Tim Burton: LA County Museum of Art

Whilst in LA I went to see the Tim Burton show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I wouldn't describe myself as a particular admirer of his work but have (as many) seen a number of his films and enjoyed them for their unique feel. I know very little about film but find that Burton's are very identifiable, the show helped me to explore exactly why that is and what inspirations lead him to create them as he has. The exhibition was very thorough in its explanation of props, models, drawings, costumes etc which all combined to make a visually intriguing show.
Burton was brought up in Burbank, California and always felt like an outsider to his peers and those around him. From a young age he had an interest in German Expressionism, Edgar Poe, Japanese comics like 'Dr Seus,' Dahl and 'Hammer Horror.' He liked stories of the unlikely hero in films, Frankenstein being a classic example. Burton enjoyed a connection with their vulnerability and felt that they showed more soul than their fellow, more human, characters. This for me was a very poignant point, its something you can identify within his films immediately and it touches you when you realise his sentiment is due to his uneasy start in life.
The Japanese comics and culture that he immersed himself in inspired him to draw characters and ideas of a fantastical nature. This start in life, where he was exposed to a visual wealth of genres, had a direct impact on dictating the work that we associate with him today. Something that I hadn't realised is that Burton still translates his ideas through drawing to his actors and crew members, helping them to understand his vision. This meant that the show was mainly made up of his doodles, illustrations and notes showing the very start of his ideas for characters and scenes in his films.
There are a number of themes covered that run through Burton's work, the already mentioned unlikely hero, sinister clowns, the use of costume, the idea of the fairytale, contrasting couples, gothic tones and 'silent cinema' to name a few. All these ingredients help to give identity to his unique work, the Tim Burton stamp.
I really hope that the show travels to London, where Burton now mainly resides. I think it offers a real insight to his work and makes you aware of the complexities in the messages he tries to convey through his characters and story telling.

Kai and Sunny

Having previously had the pleasure of representing Kai and Sunny I am more than familiar with their exceptional work. They are an agents dream, a duo who straddle the publicity exposure friendly world of fine art, who also possess a transferable talent that makes them brilliant candidates for any commercial project. Always interested in pushing themselves that one step further and creating imagery that leaves the viewer spellbound I get a sense of excitement when I learn about a new show they've put together. The latest 'The Flower Show,' is a collection of monotone pieces highlighted in glittering silver which explore the word 'Flower.' The venue for this show is the small but perfectly formed 'Stolen Space' gallery in the creative hub of Shoreditch, London.
The work was, as expected, utterly beautiful and from the sounds of those around me received with much enthusiasm. An additional unexpected element to an already highly credible show was the short story written exclusively for the collection by the greatly esteemed author David Mitchell entitled 'The Gardener.'
With a selection of highly collectable prints, including a sought after limited edition box of 5 of the artworks, it was nice to see that they had made a conscious effort to make the buying of their work accessible to most budgets. I was pleased to walk away with a limited edition A3 print from the show.
To find out more about Kai and Sunny and this great collection of work visit:
http://www.kaiandsunny.com

Shawn Smith

I first became aware of Shawn Smith's work on Twitter and instantly wanted to find out more about him. Smith creates 3D sculptures from a variety of hand dyed woods like Bass, Balsa, Plywood etc. He begins by sketching out the form of his subject matter to understand the scale and proportions of his next work. Then, after selecting his chosen material, he first shapes then dyes the individual pieces to their desired size and colour.

His sculptures intentionally resemble the look of a pixilated digital image, the inspiration source of which is found online. Smith creates the sculptures painstakingly, piece by piece, building the little nuggets of wood to recreate the original 2D image.

Taken from Smith’s website he describes his art as:

'My work investigates the slippery intersection between the digital world and reality. Specifically, I am interested in how we experience nature through technology.  When we see images of nature on TV or on a computer screen, we feel that we are seeing nature but we are really only seeing patterns of pixilated light.'

One of my favourite artists of all time, Georges Seurat, was the founder of 'Pointillism,' a movement  which involves the application of thousands of tiny strokes of pure colour with a paintbrush to build a whole image, if you will, the original CMYK process. He first discovered this effective technique in 1886 and today, over a century later and after many technical advancements, we can draw parallels in the ethos and the almost scientific approach in process of Seurat's work and Smith’s sculpture. I find it fascinating when you can take a modern art form and suggest the trace of history back to another artist who, no doubt, gained as much enjoyment and fulfilment from painting his work as Smith obviously does when building his.

