Jeremyriad

Senhor Testiculo: He’s a Nut Job for Cancer Awareness

Written on June 13, 2013 by jeremy

The Internet is really having a ball with Senhor Testiculo, the euphoric testacular mascot for a Portuguese cancer patient assistance organization. Brazil’s Associação de Assistência às Pessoas unleashed Senhor Testiculo, the opposite-of-a-sad sack, to raise global awareness about testicular cancer. And when Senhor Testiculo hangs, he’s totally down. But sadly, testicular cancer isn’t: it’s on the rise.

If SpongeBob Squarepants shape-changed into a scrotum, he’d basically be Senhor Testiculo. Per AAPEC via Google translation:

“One testicle cheerful, playful and very catchy, which led information and joy to adults and children, men and women. With charm and elegance the new mascot distributed smiles and brightens the Campaign for Prevention of Prostate Cancer.”

“Elegance” isn’t the first adjective that swings into my mind, but they did a bang-up job with the costume given their decision to go photo-realistic. Here in America, we had Lance Armstrong carrying the torch for testicular cancer for a while. But the moral of that story is: you can’t hire a doper to do a nut job.

[Come on! That was a good one. Click for an instant rimshot]

Have you ever seen that documentary about the people in Texas who compete to win a truck by keeping a hand on the vehicle in a test of endurance? It’s called Hands on a Hard Body and it has nothing to do with this story, but everything to do with the picture above.

Before Senor Sac was newly net-famous, there was (and still is) the less-hirsute Mr. Testicles. The latter has a full site of helpful info like how to check yourself (before you wreck yourself). Click through for “Extreme Weather Conditions for Giant Testicles [video].”

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Posted in Editorials, Events, Happenings | 1 Comment

Doubleparlour to Release 22 New Character Toys

Written on June 11, 2013 by jeremy

In about 24 hours, San Francisco-based artists, Doubleparlour [see studio visit/interview here], will be releasing 22 new hand-sculpted resin character toys. Each sculpture is a unique piece, finished with acrylic paint and varnish.

I happened to be visiting Doubleparlour’s double parlour last weekend, and I got to see a preview of these pieces. So much goodness! The duo has been watching lots of yokai (Japanese supernatural monsters) movies of late, so expect a spectrum of specters to continue creepily creeping into their character canon.

I didn’t ask if they’d been rekindling a romance for A Clockwork Orange, but tiny bowler hats will also play a part in Wednesday’s release. The hybrid human-creature in the bowler hat at above left is known as JR (Junior Roper). Per Doubleparlour: “He has an insatiable curiosity and can often be found wandering down the aisles of the library.”

I asked Doubleparlour about the dunce-cap twins (above). They’re called the “clerks.”

They work in the family business of selling party favors and small firearms. They are a bit haggard and never received enough praise growing up. They have secrets (like how they acquired the family business), but most of them they plan to take to their graves.

Below at the very back standing tall in a smart green dress and sporting a dramatic facial expression is Edith: “She likes to mimic other people’s expressions, which her parents find exasperating. She collects insects, dust bunnies and matchbooks.”

Love the characters. Love the stories. Doubleparlour’s new collection of 22 figures range from 2.5 inches to 10 inches tall and $30-$200. They become available tomorrow, Wednesday, June 12th at 12PM PST here. Go get some!

Posted in 3D, Art, resin, sculpture, Toys | 1 Comment

David Choe x Fin Bec Limited Edition Painted Wine Cases

Written on June 10, 2013 by jeremy

If you consider some of what comes out of David Choe‘s mouth, you might not think he’d be the best pairing for high-end wine going in. But you’re not Yvo Mathier, president and business director of Swiss winemakers, Fin Bec. Mr. Mathier, who has produced seven previous cases of wine art by international graffiti artists (“We had a few bottles while we came up with the idea.”), took a gamble on the gambler and flew Choe out for a one-week crate-painting bender.

Fin Bec revealed the results this weekend. Depending how you see things: it’s eight incredible new complete paintings by David Choe OR 672 hand-painted swatches.

Backing up a bit, Fin Bec stacked 672 empty wine crates to form the eight giant wooden canvases. Co-conspirator Critter Fleming (from whom we have the behind-the-scene photos) helped prime and paint the boxes, and then David Choe went to town. Of his stay in stunning Switzerland, Choe said:

“I don’t think my grandfather or any of my ancestors ever expected a Korean to be in this country. But I’m here, and I think they would die if they saw how much cheese I’ve eaten.”

Ha! Proximity to wine ≠ pretentiousness!

There’s a ton of paint on these boxes because Choe sometimes switched subject matter throughout the week. “I’m using so much paint that the wood is starting to warp, which I think is kind of cool,” he said. As for the changes, “That comes from how much cheese I ate or how much sleep I got the night before.”

