Doggone Cupcakes.

I made dog cupcakes this week. 

St. Bernard.

Corgi.

Song:

Natalie and Effie In the Park - of Montreal

Pencil Sketches in Wicker Park.

On one of the last unseasonably warm days of the season, I headed down to Wicker Park in Chicago, and here is what I drew.

Wicker Park is adjacent to Bucktown, named for the goats that were raised there years ago. Hence, the fountain.

Songs:

Walk in the Park - Beach House

Natalie and Effie In the Park - of Montreal

Sandy Skoglund.

            Sandy Skoglund is a photographer famous for her elaborate photographs and attention to color. Arguably, her most memorable piece might be “Radioactive Cats,” which features a couple clad in gray, sitting in a gray room, decorated with gray furniture. The room would appear to be a very dull interior, if not overrun with dozens of lime green cats. There are cats on the table, the refrigerator, the radiator, and the floor. The couple does not react to the cats, quite unbelievable for their numbers and alien color.

“Radioactive Cats.”

            Ms. Skoglund has used this eye-catching technique to both humorous and commentative effect. She usually sculpts these repetitive, yet often distinct creatures, and places them in interactive situations with humans. She created “Revenge of the Goldfish,” where goldfish swim in a family’s room that has suddenly taken on the dual role of a human dwelling and an aquarium. She uses visual puns, such as in “Walking on Eggshells.”

“Revenge of the Goldfish.”

She has created several socio-political commentaries. “The Cold War,” depicts a cowering man and “yellow,” ceramic dog in a yellow room, cornered by legions of ruby-red militia and missiles. With “Hangers,” she raises the issue of abortion by placing coat hangers, rubber gloves, and children’s toys in the same room.

I enjoy Sandy Skoglund’s work. I like the idea of playing with color to emphasize an object or situation. I think she has a lot of stick-to-itiveness to be crafting these photos using the same visual format since she began in the 1970s, yet refreshing the images and subject matter every time. I like that fact that she creates these repetitive animals, and works with a very obsessive process. Even the most chaotic-looking photos have a set semblance of order.

I think Sandy Skoglund’s work has influenced me considerably. I like constructing colorful objects, and using color and color theory to my advantage. A lot can be said with monochromatic or dichromatic color schemes. Obsessive patterns and arrangements lend a detailed polish to scenic images. It is also refreshing to create fantastical photographs that would not be seen in day-to-day life. Photography can be realistic and documentary, but it is also exciting to use the camera as a canvas, to draw or paint ideas (without drawing or painting in the traditional sense of the media). She inspired a series of musical instrument photographs I made, with the musicians playing instruments the same color as their clothes and the rooms they were in.

"Laws of Interior Design."

In Ms. Skoglund’s “True Fiction Two” series, she explores different people’s interactions with cars, using a slightly wider color palette and a more realistic setting, yet still retaining her audiences “Can this actually exist?” belief. I would like to explore this mix of reality and created scenery in my work. Her pieces are like sculptures, but rather than present them as documented performance art, she presents them as still photographs. It seems very theatrical to me, like Atget. I like bold colors, patterns, and scenic details; so naturally, I am drawn to her images. However, I wish she had more images of her process. Each photo seems painstaking to produce, but it would be interesting to also see how she created these scenes. I like the final product, but since it takes that much orchestration, I would like to see the rehearsals and the behind the scenes moments, too.

Songs:

Brush, Brush, Brush - of Montreal (YouTube)

Wildcat - Ratatat

Fisher of Man - M. Ward

Cookies in Everyone's Favorite Shapes

My Mom sent me a New York cookie cutter (via annclark) for my birthday, and Grandma B gave me sprinkles, so I decided to make cookies with Sarah's & my favorite states & animals. I made cookie cutters of Oregon, a koala, and an owl.

Oregon & New York.

A koala & a snowy owl.

And they all turned out deliciously. (With a loose representation of the Finger Lakes.)

Songs & Videos (YouTube):

Spoonful Of Sugar - of Montreal


Sweet Thing - Diana Ross & The Supremes

Breakfast at Tiffany's

In the spirit of puns, here's the Breakfast at Tiffany's lamp I made back at art school. The shade is made of duct tape and wire, and the waffle and oranges are made of glass.

  

Plus, a bonus design sketch!

Songs (YouTube):

Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something (of course!)

Diner - Martin Sexton

The Power Is On - The Go! Team

Pancakes for One - of Montreal

Paisley Punctuation Pattern

This week's Illustration Friday topic was "Paisley." I can never pass up the opportunity to pour over patterns, whether in book form, web form, or book-on-web (via drawn) form. And I like ampersands. Hence, the Paisley Punctuation Pattern. In (Peacock Blue) Pen.

You can also purchase a print of this on my Etsy!

Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns - Sufjan Stevens (Last.fm)

I Know the Pattern - The Thermals (YouTube)

Triphallus, To Punctuate! - of Montreal (iLike)

I Hear the Bells - Mike Doughty (iLike)

Lights & Sounds - Yochai Matos & Bruce Nauman

Right now I am amazed by the light sculptures of Yochai Matos (Flame [Gate] above). Yochai Matos is a multi-media artist (check out his street art) who creates huge light pieces, and often incorporates pattern and geometry into them. I like seeing the back of Flame, because of the behind-the-scenes nature of the installation (ha!). This piece (below) is called Sunset, and again, I love the form, the way his art works so well in both a gallery and a natural setting. There's also a lot of attention to the detail of how both the bulbs and the wires are placed. Beautiful.

 I just discovered this piece by Bruce Nauman. 

 

 It's called My Name As Though It Were Written On the Moon. He made it in 1969. He's a neon lettering genius.

Songs: 

2000 Volts - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (iLike)

At Night Trees Aren't Sleeping - of Montreal (Lala)

Make Light - Passion Pit (YouTube)

Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen (YouTube)

Sunlight - Harlem Shakes (YouTube)

Dante's Inferno. The Movie.

Recently I mentioned Sandow Birk. He recreated Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with images and wrote/produced a film adaptation of the Inferno. I saw a screening of it back at Alfred, and was thoroughly impressed. Its the story of Dante's journey through the various circles of Hell, told with hand drawn puppets. The artistry is very detailed, using numerous puppets with different expressions for each character. I really like his style of drawing (gotta love line work), and the painstaking effort to set the story in the present. Check it out.

Songs:

La Damnation of Faust - Hector Berlioz

Requiem for O.M.M.2 - of Montreal

Requiem: Rex Tremendae - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Two Lost Souls - Gwen Verdon and Tab Hunter (From Damn Yankees, song starts at 3:15)

Bonus! Two Lost Souls - The Muppets: Sweetums and Robin (From Damn Yankees)

Know Your Onion! - Six Degrees of Music Separation, Part 1

I love cover songs. Standards are set, revisited, and transformed through covers. These interpretations can all be linked together by Six Degrees of Music Separation.
(Thanks to Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good for the idea.)

From Beck to Fleetwood Mac, All links lead to YouTube, unless noted:

Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games (of Montreal Cover) - Beck (HypeMachine)

Know Your Onion! (The Shins Cover) - of Montreal

We Will Become Silhouettes (The Postal Service Cover) - The Shins

Against All Odds (Peter Gabriel Cover) - The Postal Service

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover) - Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel

Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac Cover) - Vampire Weekend