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Art

Ghostly Artworks Inspired by Saudi Arabian Censorship

By Kevin Pires on

The censorship in Saudi Arabia results in faces scribbled over in ads and magazines, and the country’s intense suppression of free speech have become a fraught field of inspiration for artists. Jowhara Al-Saud’s retort is influenced by the physical acts of government control themselves. Her process is a complicated one. She first takes analog photos (4X5s and 8X10s) and then scratches away at the negatives, erasing the details of her subject’s faces. The images are then printed in a darkroom and collaged with arbitrary backgrounds. What’s left is Out of Line, a series that attests both to Al-Saud’s meticulous process and the reality of censorship that inspires her work. Check out some of Al-Saud’s art below, and visit The Huffington Post for an interview with the artist. … Read More

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Photography

Iconic Photos Get New Life as Must-See Selfies

By Kevin Pires on

Now that “selfie” is the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year, maybe we can start taking the concept more seriously. The practice of turning the camera on ourselves, with the range of depth limited by our arm’s length, isn’t going anywhere. In a brilliant advertising campaign, South African newspaper Cape Times took the selfie and applied it to some of history’s most recognizable photos (spotted on Feature Shoot). Imagine the stories: JFK demurring in the face of Jackie’s outstretched hand, Winston Churchill bawdily smiling for his own camera while he puffs on his cigar, and Beyers Naude and Desmond Tutu hamming it up happily. It almost makes our own selfies less embarrassing. Almost. … Read More

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Photography

Fascinating Portraits of People Living in Walmart Parking Lots

By Kevin Pires on

The last time you were at a Walmart, your car rested in the parking lot for an hour or so while you picked up your discount goods. Eventually, you left, never having considered what it would be like to linger in the parking lot through the night. This world exists, and in Waking Up at Walmart (spotted via Feature Shoot), photographer Nolan Conway documents a series of Walmart parking lots in Flagstaff, Arizona where people, all there for different reasons, have settled for a time. Some stopped for a nap, others for a few months. In the shadow of the largest retailer in the world, a motley group of characters is questioning what it means to “save money” and “live better.”  … Read More

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Art

Charming Illustrations of HBO’s ‘Girls’

By Alison Nastasi on

Season three of HBO’s Girls is right around the corner, set to premiere on January 12. London-based artist Nina Cosford has been illustrating the series from across the pond. “I love the show’s wittiness and its painfully relatable scenarios and character traits and wanted to use my style of illustration to highlight these nuances,” she told the Daily Dot. “I think it helps to accentuate the softer, more charming elements of the show which lie beneath the grittiness of it all.” Cosford’s artworks highlight some of the show’s memorable moments (and quotes) with refreshing simplicity. We’re especially in love with Cosford’s illustration of the “Maiden’s Milk Vintage Boutique” stoop sale. Take a closer look, below. … Read More

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Art

Painting Masterpieces Reimagined with Modern Mobile Technology

By Alison Nastasi on

Everywhere you turn, people have their noses pressed against a mobile device. Technology is a wonderful and sometimes maddening thing, which is why illustrator Kim Dong-Kyu (whose work we spotted on Co.Create) has made modern-day gadgets the focus of the series Art x Smart. The artist has transformed famous paintings by giving each figure an iPhone, laptop, iPad or other mobile device. It’s not hard to imagine that the crowd in Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte would have their phones in their faces, snapping shots of the lush Parisian retreat to post on Instagram. The moodiness and narrative of Edward Hopper’s Hotel Room has an entirely different feel when we see a phone in the woman’s hand. Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles could easily be a bedroom in Brooklyn, thanks to a web of wires on the floor and a MacBook. See historical artworks transformed by tech gadgets in our gallery. … Read More

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Art

The History of ‘Doctor Who’ as the Bayeux Tapestry

By Tom Hawking on

Unashamed Doctor Who geekiness alert! Artist Bill Mudron has created what’s perhaps the most ridiculously great thing I’ve seen all week — a trip through the history of the show, rendered as a sort of false Bayeux Tapestry. The project covers both the classic series and the show’s newer incarnation, and it’s hilarious. What Doctor Who fan wouldn’t want a faux-embroidered drawing of Ace taking a baseball bat to a Dalek? As per the artist, “I had originally intended this to be one 12-foot long image, but then I realized that if I were to ever turn this into a print that it would be impossible to frame.” He did turn it into a 24″ x 36″ print, which you can buy — click through for some close-ups. … Read More

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Art

The Beautiful and Frightening Art of Marcel Dzama

By Jason Diamond on

In case you needed more incentive to geek out over the work of Canadian artist Marcel Dzama, his new book, Marcel Dzama: Sower of Discord, includes a foreword by the artist Raymond Pettibon (you know, the guy who created the Black Flag logo), three original Dave Eggers short stories inspired by Dzama’s work, an essay by the art historian Bradley Bailey, and an interview with Dzama by filmmaker Spike Jonze. … Read More

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Photography

Striking Portraits of Historical Reenactors

By Tyler Coates on

In the United States, historical reenactments are usually limited to the Civil War battlefields peppered along the East Coast. But one imagines that European historical reenactors have a much broader geographic area — not to mention the seemingly unlimited historical conflicts. Photographer Jim Naughten found inspiration in a group of highbrow Live Action Role Players in Kent, England, who, with the help of intricate and meticulous costumes, recreate battles from the First and Second World Wars. “Taking on a different name, identity and sometimes even a different tongue, the role players re-enact battles and drills from an imagined past,” Naughten describes. “It is something more than acting, a collective fantasy played out on a massive scale.” Take a look at his gorgeous portraits of a group of these reenactors, all of which could be easily mistaken for colorized images of vintage photographs. … Read More

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