French-Artist JR. : The Hills Have Eyes

French-artist JR. has produced a public art project in an effort to honor the residents of one of the world's largest ghetto's- the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. JR is best known for his technique of photographing inhabitants of a city or other area & pasting the resulting imagery up on grand scale around the community. The scope of this installation is incredible.

Here are some photos:








For more info:
JR's Official Site

Matthew Dear's Big Hands Tour

Matthew Dear's Big Hands Band has announced its North American tour dates. Joining him will be fellow American's Telefon Tel Aviv.

Here are the dates:





For more info on both acts:
Matthew Dear Official Site
Telefon Tel Aviv Official Site

Jean Shin: Sound Wave

Korean artist Jean Shin's piece 'Sound Wave' is a sculpture made of melted vinyl records. She describes it as 'the inevitable waves of technology that render each successive generation of recordable media obsolete'. It is currently being displayed in New York City's Museum of Art and Design's exhibit 'Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary".
Here are photos of 'Sound Wave':






For more info:
Jean Shin Official Site
'Sound Wave' NY Times Article

New Banksy Piece Lands In Soho (NYC)

Street Art legend Banksy has touched ground in the States once again. His latest piece, a 3-story tall rat wearing an 'I Heart NY' Shirt, is located on Grand St and Wooster in lower Manhattan's Soho neighborhood. Here are some photos:




I'll be posting more on Banksy in the near future... Be on the look out.

Steve Lawler: New Mix

Heres a recent Steve Lawler mix that I highly recommend:

Steve Lawler - (Plattenburg 09.28)

Also, be on the lookout for Steve's Viva Music label North American tour. Joining him will be other great acts such as Audiofly and Tiefschwarz:

Oct 16 2008
Tribe Montreal, CANADA

Oct 17 2008
This Is London Toronto, CANADA

Oct 18 2008
Beta Denver, USA

Oct 19 2008
Spy Bar Chicago, USA

Oct 22 2008
VME Las Vegas, USA

Oct 23 2008
The Park Sacramento, California, USA

Oct 24 2008
Celebrities Vancouver, CANADA

Oct 25 2008
Monster Massive Los Angeles, USA

Oct 26 2008
Secret Location San Francisco, USA

Oct 28 2008
TBA Albuquerue, USA

Oct 30 2008
Ghost Bar Dallas, USA

Oct 31 2008
Bordernoise Juarez, MEXICO

Nov 1 2008
Mansion Miami, USA

For more info:
Steve Lawler Official Site
Steve Lawler MySpace

Documentary: Man On Wire

So last night I continued my recent trend of watching independent movies. I, again, walked away very impressed and wonder why these films do not get more love from the public. I guess thats why I have decided to write about it.

'Man On Wire' is a documentary about a French man by the name of Philippe Petit who did the unthinkable: he wire-walked between the Twin Towers. After reading about the construction of what were going to be the tallest buildings in the world at the time, he made it his mission to walk on a rope between the 2 towers (don't we all get similar urges???). If tightroping from that high up with all the wind and swaying of the towers (the actual buildings used to literally move) wasn't enough, he and his crew had to find a way to get past security several times and get on to the roof in order to plan and set up the ropes. Sneaking up all that equipment for 110 Floors in EACH building was not exactly easy.

Anyways, here are some photos of not only his WTC wire-walk, but also of a bridge he walked over in Sydney, Australia several years before:







Trailer:


Related Links:
Man On Wire Official Site
Man On Wire Rotten Tomatoes Review

Dirtybird Remix... DOWNLOAD HERE

So the Dirtybird Remix Contest results are in and we didn't win. Regardless of the outcome, we still had a great time participating and creating a great song.

Now that the contest is over, feel free to download the 320kbps version here:

The Martin Brothers - DUM (Casanova & Jay-You Animales Remix)

Also... big up to mr. lugubrious for giving our remix props on the results comments page.

The Martin Brothers- 09/19 @ Mighty (San Francisco)

This past Friday, Dirtybirders Christian and Justin Martin traded 2's for 3 hours at San Francisco nightclub Mighty. The night raised funds for the www.themml.com float that will be 'floating' in next weekends LoveFest in San Francisco. As a special treat, Christian has sent me the link to the set for all of you to enjoy:

The Martin Bros. - 09/19 @ Mighty

Alfredo Elias: Dino Flower aka Fallen Growth

Fellow Cuban-American and Miami-born/raised artist Alfredo Elias has recently completed his submission for the annual Sculpture Key West exhibition. This year, Alfredo has decided to create a piece he calls 'Dino Flower', or 'Fallen Growth'. Whatever the name may be, one thing is for sure: this shit is fucking crazy.

Here are some photos of 'Dino Flower' aka 'Fallen Growth':




Here is 'Stray Dog'- the piece he submitted to Sculpture Key West a couple of years ago. Yes, if you are wondering, that is a sculpture of a dog urinating. It sat outside of a coffee shop in Key West 'pee'ing' on a tree for 3 months.



I recently caught up with him to ask a few questions about his piece:

petFood: Give us a brief summary of your work.

