Endless Climb

Endless Climb (found here: http://imgur.com/a/Ewfb9?gallery#8OQoJK7)

Moar.

[ Perfectly Looping .gifs ]

Mouse Man

found here: http://imgur.com/gallery/G2c0KD7

It just keeps going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going…

Moar trippy gifs.

[ I heard Imgur likes perfectly looping gifs ]

Etam Cru: Betz & Sainer

'Bastard' by Sainer (http://www.etamcru.com/sainer/bastard)
'Bastard' by Sainer (http://www.etamcru.com/sainer/bastard)'Bang' by Etam Cru (http://www.etamcru.com/etam/bang)'Removal' by Etam Cru (http://www.etamcru.com/etam/removal)'Fishing With The Death' by Betz (http://www.etamcru.com/bezt/fishing-with-the-death)'Mind Trip' by Etam Cru (http://www.etamcru.com/etam/mind-trip)'The Journey' by Etam Cru (http://www.etamcru.com/etam/the-journey)

Betz & Sainer are two Polish artists (from Łódź and Turek, respectively) who collaborate under the ETAM Cru moniker and are just as comfortable creating screen prints and canvases as they are painting huge-ass murals. The attached images are just a small sampling of their work so, if you want to see more, hit up their individual blogs (Betz / Sainer) or the official ETAM site. Enjoy!

P.S. If you like what you see here, be sure to check out Aryz’s work, too.

[ ETAM Cru ]

Aryz

'Fried Egg' (2010) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/outdoor/fried-egg/143)
'Fried Egg' (2010) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/outdoor/fried-egg/143)'Ballad (Detail)' (2012) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/outdoor/ballad/177)'State of Mind' (2010) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/indoor/state-of-mind/121)'Love Letter' (2011) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/outdoor/love-letter/162)'Concrete Walls Project (for Herokid)' by Aryz (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariztotelismo/5166034577/in/photostream)'Struggle' (2012) by Aryz (http://www.aryz.es/outdoor/struggle/174)

“I don’t really know what [my work] should be called, some people call it graffiti and some [call it] street art. I don’t really care. I started painting graffiti, and then I started doing characters and big walls…I don’t know. I think [my paintings] are just interventions in outdoor spaces…more

“A message, for me, is something secondary. If I have to say something, it’s worth representing it and doing it big but sometimes my art is simply about the pleasure of painting and nothing more, or the simple fact of joining colours together. The shape [of a wall] is an excuse to put colours in one place or another. I don’t give much importance to the message…more

Barcelona-based Aryz is young (23 at the time of this post), talented (see attached images) and – judging from those two quotes above – far more concerned with creating aesthetically beautiful work than fussing over which labels to attach to it. See loads more on both his website and Flickr feed or click here if you’d like to watch him paint in HD.

Enjoy!

[ Aryz ]

Kyonghwan Kim

'Stran' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)
'Stran' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)'Siflo' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)'Tor' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)'Liz' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)'DD' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)'Sicaf' by Kyonghwan Kim (http://www.tahraart.com/)

Kyonghwan Kim is a concept artist based in Korea with a portfolio that reminds me of both Yoshitaka Amano‘s muted, richly textured figurative illustrations and Miyazaki’s signature bright, cartoonish style. The six I’ve selected here are but an aperitif; check out Kim’s website for loads more. Enjoy!

[ KYONGHWAN KIM ]

Selections from the Universal Monsters Show at Mondo Gallery

'The Trip' by Drew Millward (http://drewmillward.com/)
'The Trip' by Drew Millward (http://drewmillward.com/)'The Mummy' by Rick Baker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Baker_(makeup_artist))'Frankenstein' by Graham Erwin (http://www.grahamerwin.com/)'Wolfball' by James Groman (http://jgroman.blogspot.com/)'Mutant from Metaluna' by Scarecrowoven (http://scarecrowoven.com/)'The Bride of Frankenstein (Detail)' by Jason Edmiston (http://www.jasonedmiston.com/)

Mondo Gallery in Austin opened it’s doors on October 19th for their Universal Monsters gallery show and (thankfully) Scott Wampler from Collider was there to snap lots of fantastic hi-res photos of the gorgeous artwork on display. The six attached to this post are but a small sampling of the 90+ taken at the event so, if you’re interested in seeing more, just click this hyperlink.

Happy Halloweeeeen! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!!

[ Limited Paper: Mondo Unleashes the UNIVERSAL MONSTERS at the Mondo Gallery; Check Over 90 Images from the Event! ]

Ryohei Hase

'Tayutau' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/01.html)
'Tayutau' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/01.html)'THE ANATOMY OF HACKING (an illustration for the November 2011 issue of Playboy magazine)' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/32.html)'Repetition (2011)' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/03.html)'Untitled (2011)' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/newimages.html)'Drown in the empty dried-up room (2008)' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/room.html)'Blood (2008)' by Ryohei Hase (http://ryoheihase.com/newimages/26.html)

Ryohei Hase is a freelance illustrator based in Tokyo, Japan who cut his teeth as a concept artist at NAMCO Bandai. To see more of his work, visit ryoheihase.com.

