Al. vs. Slim Shady

Diet @ Stussy SF‏

The artist DIET will be bringing some of his colorful works, some of which include nostalgic childhood cartoon characters along with a wall installation to Stussy SF in a show with opening reception Friday August 29, 2008 from 8pm to 11pm at 1409 Haight Street in San Francisco.

This show is curated by White Walls Gallery and sponsored by Montana Spray Paint.

For more information contact Stussy at 415.701.7474 or White Walls at 415.931.1500

Shepard Fairey x White Walls Gallery

DUALITY OF HUMANITY
New Works by Shepard Fairey


Over 100 pieces will go on display at White Walls in a timely new show called “Duality in Humanity.” The show marks a bit of a departure for the artist, whose unique form of reverse propaganda emerged from the spirit of the punk movement. With this show, Shepard takes a step back from the ‘calls to action’ against mindless consumerism and war evidenced in previous shows like 1984ia, E Pluribus Venom and Imperfect Union. “The difference between this show and the previous ones is that now Obama is in the mix,” Shepard said. His recent work reflects his own personal shift towards a new optimism, a direct result of his involvement with, and inspiration by, the powerful political ideals of Barack Obama.

The title of the show, “Duality of Humanity,” is inspired by the peace-sign wearing US soldier in Vietnam, ‘Joker,’ in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. A central piece is a child with a gun in his hand and a flower in his hat. That theme of soldiers and weapons bearing peace signs, or peace signs comprised of military effects, runs through many pieces in the show. Environmental themes also appear in some pieces, illustrating the tenuous balance between our dangerously uncontrolled consumption of non-renewable resources, and our well-intentioned eco-concerns. Suffering and hope are seamlessly merged in a visual mash-up that defies expectations and easy answers.

“Duality of Humanity” includes larger mixed media pieces on paper that has been covered with carefully collaged Ephemera, self-printed patterns and found clippings from printed media. The backgrounds provide a seductive painterly texture and visual subtext, often allowing apropos words and images to bleed through the iconic images printed over them. The multiple layers create a sense of depth, but also bring in temporal elements through preserved newsclippings, historic images and vintage printing effects. It is the images in the foreground, however, that give the work its power. They are crisp and provocative, communicating in a way that is direct and clear.

Opening Reception - September 13th, 7-10pm
Exhibition Dates - September 13th - October 4th

White Walls Gallery
835 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 9410
415.931.1500

Buff Monster: The Sweetest Thing

After moving from Hawaii to LA, Buff Monster spent his days earning degrees in fine art and business administration at the University of Southern California while covering the streets with hand-screened posters by night. He has since worked on projects with Nike, Vans, Hurley, Vivid, and Hustler and recently completed an installation at Hollywood's Standard Hotel. Buff Monster's work has been featured in publications such as Juxtapoz, Artweek, and the New York Times, and he has exhibited in numerous galleries worldwide — including Gallery 1988, 181 Martel, New Image Art, OX-OP, and Andenken Gallery. This summer, he launched a signature line of toys at Comic-Con in San Diego.


The above piece is currently displayed as part of Corey Helford Gallery's The Sweetest Thing. This aptly titled exhibition submerges viewers in a candy-coated, anime-inspired world. His riffs on the "Superflat" style feature kaiju-esque characters and their geometric environments rendered in a limited palette of pink, black, and silver. The Sweetest Thing features works of various sizes on custom birch panels that refine street art's raw aesthetic into complex compositions that draw equally on graphic design and art-historical conventions. Buff Monster creates a world in which East meets West, external meets internal, and smarts meet the pleasure centers of your brain.

When:
Opens Saturday Aug 23 (7–10pm)
Aug 23 – Sep 2
Tuesdays–Saturdays (noon–6pm)

Where:
Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles
310.287.2340

WHO KILLED BARACK OBAMA?

As we know from the recent controversy over the New Yorker cover satirizing stereotypes about Barack Obama, nothing can get you in trouble faster than cutting-edge comedy aimed at the Democratic presidential contender. In the U.S., that is. Over in Wrocław, a city of about 690,000 people in the southeast of Poland, things are a bit different. There, artist Peter Fuss has unleashed a giant-sized vinyl street mural, stretched across the side of a building, proclaiming "Who Killed Barack Obama?" In stark black and white, the enormous work features the image of Obama thrown on his back, apparently felled by an assassin’s bullet, with a drop of blood issuing from the corner of his mouth.


