James Wong RSS Feed

j.wong@slamxhype.com

Website — http://slamxhype.com

Latest Posts

  • Massive Attack “Saturday Come Slow” (ft. Damon Albarn) Video

    March 19th 10, 3:49

    Here is a look at the Official video for Saturday Come Slow, from Massive Attack. Another single from Heligoland, featuring the vocals from Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz.

    On the second floor of Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering, behind a vast array of home made speakers and Seventies-era hi-fi equipment, sits a rarely-used container-sized room called the Anechoic Chamber – a room designed to create total silence.

    On visiting an Anechoic Chamber, John Cage entered expecting to hear silence, but he wrote later: “I heard two sounds, one high and one low. When I described them to the engineer in charge, he informed me that the high one was my nervous system in operation, the low one my blood in circulation.” True silence is impossible. (more…)

    Read More

  • Damien Hirst “New Religion” Key Ring

    March 19th 10, 3:41

    Damien Hirst’s publishing and merchandising company, Other Criteria, has released some great keyrings derived from Damien Hirst’s New Religion art series. One featuring the Cross seen previously on the cover of the New Religion Book, another features an image of a Pill which was a prominent motif in the New Religion series. Available for £7.50 only at the Other Criteria Store on Hinde Street in London. (more…)

    Read More

  • Jonathan LeVine Interview

    March 16th 10, 19:31

    Here is a look at an interesting interview with Jonathan LeVine, the founder of the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. A man who has played a critical role in bringing some of our street favourites into galleries, merging low brow “street -art” with the high art world. Celebrating their fifth year anniversary this year, Jonathan LeVine gallery has been one of the few Chelsea success stories to emerge from the recession.

    LeVine, who started out with a humble Philadelphia gallery called “Tin Man Alley” that he opened with a $40,000 loan from his parents, has marked the occasion of his anniversary with with a group show (info here) featuring new and old work from artists like Eric White, Shepard Fairey (who the Trenton-born dealer launched), Parisian stencil-art legend Blek Le Rat, and Brazil’s Titi Freak.

    ARTINFO spoke to LeVine about to see how he got to where he is today, where the the market for his art is trending, and whether he’s positioned to benefit from the forthcoming closure of Deitch Projects.

    ARTINFO | Jonathan LeVine Gets No Respect :

    So you’ve been here for five years. How do you feel about getting to this moment?
    It’s actually my ninth year in business, but it’s my fifth year in New York. I started curating when I was 26, out of bars in New York. Maxwell’s,CBGB’s, Max Fish — that was the foundation of me opening my business. I’ve built my business from the day I’ve walked in. It’s a much different entity than it was five years ago.

    How so?

    Much larger staff, bigger space, more outreach. My artists are more high-profile than they were five years ago, people know who I am. I’ve had a lot of successes.

    Perhaps because you‘ve been able to achieve such successes with street art, some peg you as more of a shrewd businessman than an inspired art connoisseur. Is there any truth to that?

    I would say that’s completely untrue. It’s exactly the opposite. If I was a shrewd businessman, I wouldn’t be in this business. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been involved with this before it was anywhere close to being what it is. Most dealers are shrewder than me. I come from an art background as a fine artist, I have two art degrees, I used to play music. I didn’t want to be a businessman. I happen to be very good at business naturally.

    How would you describe your clients? Isn’t there a tendency in street-art circles to sell to people who are interested in design-driven areas like cartoons and toy culture but don’t necessarily know much about art?

    That’s who a lot of other dopey street-art dealers sell to. I’m an old school dealer. And the collectors I sell to I’ve been selling to for years, and they’re very well educated. I’m not selling to Wall Street guys, I’m not selling to people with stupid money. I’m selling to people with taste, who are connoisseurs. They may not necessarily be the biggest collectors, but I do sell to big collectors, I sell to celebrities. But I don’t sell to those middle-American people. That’s what Opera Gallery does. That’s what the British market was doing. I don’t want to exploit my artists. The reason I do this is because I believe in this as a movement, and I believe it should be accepted into the art world just as much as anything else is.

