We talk too much. Let’s let Alex Varanese - he of Danton Diphthong (video above) - describe his if-I-could-go-back-in-time Alt/1977 series himself. It’s new to the Thumbtack Press collection, and he’s a better writer than us anyway:

“I’ve explored that idea [of what I would do if I could go back in time] in this series by re-imagining four common products from 2010 as if they were designed in 1977: an mp3 player, a laptop, a mobile phone (below) and a handheld video game system (below). I then created a series of fictitious but stylistically accurate print ads to market them, as well as a handful of abstract posters (you know, just for funsies).

I’ve learned that there is no greater design element than the anachronism. I’ve learned that the strongest contrast isn’t spatial or tonal but historical. I’ve learned that there’s retro, and then there’s time travel.

The irony is that all post-modern, smugly self-referential retro porn aside, I’d gladly trade in my immaculately designed 21st century gadgets for these hideously clunky, faux-wood-paneled pieces of über-kitsch. Sorry, Apple.”

Very well. You can see the rest of Alex’s TTP collection, including some incredible highway prints, here.

]]> http://www.thumbtackpress.com/blog/2012/01/05/retrophilia-and-video-games-alex-varanese/feed/ 3 http://www.thumbtackpress.com/blog/2012/01/03/lookher/ http://www.thumbtackpress.com/blog/2012/01/03/lookher/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:04:25 +0000 thumbtackpressBen http://www.thumbtackpress.com/blog/?p=2581 (Careful: parts are NSFW)

That’s the trailer for Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s 1973 cult film Holy Mountain. Its surreal imagery is right up there with Fantastic Planet, which is also from 1973.

Trivia bonus: George Harrison was initially going to play the main character, but he was put off by parts of the script. The film was financed in part by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Behold These Tears by Craig LaRotonda

Well, peace out to 2011. Like a stiff old teabag, its time is over.

I don’t know about you, but for us here at Thumbtack Press, the past 363 days or so have been quite a trip. I mean let’s get real for a second. There was a time when I felt a little bit alone in my passion for this certain kind of art – this indefinable space we’re sussing out that exists somewhere in the middle of the giant Venn diagram of contemporary art – until I started meeting more and more people that shared this passion. Through TTP, I’ve been lucky enough to get connected to so many more of you.

Amid the whole rat race of contemporary art, you and I share this space, and we will define it together.

The press we’ve gotten is nice, but really it’s all about you, it’s about our community. It’s about that special moment when you invite a piece of art into your life. I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks. I’m so grateful to keep shop at Thumbtack, to say Hi as you browse through the store, and I’m going to keep doing my best to pack our little corner of the internet with the topmost quality art for you.

So, again, thanks.

And please, really, don’t feel shy. Email us anytime or get at us on Twitter, Facebook, or here at the blog. Tell us what we’re missing, what we have too much of, or what you want.

Onwards to 2012. Let’s go.

With love,
Barry, TTP Owner and Shopkeeper
info@thumbtackpress.com

Boom. We’ll randomly pick a winning tweeter on December 30, and s/he can pick any one of the four prints above. Entries will be accepted until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

This month we’re doing an homage to man’s best friend. No matter the breed, you can always count on a dog to cheer up even your darkest mood. Enter the Kickback and one of these prints could be adorning your wall, which is, you know, almost as good as a real dog to play with.

The prints up this month are Untitled (Saint Dog) by Steve Seeley, Shiro by Shino Arihara, Dog With A Bone by Daniel Peacock, and Engrish No.1 by Ryan Abegglen.

Shoutout to last month’s winner, @SamiAri, who won a print of Expresssso by Pete Ryan.

Open to US Residents only. Read the official rules here.

LOOK AT THE DETAIL!!!!

Insane. Just insane.

(I wanna go to BIDAI ![Hermes], 2011, by Sagaki Keita.)

We know you’ve been sitting there thinking, “Gosh, I wonder what Thumbtack Press has in common with a Panda.” Well, it just so happens that because of their scientifically proven cuteness and fuzziness*, Pandas are one of humanity’s favorite things to draw and bring to life through animatronics, animation, and big scary suits at amusement parks.

And indeed, one member of the TTP community, Ruel Pascual, is partly responsible for creating one of the most famous Pandas in recent years: The Kung-Fu Panda.

But when he’s not doing globo-famous animation, he’s painting. As you can see in the video above, his paintings are painstakingly layered and detailed. Like a chef who throws a dash of sugar into a savory dish, Ruel’s grasp of the little touches and details teases out the real power of his work:  characterization, personality, and narrative. Caught where they don’t belong, leaving something for good, or surrounded by the unexpected, Ruel’s works may not be as fuzzy as a Panda can be, but they are just as endearing and unforgettable.

You can see the entirety of Ruel’s Thumbtack Press collection here.

* – In most Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), scientists have recorded cuteness and fuzziness levels up to 9.754 JOAS (Jump On And Swoon), respectively. Thumbtack Press’s JOAS, on the other hand, regularly measures somewhere between a mere 6.003 and 7.509.

To which we say, all together now: “Mmmmmmmmmhmmmmmm.”

If there’s one thing you should know about Rick Beerhorst, it’s that – well wait, there are a bunch of holy-what-the-that’s-awesome things about Rick and his family. Like how Rick, his wife, and six children all make art together as the Beerhorst Studio. They’re an art collective, a family art collective, an urban family art collective in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Or what about how they manage to combine their individual creative pursuits without tearing each other to pieces? Or how they put on group shows, promote their work through a Wonder Wagon (that got top 50 in ArtPrize 2009), raise bees and chickens, and do so in a house inspired by what the world will look like post-fossil fuels?

