This is a piece she was commissioned to commemorate a wedding anniversary. One of their wedding photos inspired her to draw the couple as “Gyeonwu and Jiknyeo, lovers separated by the universe in the Korean folk tale called Chilseok; they were permitted by God to reunite just once each year, on a celestial bridge formed by thousands of magpies and blackbirds.” Funnily enough, it was one of the few Korean children’s book I had at my disposal when I was a kid. Totally forgot about it and it was great to be reminded of it.

This one is called “Red Mask.” And the story behind it is: “The Red Mask (bbal gan ma su ku) is a Korean urban legend which finds its origins in 1970s Japan. She wears a blood-soaked surgical mask and she carries a knife. She approaches people to ask, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll kill you, and if you say no, she’ll take off her mask and show you her horrific Glasgow smile, the result of a cosmetic surgery procedure gone terribly wrong. She asks again, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll cut up your face; if you say no, she’ll follow you home and THEN cut up your face, and if you say, “You look normal,” she’ll grow confused and wander away.”

And here’s a more recent piece, outside of the Korean folklore. This one is called “Mortal Residue.”

Check out the rest of her work. She’s pretty bad ass.

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE – VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

from the series “The Black Stuff”

from the series “The Black Stuff”

from the series “The Book Collection”

from the series “Lines“

He directed Aesop Rock’s “Fast Cars” video back in 2005 and it’s still sick five years later. It’s one of my all time faves and remains permanently placed in my memory bank. If you’ve seen it, you already know why. If you haven’t, you will.

He did this one for The Roots “Trilogy Video” (feat. “All in the Music”, “Here I Come” & “Don’t Feel Right”) in 2006. I love how it starts all dark, builds anticipation and then segues stylistically into the two other songs. Seamless and smooth.

Because three is the magic number, here’s another one that’s waaay different from the two above – both musically and stylistically. It’s the video he did for Woodhands “I Wasn’t Made For Fighting” in 2008. What I really appreciated about this video was the sharp contrast between what you hear, and what you see…instead of a textual oxymoron, it was a sensorial oxymoron. I saw it as a metaphor for the moments we felt like we were going in slow motion while everything else continued speeding past. At least that’s how I interpreted it.

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

The first Short Stories film, by renowned photographer and body boarder Mickey Smith, explores his world as a true waterman – both as an athlete and artist, and is called The Dark Side of The Lens.

“Originally I planned for the film to be more anonymous, rather than biographical, an all encompassing piece, to represent the photographers keeping the surfing machine afloat”, explains Smith.

Something that offers insight into what it takes to grind out a living as a water-based photographer in the surfing industry: a short experimental glimpse at a life lived in the shadow of obsessive photographic pursuits.”

“It also gave me the chance to ask myself a few questions, like, if you’re always observing and documenting what you see and experience, are you ever truly present? Questions like that where I could step back think and then see what the answers were”, Smith says.

As well as documenting various voices and experiences across surf photography, Smith worked with Allan Wilson from the Astray Collective, who acted as Director of Photography on the project. Together they logged hours of footage across the Atlantic coastline, traveling around Ireland, Cornwall and Manchester. Shot in Super 16mm film, as well as groundbreaking work with Canon 5R Digital SLR, Smith also projected images of the huge walls of water within which he works, on to monster urban landscapes such as sky rises and castles in Manchester, as well as the cliff lines at his home of Ireland.

http://video.mpora.com/watch/nit3ypZst/

It’s an artistry that requires, better yet, demands one to be focused, controlled, yet calm, so that your hand and motions are no longer two separate entities. There’s no room to think. You have to allow the nib to become an extension of your hand and then, create movement through the expressive qualities of the strokes you make. If you premeditate your movements, it almost guarantees you’ll f*ck up. Once you do f*ck up, that’s it. You have take all the time and effort you just spent, trash it, and start all over again. It’s unrelenting that way. On the up side though, when you do capture everything in that single go…it’s golden.

I mention this because it provides a better understanding of my latest find (I’ve rarely come across people that have done calligraphy before). His name is Luca Barcellona and his calligraphic work is beautiful. We live in such a digitized world, that when you come across work such as Luca’s, all hand drawn, it’s refreshing to see. I selected a few to show you the various personalities this art form can take on. Each piece evokes a different emotion and I loved going through his diverse body of work.

Metal nib on paper

Metal nib on paper. I also wonder if that statement is true – hahaha.

Brush pen on paper

Not sure what medium? I’m guessing it’s all drawn and possibly silk screened onto paper.

The Japanese Popstars Feat. Green Velvet – Let Go from David Wilson Creative on Vimeo.

Directed by David Wilson. The team that put this together in 20 days includes a primary Illustrator named Keaton Henson. Secondary Illustrators are David Wilson and Andres Guzman. Drawn Animation is by Malcolm Draper, Matt Lloyd, Ed Suckling, Toby Jackman, Elena Pomares, David Wilson, and Jamie Page.