I am amped to announce a number of new eco-friendly paper goods I designed for Pinall Publishing's Tenth & Grant line of paper goods. A few new notecards are out, as well as a Moleskine-esque gridded sketchbook with a pattern inspired by Japanese Modern 50s graphics.

Details on the sketchbook:
A handsome dark green on light green web pattern spans the entire front and back cover of this chipboard notebook. Perfect bound with a handy hinge-score, and 144 interior white pages. 100% recycled paper! Printed with soy inks! Perfect bound with a handy hinge-score, and 144 interior white pages. Forest and Avocado - 5"x6.75" - gridded interior.

More HERE. 

Also, Tenth & Grant is attending the National Stationery Show in NY for the first time as of tomorrow. If you are in the Big Apple, swing on by Booth #1847 at the Javits Convention Center in NYC on May 18th–21st! 

Similar to the VBS Art Talks(my plug) Nick Ferrall has been compiling interviews with contemporary artist. One with Travis Millard, Autumn De Wilde (coming soon), and some great LB artists. Thanks for viewing Nick. By Osmosis TV on Vimeo(his plug).

David's latest creation will be projected during the DesignFesta in Tokyo Japan this May 17-18 and was designed to accompany the intense environment of art, music & design. VLU good friend Anna Simonse is in it.

The fine folks at QOOB have commissioned 10 folks to create original short films on the topics of speed and freedom promoting Alfa Romeo's new Mi.To car, kicking off a serious promotion spree that involves a film-making contest. So far, films by Trey Hock and myself have been released on the QOOB site, with more to hit soon...

Chris Betting aka The Moutnain Label has a solo show tonight (thurs) at The Candy Store which opens in a few hours, so hurry up and cancel your plans and head over there. The opening runs from 6:30-8:30 (3153 16th street between gestalt and that giant bagel sandwich...)

Tomorrow (fri) night in San Francisco (its a busy one): Ryan Mcginley (!) @ Ratio 3 (1447 Stevenson Street, 6-8 pm) Michael Sieben & Nat Swope @ Fecal Face Dot Gallery (66 Gough @ Market, 6-9pm) and there is also a big zine release at the luggage store. (also 6-8 pm)

Saturday in San Francisco there is some kind of book arts fair at fort mason. Could be ok, could be a crafty snore fest... 9am-4pm. Anyone know of anything else going on this saturday?

and just in case you haven't yet, i highly reccommend checking out Scott Barry @ Reciever & Geoff Mcfetridge @ Mollusk while you still can.

The definitive guide to visual art in New York and baby sister to insane D.I.Y. mega-project Tokyo Art Beat has launched!

This Thursday, Justin Fines, Dan Funderburgh and Kevin Devine are going to be showing some new work at Rivera in Brooklyn. This show should be good. Opening reception starts at 7pm. 

Tonight: A celebration of ten years of LOST, L.A.'s primero graffiti magazine, celebrating the anniversary and the release of the new LOST book. 

The book contains highlights of the past decade editor/designer EyeOne has spent documenting LA writing. Includes imagery by Atlas (if you haven't caught the documentary on his work, watch it now!), Pale, Cab, Haeler, and more. Screenprinted board covers, numbered limited edition of 2000.

Even if you are not a graffiti fan per se, the LOSt book is a musthave for folks interested in Angeleno culture. More about LOST here. 

LOST is a picture-perfect example of designer as author. 

Well, the first print run of Parallel Strokes is almost gone. To help move the last 200 copies, I printed up some fancy 2 color gradated canvas tote bags. Buy 2 books and get a tote free. Be nice and a poster'll get thrown in there, too.  Bags printed by Sweatshop Union, Osaka's raddest screenprinter. Well, Japan's raddest screenprinter, to be honest.

Both Anna Wolf and Nicholas Lorden take some pretty amazing photographs and tomorrow night are showing some new work here in New York. Girls & Trees opens Thursday, May 1st (7pm-10pm) at I Heart NYC (262 Mott St., BTWN Prince & Houston).

