s how you roll.

Jim Houser

NoseGo

Mark Gonzales is showing some recent work over at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery in New York – the show runs from November 22 until January 7, 2012, so check it out if you’re in the city this holiday season.  If you visit this site often, then you know this one’s pretty much a no-brainer.  You just gotta love the Gonz – true legend and innovator. Franklin Parrasch, 20 w 57 st .  Tuesday-Saturday 10a-6p.

Last week, I stopped by the Fabric Workshop to check out Laurie Anderson’s multi-media installation, Forty Nine Days at the Bardo.  Spread over two floors and dedicated/influenced by the recent death of her dog, Lolabelle, it’s an intense tribute and discussion on loss as well as the deep spiritual connection between pets and their owners.  Consisting mainly of a series of 10′x14′ foot charcoal drawings detailing Lolabelle’s time in the Bardo (a forty-nine day period between death and rebirth, as mentioned in the Tibetan Book of the Dead), the scale of the work quickly engulfs the viewer, bringing you into this nether world of lucid dreams, bizarre illusions, touching realizations and ultimately, rebirth. The installation also features a sculpture of a violin, created from layers of mud, clay and the ashes of her dog. Now, I’m more of a cat person myslef but I did hear stories from the staff of more than a few dog lovers leaving the exhibit in tears, which speaks volumes more on the success of this installation than anything I could write.

I was most impressed by her Iron Mountain floor – an erily darkened space with a sparse collection of tiny clay figures, brought to life by video projections of people working, running and talking on them. They’re almost like holograms, and in the stillness of the room you get the feeling like you’re inside someone’s brain, browsing through a collection of their personal and intimate memories. Worth seeing in person for sure, as obviously a photograph or video won’t do something like this justice.

So don’t sleep on this one –  the exhibit runs until November 19th at the Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia.

laurieanderson.com  •  fb.com/laurieanderson

I don’t normally work with video, but my friend Justin Clowes and I recently co-directed a music vid for up and coming Philly rapper Zilla Rocca’s new single, Full Spectrum.   We shot the whole thing on super 8 film in Asbury Park, NJ, the day after Hurricane Irene blew through town, leaving a few spots without power and more than a couple of trees knocked down.  Asbury ‘s a cool town – pinball museum, paranormal museum, the Wonder Bar, good pizza – and provided a pretty cool backdrop for a rag-tag group of misfits  running around it’s streets with outdated super 8 film cameras.  People were friendly and the towns got a good vibe. Good times, good times. The song features a guest verse by Has-Lo and is taken from his Nights and Weekends EP, which is definitely worth checking out.  Hope you dig it

.

Artist and skateboarder Alex Duke in having an art show in Philly and the opening bash is this Saturday night, Sept. 3 so stop by if you’re in town. You may recognize his work from the board graphics he’s done over the years for Consolidated, 1031 and Death Skateboards, among others. The opening’s from 6-9 pm at the Slingluff Gallery, 11W. Girard Street – should be a good time.

Skateboarding with Alex Duke from Knock On Wood on Vimeo.

I was recently asked to design a limited edition poster for  Death Cab for Cutie’s show at the Mann in Philly. The chosen design (above) is a 2 color screen print on French paper, limited to a print run of 40 and presented to the band as a gift from the promoter, AEG.

Now originally, I had the idea of doing a Death Cab poster that was a direct parody of ACDC’s infamous Highway to Hell album cover, because when I realized the band’s initials were DC4C, it seemed like too good of an idea to pass up, and one that I thought for sure someone else must have used previously (after a couple hours of solid research though, I never found anything). And, honestly, you couldn’t get a greater contrast in sound or attitude than between these two bands, which is why I thought it was funny. Plus, I figured, given the age of the Death Cab guys, they were probably into metal at some point of their dark teen age years, so they would appreciate the joke. Unfortunately, AEG passed on the design, wanting to go with something much less cartoony, which is totally their prerogative, no hard feelings, we’re all professionals here, etc.etc. – but I was happy enough with the general idea and execution that I figured it was worth sharing here, rather than stay tucked away in some digital graveyard of rejected ideas. Anyway, I hope you dig it.

I do have a few extra prints of the top design that should be available for purchase in the next few weeks on my website, so stay tuned if you’re interest.