Frogger: The 5th Ave Edition

So I am riding home tonite. My absolute favorite part of my day. I mean, I bike TO work just so I can bike home. I mean this is my 'plezshah'! And I recently fell in love with 5th Ave. I know once past midtown it's like gravy. It just oooozes. I'm like Mike. I just be easin' on down the road.

Tonite would be a little different. I get close to 23rd st, and all lanes around me are clear. I see green lights for at least 5 blocks. So I gun it. Did I tell you I am in the brand new smooth Green Bike Lane. I am gunning. It's flat too...Just like NY'kers do, they just walk into the street even when they don't have the walk sign. My lights are green. All of a sudden I see people crossing the street. Not 1 or two. More like 30. It's like church just let out and they are crossing to the gates of heaven. I start screaming... MOVE!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! WATCH OUT!!

Some people move out of the way...One girl panics. She stops. I try to get around her. So I aim to her backside. Not much damage could be done there right?

This is what I saw next...She goes flyin'. FLYIN'


She hits the ground and people have stopped and are looking. I just so happen to hit her right in front of a NYPD police car. The passenger side door opens up. I am like "really?". People are asking if she is okay. She is not crying and says she's okay. When the cop asks if she is okay, she burst into tears. I am like "really?". You were just okay. They asked if she wanted an ambulance, she said no. They put her in the back of the car.

Cop: Are you okay?
Me: Yeah, I'm fine.
Cop: You don't need an ambulance?
Me: (Pointing to my big ass goofy looking helmet)

At that point a woman walks by that was with them says, "I try to tell 'em don't be crossing the street like that."

Cop: What, your brakes don't work?
Me: Yeah they are fine.
Cop: You didn't see her?
Me: I saw her. I screamed for them all to move. But you know how people do. my lights were green and they just cross anyway. She panicked and stopped. I tried not to, but I hit her.
Cop: Yeah, I knw what you mean. Well I at least need to get your info.

I hand him my license. He jots info down and I ride off.


This is pretty much the scene....



-Rodney

Daily Obsession: The xx. A new favorite band of mine.

Pleeease believe me. Please belieeeeeve me!



-Rodney

Hilarity: Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden

I have been shown this twice in the last two days and it does not get any less funny. Enjoy...



-Rodney

Daily Obsession: Dayumm...Cee-Lo's Big Ole Words

Listen. Read. Nuff said.



-Rodney

Julian Hibbard: Another reason why my buddy is better...

than yours...This little treat. "The Noir A-Z" Published by Mark Batty Publisher




English photographer Julian Hibbard offers an adult take
on the alphabet book in The Noir A-Z. Replacing whimsical
sketches of kids in letter shape with provocative pairings of
word and image, Hibbard has concocted a dark and voyeuristic
vision. An element of risqué and danger consumes each letter,
tying the images into a loose narrative. The images are sexy.
They are also just complex enough to pull emotional strings
through an easily read composition. O for 'observed', for example,
seduces the reader into spying on an innocent woman. In many
of the images Hibbard manages to tie the reader to the scene as
active participant and not simply observer. That, in part, is the
art of Noir A-Z. And, in full, the fun of the book.

Nick Schonberger

Wallpaper


Julian has been working on the images for this book since before I met him a few years back. And I still find new inspirations and beauty within his heavily loaded, and well thought out photographs.

Well, last week he had his book release and signing at the legendary Player's Club. When I first heard the name, I was expecting Lisa Raye to be on one of those bookshelves gyrating. But it was obviously not that "Player's Club". I made a special trip home during the day to look extra 'smart'. I didn't disappoint. I made sure of that.

The following pics are from the signing...the room smelled of rich mahogany and had many leatherbound books...





What I thoroughly enjoyed were the insights into the creative process and the references which influences his approach and ideas.

He also had on display his jigsaw puzzles. Of which I have 2 of the 3. I have been so graciously given them as Christmas gifts in years past. I will complete them and frame them.





Again, let me brag... (Here)

Brilliance...

-Rodney

My buddies are better than yours...: Demetrious Noble

You don't get a name like Demetrious Noble to end up a respectable tractor mechanic. Did I mention respectable? My best friend has been working on some things in the far off land of Rocky Mount, NC. The stories he is discovering and conveying will very soon make their way into everyone's path and attention will be paid graciously.

The following images are representative of a series he has been building called "Broken Homes". This series is upwards of 54 imagesa and counting. Amazing really. Most photographers don't take 54 great images in their whole career. And here this dude is taking them in his waking sleep.

