Motivation: Amazing Sign Guy

By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property. - Voltaire


I happened to pass this amazing human being twice during New York Comic Con. The first time that I saw him, he was doing a cool spin with the sign, but it wasn't anything all that notable. I still appreciated that he could do it though because I had never seen anyone so enthusiastic about holding a sign.

After exploring Comic Con for the day, I passed him again on my home. This time, I stopped and asked him if I could grab a quick video of him doing the spin thing. I'm so glad that I did because he took it to the next level and went H.A.M.!

Check it out.... 

Adrian Franks - "Poly FEARLESS" Series

all images courtesy of AdrianFranks.com

Creative extraordinaire Adrian Franks is at it again! He's taken his wildly popular FEARLESS series of works to a new ... dimension. I've always enjoyed the artist's work but these pieces have sparked a new level of interest. Like ... I want prints of some of these!

Adrian says:

"The Poly FEARLESS came about because of the need to evolve the current FEARLESS silhouette series. I wanted to show that people have multiple sides to them without revealing too much of what the person actually looks like.

Profiles capture a lot without saying too much. When you add a little dimension with basic geometric shapes, the idea evolved from something flat to something multi-dimensional. That is a basic characteristic of humans; Spiritual beings have a multi-faceted and multi-human experience.

I often said that I have many sides - like a pyramid. Just like a pyramid, in order to see all of the different sides at once you'd have to be above me. There's only one that is above me - The Most High. So one could say that the Poly FEARLESS series is a God's Eye view of man."

Well done, Sir! These works are TOO ill. When can we expect prints?

Adrian Franks - "Electric Rox"

I first introduced you to the artwork of Adrian Franks on the last day of July of this year. He's a truly incredible creative mind. You've likely seen his work in passing as he's done commercial graphic design for Verizon, Wal-Mart, HP, Toyota, the U.S. Navy and many more.

At present, his most prominent work is his "Fearless" series of vector silhouette profiles of various leaders, celebrities, etc. I've selected a few of my favorites from the series below. I'm also very excited to announce that while I'm not an official addition to the series, I was fortunate enough to have Adrian put his creative spin on my profile. I'm thrilled with the result! The title is "Electric Rox."

Major thanks to Mr. Franks! This is awesome!

To keep up with Adrian and his art, click on his twitter link below or jump directly to his website:

Adrian Franks on Twitter

www.AdrianFranks.com



Adrian Franks - Pervasive Arts Profile

 image via www.adrianfranks.com

I had the pleasure of meeting this incredible creative at a birthday dinner for a mutual friend some months ago. After overhearing him talking about advertising, I joined in the conversation looking for some fresh ideas and advice.  We ended up speaking at length about art, music and technology. His insights into Black technology trends completely blew my mind and I am, to this day, still trying to work it all out in my mind.

He just released this short video interview put together by Pervasive Arts. Check it out to see some of Adrian's work showcased and learn more about the man himself. See more works at:

www.AdrianFranks.com

West Coastin' pt. II

 Shy Maria (l.) and Fred (r.)

After two very full days of ripping and running, it was down to my last few hours to take in a few more sights and then pack my things up to head back to New York. I woke up at 10am, which was a miracle considering I was at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles until 4am. I got ready for my day quickly and called my fellow Team L.A.R.K. member Fred to come pick me up. Fred has been down with me for many years now but this was our first face to face meeting. He brought his lovely girlfriend along too and we took off to Santa Monica to see how much we could squeeze in before my 3:35pm flight.

On the boulevard.

We hit the 3rd Street Promenade and there were people everywhere! Street performers were doing their respective things and the cool ocean breeze was perfect. I popped in and out of a few stores looking for a gifts to bring back to NY, but I didn't find anything of interest. With shopping not working out we set our sights on the pier to take some pictures.

Give the drummer some.

 African drumming and dance. No Africans included.

Santa Monica Pier

At this point, we had just enough time to grab some food before I had to head to LAX to catch my ride home. We climbed back into Fred's car and went to nearby Santa Monica Place Shopping Center. We opted for semi-Chinese food. Yes, "semi". It surely was not real Chinese food, but it was close enough. After half a plate of food and 2 orange juices, I was....umm....40 minutes away from boarding time!

We took off for LAX with speed and thank goodness there was no traffic on the way. I grabbed my bag from Fred's trunk and quick stepped my way to the self check-in counter. I swiped my credit card and zipped through the prompts. When I hit the menu for checked bags I got a pop-up message:

"You're too late, Biaaaatch! The baggage check is closed. Hahahahaha! #FAIL"

Well, it didn't really say that but it might as well have. This is the part where MTV speeds up the cargo loading, boarding, taxi and takeoff.....

I knew this picture would be good for something!

I immediately called up Fred and told him, "Yo. I missed it." The good thing is that all I had to do was hop on the next flight 6 hours later. No charge. We chuckled at my stupidity and he offered to swing back around and pick me up if I didn't want to sit in the airport for 6 hours. Of course, I did not and so it was; a bonus 6 hours in Cali with Fred.

