Before we land the captain shows this to you for your veiwing pleasure

We've reached our destination, My Mind. Watch your step as you exit. My Mind has so much to offer so... explore and stay tuned.

One last stop before we get to our destination

Sneaker Art has to be one of the biggest influences on my artwork because most of the artist i love who do it are so loose and conceptual. Move over Dave White, there's another sneaker freaker on the horizon. Meet Daymon Greulich, a Melbourne-based artist who specializes in cartoons and character design. Having worked at Disney Studios, he has now opted for the more unpredictable life of a freelancer. Just as a sneakerhead praises their favorite or rare shoes, analyzing all the special details, these artist do the same when depicting their favorites. His favorite kicks include the Air Jordan III, the Air trainer III and the Sneaker Freaker Blaze of Glory! They seem to show up a lot in some of his sneaker art. Not only does Daymon do highly acclaimed sneaker artwork but he also does gig and tour posters for musical artists, animation, illustrations, and random cartoon characters. All his work is portrayed in the digital world which gives him more of an influential beam towards me. I still sit to this day when he has a new piece trying to pick at all the little details he adds in his pieces just to try and get how he does it.

STAGES

Lance Armstrong and Nike have been sharing their passion for life and sports together through a combined effort STAGES, a global art exhibit aimed at raising worldwide awareness and funds for the LIVESTRONG® Global Cancer Campaign. Capturing the spirit that survives in Lance, more than 20 artists donated their time and creativity to put across a message on behalf of LIVESTRONG, Armstrong’s foundation committed to inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer. With a strong debut in Paris, STAGES launched at Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery with a team of the world’s most accomplished and promising international artists, including Ed Ruscha, Cai-Guo Qiang, Richard Prince, Catherine Opie, KAWS, Eric White, José Parlá, Christopher Wool, Tom Sachs, Dzine, and Rosson Crow. The second part of their journey took place in New York City hosted by Deitch Projects where the team picked up four extra members with new works: the Os Gemeos twins, Futura and Dustin Yellin. The finale will take place at one of the art world’s biggest global events: Art Basel Miami Beach. To create an even louder voice for the LIVESTRONG message, STAGES calls in Los Angeles based Christian and Rob Clayton, aka the Clayton Brothers, the furious paintings from Erik Parker and the black and white portraiture genius of artist Tomoo Gokita for a high energy show full of talent and spirit. All artwork on display as part of STAGES will be available for purchase with proceeds directly benefiting LIVESTRONG.



Contributing Artists:
Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Jules De Balincourt, Dzine, Shepard Fairey, Futura, Andreas Gursky, KAWS, Geoff McFetridge, Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, Os Gemeos, José Parlá, Raymond Pettibon, Lari Pittman, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, Eric White, Christopher Wool, Dustin Yellin, Aaron Young

Futura Interview from Adam Bryce on Vimeo.

K.R.E.A.M.

New graphic piece I just finished a few days ago. "K.R.E.A.M. Kicks Rule Everything Around Me" The entire piece is a Illustrator pen tool drawing.... with a comic font. Its shows what my obsession is actually doing to me.

We did some silkscreening and here are a few of the products. I wanted to print on things that we have to look at to use in our everyday lives.
USPS Envelope. Kinda want to send it empty to someone without telling them its my art and see what they do with it... will they keep it 'cause my arts on there or will they throw it away?
one of my favorite magazines.. COMPLEX and one of my favorite brands of kicks.. Jordan. This just adds to the concept of the piece.
Paper towel.... I have a sick idea for this now. When we come back from break I want to bring a roll of paper towels and unroll it so i can print on each one then roll it back up, wrap it in an individual plastic package... K.R.E.A.M. I think that'd sell!!!! lol
Oh and here's the song that pretty much inspired this piece.. CREAM get the money dolla dolla bills ya'll

"Hey you can't copy me!" "I'm not copying you. Your's is red and mine is maroon."