Sometimes a photographer's brilliance is simply showing you something beautiful of what you once may have never considered.






And just to rub your noses in it...
Grandma Maggie and Grandpa James


And the following are just some other brilliant things he's been working on.





Okay I am gonna stop posting here. My feelings are getting hurt...But trust me, there's more.

-Rodney

Daily Obsession: "I heard a white man's yes Is a BLACK MAYBE......"

I don't think I have EVER played this song just once. Today I played it back for 45 mins straight. Bobbing my head back and forth on the train as if I had no home training.

This isn't the real video...But the song is what I am after anyway. Enjoy.



-Rodney

Appreciation: Seatbelt Fashion

"Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, the design duo behind the Canadian fashion label Greta Constantine, revel in using textiles that Pickersgill describes as “foreign yet functional.” But although they enjoy the challenge of taking materials out of their original context, cleaving seat belts to the female form wasn’t too much of a mental leap."








-Rodney

Daily Obsession: Kirk Franklin missed the mark...

"In 1965 James brown and his band released a series of earthshaking singles beginning with the syncopated rumble of " I Got You ( I feel good)" that turned soul music on it's ear with their minimal arrangements and relentless grooves. Aspiring soul bands across the country sought out to imitate Brown's intoxicating new sound resulting in a renaissance of rough-shod, independently produced music. Numero Records assembled compilation, Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymanal proves the irresistable rhythms of James Brown's funk worked their way into some of the finest gospel music of the the late 60's and early 70's. This album is truly a treasure of forgotten gems, and shoud be of interest to anyone who seeks to understand the far reaching influence of James Brown and his band."

I present to you Trevor Dandy...


And now I present my new favorite influence of this beat...
Monsters of Folk...Oh wow.


And now one you may all know... That Kid on the Moon...


This is what I think Kirk was after as far as the current contemporary sound influencing his gospel. I never really liked Kirk. Or gospel for that matter...But had I been living in the 60's, I would have been a Jesus groupie with funk like this.

-Rodney

I dig: Marc LaGrange

My close buddy Nooch put me on to this guy. I am really digging his eye. These are just a few of my favs.








And of course, I see a photo everday being taken on the Robert Indiana sculpture here in NY. But I am sure they don't even come close to this...



See more (here)

-Rodney

One man's junk is another man's art...Gabriel Dishaw

Think you have the bombest sneakers around? Next to these sneakers by junk-metal artist Gabriel Dishaw, your crazy, neon high-tops don’t even compare. Dishaw creates detailed shoe replicas out of metal and electronic scraps, using only glue and bending techniques to hold them together. So far, he’s created five shoe sculptures inspired by some of his favorite kicks, and although you probably wouldn’t want to wear them, they’re the ultimate statement shoe.







Dishaw's collection is made entirely out of recycled metal, bits of wire, staples, Intel computer chips, and even old typewriters. He even goes so far as to even make each shoe—which comes with a coordinating shoebox—a perfect size 9.5. Weighing in at anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds, these heavy-metal sneaks certainly weren't designed for comfort, but their eco-factor is high.

“I begin each sculpture with an idea of how can I take these found pieces of useless metal and insignificant objects and create something that everyone can understand and relate to,” Dishaw says. “I find myself looking at ordinary mechanical items to see how I could turn that something, into something else not originally intended for that use.”

See more of his work (here)

-Rodney

I Suggest: Sexy Beast Vol. 5

This mix is damn near immaculate. I really suggest 1 download and a 1000 listens. Some of my favorite jams from this past summer are on this one. Get it (here)

Download the previous volumes (here). These are outstanding as well. Did I mention the great cover art?


-Rodney

I dig: Sam Weber

This guy Sam Weber is killing me with this emotional work.








More here

-Rodney

Paul McCarthy Exhibition

Excerpt from the show write-up:

"WHITE SNOW at Hauser & Wirth New York will be comprised of two sets of drawings made by the artist since late 2008. The first is a selection of diminutive black and white pencil works as detailed, atmospheric and unapologetically lovely as Old Master drawings. Here, McCarthy develops his characters – the young Snow White masturbating in a solitary romantic reverie, various phallic-nosed dwarfs in a dither at the arrival of the beautiful stranger in their midst – as players in a sly yet poignant coming-of-age narrative packing a metaphorical wallop. The images touch upon myriad dark associations invited by the Snow White tale while simultaneously suggesting a love story with profound personal resonance for the artist."

