“The Unifying Machine” is a collection of work by a group of artists that have been connected through the ’"machine’s” power to create community through a common ground.
This art exhibition will take place at a converted workspace loft at 141 Beard St, Building 12 B in Red Hook Brookyn from March 18 – 21, 2010, and will be open to the public free of charge. The opening is Thursday from 6:30 pm to 10 pm.
On Saturday the 20th "The Unifying Machine" will host the Red Hook Criterium pre-race activity and the post race podium celebration.
You've probably noticed that I don't post photos of naked women on bikes here on Prolly is not Probably. It's mostly because I don't want to alienate any readers. This is an exception to that rule. Today, Gothamist's Early Addition showcased a wheatpaste poster I came across on Grahamn Avenue this weekend. I didn't have my camera on me at the time, or I would have taken a photo of it. Luckily for us, Dfhdez on Flickr snapped a quick photograph and Gothamist decided to post it.
Hanging around bike geeks will get a non-cyclist riding a bike. Hanging around metal nerds will get a pop-punk into metal and hanging around Kaiju nerds, well, got me into Kaiju. The past few times I was in Japan, I was hanging around the Mishka guys and Lamour Supreme. I really found a special love for the figurines sculpted and painted by an artist called BLObPUS. I found it ridiculous at first to spend real money on a vinyl figurine, but weeks later I found myself really admiring his work. After buying a few pieces in Tokyo I returned to the states to find it nearly impossible to get a deal on any Kaiju. Literally everything had a 200% mark up; so I limit myself to purchases in Japan and stay away from the eBay pricing.
Defgrip is working with the 2010 Bicycle Film Festival on the selection of all the BMX content for this year's festival. The first endeavor is a call for entries for a 10-minute BMX-themed film. Check out more details below and if you're interested in submitting a film, act quick because the deadline is March 27th!
Replace "ice cream" with "beer" and you're onto something Dromiceiomimus! It's true. The weather spikes 20° and everyone's out, riding their bikes. Very refreshing. Especially since last week we had snow on the ground. This weather rules!
Remember allthoseMajorTaylor quotes Chris Piascik made a little while ago? He's finally doing something with them. Available now, in a limited run of 50 pieces, is a Major Taylor Zine.
I always say this, but Lamour Supreme ( @lamoursupreme ) is a mad man. A few weeks ago, I was in the Mishka offices and Greg had just gotten a package in from Cure toys in Tokyo. Greg told me that Joel was going to make a custom hand painted Boogie-Man for the Tokyo store opening. A few weeks later (last weekend), we're in Tokyo, setting up the Harajuku Store (more on that later) when a box came in from Cure toys.
Check out more photos and information below.
Almost all of the Mishka NYC friends and family will be in Tokyo for the Mishka Tokyo Harajuku store opening. One of the permanent installations in the space is Lamour Supreme's massive Russian Soldier Bear head. The detailing on this thing certainly competes with the Cyco Simon head (pictured left).
Just saw this at PC via Go Means Go! and man, if this piece doesn't sum up my artistic taste and personal interests, then I don't know what does. Christauf Wright's artwork is mind-melting to say the least. His illustration portfolio is staggering. Check the rest out here.
I got an email the other day from Candyland Comics. I was going to post it then, but it completely slipped my mind. Something about the previous post jogged my memory and I'm glad I remembered because Guilherme's illustrations are really impressive. This is the second stage of one piece called Fixie Girl. Check out the full design process below.
Sophie Blackall is a Brooklyn-based artist specializing in illustration. One of her pieces, entitled The Coming and Going of Bicycles (That's Life) caught my attention. Really nice. Read up on Sophie's background on her website's Bio page. If you like this print, you can pick it up over at Etsy for $40.
Barcelona-based industrial design studio The Emotion Lab designed a city bike rack based on the one thing that's kept our belongings safe for hundreds of years; the padlock. Here's their description:
Cities are dangerous. The world is dangerous. We just want to be safe. We want our belongings to be safe. Padlocks have been around for hundreds of years and have become a symbol of security. Safely park your bike (don’t worry about scratching it – we’ve taken care of that) and walk away worry-free. Relax; it’s all good.
It's an interesting concept, but seems like a lot of wasted locking space. Could a u-lock get around that base? I don't think so. Regardless, I dig their design process. Great precedent too. Check out more photocollages, design sketches and renderings here, at their portfolio site.
Artist Michael Johansson remembers the days spent as a child assembling miniature models of various vehicles. Now as an adult, and artist, Michael experimented by designing a series of 1:1 scale models. In 2007 he created the Crescent Scale, an assemblage for a full-scale bicycle for an exhibition entitled Some Assembly Required
As Michael explains:
As a child I was fascinated building models. I remember breaking off the pieces from the surrounding plastic sticks that were leftover from the casting process and subsequently gluing the pieces back together in the right order by following the instruction manual.
A real bike is turned back into a space of imagination. By this I wanted to address the similarities between different contexts and spin concepts such as size and belonging.
Really awesome installation piece. Check out more views at his portfolio site.
Julien Lanoo recently visited the new Vitrahaus designed by Swiss architects Herzog & Demeuron. It's been a while since I last posted some Architecture on here and it's mostly because I've been waiting on something good to post. The Vitrahaus meets is certainly worthy of a post. Nestled in Weil am Rhein, Germany, the project peeks over the vernacular buildings in the area as it mimics its surroundings with familiar roof pitches and fenestration.
Looking at this project, it's easy to see how the parti influenced the final design. By stacking and sliding various volumes together, Herzog & Demeuron was able to carve out the intersecting volumes into a showroom for the Vitra campus. Check out some more photos below.
It's way too late to start my weekend recap post, so I'll leave you guys hanging with this teaser photo. Adam Wallacavage designs and fabricates octopus chandeliers. He's based out of Philly and has cranked out custom fixtures for each of Mishka's retail locations; 350 Broadway in Brooklyn and more recently, LA's Echo Park store. I've got a ton of photos of the Echo Park store's chandelier and I'll work on that post tomorrow. This thing is rediculous!
That's a lot of stuff in that bag. LA artist Marco Zamora has an interview up on Fecal Face. Zamora has an opening with Derek Albeck at the SF Fecal Face Dot Gallery in April, so be sure to catch that one. Check the full interview here.
Not really sure how I'd describe the artwork of Mike Bertino other than a cross between John Kricfalusi and maybe someone like Gary Baseman. Even though those comparisons are a bit weak, Mike's artwork has a great presence and stands out from a lot of other artists. Take for instance, this piece above, entitled Skid. It's obvious why this would fit on this site. There's another bike-themed piece, which I like more, but isn't as psychedelic as this one.
I don't usually post graffiti videos, but it's Mike Giant and there's a bike or two in it so I'll make an exception. Justin sent this one over this morning. Featuring Mike Giant and Derick Montez in SF.
Not every day you come across something like this. A reader forwarded me this project. It's a 1:3 scale model of a fixed gear made from LEGO's Technic line. The craziest shit about this is that it actually works. Every component works; the chain, the brake, the wheels. Everything. Pretty rad use of an 'adult LEGO set'.
