About 16 years ago photographer John Schabel had the habit of taking his telephoto lens to the airport and shooting grainy black and white portraits of unsuspecting travelers as they sat on the runway. As Visual News points out, the photos were taken in the time of pre-9/11 airport regulations, and the most trouble he ever he ever found himself in was occasionally being asked to leave the airport. The passengers' faces are all mostly obscured to the point of anonymity, but their emotional states are very much intact.
More portraits are available in his book, Passengers.
In a pivotal moment where commerce, pop culture, and sports converged, Michael Jordan's dominance spilled from the hardwood onto our cultural landscape. We witnessed the transformation of athlete to brand, to something even greater—a signifier of sheer will to win, the Jumpman 23.
So it's not surprising that even as he celebrated the big five-oh this year, his aura still radiates. As a birthday gift to the man himself, the Jordan brand approached the creative media and design agency Doubleday & Cartwright, and handed them the task of putting together a private, one-night-only art exhibit of Jordan's storied life, held over NBA all-star weekend, at the Museum of Fine Art in Houston. The project objective: to parse out the Jordan legend into 50 stories to be interpreted visually by 50 different artists, including projects by Grotesk, Rich Tu, David Rathman, Gustavo Dao, Ryan Dugan, Sophia Chang, Jason Jagel, and Lola Dupre, among others. A one-off book of the exhibit will be presented to MJ as well.
DD & Cartwright collected first-hand accounts from MJ's intimate associates to create a multidimensional story that cast Jordan not only as the archetypal winner but as someone whose influence shifted our experience of contemporary culture. DD&C's Kimou Meyer assembled a roster of artists who could re-channel '90s culture and sports iconography in the form of a Jordan story. The goal was to illustrate the many dynamics at play in Jordan's life, ranging from the career milestones to insider lore and untold stories. Meyer had only 10 days to do it.
"We had submissions that ranged from realistic portraiture in acrylic paint to minimalist design-based pieces to smoky ink-and-watercolor landscapes," said Meyer. "We even had a rendition of MJ's high school emblem created from chain-stitching, which is basically an antique method for embroidering fabrics, as well as a fictitious cigar box label rendered with pyrography, a method of burning a wooden surface by hand with a hot needle. We assigned everybody a specific topic and story to tell, but beyond that we left it completely open to the artists to interpret those stories in whatever style and material they wanted." Coupled with each visual was a small text blurb, which formed the seed of the story, and was often interspersed with quotes from long-time friends, competitors, and mentors.
Featured in the exhibit was artwork that nodded to MJ's fierce, competitive spirit—his forays into baseball, golf, and motor sports and his request to have a ping-pong table installed at the arena so he could play against fellow teammates and reporters, the "Chicago Breakfast Club." There were some pieces that touched on his pop-culture status, such as his involvement with Spike Lee and his Wheaties box appearances (he’s made more appearances on the box than any other athlete). There were others that cast him as a tastemaker, breaking league uniform rules by wearing red and black shoes, and triumphing in the process. And there were even stories that painted Jordan as a prophetic visionary, as when he boldly predicted to shoe designer Tinker Hatfield that people would be wearing the Jordan 11s with a tuxedo. Soon, Boyz II men were showing off new 11s on the red carpet at the Grammy's.
"Jordan was like a superhero. It was amazing to watch him—in real time—create mind-boggling feats of super-humanity: the hang time and circus shots especially," said SF-based visual artist Jason Jagel, who was asked to contribute to the exhibit. Jagel's assignment was a bit more abstract. As one of the first athletes to shave his head, MJ transformed baldness into style, and Jagel's job was to recreate a Chicago-style barber-shop piece, replete with slang, referential odes, and classic hair-cuts of the time. "I stick my tongue out when I paint," said Jagel. "Not on a Jordan level of course."