If you want to see more of Smith’s work take a look at his website:  http://shawnsmithart.com/ or you can also find out more about Seurat at http://www.georgesseurat.org/

Dan Stiles

Dan Stiles, it would appear, is a bit of a music artist God. Originally from Michigan but now living in Portland, Stiles has made it his business to collaborate with an array of muti-genre heavyweights from the music world, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Dizze Rascal and Hot Chip.
He has a number of influences ranging over old comic books, Pop Culture, African art and 3 of my favourites genres - Japanese, Deco and Art Nouveau. The work he creates is very iconic with a heavy graphic feel, using generally a cheerful palette and providing a strong sense of rhythm.
Having produced an exceptional amount of posters and artwork for the music industry he is keen to go on and focus on other areas of design, including textiles by bringing out a line of marine inspired fabric.
Dan has a great portfolio and selection of beautiful posters available in his online shop, you can check both out at http://www.danstiles.com/

Gabriel Dawe

A friend of mine suggested I look at thisiscolossal.com as there are some interesting finds on there. There were a number of highlights but one in particular that caught my eye was an artist called Gabriel Dawe.

Gabriel is Mexican but has lived for a number of years in both Canada and Dallas, in particular The University of  Texas. As a boy growing up in Mexico he was exposed to the vibrancy and intensity of the culture and craft, and like all males, was discouraged to take up any interest in textiles and embroidery. He started life, as many artists do, as a graphic designer until he moved to Montreal with the view to discovering a new culture and country. It was here that his experimentation with his creative talent really started and the beginning of a new stylistic direction began.

Dawe's pieces are made over a period of 4-5 weeks and from thousands and thousands of threads. Should you be fortunate enough to catch one of his shows the work is best viewed in person to fully appreciate the 'Op Art' effect that it gives. The 'Op Art' movement was of course dominant in the 60’s, 'Op' being short for 'Optical' and as a genre centered around the illusion of the abstract lines or patterns creating movement. The 60's fashion is currently a trend that is dominating the fashion world, the emergence of which was seen at this year's fashion week. Dawe's beautiful work would be greatly admired regardless of when it was seen, even if only viewed on a  technical level. But it is interesting that the two have started to flourish at the same time and I wonder if therefore we might see a quicker rise of this sure-to-be star than perhaps even he might have ever predicted.

You can find out more about Dawe and his work on his website, http://www.gabrieldawe.com/

Audrey Kawasaki

I've had a bit of an addiction recently to Japanese themed art, I've previously blogged about Victo Ngai and now am going to shout a little about the wonders of Audrey Kawasaki.

I first became aware of Audrey's work about 3 or 4 years ago, I've always appreciated the genre that Japanese greats such as Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige embody. The more contemporary 'names' like Ngai and Shimizu (who I repped for a while) also have an exceptional draw to me but Audrey's work had a certain magic and charm to it that I'd not seen before.

Audrey Kawaski is a Japanese-American artist whose influences are strongly taken from Manga and Art Nouveau. If you are familiar with my blog you will know from previous posts I'm a bit of a fan of Art Nouveau, which might explain why Audrey's style was so attractive to me. Generally her work depicts beautiful young girls who have the look of innocence about them, but with an erotic edge. Audrey's website goes on to describe her work as 'The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them.'

Audrey's work tends to sell like hot cakes, you can purchase limited edition prints through her website and I was lucky enough (in the two minutes they were sold) to hit the 'buy' button in time. I was assuming, from chatter on the web, that her work does sell out tremendously quickly but wasn’t prepared for all 300 to go in 2 minutes flat! The examples of her work featured below are typical of her style, her canvas of choice being wood panels. The print I now have hanging in my flat is 'She Entwined' which is the image on the right.

You can see more of Audrey’s work at http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com

Aqua Sheko

I've been meaning to experience the new fish manicure/pedicure phenomenon for a while and didn't have any plans so took Rob to Aqua Sheko on Frith Street W1 for a Sunday with a difference.

I didn't hold out any hopes that the therapy session would actually show results, it was more that I was intrigued by the concept and wanted to see what the fuss was about.

The manicure and pedicure treatments are conducted separately. The Garra Rufa fish live in tanks which are housed at the foot of the leather seats where your pedicure session happens. Their natural habitat is unsurprisingly different to what you find in this Soho based spa. The species has thrived in hot springs near Kangal, Turkey where bathers have visited for centuries.

Once your feet have been sanitised you dip them into the water and the fish instantly start to sucker at them. It’s a completely painless process and for me was a really relaxing sensation. The 'light box' base style tank affords a wonderful aspect of the fish silhouettes swimming around, finding an appropriate part of the foot and getting to work. The manicure bar has long tanks that you sit up at to dip your hands in, it enables you to get a closer look at the fish going about their business.

The visual theatre is just as an important element to this unique treatment as the stimulation of the fish. As far as the results of exfoliating your feet are concerned I didn’t notice a difference, frankly it didn’t matter, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

To book an appointment at Aqua Sheko check out http://www.aquasheko.co.uk