Artist: Ronald Kurniawan

Graphic and conceptual imagery from Ronald Kurniawan:

Although Ronald's work looks to be heavily inspired by the graphic work of old - namely, the days of pop-propaganda - the only word that comes to mind after sifting through a few pieces is 'bizarre'.

The creativity and diversity of Ronald makes flipping through his portfolio a pleasure. I suggest you go do so now:

Ronald Kurniawan's portfolio

Artist: Peter Baker

Peter Baker photographs everything that I want to photograph. I've always been stuck in a small city that was just too new to make itself interesting. Peter has a nack for the aesthetics of the mundane. Check out his wide angle, night-creeping reportage of suburban bliss.

You might want to keep an eye on this one - I have a feeling he's making a break for it.

Find Peter Baker's:

Blog
Flickr
Website

Davidson, Disrepair, and the NYC Subway

In the troubled New York of the early 1980's, Bruce Davidson made a series of images that showed the frailty of a big city in disrepair. In time, these images would show New York to be an American touchstone of resilience.

Since coming across this piece from the New York Times last year, I've gone back and watched it over and over. The portraits are some of the most genuine I have ever seen. It's not because of the spontaneity of the captures either; Davidson would often ask to take the photo and then have to talk the subject back into being comfortable in front of the camera.

Although these images are remarkable, I feel like the emotion of the city just bleeds through from the structural and social disrepair these people were living in. Everything is just so filthy and hot and sweaty - but the people are passionate and real. On the one hand, my reaction can be written off to watching too many movies romanticizing NYC ("that's not a knife"). On the other hand, New York has come a long way since then, and if these photos show us at all what the everyday was like, then maybe the city deserves the awe and wonder these images inspire in us.

Check out the video from the New York Times displaying Davidson's work (narrated).


Also, since it is Sunday and you hopefully have some free time on your hands, go check this out:

Magnum - Davidson's Portfolio

Magnum - If you don't know what Magnum is (*shame on you)

Artist: Jillian Tamaki

Excellent conceptual illustration. Surreal and sometimes dark.

Some pieces in Jillian's portfolio have some obvious claims on realism, while others hark back to Rockwell Americana - except there's nothing particularly American about them.

A fellow Canadian who has managed to move somewhere all the creatives I find out about seem to love - Brooklyn. Keep an eye out.

Find: Jillian Tamaki's Website and Portfolio

Project Splithead: 3d Experimental Portraiture

"Experimental project that trys to bring a
3-dimensional angle to the classic portrait
to intensify the expression of the image."

Find:
The Rainbow Monkey's Project Splithead

Artist: David Lachapelle

*I should reference this for mentioning both the shark and Greenberg.




















David Lachapelle: unstoppable force? Maybe...

Here is a short biography from his website:

• 1995 Named “Best New Photographer of the Year” by both French Photo and American Photo magazines
• 1996 “Photographer of the Year Award” at the VH-1 Fashion Awards 1996 “Applied Photography of the Year Award” from The International Center of Photography
• 1997 Art Directors Club Award for Best Book Design for LaChapelle Land
• 1998 Best “Cutting Edge Essay” and “Style Photography” at Life magazine’s Alfred Eisenstadt Awards for Magazine Photography (the Eisies)
• 1999 Honored in the “Cover of the Year” category at the Eisies
• 1999 Placed second on CNN’s list of “20 to Watch in 2000”

Obviously quite impressive. But his work is just so vivid and daunting in its scale that it's left we wondering: when is this guy going to jump the shark already? If you take a look at the 'exhibition' section of his website, you'll most likely conclude, as I have, that it won't be for quite some time. Lachapelle's creativity and diversity will be what saves him from committing a Jill Greenberg (IMO).

Find:

David Lachapelle's Website

Tidbit: Bad Like an M&M

Advertising Agency : Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia
Executive Creative Director : James McGrath
Creative Directors: Emma Hill, Cameron Hoelter
Art Directors: Gus Johnston, Russel Fox
Copywriters: Paul Reardon, Ant White
Agency Producer: Robin Bowles
Account Managers: Ricci Meldrum, Sarah Galbraith

Via: I Believe

Artist: Michael Young

Bangkok resident Michael Young excels in his interactive design - flash layered photo, video and illustration. Some of this portfolio has a distinctly urban feel, while some other pieces are scattered, almost messy. In the end, the balance between vector and bitmap feels similar to a balance between digital and analog. I suppose it just feels comfortable.

I particularly like how you don't know what you're supposed to do from frame to frame. One piece will spin, another will bob, and another will do nothing at all.