Thursday, May 1 the CalArts graphic design T-Shirt Show. T-shirts designed by design students, faculty, and alumni will be sold to raise money for the CalArts AIGA student group, for workshops, shows, and other events for the students.

Where: CalArts, Tatum coffee shop
When: May 1st, 7:30pm - 11pm

The shirts are always super-rad at this event. Go early to score new designs from famous alumni!

CalArts' graduating graphic design MFA class  is selling sets of the visiting artist posters on ebay. There are a few sets of all 24 posters and several sets of 6. The auctions will be going up throughout the week, so check back often.

They are selling them to raise money for a class trip and for the AIGA student group.

Own a piece of history. 

Check out the latest issue of The Artist's Guide. Looks rad!
"The Artist's Guide is a topic-driven art journal produced
by Matt Cassity and Sam Spratlin. "

 
Getty Museum Exhibition Showcases 40 Years Of Groundbreaking Video By California Artists. GO GO GO and I need to actually GO again..  The Getty has posted a very comprehensive site on all the artists and videos in the exhibition... if you can't make it west then buy the book designed by a  CalArts alum Stuart Smith.

Simply stated, George Lois is a living legend. He has been involved in many iconic campaigns throughout his career (think "I Want My MTV"). But I believe his contributions to magazine design in the 60s are his biggest legacy. This Friday, The MoMA will exhibit all ninety-two of the covers he art directed for Esquire in between 1962 to 1972. It should be interesting to see all of them as a collection, in one space. Individually most of them are fairly iconic, but I think altogether will really represent that turbulent decade pretty well.  

 

One of my favorite labels these days is Creation Centre, an experimental electronic label run by Trevor Sias of Music Related. About the label in his own words:

 "Creation Centre was created as a platform to get music to people faster than traditional record pressing and distribution. Creation Centre believes that artists' creativity can be held back by slow release schedules, distribution delays and other hassles. Plus, Creation Centre is an exploration of a new distribution idea, already in use by software manufacturers. All releases on creation centre are free. Though if you like, you can give the artist a donation, as much or as little as you choose. If anything at all. Creation Centre keeps none of the money. All of the donation goes completely to the artist. Please tell your friends, post links, and enjoy Creation Centre."

There is some really amazing music available. In particular, the Marxy EP, Mesomeso EP, and Sias' alter-ego Pandatone's EP. All are worth checking out. 

Sias moonlights as a motion graphics designer and animator. To he and those who create content outside of the workplace, I salute you!

Tentacles, Horns, and Scales
April 19th Thrash Out in Koenji, Tokyo.
Artshow, toy release, sneak  attack.
Featuring all new works by Koji Harmon , Bwana Spoons, and Martin Ontiveros.
Sponsored by Dekline footwear.

 Come join us for good times, art, toys, prizes, and a few big suprises.
Thrash Out is the Flagship store and gallery of mind bending vinyl pioneers Gargamel.

Gargamel makes toys that look like Jolly Rancher coated diamonds.

Koji, Bwana, and Martin make art and toys that explode with color, depth, and endless imagination.

Collector and fan Takaomi Fujiki put it best when he said “Happy Beam Discharge!”

For more info as it becomes available,

Click to read more ...

My new neighbor just got his website together. Be sure to check out the folk-arty GI Joes he made out of drift wood.

Our pals Michael and Deirdre are in town and today we headed over to Hakone for some onsen (hot  springs) and relaxing. While there, we visited the Hakone Open Air Museum, which I must say, is the best museum experience I have had in ages. In particular, the children's "Castle of Nets" play structure/sculpture designed by Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam is just amazing. I was unfamiliar with her work prior to the visit, but you can see from the photo that Ernesto Neto draws a lot of inspiration from her work. Horiuchi Macadam's work is all crocheted, and creates non-planar play structures that can support heavy loads with minimal stress, as well as being easy to install. Her rainbow palette rules, too. If you are in Japan, GO! (or go here if you are in Korea [great selection of images of her work at that link])

Also amazing was the massive modular play structure there designed by Peter Pearce. Second image is of Michael chilling 30 feet up in the air in the Bucky-esque structure.

 

Rob just massively updated Supermundane.