As an artist we all somehow want to protect our artwork once we put it out in the world, but in actual reality we definitely can't. We can do all these copyrights, trademarks, and whatnot to keep people from stealing their ideas. What some of us new upcoming artists don't understand is that our work is for the public. If you want to protect it you might as well make art in your own personal space and never let it reach the light of day. How do you think we are able to move from era to era of artwork? We study the previous era and try to do something different by modifying different techniques just a bit or extremely. SUPERFLEX's concept is in a way an explanation of my most recent piece "The World is my Gallery". I know that I want my work to be displayed for all the public to see. I dont want it to just be cramped up in the gallery for other artists and collectors to only see. I do upload some of my artwork on different social networking sites because that is one of my quickest ways of connecting to my true audience, everyone. I don't mind because I know that I am a bridge for other artists I may inspire to grow, as we all artists are. The sooner we realize that and stop trying to protect our pieces from people to get inspired by, the sooner we can start back up the era movements again.

SUPERFLEX is a trio of Danish artists who explore the boundaries of an original piece and a direct copy. The artists played around with the best-known brands and trademarks to create their own logo, which ran the risk of many legal problems. Some of their pieces that have caught a lot of heat are:

FREE BEER - An open source beer.

Black spot sneakers - Anti corporate sneaker power.

Guaraná Power - Soda trying to use global brands as raw material

Mecca Cola - The clash of colas.

Social Pudding - Copy pudding

All of these pieces frame the concept of SUPERFLEX's vision "to challenge intellectual property."
Their motto that I love so much is "If Value, Then Copy". I love artists who actually tests these types of boundaries that are so sketchy to touch on. I guess I just have a love for guerilla artists because those are the people who are actually making the art that inspires me so much. They are basically at the top of the pedestal of controversial art playing with people's emotions, making people interact with their pieces. I so upset I didn't get to see them speak when they came here to Tyler because I would of had so much to ask, talk about, and get inspiration from them. AHHHHH I'm just getting that "stuck for words" feeling that I love getting when talking about an artist. I could go on and on about SUPERLEX, but you have to have a taste for guerilla art to appreciate them like I do. Just go to their site http://superflex.net/.

Here's a video of one of their pieces that still has me in amazement. Oh and FYI this is a life-sized paper replica of McDonald's!!!

Flooded McDonald's from Superflex on Vimeo.

Who wants a $100 bucks??

There's a Grit & Beauty Blog Contest

10 students will win $100 each. (Open to all undergraduates.)
Like any very real place, Philadelphia is sometimes beautiful and sometimes gritty. Most of the time it is a little--or a lot--of both. Post text, images, audio, video expressing the mix of grit and the beauty that can make our city so interesting.
The contest ends October 30, 2009.


... yeah I got it!! (confidence, cockiness, whatever I know... but once you get into competition mode you have to be to survive) Now Im just waiting on the results, but no really I am pretty humble. I just love this piece Im submitting... Im submitting me.

F the police that's how I treat 'em

This piece is a mixture of a few things. It started off as one of my tourist series sketches (check out the post a little further back). I took it into Photoshop and painted the skin and boots of the correctional officer a.k.a. POEPOE and drew the little character in Illustrator. Lastly I put them in the setting of one of my photos down at LOVE Park. sweet huh??

Here's a couple of musical artist who feel the same way about the police...

Kanye West- All Falls Down (skip to 2:05 to hear it)





Public Enemy- F... The Police (explict... starts off with the general message lol)

In the news...

Philadelphia Free Library System is shutting down

Posted by Cory Doctorow, September 13, 2009 9:19 PM | permalink

The Philadelphia Free Library system is broke, and they're shutting it down, including cancelling "all branch and regional library programs, programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults" and "all children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers, computer classes and after school programs" and "all library visits to schools, day care centers, senior centers and other community centers" and "all community meetings" and "all GED, ABE and ESL program."

Just look at that list of all the things libraries do for our communities, all the ways they help the least among us, the vulnerable, the children, the elderly. Think of every wonderful thing that happened to you among the shelves of a library. Think of the millions of lifelong love-affairs with literacy sparked in the collections of those libraries. Think of every person whose life was forever changed for the better in those buildings.

Think of the nobility of libraries and librarianship, the great scar that the Burning of Alexandria gouged in human history. Think of the archivists who barricaded themselves in the Hermitage during the Siege of Leningrad, slowly starving and freezing to death but refusing to desert their posts for fear that the collections they guarded would become firewood.

Think of the librarians who took a stand during the darkest years of the PATRIOT Act and refused to turn over patron records. Think of the moral unimpeachability of those whose trade is universal access to all human knowledge.