Find:

Michael Young's Portfolio
Michael Young's Current Work

Technique: Easiest Way to Neutral Colors

*This tutorial was created by Markus Hartel - find the link below.


For those of who (for some reason that is positively beyond me) are still shooting jpeg and avoiding the ease of raw: a tutorial on what looks to be the easiest way toward natural colors. To be honest, it makes me a little sick that I hadn't figured this out years ago.

Essentially the process is as follows: 1. Duplicate the image layer. 2. Run filter>blur>average filter. 3. Create a curves adjustment layer. 4. Using the neutral color picker, click anywhere on the averaged image. 5. discard the middle, averaged layer. 6. Voila.
I found this a huge help so pay the man his due and pop over to his site and check it out.

Find:

Neutral Color Step 1
Neutral Color Step 2

Markus' website

Artist: Steven Lyon

Steven Lyon Photography

Shooting in Paris since 2001, Steven has nabbed the covers of several magazines and worked with the likes of Vogue Russia, 125, Wig etc.

He has a gallery of nudes and beauty work but I think his ad shots are the most valuable.

And the cover on your left is just so hilariously 'pop-trendwhore-photo' but I can't take my eyes away!

Find:

Steven Lyon's Website

Ghetto Bullet Time

Everyone wants to be like Neo.

Some of you may have come across this already but I went back to check it out once more to see exactly how viable it is to the average Jo (READ poor): I think that there are plenty of cameras out there that you can utilize with this rig that would only cost about $50 or each if you're willing to spend the time on the bay to find them. The rest of the rig looks easy-peasy.


Large Pro - Ghetto Matrix Example from fi5e on Vimeo.

I would put up my house if I could get my eyes on another example of this - maybe done by someone like Chase Jarvis or something.... Although I doubt he needs to worry about such trivial things like a budget.

Learn how to produce this effect on a shoestring (sort of) here.

Artist: Yehrin Tong

Illustration, Typography, Editorial work by Yehrin Tong.

I strongly recommend you guys check this out and let me know what you think. His illustration is clearly inspired but his execution looks a little phone'd in - unless it's a trick my mind is playing on me; the mixture of photo-realism with patterns and vector work kind of throws me off sometimes.

For myself, the real treat is his typographic work. Having been published in GQ etc, his work with type just bleeds creativity.

Find:

Yehrin Tong's website

Jel is still looking for gigs!!

Although this video is a little dated, his skill is not - check out the non-sequenced playing of a 2000Xl controller. Gotta give Jel due respect for two things: one, playing with no errors and having better dexterity than most; two, for laying down some of the freshest groove I've heard all year.



Check out his other videos here: Jel's blog

Generation "Why" ... or Y

The following is a look at this article: Generation "Why", by Patt Cottingham.

Discovering this new terminology for a new class or 'generation' of people was an interesting experience. I don't usually find new information from a branding concern. However, the characteristics of this new "generation WHY" are particularly relevant to some of my everyday concerns, namely ethics, aesthetics and cultural identity.

This new generation - although I'm unsure as to how I feel about calling it a generation - is considered to be a "socially diverse and environmentally aware" group. They "like style, amusement, a real voice and a bit of attitude." Typically under 30 years old, generation "Why"-ers concern themselves with self-fulfillment while at the same time, accept that task as part of their everyday lives; they don't feel the need to consult "the self-help bookshelves" for direction on how to live the good life. They sort it out themselves. They are IT savvy and are willing to move to flourishing markets around the globe.

I find this new distinction to be an important concern as we try and think about the coming years. Are these people going to be genuinely politically concerned or are we going to see the remnants of 'hip', 'hipster', and 'cool' play a major role in how these youthful, intelligent individuals identify with new trends in politics, technology and ethics? In other words, is it stylish enough to be environmentally aware as it is to be technologically proficient? It seems like environmental, political and ethical concerns lack the obvious utility of being skilled in matters of IT, or even personal style and aesthetics.

Anyways, this article really sparked something up there for me and I'm sure I'll have more to say as I get a little more research (from some other source than a branding site) under my belt.

The whole thing seems suspiciously similar to Dr. Florida's "Creative Class" which I found to be equally stimulating, but much better thought out and fulfilling, ie., I can see the "creative class" actually being a new distinction in society. The "generation WHY" looks a little too much like a construct of the marketing, branding and corporate concerns of the global market. If it's the real deal, then we'll most likely see more on the issue. If it's not, then I'm sure the term will still be dropped at every board meeting for the next five years until the next thing comes along. I suspect the latter is more likely.

To read up on the issue a little more, and for some really interesting statistics on the global status of this new generation, read the article here.