A.E.: I enjoy working through universal symbols, or drawing from imagery and experiences that evoke specific and real feelings, whatever those may be at the time.

petFood: What inspired the Dino Plant?

A.E.:Fallen Growth (dino plant) takes a closer look at fallen objects that were forced to meet, and fell from the direct result of a hurricane. These objects were then held, in some instances deconstructed, and re-assembled to resemble a new beginning for what were once a few singular objects. (see Artist Statement link below)

petFood:What is it made of?

A.E.: A fallen street light, fan blades and a a palm tree segment.

petFood: How big is it?

A.E.: 5 ft. tall by 4 ft. wide

petFood: How is the stray dog doing?

A.E.: The stray dog is in good care, sitting in a storage facility, with a plate of kibble, no water.

petFood: Any future pieces on the horizon?

A.E.: I'm always working on something, I got a couple roosters in my room right now.

For more info on Alfredo Elias or Sculpture Key West, visit:
Alfredo Elias 'Dino Flower' Artist Statement
Sculpture Key West Website

Get Physical Goes Digital

Dance music mega-label, Get Physical, has announced the launch of its new all-digital label- Get Digital. The first scheduled release, ‘Kaskazi’, will be from Simon Baker and Jamie Jones- 2 blokes who are on fire as of late (no homo).

Expect more of this:

Tiger Stripes - Midnight Monkeys (Original Mix)


For more info:
Get Physical Official Site
Get Digital Myspace

Ron English: Abraham Obama

Ron English is an NYC-based pop artist who is most famous for his street art. Being the eve of the first presidential debate (if McCain decides to show up), I have decided to post a piece he has been exhibiting lately. This past summer he completed a nationwide tour making murals of “Abraham Obama”, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln fused with presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The tour traveled to Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and ended in Denver at the Democratic National Convention.

Here are some photos of the mural and the tour:






They even made this (weird) music video for it:


For more info on Ron English & his mural tour, check out these helpful sites:
Ron English Official Site - Popaganda
JetSetGraffiti
Abraham Obama Article

I don't even know what to say to this..

Thoughts?

Kathie Olivas: 'The Scavengers (Series 2)' Announced!

MINDstyle.com has announced that the second series of Kathie Olivas 'The Scavengers' will be coming out in October. The first series was one of the best selling art toy collections of the year and this one should do just as well. The only downfall is that each toy from the first series ranged from $12 to $15 in price. Way too expensive for such a small piece in my opinion, but in her defense it is a collectors item. If you recall from my previous Kathie Olivas post , only 2000 of each piece were made. Here is what the collection is going to look like:

Here's a nice track that I've been listening to lately:

LB3, Rob The Boy Wonder- I Broke The Laws (LP Mix)

Alberto Godoy: Cuban Artist

If you ever been to a Cuban's home, chances are you will notice a painting or two on the wall with an emphasis on fat people. That piece was probably painted by Alberto Godoy. He is a Cuban-born artist who fled Cuban oppression in 1980. With memories of his homeland still very clear in his mind, Godoy's work is strongly influenced by life in Cuba. While the very rich colors he uses make his paintings attract the eye, what usually sticks out are his signature fat, round people (or objects- see guitar below). Here is some of his work:







For more info:
Alberto Godoy Official Site

...and with that I leave you with this cuban-influenced track that I cannot stop listening to today... Enjoy!

La Pena - A1 (Original Mix)

R.I.P. Polly

photo by: Charis

My brothers parrot, and fellow family member for the last decade or so, has died. Polly was doing her thing in her mansion of a cage when apparently some heartless creature broke in and killed her. Thanks to those who have kept her in their prayers. She was special.

And to the killer... If I ever catch you, you SON OF A BITCH....YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD! YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!!!

R.I.P baby girl, you will be missed...

Nirvana - Polly (Unplugged)

Sam Brown: The Explodingdog

Sam Brown, whose real name is Adam Culbert, runs a website called explodingdog. On this site, people email him short phrases that he uses to inspire his drawings. Although the drawings are pretty simplistic, sometimes he has some unexpected takes on these phrases which makes it interesting. Custom orders are available, although they take a few weeks to print and deliver. Here are some that I liked:








For more info:
explodingdog
Building A World (The explodingdog Store)

Minitek DJ sets

I came across some links for some of the many great DJ sets at the Minitek festival that was held in New York a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few that really stuck out to me:

Audion Minitek DJ set
Guido Schneider Minitek DJ set
Richie Hawtin Minitek DJ set
Guy Gerber Minitek DJ set

Other relevant videos:
Davide Squillace @ Minitek


Audiofly @ Minitek


Paul Ritch @ Minitek (energy in that room seems intense)

Reneé Lawter

Los Angeles-based artist Reneé Lawter describes her work has 'whimsically dark'. After many years of designing toys for Mattel, she has moved on to make her own work. While not only creating these playful paintings with watercolors, she then finds an interesting fabric and makes the images she painted into actual toys. She says, "I really like taking my favorite paintings and exploring the charcters more by building them in 3D out of super fuzzy fabrics with lots of detail..I love detail.”
Here is some of her work:








For more info:
Reneé Lawter Official Site