un envol de papillons

un envol de papillons
Originally uploaded by Francoise MELZANI

Butterflies Popping' up as a greeting.
By Françoise Melzani

Wakystuff collage art

Love these creative & imaginative collage artwork by Wakystuff, from the Flickr platform.

Truth?

Truth?
Originally uploaded by LogicVision

it's time to find out the truth, comments Logic Vision on his Flickr pool.
Sugarpop says, TRUTH, at all times!!

BLEK a dit: ART is War

Do you know Blek? Do you know Le Rat? [French in the text]
Have you met street rats?
Yes!? No?! Oui!!

Have you ever bumped into street art featuring rats,,,
rats encore, nothing but rats...
Rat-toujours...
And, again rats, and rats; always rats...???

Well, if you've never stumbled across graffiti street art of rats' design, it either means, you're a square-minded person, who doesn't look further than his nose; since rats are just everywhere!...
But maybe you live in 1 bubble, where air is so pure, no rats have dropped by so far to say hello; and obviously, you have decided to break up with the rat race socialites and upbeat lifestyles, hence, missing out Z RAt!

Sirdab has dug it for you, as the man who inspired generations of stencil artists
(including Banksy)
is definitely worth a bubbly post,
since it's THAT kind of news Sirdab's folks are constantly looking forward to.

So, Here is the Story...

One of the most influential figures in street art, French graffiti artist Blek Le Rat made his U.S. solo exhibition debut, on April 5, as his work -- old & new-- was on display at Shepard Fairey's new Subliminal Projects Gallery, in L.A.
The show --dubbed "ART is Not Peace But War" --featured 15 canvases, photos and one big-scale installation, on which the artist has painted his trademark stencils.
Large original paintings sold like pancakes; and an appearance by the Rat himself seemed to have added great energy to Fairey's [brilliant] initiative, in choosing to feature, first and foremost Blek Le Rat, for the Grand opening of his Art Space.

An what about the whole rats' fuss--aside from being the French artist's nickname?

Blek le Rat was one of the very few first street artists to use stencil art, way back in the early 80's, where his iconic rats were massively tagged & re-tagged in Paris' urban environment.
As a result, Le Rat gained a rat-tat recognition, and followers 'shroomed' ever after, with rat-a-tat impact...

As equally bubbly, it would be noteworthy to mention here, a book by Blek Le Rat --you can check out there-- that is coming out in May 2008, published by Thames and Hudson.

A definite must buy for graffiti lovers, the book is a unique view inside the life and work of one of the most low-key, but also one of the most loved street artist of our times.
From small and simple stencils to complex multimedia events, the distinctive and groundbreaking art of Blek le Rat is to be showcased, for the first time, in "Getting through the Walls;" and as such, it will be demonstrating the fascinating development of his technique and creativity, over the two past decades.

While shedding light on the evolution of urban art, this upcoming book is said to covers Blek's motives and working methods, as well as his deep exploration along with his own comments on the meaning of his art.

Banksy has been quoted, saying:

"Every time I think I've painted something original, I find out that Blek le Rat has done it as well, only 20 years earlier."

APRIL08 - BLEK A DIT: ART IS WAR

Give Peace a Dance

Some symbols have become so familiar, they overshadowed their true significance, drove us blind, as to forget to question their origin. The iconic Peace sign is, without a question, one of those symbol, many took for granted, and with such a positive appraisal that no one thought to dig further... PLANE WORLD!! PAIN WORD!!

• How did 'PEACE Sign' manage to stick so gently on our t-shirts, caps, bags, and trendy looking items...?

• What made that 'crippled' looking circle gain such an unanimous sympathy and one authoritative massive popular base ?
  

ArabAd Magazine is launching a Poster Design Contest to make us Ponder to The Real Notion of Peace, and The Means
to Spread IT.

Log on ArabAdvertising blog or email:
peace@arabadmag.com
to get the whole picture.

POPOBAMA BEAT'EM ALL

A stylised Barack Obama drawn in all colours, through a wide range of humorous photo manipulation and other altered creative design portraits; an alternative use of communication, addressed to support his election, by fans and avid supporters, or/and smart business minds; as all these items are ending up to be quite appealing to the young generation, since art and advertising are blending in a quite interesting and entertaining way...

As a result, now Obama Barack 2008 is available as products and merchandise, apparel, t-shirt, sweatshirt, cap, boxer shorts, hoodies, v-neck, mugs, calendar, pillows, bags, cards, buttons, magnets, you name it...you chose!!

Obama Barack as Buddha, in Pop Art Warhol style line, the range is as wide as creativity is endless...
Log on to café press and check for yourself...

PePsixpressive Art

ARTCO & Pepsi

While the art and design worlds are trying to reconcile their differences and work together, Cary Lietzes of ARTCO is working to bring artists and major corporations closer, by creating branding that is visually stimulating and unique. Design has a long history of struggle with the mass market but Lietzes has pioneered a fresh approach to the subject and carved out an intricate niche for herself and the artists and brands with which she works.

Using her knowledge of fashion, marketing and publishing, Lietzes recognised the need for new blood in the marketing world and identified current artists whose forward thinking and creativity suited these needs.

Hence, ARTCO's current project with Pepsi is not surprising, but is refreshing.
ARTCO has assembled 10 artists to design the Pepsi cans for the company's 4 biggest markets.

Very specific guidelines were set, along with some technical restrictions in relation to Brand Pepsi.
For instance, artists were only allowed to work within 6 colors, 5 of the 6 were Pepsi designated colors; not more than 20% of the design could be in red, in order not to be confused with you know who, "Always NANANA"...

The challenge was even greater with such a limited creative framework; however, the wide exposure, artists will be getting as a result, is by itself a satisfying reward.
The 10 different designs will be sold worldwide, with the new designs rolling out in select countries before expanding to more locations throughout the year, reaching a wide cultural mix.

USA / NICK Z; China / STELLA LAI; Puerto Rico / DZINE; Korea / YOON LEE; Brazil / AVAF; India / THURKAL & TAGRA; UK / JON BURGERMAN; Russia / DUBOSSARSKY & VINOGRADOV; Mexico / FERNANDA BRUNET

OBEY 1984

Penguin publishing commissioned artist Shepard Fairey, the infamous designer of the iconic OBAMA poster, and owner of StudioNumberOne, to create two new book covers for the re-editions of George Orwell's classics: Animal Farm and 1984. As featured, they are in the same line and spirit as his Obey work for the OBAMA pop-funk portrait; and both books will be published in the UK, July 3rd.