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

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.

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. "

My book, Parallel Strokes, is available now via the book website.

Click to read more ...

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.  

Paris-based Purple Fashion offers a unique editorial context in a biannual fashion magazine format. One that is based on integrity, creativity and style. The most famous international fashion houses, artists and writers contribute to Purple Fashion in order to be associated with its unique philosophy and strong creative identity. Creative talents include the former Paris Vogue and now Arena Homme + designers M/M Paris.

Canadian-based Something Secret just published their latest collaborative zine, Totally Rad. The 76-page rag was curated by Greg Durrell and Errol Richardson and is limited to only 200 copies!

This month over at Néojaponisme: a micro/macro look at Harajuku's place in the fashion landscape globally and locally; two analyses of what it really means to be an otaku; and Tokyo's first contemporary art fair. All this and our editor-in-chief is also having a kid!

It's been a vaguely exciting month over at Néojaponisme. We've debuted the first English review of Kawakami Mieko's 138th Akutagawa Prize-winning text Chichi to Ran (『乳と卵』, “Breasts and Eggs”), a questionable graphic novella I did years ago in Japanese, a retro review of an even more questionable Japanese submarine action thriller, talked about the northern islands ceded to Russia by Japan following World War II, dropped bootleg Cornelius radio broadcasts galore, some crappy type design, and an enquiry into Japan's attempt to reform its visual language.

There is much, much in store in the next year: limited edition clothing with a certain clothing giant and more...

If you are in LA and are vaguely interested in things Nihonesque, make sure to check out Néojaponisme Editor-in-chief W.  David Marx speaking at J-Wave at UCLA TOMORROW. A more crucial, engaging, and enlightening presentation on global fashion is going to be difficult to find.

Above: the non-LP b-side image that didn't accompany the Murakami review.

World premiere on VLU:

My new book, Parallel Strokes, is available now via the book website. It isn't officially being released for a  week, but I figured VLU readers should have the first pick.  

About Parallel Strokes:

Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews with twenty-plus contemporary typeface designers, graffiti writers, and lettering artists around the world. The book is introduced with a comprehensive essay charting the history of graffiti, its relation to type design, and how the two practices relate in the wider context of lettering.

Interviews within include conversations with pan-European type design collecitve Underware, Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi, American graffiti writer and fine artist Barry McGee/Twist, German graffiti writers Daim and Seak, American lettering artist, graphic designer and design eductor Ed Fella, among others. Parallel Strokes is an enquiry into the history, context, and development of lettering today, both culturally approved and illicit.

Full list of interviewees:

Akira Kobayashi
Underware
Ed Fella
Delta
Jerry Inscoe/Joker
Jens Gehlhaar
Daim
Seak
Jonas Williamsson
Handselecta
Tauba Auerbach
Lady Pink
She One
Eklips AWR/MSK
Eskae
Renos
Mike Giant
Chaz Bojorquez
Barry McGee/Twist

 

The result of a six years of research in the combined arts of lettering, graffiti, and typeface design, Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews some of the best letterform creators in the world today.

Chaz Bojorquez talks about the origins of barrio graffiti in Los Angeles and the evolution of the craft. Fellow Angeleno, vernacular graphic designer Ed Fella, speaks about his history in lettering and how he earned the title “The King of Zing” in Detroit design and illustration circles. Famed Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi discusses Roman and Japanese letterforms while showcasing a lifetime of type design work. European graffiti writers Daim, Seak, and Delta share their thoughts on dimensional graffiti lettering while American graffiti writer Mike Giant talks about vernacular lettering, typeface design, and the evolution of graffiti handstyles.

 
Parallel Strokes is richly illustrated throughout, featuring copious previously unpublished work by the interviewed artists, as well as supplementary illustrations and photographs detailing contemporary and historical trends in graffiti and type design.

The first 100 orders come with a two color 17" × 20" Parallel Strokes poster printed using recycled paper and soy inks at Portland, Oregon's Pinball Publishing.

 
Parallel Strokes is 244 pages thick and available for $25 with free shipping worldwide. 

The Pecha Kucha Night: A Celebration book is finally available online. Pecha Kucha Night is a series of global events where 20 presenters take the stage to present 20 slides, about which they will speak for 20 seconds each.

This book is a "best of", with presentations by Japanese super-architect Toyo Ito, Marcus Fairs, PKN founders Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of the insanely awesome and talented Klein Dytham architecture, Tokyo dance group Strange Kinoko, graphic designers Namaiki, type designer Odod Ezer, and British designer Sebastian Conran.

The book was edited by Uleshka deshou, founder of PingMag, and designed by, um, Ian Lynam Design. It weighs in at 176 pages, softcover, and has a nice UV gloss screenprinted cover. The text is a mixture of English and Japanese.

At ¥2000 ($18.75) each, including global priority shipping from Japan, it's a steal.

Jonathan Maghen's L.A.-based conceptual design and arts magazine. Originally started as a website in 1998 until 2002 when they printed their first edition. Among designing many publications Jonathan also runs our favorite random weblog tagbanger. I enjoy their affinity for soccer and design, art & culture in that order. Looks like they just rounded up a practicum up at the campus.

A ton of new (and/or recontextualized) content up on Néojaponisme from Mumbleboy, E*Rock, Jean Snow, Eiko Nagase (AQ/Tokyo Art Beat), Audrey Fodecave Tsujimura (OK Fred Magazine), Nobuo Ikeda, Matt Treyvaud, and David Marx. Includes an article about a weird 80s skiing movie from Japan (with video); the removal of rum, sodomy and the lash from Japan's production of the musical Hair; intense illustrations; Japan's infatuation with raw concrete architecture; and inspired collages.

The official announcement of the launch of this new site:

PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag.
We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of
people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these
unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It's the
Japan-based magazine about people and making things,
coming out once a week. We're passing on the passion,
ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today
and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors.

The unofficial announcement from my end:

This is a really great idea- there are so many small cottage industries from "days gone by" that produce amazing handmade goods that could benefit from a bit of exposure and hopefully some fresh clientel. The site opens with a visit to a custom umbrella maker (folks use umbrellas here regularly, mind you) and a prosthetics shop.

Amsterdam's coolest guy Parra came to LA last week to celebrate the publication of his Arkitip feature issue. And what better way to celebrate than by drawing on stacks (and stacks) of cardboard boxes pulled from the trash. The one-night event took place last Saturday at the Smart House in Venice.

 

I don't know how I got one so soon, I think I stole Katie's copy (sorry). Pub is a student initiated project out of CalArts and it looks like they wrangled it together quite nicely. Featuring interviews and work from about 20 individuals including yours truly. I think it will be availible at select bookstores stateside and in Holland. Thanks to MacGregor and Julie.

Long overdue, Neojaponisme launches with an initial manifesto, outlining the magazine's strategy for broadcasting cutural criticism, design writing, historical essays, music, and original artwork from Japan to the world.

In the rad category, the Zaha Hadid retrospective in London's Design Museum is breathtaking!

Get site crawler ready, Germany's Form Magazine Archives await.