Keep x Animal Collective

The groovy folks from Animal Collective have partnered up with California sneaker brand Keep to release a limited run of collaborative sneakers to benefit the Socorro Island Conservation fund, a non-profit working to preserve the unique biosphere of the Revillagigedo Archipelago off Baja California. Each sneaker ships with a 4-track cassette tape featuring a previously unreleased solo track from each member of the band. I love the embroidery work and deep sea style of Deakin's Guerra Hi-top above. Check out all the other styles here and pre-order your pair HERE today!

Richard Mosse, Infra Series

Photographer Richard Mosse documented the conflict and soldier camps in the Eastern Congo using Kodak Infrared Film. His work is arresting and the vivid and unearthly colors in the film make a startling political statement. Check out more of his work here.

PogoBooks

PogoBooks is an independent publisher of limited edition art books and zines based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 2010, PogoBooks' focus is on publishing Photography. Our goal is to make original art accessible to everyone. We create books and zines that start dialog and conversation, with a high priority placed on quality and content. We publish art-books and limited edition zines. All our books and zines are monographs.

Love their recent monograph from Seoul-based photographer Hasisi Park!! Check out the work above and below!

DARK†YOUTH in Moscow

Ive been doing some digging for young photographers and came across some badass kids in Moscow documenting youth in revolt. Check out their zine, Prawdazine here. If I head out there, I wanna party with Dark Youth and his grandma!

20 Years Young :: Stretch x Bobbito

Stretch and Bobbito reunited last night at WKCR (Columbia U. radio station and one of the oldest FM radio stations in the country) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their hip-hop show. One of the most important hip-hop radio shows in the 90s, they introduced countless NYC artists to the world. Download the full four-hour broadcast here and listen to the shenanigans of stretch, bob, lord sear, sucio, soul, and others!

Jayelle Hudson

Sao Paulo-based Jayelle Hudson's photographic b+w kaleidoscopes are beautiful and serene, surreal nature-scapes that blur reality and fiction.

Bilal x Bob Marley

The Sounds of VTech / bilal_isthislove_web

Beautiful cover of Bob Marley's "Is This Love" by Bilal and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

Banksy x Simpsons

Ray Charles + Willie Nelson + Bill Cosby +++

The latest film on the legendary Ray Charles will air Tuesday, October 12 on A&E's bio channel at 8 PM. The two-hour special, narrated by David Duchovny, commemorates the 80th anniversary of Ray Charles’ birth and explores the life and music of the man behind such hit songs as “What’d I Say,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Hit The Road Jack,” “America, the Beautiful” and “I’ve Got A Woman.”

A unique partnership between the Grammy-nominated producers of the BIO documentary “Johnny Cash’s America,” and The Ray Charles Foundation, the film features unprecedented access to the Ray Charles archives including a wealth of rare and never-before-seen footage and photos and more than 25 of Charles’ recordings.

The special includes: A yet to be released recording of “It Hurts to Be In Love;” a never-before seen interview at his studio not long before his passing; live video from his recording sessions for “Genius Loves Company” including his duet with Willie Nelson for “It Was a Very Good Year” and his duet with Elton John for “Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word; an amazing performance of “Ring of Fire” on the Johnny Cash Show; and a tour of his private recording studio in LA including his wardrobe, chessboard and personal Braille address book and magazines. The many interviewees in the program include Willie Nelson, Clint Eastwood, Bill Cosby, Fran Drescher, Elton John, James Taylor, Quincy Jones, Ben Harper, Common, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, B.B. King, Taylor Hackford, Glen Campbell, Tom Waits and Norman Lear.

Director Alexis Manya Spraic seeks out provocative and challenging subject matter. Last year, her documentary Shadow Billionaire examined DHL founder Larry Hillblom's mysterious disappearance off the coast of Micronesia (and subsequent estate battle among his many children with bar girls across all of Asia).

