What's new is old

The Kessler, Dallas

drakeandarnold.com

http://www.peasonmetalart.com/

http://www.olvastewartpharo.com/
 
I'd like to get my hands on a couple of cow skulls - one to decorate and one to affix to the front of a vintage bike like in the N.E.R.D Hot n' Fun music video.

Love Natasha Mylius' painting style.

www.GalleryNandM.com

Ariel Tejera
Saw her paintings in a gallery on Calle Ocho during Viernes Culturales.
Her works have a feminine-infused Dalí-esque feel to them.
Am obsessed.

Weekend Game Plan

Friday: 

Board Up Miami

Saturday: 

Volunteering at the South Beach Triathalon

Wynwood Second Saturday Art Walk; galleries are open til 10:00 pm.

Sunday:

Jimbo's Birthday Party

MIFFed

Miami Film Festival and the Winter Party festivities are this weekend, and I'm stuck cramming for Physics and Finance tests. There are a few films that I'm going to make an effort to see eventually thanks to the alluring summaries in the Miami New Times.


Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats

In this rare Iranian entry to MIFF, Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi takes us through the underground music scene in Tehran, where all Western-style music is prohibited. Based on real people, places, and events, the film follows Negar Shaghaghi and Ashkan Koshanejad of the indie band Take It Easy Hospital (yes, a real band) as the members attempt to leave home to play a concert in London. They're escorted by a smooth-talking linchpin of the black market, Nader (Hamed Behdad), who promises to find them passports, visas, and additional bandmates Ghobadi switches to fast-cut music video montages as they audition musicians. Each genre matches up with a different side of life in Tehran: When the heavy metal sounds, we see breakneck traffic. Blues rock depicts refugee children sleeping on the streets. Yet Tehran's indie rock scene looks a lot like ours. Take It Easy Hospital exchanges secret copies of British music magazine NME with other bands, the musicians wear CBGB T-shirts alongside women in burqas, and at one point, Askhan says his greatest wish is to go to Iceland to see the band Sigur Rós play. The film, with its MTV-style music video montages and pop culture references, runs the risk of feeling like a lighthearted documentary. But in the final ten minutes, the tour through Iranian rock makes an abrupt and disturbing turn. The film, which won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, was co-written by Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2008 after the Iranian government deemed her a spy. Amanda McCorquodale



Blood and Rain

A few hours after midnight, a man and a woman meet randomly on the cold, wet streets of Bogotá. He's Jorge (Quique Mendoza), a taxi driver whose brother was mysteriously murdered. She's Angela (Gloria Montoya), a sexy but emotionally damaged party girl with out-of-control coke and liquor habits. Gradually, as chance events and targeted violence bring the pair closer, a strange but undeniable attraction develops.
In his first feature, director Jorge Navas leads the characters (and viewers) on a slow, methodical descent into the Colombian underworld, from after-hours clubs and strip joints to killing fields. Blood and Rain depicts a dark sphere of existence, where chaos reigns, outbursts of brutal violence are common, deeply irrational behavior is the norm, and drugs are eaten to erase bad memories.
But it's not bleak. One of the reasons is the luridly bright nightscape photography of Juan Carlos Gil, who soaks the streets of Bogotá in saturated blacks and warm yellows that make abandoned lots and trash-filled alleys seem beautiful. Then there's the acting: Both Mendoza and Montoya deliver human performances that redeem profoundly fucked-up characters. And finally, consider Navas's clarity of vision. At only 36 years old, he's a mature filmmaker with enough perspective to tackle the inexplicable. S. Pajot









25 Carat
Born into the itinerant life of a con artist, Kay (Aida Folch) is a sexy but street-tough young woman who has helped her father, Sebas (Manuel Morón), run scams since she learned to walk. For years, they've lived off small scores, skipping from one city to the next across Spain. But after 16 months in Barcelona, Kay and Sebas have begun to settle into a routine: She steals cars while he fences jewelry. It's almost normal.
Then, suddenly, Mexican gangsters return to collect an overdue debt. Sebas begins plotting a big job that involves a crew of crooked cops, a large bag of stolen jewels, an incriminating videotape, and a cable news network. Meanwhile, Kay gets caught stealing a BMW and escapes only with the help of Abel (Francesc Garrido), a fighter. Together, all three then chase the most monumental score of their lives.
Written and directed by first-time Spanish filmmaker Patxi Amézcua, this action thriller is more conventional than many of the other movies at this year's festival. In tone and style, 25 Carat draws from similar genre films such as Luc Besson's The Professional and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run. However, Amézcua delivers his story with full knowledge of its sources, so it never seems derivative. Not to mention, 25 Carat is plotted so tightly, edited with such energy, and acted so deftly that it pays off in almost every way. It even has a happy ending. More or less. S. Pajot 

Went to the Coconut Grove Art Festival today. Found parking for $1.50/hr - SCORE!

