Portraits of Black Icons Made With Thousands Of Colorful Thumbtacks.

Andre Woolery's work depicts his journey as an artist and reflects his personal cultural experience as a young black man. His current work, comprised of thousands of colored thumbtacks (not unlike Eric Daigh's pushpin portraits) combined with paint, is primarily portraits of black icons by design.


above: Artist Andre Woolery with some of his thumbtack portraits

Initially inspired by Fruit Loops, because of their bright colors, Andre considered using the children's cereal as a medium. He then found a package of multicolored thumbtacks and began searching for them in all the colors he would need (apparently trying to find "orange" was like searching for the holy grail according to Andre).

Thanks to Mike Jacobs of Jam Paper, he ended up a wide array of colors (including orange) that made the following portraits of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Jimi Hendrix, President Obama and All About The Benjamins possible.




Challenged to find a way of keeping the tacks in place on the canvas, he bought ALL of the hardware store's expanding foam to spray the back of the canvas. The rest of the piece was tack-by-tack trial and error. Every 'pixel' was a lesson in spacing, light, and color to create the vision of Mr. Sean Carter (aka Jay-Z).


Jay-Z "The Tackover," April 2010
7,633 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 7,633.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Kanye West "Tacks on Tacks on Tacks," September 2011,
Over 8,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 12,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




President Obama "Wet Paint," November 2011,
Over 10,000 thumbtacks.
Price for the original: $ 15,000.00





"It's All About the Benjamins," (featuring Benjamin Banneker) November 2011
23,850 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 25,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem Children's Zone.




Jimi Hendrix "Electric Feel"
Over 2,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 4,250.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Artist Andre Woolery:


All the artwork in this post (and more) is available for sale as originals or digital prints, some pieces whose partial proceeds go to the Harlem School of the Arts and the Harlem Children's Zone, making them that much more attractive.

Andre's thumbtack portraits only represent some of his artistic work. Check out his website to see more.

His etsy store

Shop for Andre's work here

For New Year's Eve, The Party Hat In Art by 16 Artists From Jeff Koons to Redshift.

With New Year's Eve tonight and a new year of birthdays coming up, I was inspired by the notion of 'Party Hats' and wanted to see what was out there in terms of fine art that incorporated the classic pointed hat. I was not disappointed and I hope you won't be either.

Stunning Print Advertising for the World Wildlife Fund by Contrapunto BBDO.

above: detail from World Wildlife Fund print ad, "Elephant"

Ads of the World, a fast growing site which features advertising from... yes, that's right, all over the world, makes monthly picks for what they consider the best advertising in film (tv), print, ambient, outdoor, online and direct mail.

Their choice for the Best Print work of November 2011 is this simple but visually stunning campaign for the World Wildlife Fund by Spain's BBDO office, Contrapunto BBDO. Three spread ads with the same headline. Same message. Same visual effect. Still beautifully compelling with a well executed effect.

"Leopard"

detail:


"Parrots"

detail:


"Elephant"


The headline on all three reads "Desertification destroys 6,000 species every year." By the way, since it's not a commonly used term desertification means "The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture."

Credits:
Advertising Agency: Contrapunto BBDO, Madrid, Spain
Chief Creative Officers: Carlos Jorge, Félix Del Valle
Art Directors / Copywriters: Aurora Hidalgo, Raúl López
Account Manager: Paco Ribera
Producer: Javier Luján, Raúl López
Account Executives: Verónica Félez, Dalal Solaim

The Year in Digital And The Brands Using It Most Wisely According to the L2 Think Tank.

A look at The Year In Digital (social media, online commerce, mobile, content sharing) as well as the 2011 luxury brand digital "geniuses" from a year's worth of L2's Digital IQ Index® research.

L2, a think tank for Digital Innovation, has selected what they are referring to as the Eight Most Innovative Digital Programs in Prestige/Luxury and 2011′s Geniuses. Brands that understand how Americans interact and engage with social media, spending more time on social sites than they do on portal sites (with 95% of that social networking time spent now spent on Facebook)



These brands have figured out how to make meaning in the fire hose of daily tweets and video uploads. They understand the implications of a world where e-commerce volume will reach $197 billion by year end (Amazon is 1/3 of that number), 85 percent of the population is blanketed with a commercial wireless signal, and Facebook hosts tens times more photos than the Library of Congress.

L2 states that "The taste for luxury goods will always endure, but the digital world moves quickly. Today’s giants have created tremendous opportunity for themselves in the marketplace, but on the web there’s always room for the rise of the unexpected, the meme, and the new, next, next thing."

And here are their picks for the The Eight Most Innovative Digital Programs in Prestige:

#1 Burberry

#2 Lancome

#3 Oscar de la Renta

#4 Estee Lauder

#5 Dior

#6 Sephora

#7 Benefit Cosmetics

#8 Kate Spade


Consumers are hungry and today digital represents the greatest opportunity for brands to punch above their weight class. As their benchmarking tracks into 2012 it looks like there are quite a few brands bulking up and throwing punches.

Here are their picks for the 2011 Digital Geniuses

Fashion: Burberry, Kate Spade, Coach, Gucci

Watches & Jewelry: Tiffany & Co.

Beauty: MAC, Clinique

China: Audi, BMW, Burberry

Specialty Retail: Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, Macy’s

Magazines: Time

Facebook: BMW, Audi, Belvedere Vodka, Bare Escentuals, Infiniti, Clinique, Ferrari, Bobbi Brown, Lexus, Tory Burch, Lancome, Johnny Walker

Travel: Airlines – Southwest, Delta, Continental Airlines, American Airlines; Hotels – Westin, W Hotels, Hilton

L2 looks at the state of digital (social media, online commerce, mobile, content sharing) as well as luxury and prestige brand digital "geniuses" from a year's worth of our Digital IQ Index® research.