Farm School NYC

Just Food and an alliance of local horticultural and food justice organizations are pleased to announce the official launch of Farm School NYC: The New York City School of Urban Agriculture. The school will offer a unique, community-based certificate program with enrollment beginning in January 2011. The mission of the school is to provide comprehensive professional training in urban agriculture, while spurring positive local action on issues of food access and social, economic and racial justice. AWESOMEEEEEEE!!!!

Fred Tomaselli @ Brooklyn Museum

I love Fred Tomaselli. His psychedelic collages remind me of the infinite nature of the universe and how all things are interconnected. The Brooklyn Museum is opening a mid-career survey of his work (1990-present) this Friday and I am psyched. Besides two newly created works specific for this show (see Night Music for Raptors above), there are 12 works on paper making their US debut. These new works have transformed the front page of The New York Times into a backdrop for his work.

Brooklyn Museum
October 8 - January 2

Tomaselli’s artwork draws upon a wide range of sources from both popular culture and art history, and from his own hobbies of gardening, kayaking, and bird-watching. Growing up near the desert in southern California, Tomaselli felt the influence of nearby theme parks, with their manufactured reality, and the music and drug counterculture of Los Angles in the 1970s and 1980s. His distinctive melding of these influences coalesces into a folk-driven, utopian vision of the mythic American West and of lush gardens as sites of contemplation, loss, and possible redemption. One of the pioneering artists who moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the 1980s, Tomaselli continues to live and work in the borough.

Duck Sauce, "Barbra Streisand"

Armand van Helden and A-Trak's collaboration on Fool's Gold is heavy on the club banger tip but this video by So-Me is amazing. The Babs impersonator is awesome and so New York. The art direction is great and he really captures the energy and vibrance of NYC. Even the cameo's by Kanye, Pharell, Ryan Leslie, Buckshot, Smif-n-Wessun, DJ Premier, Diplo, ?uestlove, and Santigold are fun and natural. A great antidote to Chris Cunningham's downer of a video for Gil Scott-Heron...yeah, im still thinking about it.

The HUMP @ subMercer

Its no secret that the subMercer has become a NYC-nightlife destination dedicated to that rare combination of great music, beautiful people, and DANCING. Join me this Wednesday as I host first subMercer edition of The HUMP, DJ Lindsey and DJ Myles' amazing throwback dance party playing your favorite old skool jams from 88-98. Get your fade tight, pull out your high-waisted pants, and dust off your dancing shoes...it's going DOWWWWNNNNN!!! Check out Gabby's rundown of the history of the party. Shes one of the founders of the jam!!

El Guincho, "Bombay"

Spanish artist El Guincho dropped his 3rd full length album last month on Rough Trade. His eclectic mix of tropicalia, dub, afrobeat, rock and electronic makes his music sound like its from the future...Not to mention his amazing art projects that are his music videos. Check out the video for Bombay below. Warning...there are boobies involved.

Pop Negro's production is based on hi-fi aesthetics from the golden-era of recordings. I did some research on radio hits/big selling singles in North and South America, England and Spain in the late 70's, 80's and early 90's. I found out that a massive percentage of these hits were engineered (sometimes also produced) by just around 40/ 50 different guys. The ones I've chosen here became a big influence on Pop Negro...

EL GUINCHO | Bombay from MGdM | Marc Gómez del Moral on Vimeo.

EcoArk

A cutting-edge engineering project has turned 1.5 million used plastic bottles into the world’s first large-scale recycled-plastic building.

From a distance, the building looks like a smart new addition to Taipei’s skyline—an angular, approximately nine-story-tall silver and white structure on Zhongshan North Road, not far from Taipei’s landmark Grand Hotel. Close up, it is a surprise for first-time visitors, as it is constructed with plastic bottles—1.5 million of them to be exact.

