Okay, I know this isn’t an official Playmobil release, but with all the other obscure playsets they make, it should be.

via www.ilkilkilk.com

My man Schuster has a knack of being in the right place at the right time and capturing the moment. Constantly on the move, and always with a camera within easy reach, my man did it big recently with all of us in Beijing for some pre-Olympic Nike festivities, and most recently for Obama’s inauguration down in D.C. Anyhow, CBS just did a spotlight on his most recent efforts, so check it out. Good stuff…

www.stephenkschuster.com

Watch CBS Videos Online

I just got back from having lunch with Todd James and Martha Cooper, and Marty happened to have a copy of the 25th Anniversary re-release of Subway Art. I’d been hearing about it from her for a while now, and no doubt the original was a classic, but I must say I was totally blown away by it. It’s a massively over-sized coffee table type book that really does Marty’s photos (and the trains she documented) huge justice. It was also great hearing Todd’s comments to the shots since he’d seen many of the trains first hand. Plus lots more never before seen shots off the same rolls of film that many of those classic Subway Art shots came from. Really great stuff…

Available for preorder on amazon.com

Marty Cooper just hit me up with some photos from her opening at Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal Projects Gallery out in Los Angeles. Here’s some info and a few shots from opening night. If you’re anywhere near the area between now and February 13th, make sure and check it out. Marty’s been documenting the sport of graffiti and the Urban Blight longer than just about anyone. All those classic old school shots you’ve been seeing over the years… Chances are Marty Cooper was the one to capture the moment. Here’s your chance to see some a few more shots that been hiding deep in her personal archive.

Martha Cooper has been photographing creative kids in action on city streets since the mid-1970s.  In Street Shots, opening January 16th at Subliminal Projects, her photos reveal the imaginative children of pre-renewal New York City as they mined the abandoned lots of the city to create toys from trash.  Cooper, renowned for her graffiti and hip-hop pictures, brings those classic images together with ones depicting inner-city kids building forts from scrap, catching flies in cola bottles, and racing homemade go-karts - all without adult supervision.

The opening of Street Shots also marks several debuts: Coopers’s new book, Going Postal, a collection of photos of postal labels bearing street art; her image collaboration with Shepard Fairey, available as a screen-print poster; and her own Obey line, with photos printed on clothing, bags, and skateboards.  All will be available for purchase at Subliminal Projects, along with Cooper’s other books, including Subway Art, Hip Hop Files, Street Play, We B*Girlz, and Tag Town.

EXHIBITION DATES:
JANUARY 16TH - FEBRUARY 13TH, 2009

SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS GALLERY
1331 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
www.subliminalprojects.com “|” map

Sign of the times I guess… Best part is the reviews people gave this toy on Amazon.

*Drug sniffing dog not included.

via reason.com

Here’s a few pictures I took at tonight’s opening of Rock On Mars at Deitch Projects to follow up on my previous post about the Soho Louis Vuitton store. Presented in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, Rock On Mars is an homage to the late Stephen Sprouse designed by Marc Jacobs. The show presented a small assortment of fashion pieces contextualized amongst a sort of larger than life mood board come gallery show. The crowd itself was an odd mix of fashionista, tourist, and socialite, but seemed to miss much representation from the culture it was inspired from, which I felt left it lacking the sort of electricity that could have really set the show off. Regardless, it definitely worth seeing, so stop by.

STEPHEN SPROUSE - ROCK ON MARS
January 9 - February 28, 2009

Presented in collaboration with LOUIS VUITTON

DEITCH PROJECTS
18 Wooster Street
New York, NY 10013
212 343 7300

www.deitch.com “|” map

Perhaps Grotesk can fill in the blanks on what the hell exactly is going on in this video since it’s all in French, but here’s to hoping it gets picked up and syndicated on American TV. Really doesn’t even need to be translated.

I was walking home today and almost knocked into Heron since my attention was occupied by an 18 foot tall straight letter plastered across the Louis Vuitton store in Soho. Though it’s not an unusual to see graffiti influence fashion, this was definitely on some booming, day-glow, next-level steez. Anyhow, I put two and two together when I got home and found a recently delivered invite to Stephen Sprouse’s opening this week at Deitch Projects. Glad to see Soho making a step back towards its roots as an artist neighborhood.

STEPHEN SPROUSE - ROCK ON MARS
January 9 - February 28, 2009

Presented in collaboration with LOUIS VUITTON

DEITCH PROJECTS
18 Wooster Street
New York, NY 10013
212 343 7300

www.deitch.com “|” map

I spent the better part of my teenage years skateboarding and among the little crew we had going, my friend Emil was always the one setting the bar we all scrambled to try and beat. It’s great to see that two decades later Emil still finds the motivation to hop on a board and have a good time with it. Between him and and hanging with Ryan, maybe I’ll actually get up off my ass and start skating again.

Respects to Emil and the rest of the old skate crew from my youth…

Though rare, every so often an advertisement or ad campaign comes along that is just so brilliant that it goes beyond resonating with me, to fundamentally change my perception of the brand, product or service itself. Obviously, the goal of all advertisements are to compel people towards the consumption of the goods, services or ideas shown in the ads. How often that actually happens is probably far less than the brand, ad agency or people delivering the ads probably care to admit. Who really knows how many burgers will be sold as a result of this recent effort from Burger King, but I’ll admit I’ll be thinking of it (and chucking) long after the campaign expires…

Much respect to Crispen Porter + Bogusky for a job exceptionally well done.

Whopper Virgins from Burger King

With all the doom and gloom in the news these days, these two shots really resonated with me. No doubt, a human standing on the moon is compelling subject matter. There’s great detail, good exposure, and a nice composition going in each photo. What makes these shots so significant, however, is that they represent what we as a country and as a people can achieve when we work together to overcome a huge challenge. Respect to the generation of American’s that came together and put a man on the moon. Hopefully we can all get the country back together and accomplish the sort of goals that will allow future generations to look back at us, with a similar sense of admiration and respect.

To read about the first manned mission to the moon, go here.

Today my friend Kimou invited me to join him and his daughter Rio to check out a recent solo show featuring Kaws at the Gering Lopez Gallery in uptown Manhattan. I was psyched to get the chance to check out the show since it’s not everyday Kaws has a solo show and I’ve been so slammed with work and moving that I still hadn’t made it over there yet. Lately I’ve been trying to expose my 3 year-old son August to art and photography, so I figured this might be a fun opportunity for a bit of both. Needless to say the works on display were amazing, and August had a great time taking pictures of them. The first shot of his sister Ava, August and his friend Rio is mine, but all the rest of the photos we’re taken by the little man himself…

If you happen to be up in NYC between now and December 23rd, be sure and check out the show.

Gering Lopez Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue
Between 56th and 57th Streets
New York, NY 10019
tel: 646 336 7183
fax: 646 336 7185
email: info @ geringlopez.com
map

Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturdays from 10am until 6pm.
Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public during regular hours.