Featured Artist: Robin Rhode

My entire life I've been enamored of art. Throughout my four years in college I studied it intently, religiously until I received a piece of paper which, if nothing else, says I've looked at a whole lot of art. Since graduating I've continued to invest time examining the world of art, not only in terms of its history, but its maturation, its evolution, its adaptation to ever present changes in other facets of the world. In a time when contemporary art is so all-encompassing, you'd think I'd be jaded to it all by now but every so often I encounter a new artist who reminds me of the joy and true beauty work can possess in the most literal sense. Robin Rhode is such an artist and upon seeing his current mini-exhibition as part of LACMA's Contemporary Exhibition series, I experienced a renewed excitement about the state of art.

Rhode is a thirtysomething South African-born artist who now lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Like some genius mix of Charlie Chaplin (for his performances), Banksy (for his "street" forum), and Jackson Pollock (for his action-drawing), the artist illustrates (usually by way of chalk, paint, or oil crayons) a prop or environment and then interacts with it accordingly. Often, video and photography becomes involved in the final product. Inspired by stop-action animation, his pieces are charming, whimsical, sad, joyful, and thoughtprovoking--sometimes all at once. A truly impressive trait of Rhodes' work is his mastery of each element from drawing skill to performance.

I hope you enjoy this samping of his work as much as I enjoyed did in encountering it. Stay tuned for the return of I Make Picture's assigned art projects, as I am currently working on one related to Rhode's work! Xo

Star Gazing

I am continuously inspired by the sights and sounds of Los Angeles. The people-watching can hardly be beat and major public venues like Pasadena's monthly Rose Bowl Flea Market and the recent Culver City Cruisin' Back Car Show make it easy for me to capture the energy and essence of the city. Here are come recent photographs I have taken in the wonderful place I call home. I hope you like. :)

Eye Candy: In the Mood for Wong Kar Wai

If you don't know who Wong Kar Wai is, run--don't walk--to the nearest video store and rent his classic film, In the Mood for Love (2000). The contemporary Chinese director, whose hallmark is breathtakingly stylized cinematography laden with moodiness and romance, has long been heralded for his definitive style. The film, though made during the last decade, takes place in Hong Kong in the early 1960's and Wong Kar Wai's dedication to creating a specific place and time resonates persistently through each frame. The attention to detail in terms of costuming, dramatic lighting, and warm sensual coloring paints the perfect setting for this subtle love story of an affair between two otherwise conservative people whose connection builds after they learn that their spouses have been engaged in an adulterous realtionship with one another. The minimal dialogue in the movie is secondary to the stunning cintematography, which speaks louder than the characters during the course of the film.

I've recently been combing though stills of this movie for inspiration and to get me...er...in the mood for creating work that is equally inspired, lyrical, and emotive. Thought I would pass along some of the loveliness....