The work that stuck with me the most was that of Betsy Youngquist. It's awesome, yet somewhat creepy at the same time.

byart.com

Fobot

Urban Outfitters tank top, Minnetonka suede booties, Eliza J cardigan, H&M jeggings, Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

As one dude said, blockposters.com is "a great, cheap way to fill up wall space". Just upload a picture from your computer, decide how many 8.5 x 11 sheets you want it to be, print, and assemble your groovy FREE art. It's a fun, economical option for students looking to shield themselves from the hideous white concrete of their dorm rooms.

Wish I Had Art Skills

Two of my best friends' birthdays were on Monday. I got one of them this Truly Madly Deeply Alice in Wonderland v-neck. It reminds me of the playful watercolor prints of the talented Caroline from Looks Good to Me. My two favorites are below.

Sadly, Make Love Not War is already sold out

La Boheme

"Nikangel's Plastic Temptation" by Angelica Belin is at the Wallflower Gallery in Miami until Feb. 26th.

I could totally see something similar to these mannequins being used in a trendy/edgy resale shop or to display clothing pieces for online vintage clothing stores. I mean, wouldn't you click on a thumbnail image of an outfit that appeared to be modeled by a blue person with brightly colored hair?

Danny Clinch

Danny Clinch photos - there are 20 of them hanging in the W in South Beach

Saw this at Scope, one of the satellite fairs for Art Basel. Very soothing. If I had a rooftop garden, I'd get my own Riot Temple to put on it.

Ain't No Fairy Tale

Gotta love Dina Goldstein's Fallen Princesses photos. The 11 piece series depicts fairy tale princesses in depressingly real settings. The bizarre juxtaposition is enough to distract viewers from feeling too bummed out by the grim scenarios

Blurry Lines Between Art and Fashion

I see this AJ Fosik piece as a patch on a fitted blazer

How chic would these look as buttons on a peacoat?!

Art Basel Miami Beach

Love this photo by Ryan McGinley. Reminds me of the time I jumped off a cliff at Rick's Cafe in Jamaica. Don't raise your eyebrows at me, I had a swimsuit on.

Photomontage 8, Mickalene Thomas

Who doesn't have a bunch of random frames lying around? We all do. I'm def going to make an arrangement like this on a wall in my room.

Lee Bul

Jacob Hashimoto

My dress is Patrick Robinson (for Target. Shhh)

The Queen of Hearts, Anne Leibovitz

I Waited For You Even in the Darkest of Days, Sara Rahbar

Neon Shadows, Gordon Cheung

Of course these don't cover even a fraction of all the awesomeness I witnessed at Art Basel. I didn't even get pictures of my favorite works, thinking I could find better quality shots online. I was wrong. Other artists whose work I fell in love with include Philip Taaffe, Frank Stella, Steven Charles, Juan Genoves, Roxy Paine, and Fred Tomaselli. I saw Val Kilmer hangin' out by Fred Tomaselli's work, Big Eye. He was workin' a bizarre chubby Crocodile Dundee look- long hair, a safari vest, and an Indiana Jones hat. I was trying to subtly stare at him to confirm his identity. We made eye contact. Awkward.

Graffiti Goes Legit

Wandered around Miami's design district yesterday. Ate a late lunch at Joey's. Stumbled across the amazing works of art shown above. In coordination with Art Basel, building owners in Wynwood donated walls so graffiti artists (I think now the politically correct term is "muralists") could do what they do best as part of the Primary Flight project.

Design Miami: Dope Decor

Pattern on table exhibited by Mitterrand + Cramer, Geneva

OK GO jams on their Gibson guitars pimped by Fendi.

By Maarten Baas, Designer of the Year

Top pick at Rizzoli Books...70s Design and Style

Simple, stylish, and a clever method of recycling