LOVE ME!!!

Love Me prints - SO CUTE! Perfect for the season...via Poster Child Prints

She's A LLady: Mitra Khayyam

You've been down with Ladies Lotto for a while. What appealed to you about LL and what kind of experience has it been for you?

I liked the idea of being able to network with my peers, ones who share the same interests, and comparable experiences in the industry. It's been wonderful, I've collaborated with several of the LLadies, and they always continue to inspire me!

Where did you come up with the name Blood is the New Black?

Blood has always symbolized familiar bonds for me. In that respect, the name is a play on the fashion industry and "such and such being the new black" that season. I felt as though our community of artists should set the trends, not the fashion industry.

What's your background and how did you get started in the fashion industry?

My background is in Design Management and Marketing. I applied for an internship at Chloe when I was 18, my 2nd week in NY, and it went form there. Since then I've worked with a range of designers and artists in many capacities.

As someone who may not have had the artistic skill to create, how did you carve a niche for yourself in the industry and where did the idea for Blood is the New Black come from?

The idea came from the thesis I had written in college the year before the business started. I carved a niche for us by not art directing the line. I did not and do not want to be a trend driven graphic t-shirt line. This has given our images longevity and made the line more original than others out there.

How would you describe Blood is the New Black's aesthetic and what message are you trying to convey with your line of T-shirts and the artists you choose to promote?

The line is not a sounding board for my ideas or opinions. As far an aesthetic, I think we are somewhat tongue in cheek about a lot of what we do, whether it's an inside joke, or an irreverent image. The most important thing we are trying to accomplish is to make art accessible in some way shape or form to everyone.

To build on that, do you get in on the creative process in terms of ideas or do you leave that designers and artists you work with?

I leave it up to them. I'm not an art director or a creative director. I trust their skill, and that is why they are part of our collection. With that said, if they need help with color pairings etc, I'm always there.

Your designs have been worn by American Idol alum Adam Lambert, the Gossip's Beth Ditto, and Lil' Wayne, and that's a pretty wide range of known figures. Did you think that you would reach that level of success so soon?

Soon? I've been doing this for 5 years, at times working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, so it's been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears behind the tees. I think it's great though! It's still very surreal to me to see the tees on celebrities! It's even fun to see them on people around town.

There are so many up and coming designers, artists and photographers. How do you decide who you want to work with?

There's no formula to it. I try to work with artists who's work doesn't resemble other artists that we're working with. We want to keep the line fresh and on the same token, I guess we have something for everybody considering we're working with close to 30 artists. Overall, if an artist has a good attitude and is fun to work with, it always makes the job much more enjoyable.

According to your bio, you were once told that you'd "never work in this town again". How did you manage to overcome that?

Hahahaha. Very easily, I just looked at the source.

You recently celebrated BITNB's 5th anniversary on November 7th with a reception and gallery show that is running until December 11th. What can visitors expect to experience?

Wow! It's just a awesome grouping of our artists. From every end of the art world, ranging from Skye Parrott from Dossier, to tattoo artist Jeff P, illustrator Hannah Stouffer, and more. It's a beautiful and inspiring show.

What's next up for BITNB and what direction do you see yourself moving in?

Wow! So much stuff! We're working on the 2nd edition of our 'zine, which is limited to 3000 newsprint issues, which won't be on the web. We're launching our new site within the next few weeks, we're now selling art, 'zines, Baggu's, and BITNB wallets too! It's all so exciting and makes us happy to go to work in the morning!

Get Involved: The Superglue Mural

Winters in New York are a dreary affair, indeed. Superglue, a collective of young photographers, writers, painters, and graphic designers, has taken on the admirable task of adding a little more color to our city. Supplies for the project are necessary, so spread the word and make a donation if you can! Check out the project information here, and visit supergluenyc.org to learn more about this awesome, not for profit organization.

Agnès Varda's 1981 Documentary "Mur murs"

Agnès Varda is one of the world's foremost filmmakers. In 1981 she released "Murs, murs" (walls, walls in French), a documentary about Los Angeles murals.

A note on IMDB explains:

"The French director Agnès Varda spent a couple of different years in Los Angeles, and this particular year produced her documentary "Murs, murs" and her fiction film "Documenteur". The title means "Walls, walls", but also puns with the word "murmurs." Varda located dozens of murals around LA and filmed them. Many of these are gone today, so this is a true documentary, documenting a wonderful aspect of southern Californian visual culture. She interviews the artists, a truly multicultural and multicolored group--and shows the paintings in their urban contexts. One memorable scene shows a mural at Venice Beach with young people dancing in front of it (probably near where their sons and daughters are roller skating or skateboarding now). An enjoyable movie by a European with deep aesthetic appreciation for marvelous, imaginative, colorful imagery that was considered throwaway pop culture at the time. "

(via Wooster Collective)

DRAW Tonight in SF @ The Shooting Gallery

(Photo & text via Juxtapoz)

The highly-anticipated DRAW Exhibit rolls into San Francisco with tomorrow night’s Saturday night opening at The Shooting Gallery. What was billed as a traveling art exhibition of 300 drawings has now topped 400 artists for the SF installation.