4 November – 24 December 2009, Hauser & Wirth New York

(Location)

Check out some this piece...



"Santa Claus with a Buttplug" (2007), a 24 meter high inflatable work by Paul McCarthy displayed at a public park in Antwerp, Belgium, October 2007


-Rodney

Appreciation: Flyness indeed...

Photo work by Mangus Muhr. This is just some sheer hilarity...How does catch them, kill them and they don't look all smashed up? This is just a cool idea...

My buddies are better than yours...: Julian Hibbard

Julian is a photographer friend of mine, who happens to be an impeccable gentleman, a super talent, and has a british accent to boot. It's not fair how some people get all the favors...haha. Here are few of my favorite images of his. Not all, but a sampling. They just so happen to be from a series he did a while back called "Caught", if I remember correctly.











This last one is not from that series but I love the sinister aura about his work. It's great because the man himself is the anti-thesis of sinister.



See more of his work (here)

Read about him as follows.
"Julian Hibbard is a thirty seven year old English photographer.

Julian’s photographic journey began in 1992 at Kingston University in London where he studied Intermedia Fine Art Photography. Upon graduating in 1995 he assisted the German advertising photographer Andreas Heumann.

Julian’s work reflects his interest in memory, dreams, film and the altering eye of the camera. His photography has been exhibited in London, Scotland, Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles. In May 2008, he exhibited at the prestigious Fundación RAC Gallery in Northern Spain. Most recently, in March 2009, select images from his first book "The Noir A-Z" were shown at the Ivy Brown Gallery in NYC.

Editorial assignments and profiles include: Surface Magazine, Elle, Victor by Hasselblad, Label, Dpict, Observor Life, Popular Mechanics, Honey, Print Media, 180 Magazine, Pictured, Papotage, Production Paradise, Revista Paula, Revista Cosas, Alt Pic and Wraparound Magazine.

Notable awards and honorary mentions include the 2008 International Photography Awards, the 3rd Annual Photography Masters Cup, a 2007 ASME Award for the Popular Mechanics "Survival" story, the 2006 Black & White Spider Awards and selection for the 4th Annual Surface Magazine Avant Guarde Competition.

"The Noir A-Z" was published in September 2009 by Mark Batty Publisher.

Julian Hibbard is represented for commercial projects by the agency Radical Media"

-Rodney

If Big Bird was cow...and made into a bike.

A collaboration for Pharrell Williams by Brooklyn Machine Works and Domeau & Pérès in Paris...

Appreciation: Doze Green = No doze...

From Jonathan Levine Gallery (website)

Doze Green

Doze Green was born and raised in the upper west side of Manhattan, New York City and was one of the pioneers of the Hip-Hop culture. He first started writing graffiti in his neighborhood in 1974, and started painting subway trains in 1976. The following year he joined the Rock Steady Crew. The Rock Steady Crew were pioneers of a new style of dance known as breakdancing or B-Boying. The crew first started dancing at art exhibitions and galleries of Soho and the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

During this time Doze was also attending the High School of Art and Design, where some of the most talented and well respected graffiti artists came from. Artists such as Lady Pink, Daze, Ernie Valdez, Seen TC5, Mr. Wiggles, Mare 139, and numerous others. In 1982 Doze showed his artwork in a well known group show at the Fun Gallery. At this same time after appearances in major movies such as Flashdance, Style Wars, and Wildstyle, the Rock Steady Crew was launched into action and the limelight.

From B-boy to graf legend Doze has gone to tagging the hallways of South Bronx projects to designing for clothing lines like Kikwear and Ecko. In the process, he's become a proponent of the avant-garde "fusionistic" art movement.

In the past year, he's been featured on dozens of exhibitions in art galleries from both coasts. Best known for his characters, Doze has begun to concentrate on canvases that blend wildstyle techniques with metaphysical concepts. "I think I'm at the point where I'm movin' even further, to more distant frontiers like sculpture and 3-D painting".

"Probably the biggest challenge and the most fun is painting live, " reveals Doze. "There's a communion between the audience, the DJ and myself. The DJ is feeding off the music, and if the crowd is hype, he goes that extra mile. The same applies to me."





More visual greatness (here) and (here)

-Rodney

Daily Obsession v2: Icarus by Santigold and Diplo

Sickness.


-Rodney

Daily Obsession: Walk Right Now by The Jacksons

Epic...


-Rodney