Fine Art Fridays: June edition

Dutch artist Koen Hauser recently produced a body of work, no pun intended, called Modische Atlas der Anatomie, that diagrams the female form in digitally manipulated photographs. While this seems to be a popular theme, to strip away the layers of skin to show the organs (Damien Hirst, etc.), it is always interesting to see each artists approach. Among the wave of recent news stories of brain and heart eating roommates and face-eating homeless dudes, this too seems relevant.

See more at www.koenhauser.com

THE MODERN GRAF ARTIST
Graffiti has come a long way from the simple bubble letters and quick scribbles of old days, and I wanted to highlight some of the recent work by graf artists whose work I follow for the Fine Art Fridays features. Feel free to share your own, but here are some people who keep pushing the art further:

KEMR

ROIDS

DEMON 202 - this dude never disappoints

NUNCA (Brasil)

These are some of my favorite artists to follow, some I know personally, some I don't, but every time I think I know the limitations of graf, I am proved wrong.

Grandma Got Skills! Stop-motion animation

I promise this will be the last strictly video I post this week, maybe some in Fine art Friday posts, but just so I don't forget to post it....this is a stop-motion quilt put together by Jo Hamilton. She works exclusively with yarn and giant quilt images of people and places, with loose thread showing the craftsmanship of the work overall. I usually run away from anything on the topic of knitting, but done with skill, things like this are impressive. My mom filled the house with knitted "trinkets" and "decor" that was mostly forgettable, according to me, but if she could do stuff like this, I'm pretty sure I would have been proud. check the link out for more and watch the video for a kinda-creepy construction video of the process. With the recent news of face-eating men roaming in LA, this work seems much more relevant.

Music Video: Alex Chadwick - Faded Lights

Alex Chadwick x LuvJonez
We just finished this promo video and song called "Faded Lights" from the upcoming Alex Chadwick mixtape for 2012. Chadwick, of 3rd Brillyance, is finishing up the rest of the mixtape album right now, but this simple promo video helps show the themes of growth and maturity showcased on the upcoming project. Keep your eyes open for more coming soon!

DOWNLOAD FROM SOUNDCLOUD HERE: 
Alex Chadwick - "Faded Lights"
Produced by LuvJonez for LuvJonez Music

The Pete Rock Library: Video

No matter how many times somebody interviews PR, Premo, and other crate diggers, I never get tired of seeing the stacks of vinyl or listening to them talk about their favorites. Check out the links at the end of the video for people like Jazzy Jeff, Da Beatminerz, Rich Medina and more.

Music Video: REKS - Autographs

A new video by the hard working REKS showcases one of the many heat-rocks on his latest album Straight No Chaser.  "Autographs" uses a poignant (slightly sad) but honorable scratch hook from the Beastie Boys "No Sleep Still Brooklyn" to reflect on the underground rap grind and the loyal fans that still check for it. Statik Selektah has quickly become one of my favorite and very slept-on producers for the True School MC's out there. Crunchy drums and simple soul flips are a good fit for REKS' lyrical skills and there are many quality cuts on this and his past albums that stay on repeat in my ipod.

Check out the video above and check out REKS recent album and back catalog if you want to hear a true school MC at his best.

Music Video: Nas - Daughters

Good to hear Nas back in solid form. He hooks up with NO I.D. to put out some classic, "family man" rap. Please let this be consistent with the rest of the upcoming LIFE IS GOOD album. Keep your digital fingers crossed!