We went to a really cool graffiti art exhibition at MOCA. The exhibition is called "Art in the Streets" and is a look at graffiti art from it's roots in the '70s to present day. I had an amazing time looking at early work from artists like Lee, Dondi, Blade, Basquiat and other huge names in graffiti.

Andre has to pee.

Spray everything but the doors!

After our fill of styles, colors and photos we went over to Little Tokyo and had some snacks. Then it was that time again. I was on my way back to LAX. This time with PLENTY of time to spare. I sat and reflected on my time in LA and I just smiled. I'm so thankful for life and all of it's blessings. Major props and respect to Fred and Maria for taking care of me. You two are awesome!

Here are a couple more pics from MOCA that I like. Thanks for reading!

Rammellzee, Baby!

What the....?

Who's going to have the first graffiti fleet plane?

The legendary Mr. Cartoon.

The Baddest Black Man in Outta Space

Check out this incredibly creative project being put together by Che Broadnax. Broadnax is an MC and 3D animator who just successfully completed an ambitious KickStarter fundraiser to help along the completion of this amazing looking art project.

I was introduced to Che's work by another graphic artist I featured here a short while ago by the name of Ken Hill. Needless to say, I'm impressed with Che's work and I'm very much looking forward to hearing and seeing the completed project.

Banksy Takes on The Simpsons

Hank Willis-Thomas Interview

Hank Willis-Thomas

I was introduced to Mr. Thomas' art back in 2005.  A friend of mine at the time had a blog where he mentioned the artist's work.  I was intrigued by the images he posted and I went to the artist's website to discover more.  It was love at first sight and I've been a fan of Mr. Thomas' works ever since.  Whenever I would have discussions about race relations in America, I would almost always bring up Hank Willis-Thomas.

His Branded series was most resonant for me.  His visual commentary on entities like Nike and the NBA really struck a chord in my intellect and I am continually inspired by his views.  I see this site as an attempt to express Hip-Hop as fine art and Mr. Thomas is doing this successfully whether he intends to or not.  It only made sense to work on finding out a little more about him as a person.

I reached out to Mr. Thomas to bring him to you in his own words and he graciously obliged.  Instead of rehashing the same questions he's answered hundreds of times over in previous interviews, we decided to take a more light-hearted approach.  For more on Hank Willis-Thomas and his incredibly moving art, please visit www.hankwillisthomas.com or search the web for in-depth interviews.  He's a fascinating gentleman.

RF: I managed to catch you out of the country. What are you up to? 

Hank Willis-Thomas: My first solo show in South Africa opened at the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town.  So I was there for the installation and opening. I also went to Luanda, Angola to check out the upcoming Triennial.  

RF: I don't imagine that you have a ton of downtime, but what do you enjoy doing when you're not working?  

HWT: I don't think I'm ever not working.  The greatest benefit of being an artist is that even when you're doing the most banal things or procrastinating, you are still working.

 Basketball and Chain

RF: In previous interviews you've stated that you felt you had some limitations in your photography. How has your photography evolved over the last year or 2?  

HWT: I don't really take pictures anymore.  My work has become more conceptual - thinking about how images are used rather than capturing them.

RF: I know you don't watch much TV but I'm certain you're aware of the cultural phenomenon that is The Boondocks. I'm just throwing this out there: I think it would be incredibly cool for you to do collaborative work with Aaron McGruder. I think your work is similar in many ways. You both have a lot to say and very interesting and unique ways of speaking.  

HWT: Sure.  Hook it up!

 Absolut Power

RF: It's always interesting to talk with Black men of varying educational and economic backgrounds about the “N” word. I think too many people focus on the word itself as opposed to the lack of tact when it comes to the words use. What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you use the term?  

HWT: I don't use the "N" word.  I don't know how many ways you can use it tactfully unless you're using it in the context of history or as an insult.  That being said, it does roll off the tongue pretty easily and the term "my nigger" can bring some strange sense of comfort.  

   
RF: How has the current economic trend affected your work? (In terms of ideas.)  

HWT: I don't think it has.  I have been too busy trying to figure out how we got here that many things of the present moment are still lost on me.  I'm very aware that these economic cycles occur and will continue to occur throughout our lifetime.  I'm more worried about the political ramifications and the greed and selfishness that seems to be re-surging from the "right wing".

 

 Are You the Right Kind of Woman for It?

RF: Fashion week is coming up in NY. Will you be involved at all? Are you fashion forward or generally disinterested?  

HWT: I'm not in NY so won't be involved.  I think fashion is great but it's not something that I put too much thought into.  Maybe I should...

RF: This is probably the most serious question of this entire interview: Team Blackberry or Team iPhone?

HWT: I think the iPhone is cooler and better for distractions but the Blackberry is more functional for getting messages and communication.  I like the iPhone because it's easier to ignore than the Blackberry.

 The Mandingo of Sandwiches

Images courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery

Random Pics pt. 9

Justin Bua @ Pop International Gallery Promo

Justin Bua will be unveiling two new paintings at Pop International Gallery on March 25th.  The paintings are of Kool Herc and Jay-Z and certain to be hits in the pop art community.  He released this promotional video to the masses....