[ ryoheihase.com via Axis Animation ]

Nature selects from 1x.com

'Thirsty' by Risquillo (http://1x.com/photo/39149/category/nature/popular-ever/thirsty)
'Thirsty' by Risquillo (http://1x.com/photo/39149/category/nature/popular-ever/thirsty)'The Gateway to Iceland' by Skarphedinn Thrainsson (http://1x.com/photo/46607/category/nature/popular-ever/the-gateway-to-iceland)'Barn Owl' by Robert Adamec (http://1x.com/photo/50042/category/nature/latest-additions/barn-owl)'Halleluja' by mathieu irthum (http://1x.com/photo/43291/category/nature/popular-ever/halleluja)'Dessert' by Alexander Taranin (http://1x.com/photo/49663/category/nature/latest-additions/dessert)'Folding Lava' by Justin Reznick (http://1x.com/photo/41985/category/nature/popular-ever/folding-lava)

I spend the majority of my time staring at a screen which, honestly, has been my primary goal since adolescence; no complaints here. But, like with anything having to do with our in-built desires, balance is necessary and recently my life has sorely lacked it. I’m going away to the mountains this weekend for some much needed relaxation and the closer it gets the more I’m anxious to reconnect with nature – ergo this post. OK, so it’s still taking place via a computer but, whatever…baby steps, right?

Anywho, if you want get a dose of the great outdoors via assembled grids of red, blue and green pixels there’s no better place than 1x.com. All of the attached photos are from there.

One more thing: you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions; I still can’t believe how much cool shit gets sent to my inbox er’ryday. Keep ‘em coming. Cheers!

P.S. Click here for moar nature-goodness on The Tripatorium™.

P.P.S. If you haven’t seen Nature by Numbers yet you should probably get on that shit.

[ Nature on 1x.com ]

Smug

Taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6203765899/in/photostream/
Taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6203765899/in/photostream/Taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6461246641/in/photostreamTaken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6377315967/in/photostreamTaken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/infamouslastwordscrew/6130169912/in/photostreamTaken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/infamouslastwordscrew/6150549094/in/photostreamTaken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smug_one/6226468509/in/photostream

Taking part in a conversation about what is or isn’t art is the intellectual equivalent of masturbation; it’s probably fun for you but isn’t of much utility to anyone else. I obtained a four-year degree in art during my early twenties which means – beyond accruing an obscene amount of debt – that I’ve spent more than enough time locked in my own head, enamored with how wonderful my own thoughts were on the subject.

This is not something I’m proud of.

That being said, I’ve found that thinking intentionally about anything is rarely a waste of time, just as long as you don’t allow the procesc to transform you into a pretentious douche. The net outcome of my autoerotic cognitive fiddlings? Two things:

  1. I don’t see much use in categorizing things as art or not-art.
  2. I tend to appreciate anything that exhibits craft.

The first item above is self-explanatory but the second is why I instinctually dismiss performance artists, ‘found-object’ impresarios or anyone else whose manifesto over-leverages the word ‘exploration’ and tend to revere potters, illustrators, photo-realists and graffiti writers.

Smug is an exemplary example of the latter two. Anyone who has attempted to draft anything with aerosol will attest to how difficult it is to get it to do what you want it to. I tried my hand at it during my late teens and was instantly repelled, knowing immediately that I didn’t possess the patience to be competent, let alone great. Just look at the images I’ve collected above, marvel at their draftsmanship and the artist’s mastery of color – can you believe a human being is capable of this shit? Attached is just a small sampling of his work, hit up his Flickr for loads more.

Probably my favorite artist right now is Kid Zoom who we featured back in December. Click that last hyperlink if you know what’s good for you.

[ SmugOne ]

The Bizarre World of Paul Robertson

'vanillgirls' by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/5575236181/vanillgirls)
'vanillgirls' by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/5575236181/vanillgirls)'Universe Party' by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/8466436209/universe-party)'Airbrushed (Single) Cover' for Anamanaguchi by Paul Robertson (http://anamanaguchi.com/singles/)'head cunt dick beam (+cats)' by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/13306366923/head-cunt-dick-beam-cats)`Custer's Revenge` by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/8938531304/super-i-am-8-bit-pics)`oh my god eater` by Paul Robertson (http://probertson.tumblr.com/post/4732733703/oh-my-god-eater)

I’ve found it’s always worth-my-while to periodically check in on Paul Robertson. My latest visit to his tumblr yielded a heady crop of candy-colored, bizarre and dark pixel art that I’ve collected here for you to peruse at your leisure. I was also pleased to discover he recently contributed some art/animations to Wizorb, a Breakout-meets-Zelda game by Tribute that’s available on Windows, Linux, OSX and the 360. After parting with the very-reasonable three-dollar asking price I spent a handful of hours combating evil in Gorudo and am happy to report it was worth every penny. In addition to Paul’s always-excellent pixel art, Wizorb‘s wonderful, nostalgia-activating soundtrack and just-right difficulty progression keeps a firm-but-friendly grip on your attention. So yeah, pick that shit up if you’re looking for something to fun to play; you can’t beat the price.

[ Paul Robertson ]