Be sure to check out their informative library of individual videos of the ways brands are using digital here on Vimeo.

Follow them on twitter

Visit them at L2 Think Tank

Vintage Looking Photos Are Actually Miniature Pencil Drawings by Artist Paul Chiappe.

above: Paul Chiappe, Untitled 6, 2007 Pencil on paper, 5 x 2.5cm (note how he included Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the above image)

I came across Paul Chiappe's unusual and frankly, astonishing, work while reading this wonderful 5 part series of 100 artists to watch at ArtInfo.


above: Untitled 48, 2010 Pencil on paper 3.6 x 3.4cm


above: Untitled 44, 2010 Pencil on paper 2.5 x 2cm


At first I thought they were slightly out of focus, vintage family and yearbook photos and then I realized I was looking at miniature masterpieces using mainly pencil (some are done using paint which is then airbrushed).


above: Untitled 46, 2010 Pencil on paper 3.4 x 3.4cm

above: Untitled 49, Paul Chiappe 2011. Pencil on Paper. 4 x 6 cm

A little Sally Mann-meets-Diane Arbus (two of my favorite photographers), Paul's drawings are simultaneously haunting and nostalgic. And small. Scarcely larger than 5cm in width, the 27 year old Scottish artist's images replicate elementary school photos, yearbook photos and what look like posed family photos - not unlike with what my own childhood albums are filled.


above: Untitled 34, 2008 Pencil on paper 3.8 x 2.4cm


above: Yearbook 1 drawings (grouping)



above: four separate images from his Yearbook 1 series

The subjects are dressed and styled in clothing from bygone eras, ranging from the Victorian period to the 1970s, with blurred and distressed faces and surroundings. The pieces are so small that sometimes a subject's face is no more than 2mm in size. It requires a magnifying glass to truly see the details.


above: A Crow Left of the Murder, 2007 Pencil on paper

above: A Crow Left of the Murder (detail), 2007 Pencil on paper


above: Untitled 29, 2008 Pencil on paper 3.4 x 5cm


above: Untitled 2, 2005 Pencil on paper 7 x 5cm

As quoted in an article by Jessica Satherly from the UK's Daily Mail, Paul, who presently works and lives in Edinburgh, says ‘I enjoy trawling through old nostalgic photographs, wherever I come across them.


above: Untitled 8, 2007 Pencil on paper 5 x 3cm

‘I find it particularly interesting looking at people in old photographs and appreciating the differences and similarities, across different periods, cultures and personalities.


above: Untitled 47, Paul Chiappe 2010. Pencil on Paper. 3.3 x 5.35cm

‘My interest is captured by the naive charm and androgyny of the children in the images I use, who display obvious personalities.


above: Untitled 42, 2010 Pencil & Acrylic on paper 5.9 x 4.4cm

‘Using old photos allows me to play with the idea of memory more than a very current image would and works as a device to force people to cast their minds back.’

'The scale stems from an interest in miniatures, where there is an intimacy forged between the viewer and drawing,' adds the 27-year-old artist.

Paul continued: ‘The scale stems from an interest in miniatures, where there is an intimacy forged between the viewer and drawing.

‘I also like working on a small scale for technical reasons - it makes sense for me to produce small work because it wouldn't be practical to produce large works with the same level of detail.

‘Often people don't realise when looking at my drawings on a computer screen that sometimes the faces in the drawings are in fact as small as 2mm.



‘I am constantly experimenting with other mediums and surfaces. I have drawn with pencil since primary school.

‘I remember even in primary school meticulously copying images for art class.

'I would end up drawing dolphins and things from wildlife books.

‘Basically, anything I would draw I'd make sure it was as realistic as possible.

‘I feel comfortable using this medium and enjoy the control pencil affords me.

‘I also like the fact that complex images can be produced using such a rudimentary medium.

‘I've always done quite realistic drawings.’

Images and info from the artist and the Daily Mail.

Paul Chiappe

Representing Gallery:
Madder 139
137 Whitecross Street & Playhouse Yard, London, EH1Y 8JL
+44(0)20 7490 3667

Custom Light Up Beer Pong Tables Add A Little Taste To The Game.

Custom designed and built Beer Pong Tables turn a college drinking game into... well, a college drinking game with a good looking playing field.




Handmade by Chippewa Five in Chicago, Il. the custom Beer Pong tables are crafted with exterior surfaces of Poplar wood. The legs are dining quality cast iron and the body is seamless, free of any visible screws and/or nails.




Wiring for the light-up Beer Pong Cup set is completely internal and plugs into a power source on the bottom of the table leg. The inset triangles are red plexiglass (they have two special editions in green and purple) and lit by long-lasting LED lights (no heat emission).




The rear panels detach for easy maintenance. Price? $799.

Two Special Edition Beer Pong tables with Green and Purple triangles ($649 each):

Purple lighting:


Green lighting:



Newly added lighting makes beer pong even easier in soft lighting or darkness by illuminating the underside and surrounding floor.

Exterior Surfaces are Poplar wood. Legs are dining quality cast iron. Body is seamless, free of any visible screws and/or nails. Wiring for light up Beer Pong Cup set up is completely internal and plugs into power source on bottom of leg. Triangles are red plexiglass and lit by long-lasting LED lights (no heat emission).

Shop for these at their etsy store.