Playing on the oft-expressed fears that Obama might be assassinated like Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, Who Killed Barack Obama? is part of a show organized by curator Joanna Stembalska and street artist Sławek ZBK Czajkowski at the Galeria Awangarda and other venues throughout Wrocław, July 18-Aug. 17, 2008. The show features Fuss and 19 other street artists, and is subsidized by Poland’s ministry of culture and national heritage.

The $50 Million Record Collection....

Oro Universal x Space Gallery

A night celebrating elements of change, transformation, transcendence, planetary drifts, cultural richness, past, present and the essence of time and space.

The show will feature collections from Los Angeles and Bay Area based photographers, graffiti, mixed media and graphic artists.

Accompanied by night of World, Afro-Latin, Soul, Funk, and Reggae music provided by DJs tRUERadio Damon Bell, Shawndub, and Shred One.

Mission Statement:
- To raise awareness and promote unification within various artist communities.
- To emphasize importance of community activism through art, music and cultural celebration.
- To diversify and create unity through universal freedom of expression.
- Promote consciousness on preserving cultural traditions and customs.
- To perpetuate continual environmental consciousness, and the importance of safeguarding our land and its natural resources.
- To stimulate the search of individual roots and ancestry through the arts.

Artist lineup:
Augustine Kofie
Siloette
Eric Coleman
Mitsy Avila Ovalles
JAO
Puede One
Allysun Marie Dutra
Riostoro
theHumanzee
Isla Prieto
Shane Sakanoi
Tyer
Dom
Kalflife
WyldeFlower
Neto
Ixchel Lara
Mister G
Alfonso Salcido III
Krystal Ying
Jon Loomis
Thu Ha Tran
Lucille Javier
Alex Rando
G-Know
Damon Bell
Christina M. Felice
Cesar Pardo

**A Benefit for the Tribal Council of All Nations to Save the Oakes Grove in Berkeley, CA

Curated by:
Christina "Chinita" Yu

Espo Thrill Ride

Waterboard Thrill Ride by Espo at Coney Island.

Mike Maxwell x The Shooting Gallery

The Shooting Gallery Presents:
"Human's Nature" by Mike Maxwell


opening reception Thursday - August 21, 2008
7pm - 10pm at Gallery Three
66 Sixth St.
SF CA 94103
415-626-6216

Dr. Poon Ji-Sum: Huh?

Mike Giant x White Walls Gallery

With Mike Giant back from his world travels, the famed Bay Area artist prepares to showcase his only solo show for 2008. Taking place at the White Walls Gallery in San Francisco from October 11th until November 1st, it will surely make for an awesome three weeks. The much anticipated exhibition will be the only opportunity to purchase original illustrations for this year, so if your in town make sure to check it out.

Ian Johnson -- Other Rooms/Other Songs

Opening Reception - Saturday August, 16th, 7pm - 10pm
August 16th - September 15th


Park Life is pleased to announce the opening of Ian Johnson's newest body of work titlied, Other Rooms/Other Songs. Jazz greats are again the focus of Johnson's sensitively rendered, subtly nuanced figure drawings set against his distinctive backdrops of vibrant, graphically abstract color arrangements. Jazz calls for the mathematical precision of experienced musicians, combined with the boldness of freeform improvisation. Johnson parellels this structure in his work, perfectly complimenting his chosen subject matter. A site specific video installation will accompany the works on paper and panel.

Park Life Store
220 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Phone: 415.386.7275

Beautiful Losers film trailer

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories...speaking to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.

Mishka - Office & Store tour - Brooklyn, June 2008

Real talk from graphic designer Aaron Draplin

I wish I was back in Oakland for this....

This Saturday, August 2, Mark Tribe presents Port Huron Project 5: The Liberation of Our People, a live reenactment of a speech given by Angela Davis in 1969. The Port Huron Project is a series of reenactments of protest speeches from the New Left movements of the Vietnam era. Each event takes place at the site of the original speech, and is delivered by an actor or performance artist to an audience of invited guests and passers-by.


Port Huron Projects 1 and 2 were presented in the form of video documentation at Southern Exposure as part of Move! Activate! Remember! (May 2007) and Hopeless and Otherwise (May-July 2008) and we continue to support Tribe in his efforts to bring a dialog around these historical speeches. Click on the image for more details.