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Posted in 2D, 3D, Art, Events, Happenings, paintings, product art | Leave a comment

Sideways Toy by Yoskay Yamamoto

Written on June 7, 2013 by jeremy

It’s been about 5 years since artist Yoskay Yamamoto released his beautiful Koibito art toys in editions that, by today’s truncated toyconomics, seem massive (500 – 1000 pieces). Clearly a fan of the medium, Yamamoto returns to toys with Sideways, a limited edition wood-and-resin follow-up to the Koibito (and also Screaming for the Sunrise) vinyls.

You may remember Sideways from Yamamoto’s fantastic 2012 sculpture show, Jokes on Me (above).

Yamamoto teamed up with Singapore’s Might Jaxx to reproduce Sideways as a wood (head) and resin (body) art multiple in an edition of 200 pieces. It measures 4″ x 7″ x 4″ and is available now for $85 (+$25-$45 international shipping) here.

Check out Yoskay Yamamoto’s Sideways hanging with James Jarvis’ God of Animation from Mighty Jaxx’s Facebook page. Nice! And if you like that God of Animation, you might appreciate this one I recently tatted up for my friends’ wedding. Have a great weekend!

Posted in 3D, Art, art multiples, resin, Toys, wood | Leave a comment

Winsome Woodbot Toys by Loulou

Written on June 6, 2013 by jeremy

Aaahhh! I love these winsome woodbots by Loulou, half of the adorable art team known as Loulou and Tummie. The Dutch design duo are always doing delightful things (like this new poster for the Museum of Childhood), but these wooden robots take the cuteness to a 3D level. The woodbots aren’t client work; rather they’re part of a personal project, and I’ve been following along on social media as Loulou carves out a whole robot family.

Woodbots by LouLou

Tummie tells it:

When not sweating behind the computer, Loulou can be found in his little shed, covered in dust, utilizing dangerous woodworking machinery. Sanding, chiseling and glueing various pieces of tree together. He’s building an army of robots and other creatures big enough to take on a raccoon!

I hope it doesn’t come to that…! (We like raccoons!)

The wooden figures range in size from 2-6 inches, and LouLou makes them out of black walnut, maple, beech, zebrano, iroko and oak woods. As for tool talk: “Except for the table saw, none of the tools are very fancy machinery by the way. All are just pretty cheap, homemade, borrowed or old and battered tools. Beside machines, most of the work is done by hand with chisels, various files, small saws, a hammer and loads of sanding paper.”

Love them all! Don’t you think they’d be pals with Pepe Hiller’s wood chaps?

Posted in Toys, wood | Leave a comment

Darcel x Vipp Designer Trash Can and Toilet Brush

Written on June 4, 2013 by jeremy

New York-based artist Darcel has teamed up with French design shop Colette and Danish pedal bin purveyors Vipp to realize a dream: skinning his own high-end trash can and toilet brush.

If you think this would be the first designer rubbish bin and shithouse scrubber to appear on my blog, you’d be mistaken. I first profiled Vipp’s minty green bins in “Danish Designers Have Lovely Cans.” Vipp made my radar again when they released a Damien Hirst bin that inspired me to write “For $588.95, you can ditch your detritus in a dumpster designed by Britain’s richest living artist!”

Darcel x Vipp designer trash cans

Steff Bomb even used a toilet brush to dress the Thanksgiving table in that episode of Craft Wars, so there you go. A lot of things sound better in French, and this is no exception: Set Poubelle de 4 litres et Brosse pour Toilettes. The Darcel x Colette Vipp bin and brush set is available exclusively through Colette for ~ $510 USD for people who import fancy trash cans from foreign countries right here.

Musical pairing begins at 3:21!

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Ferg x Brandt Peters Terror Boy #00 [Ooze]

Written on June 2, 2013 by jeremy

After the Trouble (Boys), comes the Terror (Boys)…

FERG and Brandt Peters bring back their award-winning collaboration in the form of Ooze. The 6-inch Squadt comes with real textile clothes, a removable hood and helmet, a machete and double-barrel sawed-off shotgun and two sets of arms.

Terror Boy #00 [Ooze] is an edition of 225 pieces for $105 each (includes shipping). Ferg’s toy releases have a habit of selling out in mere seconds. So if the excellence that was his recent Squadt Assembly show just made you hungry, set your alarm for 10AM PST Monday June 3rd and point your browser here: http://store.projectsquadt.com

Because with the sexiness that is Pantone 382U and burlap hoods being on trend this season: you snooze, no ooze!

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Joe Sorren’s Art on Trading Cards

Written on May 31, 2013 by jeremy

With Alex Grey’s Entheon Kickstarter counting down to becoming the most successful art project in Kickstarter’s history, let’s support another cool art campaign!

