Breakdancing Fingers

Me likey.

Lou Mora

Some people say that lifestyle photography was invented by a cartel of evil advertisers in order to sell aspirational products to unsuspecting consumers seeking to fill the emotional void they feel inside that modern living created. Personally, I think that’s bullshit. Especially when looking at lifestyle photography as good as Lou Mora’s. The brother isn’t selling anything – except some serious aesthetic talent. His photography just feels so right. It evokes fun afternoons spent with friends and the wind in your hair. Mora is a deft hand and portraits too and recently took out the Go Indie photography competition in the Pro Portraiture category.

Check out some of his photos in the gallery below and see more at his website.

[via NOTCOT]

The Presets vs Eva Husson: If I Know You

If I Know You is my favourite track from The Presets Apocalypto album. I saw them play three times last year and was slightly bummed because they never once played it in their live set. I suppose it’s understandable - after all –  it is one of their darker, more lo-fi tracks. The new clip by French director Eva Husson does it full justice. Enjoy.

The Best of the Archibald Prize 2009

A line-up of 39 portraits was unveiled at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Wednesday, as the countdown to the annual Archibald Prize got under way. The Archibald Prize is administered by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and awarded for “the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, painted by an artist resident in Australasia during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in the pictures.” The Archibald Prize is one of the most popular annual art exhibitions in Australia and continures to chronicle the changing face of Australian society. Pictured above is the portrait of young actor Brandon Walters, fresh from starring alongside Nicole Kidman in Australia, by Vincent Fantauzzo, who last year won the Peoples Choice with his portrait of Heath Ledger.

There is always one painting that causes controversy at the Archibald Prize. This year it is a self-portrait by Brisbane artist Michael Zavros. His self-portrait “skull” depicting sunglasses for eyes, shoes for a nose and cologne bottles for teeth has many traditional beret wearing types asking how it made the cut. But, if there was a prize for the best painting title – I’d give it to Anthony Bennett for Self-portrait in the bathroom discussing beauty, Bukowski and Brett Whiteley with my ex, now a stripper, who likes to dress as Wonder Woman.

Check out these entries and more from the 2009 Archibald finalists in the gallery below:

Congrats Heath

It was no sympathy vote. He earned it.

The Wednesday Exhibit @ Ha Ha Bar

If you live in Canberra, Wednesday nights just got a whole lot more interesting. Ha Ha Bar’s Wednesday Exhibit will serve up the best portions of Canberra’s subculture. A mixed bag of flavours, punters will get a glimpse at the underbelly of Canberra’s entertainment and cultural scene while supporting the lyrical and artistic pioneers that make the city unique. This Wednesday will see 2008 Australian poetry slam champion and winner of JJJ ‘realise your dream’ competition, Omar Musa, impress with his sharp and poetic rhymes from 8pm. Oh yeah, and Kodak the human beat box will be on hand with DJ Rush too. Keep posted on The Wednesday Exhibit at the Ha Ha Bar website.

Nadège Mériau

I stumbled across the work of London-based French photographer Nadège Mériau by accident on one of my many internet search sessions. Meriau’s images are staged and lit to create intriguing and fantastical mini-narratives where innocence meets darkness and beauty is tinted with menace. Check out the gallery below from a series titled Mises en Scene and see more of her photography at her website here.

Van Diemen’s Land – The Movie

My friend and stand-up comic, Emerson Parsonson, pointed me to this new upcoming Australian movie that stars his brother. Van Diemen’s Land tells the tale of eight convicts who in 1822 escaped the brutal penal settlement Macquarie Harbour in a fateful bid for freedom. Led by ex-sailor and experienced navigator, Robert Greenhill, the men made battle against some of the harshest terrain in the unexplored wilderness of Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania). As supplies run out and tensions in the group escalate, the group soon contemplates the unthinkable. I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing this! Written and directed by VCA graduate Jonathan Auf Der Heide with some lush cinemaphotography from Ellery Ryan, the production value is solid and the narrative tense. Watch the trailer here.

Fleet Foxes Robin Pecknold – “It Aint Me Babe”

 

Fleet Foxes front man Robin Pecknold has recorded a cover of the Dylan classic, “It Ain’t Me Babe” under his solo project, White Antelope. Acoustic guitar and lush harmonies – it doesn’t get much better. You can listen and download the track at Peenko.

JR On Why He Considers Himself a “Photograffeur”

The Times has an insightful interview with Parisian street artist / photo artist, JR. Fresh from his community photo art project in Kibera, Kenya (where he covered 2000 square meters of slum rooftops with photos of the eyes and faces of women from the region), JR has become “the hippest street artist since Banksy” and has attracted the attention of serious dealers and auctioneers like Sotheby’s. In the article (by Ed Caesar), JR discusses the nature of his art and how he hopes to impact the people that look at it.

JR is a 25-year-old Parisian of mixed race (he has Tunisian and eastern European blood), from a middle-class background. He never reveals his full name because it “would add nothing”. In his teens, he “tagged” as a graffiti artist, but only started taking photographs when he found a camera on the Paris Métro as a 17-year-old. He is now, in his own words, a hybrid “photograffeur”, who pastes enormous black-and-white photographic canvases in various urban environments.

In a post-crash world, JR sells no diamond skulls. His engagement and edification of the world’s poorest is not only laudable, but artistically interesting. Indeed, the trade in his pictures — created in Third World slums, bought by affluent westerners, reinvested in the slums — makes him a Robin Hood figure. Moreover, because of the size and situation of his images, JR competes with the billboard ads of Coca-Cola and Levi for attention. This is not merely a by-product of his work, but a theme.

“People don’t really understand why I paste, when I’m not selling something,” he says. But of course he knows exactly what his brand is: people.

Read the full article here.

Christian Bale Takes David to the Dentist

The best Bale re-mix by far! You can see the original vid here – but after watching this, why would you want to?!

Barack Obama is Tired of Your Motherfucking Shit

These audio excerpts come from Barack Obama’s audiobook. They’ve been re-mixed and they are totally radtastic!