DAVID CHOE

David Choe has got to be one of my favorite artists!
His work varies so much in feeling and he keeps it real to say the least!
Not to mention he's a great person and hillarious to hang with!
Check out more of his work on his blog here!!!

Also make sure and check out his video series called "Thumbs Up"!

Again super hillarious and destructive!!

Thumbs Up Series Here!!!

Snoop Dogg's New Joint!!

Farrah R.I.P.

Who didn't have this poster?!?!

Homeless G-Funk beat boxer behind the HVW8 Gallery.

This is some crazy shit!!
No Machines...No Mic....No Autotune!!
Just pure alcoholic windpipes!!!
He's since been signed!!
Read More:
http://music.hvw8.com/category/artists/red-artists/

Gumball 3000 Coast 2 Coast!

Someday i'm gonna do this!!
It's a new goal for me!!
The 2009 event is a 'coast to coast' road trip adventure from Los Angeles to Miami from May 2 - 8th. The event will also include free music concerts and car displays throughout the route[citation needed] in Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Dallas, New Orleans and Miami.
Check out more here

Ernie Barnes R.I.P.

Ernie Barnes, a figurative painter and former lineman for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos, has died. He was 70.

Barnes died Monday at a hospital of complications from a rare blood disorder, his longtime assistant and friend Luz Rodriguez said. She would not elaborate on the disorder.

His famous "Sugar Shack" dance scene appeared on the cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" in 1976 and the closing credits of the "Good Times" television show.

The Fairy Shepard Busted for Plagiarism

Looks like the main stream has now caught on to the fact that Shepard isn't the creative artist we've made him out to be!!
Read about the controversy here http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2009/02/05/ap_wants_credit_for_faireys_obama_image/

And check out Mark Vallens article about the same subject writen over a year ago!!
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm

Super Bowl Champs!!!

STEELERS!!

Legoized Hip-Hop

Readers of this blog would have to know by now that i'm a big old school LEGO fan. I'm impressed by anything creative and unusual done with these fantastic building blocks! I ran across this post on Format's Blog and it reads....
"After 50 years as an industry leader, LEGO has become a staple in any kids toy box. In more recent times the mini-figs and legendary building blocks have been used to recreate famous landmarks, classic photographs and now: 20 Classic Hip Hop Album Covers Recreated in LEGO."

For More Pics of Legoized Album Covers click here!!!

R.I.P. Bettie Page 1923-2008

"With deep personal sadness I must announce that my dear friend and client Bettie Page passed away at 6:41pm PST this evening in a Los Angeles hospital. She died peacefully but had never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack nine days ago.

She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality. She is the embodiment of beauty."

Statement by Mark Roesler, business agent for Bettie Page

April 22, 1923 to December 11, 2008

A private funeral service is planned for Tuesday.

Page will buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles, just a few feet away from Monroe.


Source: http://www.bettiepage.com/obit/index.html

The Garter!

The Red Garter....I use to pass this bar to and from the Marina del Rey Skate Park when I was knee high to a grasshoppers butt!!
We would always wonder what it was they did in a place called "The Red Garter"?? Sounded nasty! When I was high school we tried to get in but were shut down at the door making the interest even that much worse! "What could they be doing behind the closed door of "The Red Garter"? As I became of drinking age I quickly stopped in to see all the nastiness that lied all these years behind the door of "The Red Garter". Nothing....nothing....nothing....it was an oldman bar blue with smoke...not a women in sight...not a person under 60 years old. It was nasty all right...but not in the way I had imagined. Years later this became a sort of trendy dive hang out, mainly because of the 2 pool tables in the back. This was also one of the only bar in Los Angeles you could still smoke in years after the "No Smoking" law went into effect.

The bar has since changed hands, been fully renovated, and had the Red taken out of it's name! Now "The Garter" attracts a plethora of clients....from the ever so hip Hollywood "Hipsters" to the derelict drunk degenerates!
I met the Garter Crew through The Big Geezers art Crew form Amsterdam and beyond. So almost 30 years later the circle is complete and I was asked to paint the entrance door to "The Garter"!

Check out the animation here!!!

Scion Presents: Big Geezers

Like i said before...this is gonna be a great show!!
Don't miss it!!

Happy Samhain!!

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

The Big Geezers are coming!!

Amsterdams most creative crew will be in Los Angeles to open their show at the Scion Gallery on Nov. 8th!!
This will be a show NOT to miss!
Bring your camera and eat well before you come to the opening, cause these guys like to party!!
Skin Up!!!

REMI GAILLARD puttin' it in!!

This is a crazy video...that is if you like soccer!! Or even goals!

Murs - L.A.

This is such a hot track!
Murs is a bit underground...but he just dropped his first commercial album on the 30th of last month
Don't sleep on this one!!

Hip Hop's Crown Jewels Auction

TUPAC: Estimated at $10,000-$20,000(right)MISSY ELLIOT: Estimated at $6,500-$8,500 (left)

Phillips de Pury & Co., New York has announced details of the first-ever hip-hop jewelry auction, which will be held March 5th. Titled Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels, the event is being produced with the support of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and “Godfather of Hip Hop” Russell Simmons.



BIZ MARKIE:Estimated at $8,000-$12,000


PHARRELL: Estimated at $200,000-$250,000


BIZ MARKIE CASSETTE: Estimated at $75,000-$95,000

A historic selection of custom-made pieces from some of hip hop’s most illustrious musicians, rappers and jewelers will be offered, including those worn by:

50 Cent
MC Lyte
Biz Markie
Missy Elliot
Busta Rhymes
Nas
Diplomats
Notorious B.I.G.
Gnarls Barkley
Pharrell Williams
Ja Rule
Rihanna
Jay Z
Sean “Diddy” Combs (a.k.a. “Diddy”)
Kanye West
Slick Rick
Lil’ Jon
Swiss Beatz
Lil’ Wayne
Tupac Shakur
LL Cool J
Wyclef Jean

Find more info here!
Auction 5 March 2009
450 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011

La Princesse

La Machine is a French production company based in Nantes, France, which is famous for the preformance called Sultan's Elephant, a which appeared in 2006 in London, England.

The group was formed by artists, designers, fabricators and technicians in early 1990s and is currently led by François Delarozière, Artistic Director and creator of La Princesse. They are known by its extraordinary theatrical machines, permanent installations, and also its own theatrical productions.
The huge 60 foot mechanical spider named La Princesse, visited Liverpool in on September 6th 2008, as one of the main parts of the city's Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations. This spider was operated by a number of operators, controlling the 8 legs and other movements of the spider. It investigated the city, visiting landmarks such as St George's hall and the Albert Dock, and walking down streets and climbing onto the side of a derelict tower block at the end of each performance.

Obama Lego's

By now everyone should be fimiliar with Shepard Fairy's, Barack Obama "Hope" image.

Well some creative Lego Builder named "Legoman28" has recreated the portrate using lego's and has put it up forsale on Ebay.

The piece was constructed over 10 days using 8,000 multi-colored bricks, in a framework of 30 x 30 inches. With a reserve price of $600, the seller claims that 70% proceeds from the sale will go towards Obama’s campaign.