Since the building, known as the EcoArk, has taken shape, it has received much attention not only from local media, but international media including the BBC, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Bloomberg news services. National Geographic also has been filming it for the last half year for the TV channel’s MegaStructures program to air in early January.

The Taiwanese company that built it, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Co. Ltd., a relatively young company started by a Taiwanese overseas returnee in his 30s, has also garnered a lot of attention. That is because the EcoArk is the world’s first fully functional, large-scale plastic building made from recycled plastic bottles. Taiwan is one of the biggest consumers of plastic bottles in the world, with the island’s 23 million residents using up to 4.6 billion polyethylene terephthalate or PET bottles each year. It took the company only a couple of weeks to gather enough used bottles to make the building, which it did by collecting them from department stores belonging to the Far Eastern Group, the project sponsor and one of Taiwan’s biggest conglomerates.

Read the full article here!

Gil Scott Heron's New York is Killing Me

Heres the actual video for Gil Scott-Heron's New York is Killing Me, directed by Chris Cunningham that premiered on Sunday at MoMA. Although I thought the video was beautiful, I wish it was directed by an actual NY-based director. Some of the shots seemed a little cliche (subway, bridges, back alleys) and I felt like the video took away from the haunting poetry of the song itself. Check out the previous post here.

Every Little Step

I DIE!!! this is amazing.

Blind Benny

Check out the newest project from jade, Blind Benny. This young New Yorker is makin' waves! Download her solo project here. Thanks Kris!

Marwencol

The wonder and healing power of imagination!
"Marwencol" is a documentary about the fantasy world of Mark Hogancamp.

After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark builds a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populates the town he dubs "Marwencol" with dolls representing his friends and family and creates life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helps Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds of the attack. When Mark and his photographs are discovered, a prestigious New York gallery sets up an art show. Suddenly Mark's homemade therapy is deemed "art", forcing him to choose between the safety of his fantasy life in Marwencol and the real world that he's avoided since the attack.

"Marwencol" is playing at the IFC center and Hogancamp's photography is on view at the Esopus Gallery. Thanks Stacy!

Bike Shelf

wow -- what a beautiful and thoughtful way to store your bike. I love how it turns your bike into a hanging art piece. Perfect for us NYers with tiny apartments. Buy here! Thanks SwissMiss!

Sex Shoes

Everyone needs a pair of "sex shoes" and Petula Caesar breaks it down. I need to play this jam every time I leave the house. Thanks Duane for the amazing disco mix on this rainy Monday!

The Creators Project x Beijing

Check out J.Lam's great B+W photo gallery of the Beijing Creator's Project. This traveling multi-media art extravaganza was brought to the masses by Intel+Vice. A really phenomenal production featuring an innovative group of young creatives! Check the full dedicated Creator's Project site here.

Gil Scott-Heron x Chris Cunningham

POPRALLY PRESENTS
New York Is Killing Me
featuring Chris Cunningham
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
8:30–11:00 P.M.
MoMA

Join us for the world premiere of Chris Cunningham's audiovisual remix of Gil Scott-Heron's "New York Is Killing Me," which will be projected across three screens. This unique event will be preceded by a conversation about the making of the video with Cunningham and Barbara London, Associate Curator of Media and Performance Art. Doors and bar open at 8:30; conversation starts promptly at 9:30. Buy tickets here.

Cult filmmaker, musician, photographer, and producer Chris Cunningham is known for his highly acclaimed music videos for artists including Aphex Twin, Björk, Portishead, and many others. Since 2003 his focus has moved to music: he worked as a producer on The Horrors' Mercury Prize–nominated Primary Colours; won a Cannes Golden Lion for his reworking of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" in his 2008 Gucci Flora commercial; and created audiovisual remixes for Gil Scott-Heron and Grace Jones. Recently, he has headlined festivals around the world with his new live show, and is presently working on his first audiovisual album.

Check out this heartbreaking portrait of Scott-Heron from last month's New Yorker.

