MITSUKO NAGONE

I found Mitsuko's work a while ago but it was recently brought back to my attention last week so I thought I would share it with you now!  I found that I love this particular series of photographs even more now than I did upon first viewing.  I love her outlook on these portraits and exploring what the 'self' means to her.  Here is an excerpt from her website where you can see more of her work.

THE MIS-ADVENTURES OF MERLIN JONES (AND OTHER PAPER CUT OUTS)

In case you were unaware, I am a huge stop-motion fan and perhaps my excitement over this post comes from the fact that I've been working on a paper-cut-out stop-motion short with Jonny over the past few months.  This opening credits sequence from the 1964 Walt Disney feature "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" featuring Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk has only inspired me further to create more pieces like this! I've spent the last half hour grinning from cheek to cheek after watching these credits and reading more about the animation greats that are Bill Justice and X. Atencio.   (below)

Bill and X (Xavier) were both employed at the Walt Disney Company during the mid 1930's where they worked together on experimental pieces for Disney as well as stop animation shorts in "Mary Poppins"and "The Parent Trap" to give a few name droppers.

Opening Credits to "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones"

Cartoon Brew put out this post a few days ago about Kevin Kidney's paper doll artwork of TV/fim star and singer, Annette Funicello, who was diagnosed with MS in 1987.  Kidney's zazzle site offers his paper doll artwork of Annette in a variety of cases, bags, pins, etc where all purchases go to the Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases.  I love seeing an artist extend his or her support in this way towards another artist, especially for such a great cause trying to fight this debilitating disease.

Hope you enjoy this intro as much as I did :)

ART SHAY

Found the work of Chicago based photographer Art Shay via the drkrm gallery site today as an upcoming exhibition entering the space in the new year.  He had quite a prolific life in photojournalism working for publications such as Time, Life, Fortune, and The New York Times magazines.  His "caught-off-guard" approach to his subjects earned him respect in the photography field as he captured the lives of celebrities and common street folk alike.

Shay has published more than 30,000 photographs during his career covering a range of subjects such as John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, and Hugh Hefner.

The subtleties he manages to capture in his photographs is really beautiful.  Including the teeny little kitten in the "Be Kind Now" photo.  See if you can spot it  : )

I'll be keeping a look out for when his work gets to the drkrm gallery!

found via link

All images found via link:

ALEX PRAGER

Really digging the work of LA based photographer, Alex Prager.  Found her via the M + B  gallery site.  Her stuff has a really dark undertone, but the subjects are very artfully crafted with great color pairing and equally expressive lighting, especially in her "Compulsion" series with the eyes juxtaposed against tragic moments.  Especially interesting to read below after living in LA for 3 + years now.

Her thoughts on her work:

"This series is to a great degree inspired by Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is a beautiful place. The magic is still here.

Everything is possible, but there is a very dark element here too.

You can feel it when you've been here for a few months at a time.

The sky is always blue, the birds are always singing.

It's a strange picture of perfection, but there is this eerie monotony that creeps in after a while.

I think it can slowly drive people crazy. 

That sense of unease under the surface of all this beauty and promise."

HAPPY MONDAY

In honor of the cool weather, I bring you cool colors.
And unicorns and naked chicks.

RUNE GUNERIUSSEN: LANDSCAPE LAMPS

I'll take one mystical forest-land with 50 antique deco lamps with varying shades, please.

So how lovely is this?! Norwegian artist, Rune Guneriussen, has managed to bring the term "outdoor lighting" to a new level with the residents.  25,000 twinkle lights don't stand a chance, Clark.

THIS TABLE IS AWESOME.

The well balanced meal of Jenga blocks held up by a cluster of real helium balloons. Awesome. A job well done, Boys and Girls.
(Just don't leave your computer or other expensive machinery on the desk overnight).

Found here.

ROCAMBOLESC MAKES ME SCREAM!

For ice cream! That is. I stumbled upon this fantastic looking ice cream shop located in Girona, Spain.  Designed and executed by the talented Sandra Tarruella, the shop combines Willy Wonka's switchboard gadgets with a Dexter's Laboratory curiosity. I love it! I want to go here! I want to hit all the buttons! I just hope the ice cream is as good as the look of this place. Enjoy :)
found here

RED

"Red" directed by Jorge Jaramillo and Carlo Guillot. Music by Manuel Borda. Dark, stylized, simple take on the classic fairy tale. Love the way they tied it together.

RED from RED on Vimeo.

CARAVAN PALACE

I can't help myself; I have to post another animated short I found!
Swingy, catchy, fun for all animated short. The characters are simple yet fit the mood of the story perfectly.
Directed by Gattoni, Guillaume Cassuto, and Jeremy Pires.
Art by Ugo Gattoni
Found via cartoonbrew

JOSH RITTER - LOVE IS MAKING ITS WAY BACK HOME

Found this lovely little stop motion music video via colossal blog.

Directed by Erez Horovitz. "A team of nearly twenty artists, editors, directors and product assistants ushered the video into being. The group started with storyboarding and computer animation before converting the digital graphics to paper cutouts (frame by frame), photographing those 12,000 cutouts and then stitching them together into four minutes of paper animation." from colossal.

learn more about the making of here!

be sure to watch the whole thing! it starts out slower, but the end is superb :)

Josh Ritter - Love Is Making Its Way Back Home from Josh Ritter on Vimeo.

EVERYDAY SUPERHEROES

Stumbled upon these photographs from Bechet Benjamin showing the daily life of superheroes and childhood icons. No surprise, Snow White is the prostitute.

found via notcot
artist page here (beware, he's French ;)