See Abe Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Ghandi, and more of the world’s greatest leaders turned into artisanal art-damaged urban bohemians.
Yes, Abraham Lincoln did have a beard that would get him elected to the office of King of Austin, Texas, currently, and sure, he had a fondness for hats, but neither of those predilections made him a hipster. Shame on you for even thinking that. One artist wanted to imagine what Lincoln and several of history’s other most memorable leaders would look like as artisanal, art-damaged urban bohemians, and made it so.
Illustrator Amit Shimoni recently created a series of illustrations entitled “Hipstory,” which reimagines the rulers who shaped our world as people you would stop and point at in the street. The artist wrote in a post on Bored Panda that he often finds himself “thinking about the differences between these world’s greatest leaders, their beliefs and motivations, and our self-centered generation.” The months in development project puts those leaders in a modern context, and although they do look spiffy, one imagines their goals might be a bit less ambitious today.
In the series, President Kennedy, the man who drastically expanded the American space program and put a man on the moon is revealed with a pompadour and pencil-thin wisp of a mustache, like a common tramp. Prime Minister Thatcher, who oversaw the Falklands War, rocks a strapless leopard bra and mesh shirt, while Winston Churchill is dressed like a Vaudevillian strongman. Che Guevera would rolling over in his grave, though, not because he is shown here wearing a shirt of himself, but because those shirts have long been passé and the iconic image of himself is currently out of fashion.
Have a look at more of this series in the slides above.
Lobulo has worked in Barcelona for many years and is currently based in London. One of his recent projects was creating paper sculptures of fruits and vegetables for Brit grocery chain, Tesco, and erotic toys for another advertising campaign for OFFF Barcelona 2014.
Last week Japanese botanic artist Makoto Azuma attempted to go where most artists only dream of going: to space. In a project titled Exbiotanica, last week Azuma and his crew traveled to Black Rock Desert outside Gerlach, Nevada. In the dead of night Azuma’s project began. The team launched two of Azuma’s artworks – a 50-year old pine suspended from a metal frame and an arrangement of flowers – into the stratosphere using a large helium balloon. The entire project was documented, revealing some surreal photographs of plants floating above planet earth. “The best thing about this project is that space is so foreign to most of us,” says John Powell of JP Aerospace. “So seeing a familiar object like a bouquet of flowers flying above Earth domesticates space, and the idea of traveling into it.” (syndicated from Spoon & Tamago)
Beijing-based artist Ren Ri bases his work around the relationship between humans and nature. This thinking has led him to an unconventional collaborator in his fascinating set of sculptures - honeybees. Ri choose to work with the insects and their wax, although it’s not the easiest medium to use because it’s unstable and can change shape and temperature. But, that’s the gamble that Ri takes, and it complements the fact that he bases his work around the element of chance.
The artist first began beekeeping in 2008 and two years later felt that his knowledge of it was enough to start working on Yuansu I: The Origin of Geometry, which is a collection of maps made in beeswax. Yuansu II is a continuation on this theme, and sculptures are embedded in transparent plastic polyhedrons. In order to induce the insects to create symmetrical wax sculptures, the queen bee is kept at the center of the geometric space. This causes the bees to gather and start building around the center. Every seven days Ri changed the gravity of the developing honeycomb by rotating the box on a different side, determined by a throw of dice.
These beautifully-peculiar sculptures are the result of what happens when man and nature work together in harmony.
We’ve been following the fine art illustrations of Latvia-based Alex Konahin for quite some time. He first caught our attention with his incredibly detailed ink illustrations of patterns that seemed to pop off the page. We were in complete disbelief that these weren’t three-dimensional. Then, in his surreal Anatomy series, he left us spell-binded as we saw the heart, lungs and stomach like we’d never seen drawn before. Who know our internal organs could look so artistic and beautiful?
Konahin’s latest work centers around small winged insects like the butterfly, bee and dragonfly. Called Little Wings, the series was inspired by a summer trip to the Netherlands where the artist was able to live away from the city and immerse himself in the countryside. Using just simple black pens, fineliners and India ink, the artist meticulously drew these winged creatures, in his usual mind-blowing way, with incredible precision and detail. Just stunning!
ArtistJess Landau applies delicate, nudeportraits on the inside of eggshells. Landau first photographs her models, develops the images by hand in a wet lab and prints them using traditional darkroom methods before she applies them on the shell with the help of liquid emulsion.
The artist states: “There is an overwhelming desire to be independent in our culture, while interpersonal connection and a sense of belonging is necessary for survival. This paradox is fascinating, and is the driving force behind this body of work.”
Drawing inspiration from early theatrical training, and influenced by methods of staged photography and set design, artist Barry Underwood (previously) transforms ordinary landscapes into something out of science fiction. The artist utilizes LED lights, luminescent material, and other photographic effects to create fleeting abstract landscapes that are influenced by both accidental and incidental light. He shares via his artist statement:
My artwork examines community and land-use in rural, suburban and urban sites. I created this series of installations by researching local agricultural, industrial, and recreational land-use. Curiosity about ecological and social history of specific places drives my work. By revealing the beauty and potential of an ordinary landscape an everyday scene is transformed into a memorable, visual experience. Each photograph image is a dialogue – the result of my direct encounter with nature and history. Inspired by land art, landscape photography and painting, as well as cinema, my images are both surreal and familiar.
Underwood will open an exhibition of both old and new work at Sous Les Etoiles Gallery in New York titledScenes, on May 29th, 2014. You can see more over on Johansson Projects and read a 2011 interview atJuxtapoz. Images courtesy Sous Les Etoiles Gallery and the artist.
Well these are fucking EPIC. With his anatomical illustrations, Salvatore Zanfrisco gives us a glance at what’s in our heart, our mind, our soul. It is an attempt to take inside out whatever defines who we are. The artist describes it as “a project born to show what really defines people through anatomical portraits made by pen”.
Paris-based designer and artist Maud Vantours uses layer upon layer of cut paper to create hypnotizing patterns and textures that translate into set designs, fashion accessories, and editorial treatments. You can see more of her work at Figure and on Behance.