Picture an entire city, a modern, wealthy place, in the richest country in the world, in which the vital services provided by libraries are withdrawn due to political brinksmanship and an unwillingness to spare one banker's bonus worth of tax-dollars to sustain an entire region's connection with human culture and knowledge and community.

Think of it and ask yourself what the hell has happened to us.

All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009

Everyone head to the Scanning Room... Yes we have one on this flight

I'm scanned and Adobe Illustrated!!! Who's next?

Everyone find your pairing partner we're experiencing some TURBULANCE

This was a part of my tourist sketch series. Many tourists who come to Philadelphia hover over the famous LOVE statue at JFK Park aka Love Park.If you ever rode the metro in Philadelphia you know you will spot a variety of people traveling along with you. Some people talk about others behind their backs, criticizing them or whatever and then some who are just to themselves. This sketch was entirely inspired by my surroundings. I had some colored pencils in my hand and I was on the train observing people and honing into people's conversations.

This pairing is somewhat a giveaway. The subway routes are home to some of the most extravagant graffiti artworks. The South St station I was at even showcases a series of advertisement signs that commissioned graffiti artists and other artists to create pieces
which are inspired by PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer).

It seems we are close to our destination

The Tate Modern gallery played host to an eclectic powerhouse group of pop artists in its Pop Life – Art in the Material World exhibition. The show’s premise is inspired by Andy Warhol’s “Good business is the best art” quote as many of the artists brought to the stage each share a distinct brand-aspect behind their art. Participating artist include Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring, Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami among others. The show runs until January 17th, 2009. We share images from the opening of this not-to-miss show here.

If you turn your attention to the front we have a movie selection for you!!

German artist case will be exhibiting a new series of works on canvas at Carmichael Gallery on October 8th. Entitled The L.A. case, it is his first US solo exhibition and the second time he has exhibited at Carmichael Gallery.

case’s new body of work references imagery from elaborate, self-staged photo shoots using spray paint on canvas. Combining exacting technical expertise with an innovative hint of liberation and irony, he investigates the parallels that exist between the conflicting states of convention and controversy, manipulating beauty in a dark, thrilling and provocative manner.

case is widely recognized as one of the best photorealistic spray paint artists in the world. His groundbreaking technique, detailed in the book Ma’Claim: Photorealistic Graffiti, Falk Lehmann and Steffen Petermann, Publikat Verlags und Handels GmbH and Co. KG, Germany, 2006, has set new standards and established a strong international collector base and fan network.
Born in Erfurt, Germany, in 1979, case has exhibited his fine art in galleries in the UK, Germany and US. He achieved his Diploma in Art Restoration and Conservation from Erfurt University Of Applied Sciences. case is also a founding member of graffiti crew Ma’Claim, a group of artists renowned throughout the world for their striking photorealistic murals. He currently lives and works in Frankfurt.

Watch case create one of the pieces for the show in this great video below.

Attention passengers... Are there any sneakerheads aboard?

Do you get questioned, "How many pairs of shoes do you own?!!" repeatedly? Then when people actually see your collection its almost like shoes are spilling out of your closet. This Do Not Open sign was made just for my fellow sneakerheads with massive amounts of sneakers sitting in there closets. I made this with basic shapes and the marvelous PEN TOOL (for the logos).

And if you look out to your left you'll see a new town

FONTVILLE!!! This town was constructed with all text. (not something you all are used to)

Parents please cover your children's eyes. This next celebrity on board is only for the mature folk

The American photographer, Terry Richardson, was born in New York City in 1965, raised in Hollywood and Ojai California, and is the son of fashion photographer Bob Richardson. Terry Richardson is an international celebrity as well as one of the most prolific and compelling photographers of his generation. Known for his uncanny ability to cut to the "raw" essence of whomever appears before his lens, Mr. Richardson's vision is at once humorous, tragic, often beautiful, and always provocative.

Terry began photographing his environment while attending Hollywood High School and playing in a punk rock band, which is the roots of his individuality through his art. And he hasn't stopped shooting since. He has shot for numerous advertisements for fashion designers and editorial pieces. Terry has lensed campaigns for such clients as Gucci, Sisley, Miu Miu, Chloe, Hugo Boss, and Levi's. His editorial work has appeared in magazines such as French Vogue, British Vogue, i-D, GQ, Harper's Bazaar and Purple. Richardson's impressive list of subjects includes Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Vincent Gallo, Tom Ford, Jay Z, Kanye West, Johnny Knoxville, Karl Lagerfeld, Pharell Williams and many others.

