Office cubicles aren’t known for inspiring creativity. In fact, they have a reputation for doing just the opposite. But working in a confined space doesn’t always have to be stifling. Meet Bill Taylor, a data manager in Durham, North Carolina who recreates iconic works of art on a whiteboard in his cube. He spends only two to five minutes per day on his drawings, taking roughly six weeks to finish each piece — and then he leave it up for a day or two, photographs the finished product, wipes the board clean, and gets to work on his next masterpiece. “[T]here’s something about doing it this way that forces me to be patient, something I could always use more practice with,” Taylor told the Telegraph. Click through to see some of our favorite whiteboard paintings, and then visit Taylor’s website to peruse the entire collection.
A Moscow street artist has been recently noticed by the press and dubbed “The Russian Banksy” or “Bankski.” While some of his work reminds us of Banksy’s style and humor, we’re not sure if the comparison is really fair yet. Until now, the work of 183 wasn’t much known outside of Moscow or the Russian LiveJournal community. He’s not a celebrity, so he can do things that Banksy wouldn’t — like set his graffiti mural of a rioter on fire so it looks like he’s torching an underside of a major bridge. The 183 oeuvre is quite varied, with concrete ruins spray-painted as giant Russian chocolate bars, portrait projections on smoke, hidden mixed media installations and, of course, the Banksy-esque stencils that got him a mini-wave of publicity. Since Banksy may have switched his focus to traditional sculpture, is there a new original street art prankster in town or this just another wannabe? Check out a few of our favorite 183 pieces and decide for yourself.
We’re happy if our previous roundup of feature films about artists inspired or rejuvenated any of your artistic or bohemian impulses. That said, pull up a chair. Let’s get real. Here you will find some of our favorite documentaries about artists, many of them current and some even freshly made. Dig out the heart of Louise Bourgeois’ gigantic spiders. Go behind Pablo Picasso’s brushstrokes. Wonder eternally if Banksy’s fooling you. Rebels, superstars, activists, eccentrics, con artists — they’re all here and they’re ready to tell you their story.
[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published February 16, 2011.] If we’re being honest, most of us will never own a work of art by a famous artist. And while back in college, it might have been okay to pay homage to one of the greats with a poster print from the museum, these days when it comes to the artwork that hangs on our walls, we tend to opt for original pieces by emerging (read: more affordable) talents. A few enterprising souls have found a way to sidestep the issue completely by displaying famous works of art directly on their bodies. Click through for some of our favorite examples, and if you happen to have an art-inspired tattoo, be sure to tell us about it in the comments.
Today at Flavorpill, we identified perhaps too strongly with this supercut of Parks and Recreation‘s April Ludgate not giving a “$&!#.” We allowed this tilt-shift video of holiday-season Los Angeles as a snow globe to melt our icy hearts. We followed @realshitgirlsay, the feminist answer to the viral sensation of the month. We learned that Alec Baldwin really, really isn’t running for mayor of New York, because he’s not “horny” for the job the way other candidates seem to be. We were impressed by Spin‘s “20 Best Avant Albums of 2011″ list. We decided that John Krasinski and Sesame Streetare almost as adorable together as Jason Segel and the Muppets. We agreed that Banksy’s latest sculpture is “a little on the nose.” We watched a five-minute sneak peek of NBC’s new legal drama, The Firm, even though we’ve yet to find the TV legal drama that thrills us. We were relieved at the news that the Joss Whedon-free Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie that’s been in the works for about a year may not happen after all. And finally, were amused that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air cast reunited — without either of the two actresses who played Vivian Banks.
There’s no denying that the Occupy movement has been inspiring people across the globe, and in many cases, that inspiration is being expressed artistically. Not that we find this the least bit surprising — art and activism have always gone hand in hand. In New York City, the Smithsonian and the New York Historical Society, aware that they have a phenomenon on their hands, have been gathering artifacts from the protest all along, with an eye towards future exhibitions. Even with the art-world spin-off Occupy Museums, meant to get “people to think about who museums serve, and calling the art world out on its elitism and its abuse of labor,” the artistic community has been very supportive of the movement. Here we have collected twenty artworks, from drawings to posters to sculptures to puppets from artists both well known (Banksy, Shepard Fairey) and anonymous. Some of these, like the propaganda posters and stamped dollars, are meant to further the Occupy movement’s cause directly, while others are just artistic visions or ways to capture the humanity of what’s going on in the world right now. Click through to check out twenty pieces of art about Occupy Wall Street, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Rich Uncle Pennybags — yes, that is the Monopoly guy’s real name — doesn’t seem so happy in the photo above, perhaps because his bank is floundering and he needs some bailout money to fill his top hat. The sculpture, which has been attributed to Banksy (who apparently won’t even show his face to radicals), is a gift to Occupy London. While we love both the idea and the execution, we admit to wishing Banksy had included some cards, money, and supersize dice so occupier could actually play the game. [via World of Wonder]
Our recent author-on-author, filmmaker-on-filmmaker and musician-on-musician insults have proved that creative folk are only human, and occasionally enjoy a good rip on their industry compatriots. Artists are no different, albeit they do it a bit differently. What they lack in media exposure, they make up in specifics, attacking “sickly” lines and “filthy” shades or, like Salvador Dalí, outright making up verbs like “outuglying” to drive their insults. Naturally, a good portion of these revolve around artists cutting down each others’ relevancy — yesterday’s Renaissance “daubers” are today’s graffiti “toys.” Looks like the battle of egos will never go away. (Oh, good!) Here are 30 harshest historical and contemporary artist-on-artists insults. We’d love to hear yours in the comments.
Last year, secretive British street artist and growing, if elusive, media presence Banksy expanded his territory with the meta-documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, and now it seems, he’s decided to start spreading the gospel via television. He has produced an hour long special on Chanel 4 in the UK entitled “The Antics Roadshow” which is being billed as “Banksy’s incomplete guide to total anarchy… charting the history of behaving badly in public, from anarchists and activists to attention seeking eccentrics.” (Is it just us, or does this sound like a classier, art-world version of Jackass?) ”Basically,” the artist said, “I just thought it was a good name for a TV programme and I’ve been working back from there.” Well, we can’t argue there. There is no word on when we might be able to see the special in the US, but considering Banksy’s international appeal and popularity, we figure it won’t be too long.
