like many others, aurel schmidt moved from her native kamloops, bc, canada to chase her dreams in new york city. being the most populous city in the united states, new york has quite a bit to offer in terms of artistic inspiration: people, places, fashion, architecture, events, drugs, and also… garbage.
admittedly inspired by dutch still-life painting, aurel’s intricately-detailed work features the grimiest creatures and objects the city has to offer. in an interview for a cover feature in tokion magazine, aurel said:
“The city is great for people. The hair on your arms, the skin, the smell of a person – that’s just as intricate and interesting as a tree or forest. It’s just a micro version. This is how we’re living.”
these images were borrowed from the portfolio of troyt coburn, and many of them were photographed for vogue australia, but i wasn’t able to uncover much more information than that. all i know is that they are hauntingly beautiful compositions that i really wanted to share and i greatly encourage you to view more of his work at his superbly designed portfolio.
i have been following richard colman’s work for quite some time now and i was really surprised to see that i had not yet done a post on him! this san francisco artist combines color, shape, and unusual imagery onto over-sized panels, engulfing a person in its chaos as they stand in front of his work. i am livid for color with such vibrance like this… it makes me feel as though i’ve been hiked up and transplanted into a geometric LSD dream world where everything fades into itself. check out more work at richard’s website here.
san francisco artist hilary pecis‘ collages are nothing like the ones you threw together in elementary school. not only does her work present her incredible attention to detail and aesthetic appeal, it is also strongly supported by contemporary concerns. using clippings taken from print advertisements, hilary has constructed an alternate view of our world, or rather a view of our world after we are all gone. in an interview with the san francisco art examiner, hilary explains, “the space that remains is evidence of the suggested lifestyle/refuge left behind with the disappearance of the human population.” she also notes that these pieces are inspired by “the construction of identities through television, advertising and other media forms which suggested a lifestyle that seems limitless, however, proves to be unfulfilling and superficial.” view more of her appropriated landscapes at her website.
some further exciting details have been released about spike jonze’s hyped film adaptation of maurice sendak’s where the wild things are which comes out in theaters this upcoming friday. the entire movie’s soundtrack features karen o.(of the yeah yeah yeahs) with an untrained childrens’ choir! karen also worked with members of the bands queens of the stone age, the bird and the bee, and many more to create the sound for the film. listen/watch here:
beware: this song is incredibly catchy. i heard chairlift’s “bruises” in an ipod nano commercial and then found myself singing it inside my head later on that day. the brooklyn, new york-based band consists of caroline, aaron, and patrick. what makes them special? chairlift originally got together at the university of colorado in october of 2005 to create background music for haunted houses. look at them now… making music that your ipod is basically begging you to play.
allison cortson’s work is not comprised of your ordinary paintings. nope, this los angeles artist creates massive paintings (some of them up to 100″ or more inches wide) using the dust she collects from the home vacuums of her paintings’ subjects. on her website, she says, “dust arrives in our homes as a remnant of our own existence and degeneration as it is up to 70% human skin. the painting is completed by rendering the subject in a realistic manner in oils and the rest of their environment is rendered solely out of the dust from their home.” it certainly is an interesting new way to look at the world around you.
twenty-year old illustrator and painter caitlin shearer’s blog, caitlin quiet, has been on my radar for quite some time now. i love her charming and yet also odd portrayals of girls (and sometimes boys) with wild patterned outfits. i love the detail, the colours, and the uniqueness of each painting. if you like these, you should also check out what’s going on at her etsy store.
acclaimed spanish fashion photographer txema yeste has created a large portfolio of work that is difficult to classify because the subjects are so varied, but i’d say it’s typically surreal and tells a story like good photography ought to. he has lended his free style to jobs for diesel, hyundai, ikea, nike, and more.
500 days of summer is a romantic comedy about unrequited love. this is the number one movie i’m looking forward to this summer and i’m sure if you read blogs at all you’ve seen posts about it. hello, joseph gordon-levitt and zooey deschanel? what more could you want? should be freaking awesome. can’t wait until july 17 when it comes out.
(photo: dan martensen for t magazine)
(selected works from aurel’s portfolio)
