Lego Wars: Pop Culture Meets Luxury Brands In Chromogenic Prints by Dale May.

above: V3PO Louis Vuitton by Dale May

Photographer Dale May's LEGO WARS at the Samuel Owen Gallery are a collection of photo that combine popular culture with commercial imagery and luxury brands. LEGO Star Wars minifigs juxtaposed against Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch logos - even set against the famous Tiffany Robin's Egg Blue, are produced as chromogenic prints and face mounted to archival acrylic backed with aluminum. The pieces are large (with the square images available as 24" x 24" and 48" x 48" and the rectangular images measuring 24" x 48") and prices start at $2400 for the limited edition prints.

Coco Vader:

Chewy Burch:


Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Dale's people, fashion and advertising photography because I find them too digitally composed, somewhat cliché and a little forced, but in the case of these, that style works. These also illustrate an eye for composition I don't as readily see in his other work.

Tiffany Trout and Tiffany Trooper:

Baby Boba:

Stormtroopers:

Chrome Trooper and X-Ray Trooper:

X-Ray Trooper LightBox:

Rebel Pilot:

Obi Wan Saber and Darth Vader Saber:


The Samuel Owen Gallery describes the series as follows:
The LEGO WARS series is a photographic study of popular culture, commercial advertising and nostalgia. As an adult, Dale May revisits these tiny plastic Lego toys and photographs them in a way that returns them to the epic importance they once had as a child, reminding us why we needed to collect every single piece.

Trooper Mob:

Biker Scouts:

Royal Guard:

Yoda (front):

Yoda (back):

Helmet pile:

Rainbow Coalition:


Iconic, nostalgic, yet timeless, the artist brings a new look to a subject that’s common place. Dale leaves nothing to chance, not only is the work impeccably crafted and well thought out but the material he has chosen to produce the Lego Wars series was no accident. Dale felt that the entire piece of art should resemble the high polished glossiness of the subject itself. Crafted in archival acrylic and backed with aluminum dibond, the work is given a look not unlike the plastic Star Wars Lego or something in Darth Vader’s home, the Death Star itself!

Once made from molded plastic, standing just over an inch, and in danger of being stepped on, these characters now stand tall, speak to us and demand attention!

You can purchase the prints here.

iPhone Photo Cube Printer. No Software, No Computer, just pop in your iPhone and Print.

Despite the fact that most of us are digital photo people and share many images via cyberspace, they do still make picture frames (remember those?) and people still like to place an actual photo upon their mantel or shelf. For those folks, the iPhone Photo Cube Printer by Vupoint is the perfect gift for this holiday season.

The iPhone Photo Cube Printer.
This is the first printer that produces photo quality pictures directly from a docked iPhone, iPod touch, Android phone, iPad1 or iPad2. Requiring no computer or software, the printer is controlled from your iPhone via a free downloadable app. In less than a minute and without ink cartridges, it prints crystal-clear 300 dpi resolution pictures with vibrant colors, thanks to patented paper embedded with yellow, magenta, and cyan dye crystals.



The photographs are smudge- and tear-proof, fade- and water-resistant. The printer can produce one, four, or 10 images on each 4" x 6" borderless sheet. Occupying no more desktop area than a box of tissues, the printer also charges a docked iPhone or iPod touch. Also connects to Android phones (requires mini-USB cable), iPad, and iPad2.



Comes with one thermal paper cartridge that makes 12 prints. Plugs into AC. 4" H x 7" W x 6" D. (3 lbs.). replacement paper cartridges cost $24.95 each.

You can learn all the specs here

retails for $159. USD

Available at these online retailers.

The Masters Meet Ikea: Koya Abe and his Digital Art:

Digital artist Koya Abe's Project: Display 3 is a series of large c-prints that combine the human subjects of traditional European Portraiture paintings with images of contemporary interiors, creating an unusual contrast that is virtually impossible to ignore.






the project as explained by the artist:
PROJECT: Digital Art Chapter 3:

Visual technology and installation systems have been developed to create displays for the ideas of perception and desire. Human beings seek ways to portray themselves within a social context. In such they will seek to use representations of common desires to represent the way in which they seek to be perceived. People aspire to have an ideal display of their life. Ironically, at the same time they to seek to find their ideal life within the display. Modern commercialism realized this strategy and engaged the method of display in the same way that traditional portrait painters had in the past.






This project explores two apparently different periods and art traditions. One area is the tradition of European portrait painting and the other is the “art” of modern commercial presentation. In this context, the paintings are historical masterpieces intended for an exclusive audience and the other is a commercial interior showroom for the mass market. These two image sources were created in different physical, historical and conceptual terms, the “high art” of the aristocracy and the “consumer art” of an Ikea showroom. However, they have one area of common ground; an idea that I refer to as “display.” This is a key concept for both of these visual sources and is an underlying concept for art and visual history.









Koya Abe is a Japanese artist who has resided in New York City since 1994. He currently teaches photography and digital imaging in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University.

The NY Times said ..."Koya Abe is a Japanese-born artist with one eye on cultural stereotypes of the East and the other on the ''Wild West'' of Hollywood movies and tourist destinations. Using digital technology, he inserts Samurai warriors and other figures in traditional Japanese costume into re-enactments of American frontier gunfights and pioneer life. This cultural crossover is both amusing and disconcerting in its blend of mythologies."

Visit the artists site here.

Koya Abe