Write of Passage

Since Banksy launched his month long residency on the streets of New York, his much lauded and sought after stenciled work has everyone talking about graffiti, from Mayor Bloomberg, who deems it a sign of decay and loss of control, to art students defending its legitimacy, and landlords cashing in on their Banksy enhanced properties. But according to graffiti historian Sacha Jenkins, all the buzz about the world’s most prominent graffiti artist is riddled with misconceptions.

Zim & Zou Paper Masterpieces

French graphic design team Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann of Zim & Zou create the most intricate sculptures and installations all out of paper and then photograph the amazing results. Doing away with computer composed graphics, the experimental duo focus on tangible craftsmanship through the use of recycled paper. Their beautiful creations have been commissioned by the likes of IBM, The Washington Post and Hermes.

Street Artist: Phlegm

Street artist Phlegm‘s hypnotizing illustration based murals covering buildings in England and featuring his other-worldly comic book characters are one-of-a-kind and huge in scale. His intricate work never ceases to amaze me. The self-described outsider to the art world made a name for himself with his popular comic books, but he loves to reach a broader audience with his street art, and he credits his public work with keeping his art fresh.

Card Lust For Every Occasion

As much as we love the intimate and thoughtful touch of handwritten notes and letters, let’s face it, most of us have been so spoiled by the easy and instant connection social media allows that the mere thought of penning letters and notes can seem like a laborious chore. Felicity Loughrey, Elspeth Tremblay and Sara Hingle, the trio behind the ingenious Card Lust iPhone app, have made sending gorgeous notes as easy as hitting the send button. 

Garance Dore's Illustrations Go On Sale

Garance Dore‘s wildly popular blog introduced us to her witty and charming point-of-view on fashion and style through her captivating photos, fun collages, engrossing videos and beautiful illustrations. Dore, a modern renaissance women if ever, is now selling off posters and limited-edition prints of her lovely illustrations in her newly opened online boutique. Dore’s simple lined illustrations – all inspired by her fanciful and stylish adventures – are gorgeous pieces of art that start as low as $40.

Art to Wear: Legendary Photographers Get Some T-shirt Love

Renowned street-culture and hip-hop photojournalists Martha Cooper, Joe Conzo and Jamel Shabazz have teamed up with DRKRM, a lifestyle and photo-centric brand, to translate their iconic images from paper to super-soft cotton t-shirts. “Besides TV and film, one of fashion’s biggest visual platforms is the photograph,” says DRKRM’s James “Koe” Rodriguez, who along with his partner Dan Sears had the difficult task of going through each Cooper, Conzo and Shabazz’s extensive collection to find the right images to complement their collection.

Adama Kouyaté's Vintage Portraits of West Africa

82-year-old Malian photographer Adama Kouyaté may not be as instantly recognizable as fellow iconic Malian photographer Seydou Keïta, but his captivating black and white portraitures have nonetheless been instrumental in shaping the spirit and aesthetics of West African photography from the 1950s to the 1970s. At that time most people did not own personal cameras, so they often visited his modest store-front photo studio to capture important moments in their lives.

Lovely and amazing

In October, as part of the Kaleidoscope exhibit at the Ingrao gallery in New York City, Law’s eye-catching homages to the female form made their American debut. Working with high-gloss paint on aluminum, Law creates loving renditions of the body, from the indentations on the small of one model’s back to the subtle roundness of another’s belly.