It lends some meaty meaning to Rick’s works, like the ones with with a loving eye towards children and the effort behind family harmony. Then there are the pieces that taste a little bit like Magritte, like the one above, that you can get lost in for hours and show Rick’s technical skill. They’re painted by someone for whom, art is, totally, a way of life.

The Etsy video above shows the Beerhorst crew (and the Wonder Wagon) in action.

You can find the entire Rick Beerhorst TTP collection here.

Two reminders:

1. The Thumbtack Kickback is monthly now, and we’re accepting submissions for the December prize. You can find more details here.

2. You might have noticed our gif of the day. If you have a favorite gif and want us to feature it, send it to me at ben@thumbtackpress.com and maybe you’ll get some Facebook love.

Australian artist Anthony Lister was commissioned to do a mural in West Hollywood to help promote the DVD release of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The layering and scope of the thing – which looks so small until you actually walk up to it – is nuts.

You can find more images over at Curated.

Cristian Grossi’s work in the TTP collection is distinctive because of its fashion influences. The two new works above, Insekta Fashion Aestethic and Insekta Model A are, in particular, influenced by the designs of Erté. It’s hard to just sum up Erté’s impact, but you can’t miss his Art Deco style (and, in turn, Cristian’s approach to Art Deco) in works like Symphony in Black or Glamour.

Dig the rest of Cristian’s work at TTP here.

Oh that? That’s a preview of the 1973 surreal film La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet), directed by René Laloux. It was animated at the Jiří Trnka Studio, and is totally packed with crazy otherworldy symbols, allegories, and fantastical whatevers. You can take it politically and look at it in a Cold War context, or just enjoy the story and the animation.

(We once saw it projected in a concert hall with Del Rey playing a live soundtrack. Insane.)

Ken Keirns, Mean Reds

Ken Keirns’s work is absolutely stuffed with stories. His women carry clues in their eyes, postures, and mouths. The settings, too, with their shadows or windowpanes, hint that the scene we’re seeing is not a static break in time but a glimpse of a moment. And whether it’s a dinosaur in the background or any of his monkeys, Ken’s not afraid of the oddball.

The stories in the women’s eyes remind me of the women in the video for DJ Cam’s “Swim” we posted a while back. So many stories.

You’re probably familiar with Ken’s work, which includes some of his signature characters as toys, and we’re totally thrilled to be working with him. Check out his TTP artist page here, his website here, and a couple of interviews here and here.

Also don’t forget our 15% Cyborg Week sale has been extended until this Saturday.

Yes it’s a few years old now, but it might be the best thing on the Best of Wholphin Vol. 1 that we just got our hands on in the TTP offices. The illustrations of the “zoo” are great.

There’s a good Q and A here. Carson Mell’s website is here.

Listen Carefully by Quincy Sutton

Wack Friday and Cyborg Monday are behind us. The leftover turkey has been divided and conquered. December’s darkening days cometh. But Thumbtack Press refuses to let 2011′s autumn holiday fanaticism fade into the distance like some kind of forgotten horseman. Thumbtack Press will not be out-saled!

So, for you, our dear and possibly imaginary internet friends, we continue the Cyborg Week of holiday cheer by extending our sale another week. Our 15% coupon off the ENTIRE STORE* is now good until NEXT Saturday, December 10th.

The coupon code is 3263827. Choose wisely.

* That is, the entire selection of products in the store. Not, like, the actual store itself.

1.  Bruce Davidson reflects on his famous NY Subway photos. Buy the book.

2.  Obviously a million Art Basel Miami Beach things are flying around. Here’s Hi-Fructose’s first dispatch, and the bests and worsts from Art Info.

3.  Looking for a solid way to waste 4 minutes of your life? Ok, well here‘s a collection of magazines’ first covers.

4.  Oooooooh these Brad Woodard Cubist instruments are nice.

5.  The Little Printer might be one of those brilliant ideas that seems sort of dumb once you actually buy it, but I WANT TO PRINT OUT MY CROSSWORD PUZZLES.

(Video via.)

Tinkerbell never ran out of fairy dust, and Thumbtack Press will never run out of new art. Ok yeah it’s a stretch whatever just go with it because with or without crappy analogies it’s artists like Ken Wong that make TTP’s collection one that is CONSTANTLY growing. Ken has added a handful of new prints to the Thumbtack Press store, three of which you can see above, and all of which, along with his other prints, you can look at or purchase here.

Also you can follow Ken on Twitter and Facebook.

Like a colony of fuzzy lil bunny rabbits who make art, the collection over at the TTP store is constantly growing. One of the newest pieces is Mark Frauenfelder’s Flower, Daughter of Googam (above).

Mark is a prolific writer, artist, and cultural tastemaker whose impact as co-founder of Boing Boing you already know, even if you don’t know you know, you know? We love this new piece with its provocative alien threatening to enslave mankind. It’s a great piece to add to our, and your, collection of prints.

You can dig through Mark’s other pieces here, and follow him on Twitter here.

JR, The Tree, Favela Morro Da Providencia, Rio de Janeiro, August 2008

 
French artist JR got worldwide press for his work in favela outside Rio(above) and won the Ted Prize for 2011. Now he’s maintaining his momentum with a project called Inside Outside. You just upload a portrait and they’ll print it on huge paper that you can wheatpaste all over your city. Well done.

Further reading: the New Yorker ran a nice profile on JR last week.

R. Crumb, The Complete Record Cover Collection

R. Crumb’s album covers have been collected and published this month by W. W. Norton. They’re just packed with the wit and passion of his best work,  and they also show his love for music – especially blues and jazz. The collection is pretty much a must-have for fans of the artist.

More images here.