The who's who of the contemporary and pop culture art world involved in the show is staggering to say the least. Robert Williams, Alex Grey, Clive Barker, HR Giger, Rick Griffin, Daniel Johnston, Gibby Haynes from Butthole Surfers, Shepard Fairey, Shawn Barber, Peter Beard, Richard Serra, Rita Ackermann, Mike Giant, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, Ron English, Camille Rose Garcia, Guy Aitchison, Kim Saighand Corey Miller of "LA Ink" fame are just a handful of the A-list icons who have delivered original works specifically for DRAW.

Curated by Erik Foss and Curse Mackey, DRAW is the largest exhibit of drawings to emerge out of New York and is currently on a six-country world tour.

Expect serious sensory stimulation and a sensational presentation on Saturday night, April 11th, 2009, at The Shooting Gallery.

http://www.shootinggallerysf.com/

Parra Ti

“Is that a Gun My Friend?” New Works by Parra. The opening party is Saturday, April 4 and the exhibit runs through May 9. HVW8 Art + Design Gallery is located at 661 N. Spaulding Ave., Los Angeles CA, 90036; open Tuesday to Sunday, 1 - 6 pm or by appointment. Parra will be creating new original works exclusive to the HVW8 Art + Design Gallery.

Parra’s characteristic style has also extended into his music career with electro-rock group LeLe. Their most popular track “Breakfast” features Parra’s typography and imagery set in motion to the song’s pulsating beats and comical (and slightly naughty) lyrics. Feel free to check it out here:

RSVP to parra_rsvp(at)hvw8.com

A Call To Female Artists: Younity Presents Two Awesome Projects!

FRESHER: Re-Create, Re-Design, Re-Shape a new YOU!
DEADLINE: June 1st, 2009

This year Younity's 3rd exhibition entitled FRESHER! will host 40 female urban artists who will participate in an exhibition indoors and outdoors dedicated to bringing community awareness to environmental issues like recycling, consumerism, global warming, pollution, health, and renewable energy. Along with the exhibit, YOUNITY will self-publish its second collectors' book series to keep the message alive. Throughout the exhibit, YOUNITY will host youth workshops, mural projects, and panel discussions to help educate the community about the importance of living GREEN.

FRESHER! CALL FOR ENTRIES (WORLDWIDE)
10-15 new artists will be chosen to showcase their work at the Younity FRESHER exhibition in the fall of 2009.
Each artist is asked to create a piece based on one or more of the environmental issues listed below.

- recycling
- consumerism
- global warming
- pollution
- health
- renewable energy

* Please note that if your work is chosen each artist will be responsible for shipping it to and from YOUNITY NYC studio.
* Please be conscious of size, weight, and fragile artwork.

REQUIREMENTS
- Entry Fee: $10.00 per submission (limit: 3 submissions per artist)
- Paypal: contribute@theyounity.com
- For Checks or Money order payments, please email us: info@theyounity.com
- E-mail your JPG submission to info@theyounity.com with the subject heading: FRESHER SUBMISSION

- Please include the following:

Artist Name
City
Website link and/or myspace link
Size
Title
Medium
Short Bio

RE-FRESH THE STREETS!
DEADLINE: June 1st, 2009

Artists / crews worldwide are asked to participate in a street art/mural project entitled "RE-FRESH THE STREETS" using one or more of the following environmental issues below. The street art/mural created must include Younity's FRESHER! stencil logo provided to be able to unite and identify the project worldwide. We will select 10-15 images from various cities/ streets/ communities which will be included in the 2009 "FRESHER!" exhibit.

REQUIREMENTS
- ENTRY FEE: $10.00 per street art/mural submission (limit 3 submissions per artist)
- Paypal: contribute@theyounity.com
- For Checks or Money order payments please email us at: info@theyounity.com
- E-mail a JPG submission to: info@theyounity.com with the subject heading: RE-FRESH THE STREETS SUBMISSION
- Please include the following:

Artist or Crew Name
City
Website link and/or myspace link
Size
Title
Short Bio

* * * DEADLINE: JUNE 1st 2009 * * *

--
Younity Arts™
Female Stylez, Ideaz, and Skillz!

WEBSITE: www.theyounity.com
BLOG: www.theyounity.wordpress.com
MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/younityspace

The Younity Stencil (for Re-Fresh the Streets):

From the Streets of Brooklyn

West Coast graffiti and street art fiends, rejoice! Ad Hoc Art is bringing the work of more than 50 Brooklyn artists to sunny Los Angeles' Thinkspace Gallery.

While street art is steeped in testosterone; a few ladies get their licks in at this show. Definitely stop by to view the special installation by street art photographer Luna Park; the Warhol meets graffiti paintings of AIKO and life-size prints by Swoon.

From the Streets of Brooklyn
Opening reception: Friday, January 9th, 7-11 pm
On view: January 9th - February 6th

Thinkspace Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323.913.3375


Photo: c.damage on Flickr