Banksy

To start off the graffiti/street art profiles that I promised a little while ago, we have famed English stencil street artist Banksy. He has created some new "pieces" that have appeared in Regent's Canal, London, England. The works come after the recent COP15 environmental conference in Copenhagen and are a clear indication that he, along with most people it seems, is dissatisfied with the results.

The one thing you must know about him though is that you don't know him. No one does. The guy is a complete mystery; his identity is a secret. Many have investigated and guessed, but all have failed. He doesn't even have an agent; he has a "handling service" that acts as his seller for new works (those that can actually be sold and aren't on walls). The craziest part is how succesful this guy is! In June he showcased an exhibition containing over 100 pieces of art at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery in Bristol, England and on the first weekend alone, 8,500 people came to see it. Over the 12 weeks of the exhibition, 350,000 visitors came. Not bad for a ghost.

He is one of the most influential and famous modern artists and his mysteriousness has only increased his reputation. Check out the jump for more pics.

O.G. Japanese Baseball Cards

Technically speaking, these are bromide baseball cards and are part of John Gall's personal collection. He's the art director of Vintage and Anchor Books and also runs a great blog. Gall wrote a whole article explaining the difference between American and Japanese baseballs cards, but all you need to know is that these are awesome. Enjoy the pictures and check out the rest of the collection here.




Via World's Best Ever through A Journey Round My Skull.

Gift Guide Item #5: Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents

I was originally going to post this book as a gift guide item, then forgot about it, then really wanted it for myself so ya, here we are. I've been looking to buy this book for over 3 years now but have never been able to justify spending 45 hard-earned dollars on a big picture book, no matter how graffiti-obsessed I am.

But now that this is a revised edition that comes in at a whopping 392 pages, I think I might splurge and finally pick it up, especially since I can buy it for $30 online here.

As for my aforementioned graffiti obsession, I'll be posting some of my favourite artists over the next few weeks once I have a bit more time to really go through and pick out the best.

Noma Bar

Israeli-born, England-residing visual artist Noma Bar is all types of sick. His art - which I'll describe as "simple twists on important ideas relating to famous people" - is in a league of its own. He's been published in the New York Times, Esquire, The Guardian and Time Out London, not to mention the fact that his second book "Negative Space" just came out this past spring. His work is provocative, intelligent and simplistic without being diminishing. For anyone who enjoys art, Bar should be a household name. And even if art isn't your thing, it's still pretty fun to try and guess the celebrities and the messages he's trying to convey. Enjoy!
Via: Various sources
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