Terry's work has been the subject of numerous group and one man shows throughout the world, and he has published books, beginning with Hysteric Glamour in 1998, and stretching through his career until his most recent work, a retrospective from Taschen, entitled Terryworld 25th Anniversary Edition. Terry's work spans to a variety of mediums: he has shot music videos and commercials and is currently working on his first feature film. There are a few series within his collections that are NSFW (not suitable for work). Of course, a few prudish people immediately complain some of Terry's series were offensive, because they were too sexually explicit. But its nothing but an art form. If you know what's best for you, you will not search Terry Richardson with the safesearch off in a library or with your boss.

Whatever the medium, Terry Richardson continues to prove that he is a true American Original.

While you were sleeping

Hey I draw too!! Here are a few funny little sketches I did while on my journey in, during, and out of the city. These are just very humorous to me which seem to always be the outcome of my quick sketches... just to keep me interested and insert myself into my art.

Good evening passengers this is your pilot speaking...

másCustoms is a self-managed custom footwear company I started back in 2004. Formally known as MASKREATIONZ, másCustoms mentally came into play through a heated conversation between friends about the continuous sightings of the same shoe on people's feet. "Dont you hate it when you think you've found a pair of kicks that you think no one will have then the next day you see someone with them?!" This is how my thought process all started.

This conversation lead to many outcomes in my life which actually shape me to who I am today. I started become more into finding rare shoes, which lead to an obbsession to collecting shoes, which lead to money becoming tighter in my pocket (and still does), to wanting to create my own conceptual colorway for shoes. I started sketching out and coloring in designs I would come up with in classes, while watching movies, etc. After a few friends and family looked at my designs, I got persuaded to actually make these designs come to life. "You're an artist, so why not comibine your sneaker obsession with that."

The first customs I ever did were these Skittles Nike Huarache 2k4. There had the red/ white colorway just as the Skittles bag with little painted Skittle candies skattered around the shoe with acrylic paint and topped off with the logo on the toe of the shoe. I was ecstatic to see my drawing actually become a real shoe. They were good for a while until I started critquing my work as failures because I could of done better. That led me to put off making customs for about 2 1/2 years to improve my painting skills. Spring of 2007 came around and I came up with several ideas back to back and jumped right back into the customizing game with improved painting skills, refrences of techniques I wanted to experiment with from other known customizers, and a inspired thought process. From 2004- 2008 másCustoms went through numerous name changes, from MASKREATIONZ to MAS to MAS Customs to the now másCustoms. They all hold my initials, M.A.S., but it was brought to my attention from a peer that my intials spelled the spainish word for "more", más. I ran with that! Now that I have gotten more familiar with digital art, my little sketches now become digital mock-ups to show myself how my creation may come out.

I have experimented with a wide variety of techniques from painting with leather paint to deconstructing shoes and reconstructing them with my own fabrics. I am inspired by a lot of other customizers out there and everything around me. I've been getting a lot of recognition, curious people gazing at the creativity, customers, and some of my favorite customizers' attention. All this is really becoming bigger via my Facebook group page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=83680772277 (You can check this out for a good majority of my custom pieces) where I inform my viewers my status on different pieces, obtain orders from potential customers, and advice/support. I am and always will be learning how to be just a that step above the retail market in creating customs people would love to own.

For your entertainment pleasure there's a brochure of one of our takeoff points

Philadelphia (West, South, East, North, and dead Center)

It seems we have a celebrity on board!

We usually attract various types of people on our journeys from middle-class people, the lower class, to even CELEBRITIES of inspiration in the art world!! First on our list is Brian "KAWS" Donnelly. KAWS is one of the upcoming worldwide-known artists. He has had numerous gallery showings located in many galleries across the world, from his city abode of New York to London and many more. Brian started out his artwork journey as the once looked over graffiti artist. Early on he created his signature image, X's on eyes, which is easily spotted as KAWS work now. KAWS's artwork ranges from manipulating noticeable childhood cartoon characters, abstract shapes, and even his own created characters. KAWS has gotten so widely known and successfully, he has collaborated with many other artists, started his own clothing line, and even been recognized in countless magazines. KAWS cartoon "style" has definitely inspired my increasing range of art style. Since there is a constant variety of people on our flights continue to stay tuned to many more inspiring artists.