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson + Aloe Blacc

Love Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's orchestral arrangements and collaborations with contemporary LA-based artists. Download the track for free here! Thanks Chuck!

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox

After escaping from an insane asylum where he was locked up for spreading the gospel of the Moral ABC, Dr. Emmanuel Bronner decided that the best way to spread the message of his All One faith was to make the best soap in the world and print the Moral ABC on the label. Thus Dr. Bronner's Magic 18-in-1 Pure Castille Peppermint Soap was born. A 5th generation soap maker, Bronner's vision for uniting spaceship Earth is carried out through the ethics and practices of the company. His grandson now helms the family-owned business using only organic fair-trade ingredients, investing in olive oil from the holy land, and was the first company to use 100% post consumer recycled bottles! Check out the clip from Sarah Lamm's amazing documentary about the man, the mission, and the soap.

Viva La Mexico!!!

It's the 200th anniversary of mexican independence!! Celebrate with my favorite Mexicans in NYC!!
La Superior
295 Berry Street/ bw S2nd & S3rd/ Williamsburg
TONIGHT Wednesday Sept 15th
11p- till you drop

FREE!

Devin Troy Strother @ Richard Heller

Checkout Devin's solo show at the Richard Heller Gallery and see some of the amazing work he put together during his artist residency this summer.

Devin Troy Strother
Please Don’t Act a Fool in the Club: A Memory of the Sugar Shack & Stuntin’ Like My Daddy
September 11, 2010 - October 9, 2010
2525 MICHIGAN AVE, B-5A
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
Opening Reception: 6:00 - 9:00 pm

Growing Power

As New York hits High Fashion Frenzy this week, Im off to Milwaukee for a weekend of education and community building with people from around the country in the urban agriculture movement. I received this email in my inbox yesterday and it got me more excited than ever to head to Wisconsin! I thought Id share Will Allen's words with my friends! You can download the whole conference program here.

Welcome to Milwaukee, our great city by Lake Michigan.

In the fall of 2009, I was thinking about how we will grow Good Food Revolution. I realized that we did not have all the players at the Good Food Table. Over the years, many people have been working hard on getting good food into our communities in many different ways, but all too often they were working only in their own sectors. I feel that for us to fundamentally change
the food system, we must work together as a team.

I have worked at, spoken at, participated in many gatherings and conferences over the years. At these conferences, it seemed there were never all the players needed, to know each other and eventually work together. This conference is my attempt, and Growing Power’s attempt, to bring to the table folks that have never worked together to build a new food system that works for everyone in every community. Some of these folks are farmers like myself, urban planners, government officials, financiers, corporate companies; teachers and university academics; doctors, dieticians and nutritionists; folks in the fitness field; people in renewable energy; aquaculturists, composters, recyclers and reusers; environmentalists including freshwater, wastewater and stormwater experts; brownfield specialists; and perhaps most importantly, youth, whose world will be shaped by what we do or not do, here and wherever we all return to.

Over the next few days, working hard while eating some good local food from our local and regional producers, I hope that all of you will learn more, gain new partners, get inspired to go back to your communities and Grow the Good Food Revolution. Our ultimate goal is to make sure everyone, in all our communities, has access to healthy, safe, affordable and culturally appropriate food. Food is the one thing we all have in common. Building a Good Food system is the No. 1 thing that will lead us in building sustainable communities.

This is really what social justice is about.
Will Allen

Dare to be Square

Ive had a quilt project in the works for about a year now and seeing this trailer for Boo Davis' badass quilts is getting me psyched for some downtime during the winter!! Bring the quilting bee on!!! Dare To Be Square, her new book on quilting looks amazing and inspirational!

Dare to Be Square Quilting by Boo Davis from Quiltsrÿche on Vimeo.

Urban Homesteading

Thought this was a cute straight-forward post on how to start your own little urban farm! Raise chickens, can jams, grow some veggies! Thanks Apartment Therapy!