I met New York-based artist Joe Sorren at Wondercon in 2011. He was signing and sketching in his then-brand-new art book. You can see some of those sketches–and get an idea of the sketch card rewards for his Kickstarter campaign–in my Flickr set.

Joe Sorren at Wondercon 2011

Here’s the basic premise of the Kickstarter project per Joe: “I am trying the idea of making the paintings I have been working on since starting to work, live in the form of trading cards.” Further:

I self-produced the first of three series (Series A), and now I am trying to kickstart the concept with people, in order to be able to produce Series B and C. Which is key I think, to the whole concept. I have designed the 3 series to be inter-connected, by showing details of some of the more complicated pieces in the first two series, and then resolving in the final series (series C).

And further:

Anyway, not to write a novel but as a result of considering this kickstarter, I have decided to play with the idea of letting some of my paintings exist in some other ways; like a high-quality silk scarf, a stuffed-plush monster, and little trading card drawings.

Sounds like rewards you could scarf down, hmmm?

Elliot's Attraction to All Things Uncertain by Joe Sorren

Here’s Sorren on finding inspiration via Beatrix Potter:

Recently, while I was updating my archive, I was looking at all these pieces, many which have hardly been seen in public. I started considering different venues for highlighting some of these pieces, and was then lucky enough to catch Beatrix Potter: The Picture Letters show at the Morgan Library in NY this past year. In there she had a beautiful, stunning board game she had designed. It just oozed her passion for her art and how she wanted to express it in different arenas. This inspired me to try a few different ideas that led me to developing the concept of these three series of trading cards. Interconnected and telling a story individually and throughout the three series.

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Posted in 2D, Art, prints | Comments Off

Last Day for Allyson & Alex Grey’s Visionary Entheon Kickstarter!

Written on May 30, 2013 by jeremy

Alex Grey and Allyson Grey are visionary artists and founders of the New York-based sanctuary, Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors. One month ago, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to build an exhibition space where people can come to contemplate and commune with art.

Today, Entheon is the second most-funded art project in Kickstarter history, which means that the Greys’ goal of creating a “place of pilgrimage, beauty and meaning” for the global community will happen! They write:

You have now pushed past our dreams & expectations and taken us to powerful new realms of unprecedented possibilities. If we remain hope fiends it is your fault for egging us on. What can’t we do creatively, if we can do this? Thank you for finding a reward that feels right, and pledging your support to build ENTHEON. It will be our collective gift to the future.

What can’t we do, indeed. Projects like this remind me why I like Kickstarter.

Alex Grey and Mars-1 collaborative Bicycle Day print

Oh look, there’s Mars-1 with Alex Grey, who he calls his “long-time hero and an amazing human being.” So what is Entheon, exactly?

In Allyson’s words: “Imagine a building that’s a sculpture, and you take a journey through art.” Entheon will be the permanent home of Alex’s Sacred Mirrors paintings (as well as work by other visionary artists), and there’s a bunch of great Kickstarter rewards for backers. I’m talking signed art prints, posters, shirts, unique portraits and special brass coins for entry to Entheon.

Alex Grey with 3D model of SoulBird

There are even 3D models of Alex’s sculptures Steeplehead, DNA Dragon, Angel and SoulBird (above) and an Entheon stash box (below)!

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Posted in 3D, Events, Happenings, sculpture | Comments Off

Punk, Pierced and Mohawked Japanese Sofubi Cat Cupcake Toys

Written on May 28, 2013 by jeremy

I’m really feline these new collectible cats by Refreshment. You gotta be kitten me with those little meowhawks! As usual, the Japanese are on point with their cultural reference points. It’s like a purrfect fusion of ’80s troll dolls, Little Miss (many-eyed) No-Name and punk rock cats.

There’s lots of paws abilities to have here, like these clear sofubi cat cupcakes sprayed in a tropical colorway and stuffed with a sunflower charm.

Then there’s these sweet kitties in clear sofubi with heart charms, doll eyes and a little bell. Without these, your life might not have a purr puss!

OF COURSE, I’ve got a musical pairing, and OF COURSE, it’s Takako Minekawa’s “Fantastic Cat.”

Surely, it would be catastrophic to miss out on such greatness, so if these toys strike your (cat) fancy, don’t purrcatstinate, OK?

Lulubell Toy Bodega in Mesa, AZ has the whole catalog of pawsome sofubi up for pre-order right here right meow. Even at $20-$30 for teeny tiny kitty toys, ordering them from within the U.S. is gonna be easier on your wallet than catapulting them over from Japan. (But do virtually visit Japan in the form of these pictures from Kaiju Korner Andy’s trip to Refreshment.)