Whether it was Jordan himself who changed the relationship between pop culture, sports, and commerce, or if he was simply the first athlete co-opted for multinational marketing is a moot point, according to Meyer. "Regardless, the fact is that he transcended sport and became a cultural icon to an extent that was never seen before and probably hasn't been achieved since. It's a level of influence that you see most athletes aspire to today, but it all began with Mike."
Directed by UK outfit US, this brilliant, 3-D animated video from the Foals latest album Holy Fire inspires awe and curiousity about image production in the same way that the MTV classic "Take On Me" once did. Multiple viewings suggested.
See more fantastic work by Us at Weareus.co.uk.
If you're lucky enough to have happened upon a stash of vintage National Geographic magazines, then you're familiar with the institution's reputation for incredible photography from far-flung locations. In honor of the journal's 125th anniversary, the National Geographic Society has just launched a Tumblr project called "Found" to share previously unpublished photos. William Bonner, who has the amazing title of "Guardian of the Collection," will be digging through the archives in D.C. and sharing rich images from the society's last century or in documenting scientific and cultural history around the globe.
Follow Found on Tumblr.
Chicago artist Nick Cave is bringing a new batch of his Soundsuits to New York for a series of midday performances in Grand Central Terminal called Heard•NY. Each show will feature 30 of his horse-themed sculptural costumes worn by dancers from the Ailey School, and for three hours a day they'll graze the terminal and perform choreography written in collaboration with the artist. The series is in honor of Grand Central's centennial and runs March 25-31, 11am—2pm daily.
You might remember him as the RISD student who plastered the northeast corridor with Andre the Giant stickers in the early '90s—as we old timers do. Or for his Hope portrait of Barack Obama. Or for his cameo in street art film Exit Through the Gift Shop. Whatever. You know who Shepard Fairey is.
This year, he's designed cases for Incase. The Shepard Fairey Collection includes MacBook and iPad cases, too. For Spring 2013, the Incase Snapcase comes in eight Fairey designs.
Brooklyn designer Kyle LaMar created the brand identity for Rebels in Paradise, which happens to be the name of a book on the LA art scene of the '60s as well as a show at NY gallery NYEHAUS. LaMar's brand concept for the gallery show puts it on the same plane as that of a clothing line, coffee house or whathaveyou—a clever way to get our attention, we tend to think.
French fashion house Louis Vuitton is known for its iconic accessories: coveted speedy bags, monogrammed leather suitcases, and custom trunks made by hand since the 19th century. Now the lux brand has created a collection of travel books that highlight various cultures from the viewpoint of artists who aren’t familiar with them. For the series’ first installment, Congolese painter Chéri Samba explores Paris with pigment-soaked brush strokes, French illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme (of Unknown Hipster fame) examines the sleepless streets of NYC, while Japanese artist Natsko Seki interprets London via her sanguine world of mixed media. Each year, new locations and titles will be added. Next up for 2014? Manga artist Jiro Taniguchi scouts Venice, and Italian comic book author Lorenzo Mattotti adventures in Vietnam.
When the now famously efficient British vacuum company Dyson couldn't find support in its home country for its first bag-less vacuum, it launched the product in Japan. Using the profits from this pastel G-force cyclonic vacuum cleaner, Dyson would enter the British market about seven years later and release the best-selling vacuum cleaner of all time. The historic G-force vacuum from 1986 is now on display at the London Design Museum, as part of a new exhibit that showcases extraordinary stories behind everyday objects. [via Lin Morris]
A good solid, heirloom-quality flask is an item that no self-respecting gentleman (or woman, really) should be without. You never know when you might need a swig to get you through a tough situation, break the ice with a new friend, or simply liven up a Saturday matinee at the cinema.
Washington, D.C.'s Mutiny collective has been in the right in touting its American-made, corrosion-resistant copper flasks. But at present, they have but one left in stock. Luckily, the Ohio manufacturer Jacob Bromwell carries a very similar item for $150. They also claim it is historically accurate down to the birch stopper, so re-enactors, you can get in on the action, too.