    What would you say to people who don’t consider your artists to be fine art because of their pop-culture approach and subject matter?

    Well, that’s their opinion. The artwork that I represent represents a generational shift. The art market is like, “Oh this is cartoon work, it’s not serious.” Whatever. Murakami’s doing it, right? Jeff Koons is doing it, right? My generation, our generation, grew up on TV. Our culture is pop culture. They’re using this imagery because it’s their reality to access something deeper. It’s not that I’m selling a lot of art just because I’m shrewd, there’s a whole movement — it’s humongous, it’s international, and it’s a parallel universe to the fine-art market. My friends just had a show of Brazilian street artists at MASP [the São Paulo Museum of Art], in one of the biggest cities in the world, at one of the biggest contemporary art institutes in South America. They did it with young, living street artists and 300,000 fucking people showed up.

    Continue reading at ARTINFO.

    Read More

  • DBA 98% Biodegradable Pens

    March 16th 10, 18:40

    The DBA Pen is the only 98% biodegradable pen in the world. It’s also the only pen to use ink composed of simple, pronounceable ingredients. Produced at a wind-powered facility in the United States, it was designed as a responsible alternative to the wasteful and often toxic pens we use almost every day.

    The New York based design company, DBA was founded in 2008 with the goal of developing unique products that combine aesthetic strength, technical innovation, and ecologically effective principles. These biodegradable pens are a direct reflection of their unique design philosophy.

    Comes in packs of 3 for $8USD at the DBA store here.

    (more…)

    Read More

  • Aitor Throup Interview | Tailored by Umbro

    March 16th 10, 6:23

    This time last year Umbro announced their collaboration with fashion designer Aitor Throup on a redesign of the England football team’s new away kit. Titled “Tailored by Umbro”, the new kit features a sleek minimal styling and a unique 3-panel construction designed with a utilitarian approach. The new England kit has now been released and can be purchased from the Umbro online store here. (more…)

    Read More

  • Nike Sportswear x fragment design x Undercover Match Classic HF

    March 14th 10, 8:35

    A range of new colors have been added to the Undercover and Nike Match Classic HF collaboration this season. Seen previously in beige, navy and black suede upper, the color range of the collection has now been extended to include mustard, orange and dark green. A very versatile and classic sports design which we love, regardless of whether it was a collaboration effort or not. But when the collaboration is with Undercover, it’s definitely a big plus. Stay tuned for more info.

    Image: UC Hiroshima

    Read More

  • Norman Mailer Book | Moon Fire: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11

    March 11th 10, 20:57


    Here is an interesting book by one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer, documenting the Epic journey of the Apollo 11 Space mission.
    Hired by LIFE in 1969 to cover the Moon shot. Norman Mailer’s three-part feature was the longest nonfiction piece LIFE had published. He enhanced and extended his reportage with deeper reflection in the brilliantly crafted book, Of a Fire on the Moon, excerpted here for the first time. Equally adept at examining the science of space travel and the psychology of the men involved—from Saturn V rocket engineer Wernher von Braun, to the crucial NASA support staff, to the three astronauts—Mailer provides provocative and trenchant insights into this epoch-making event.

    The Apollo 11 mission has been called the single most historic event of the 20th century: On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins met John F. Kennedy’s call for a manned Moon landing by the end of the 1960s. A decade of tests and training, a staff of 400,000 engineers and scientists, a budget of $24 billion, and the most powerful rocket ever launched all combined in an unprecedented event watched by millions the world over. And no one captured the men, the mood, and the machinery like Norman Mailer.

    Illustrating this volume are hundreds of the best photographs and maps from the NASA vaults, magazine archives, and private collections. Many of them previously unpublished, these images document the development of the agency and the mission, life inside the command module and on the Moon’s surface, and the world’s jubilant reaction to the landing. This edition includes an original introduction by Colum McCann and captions by leading Apollo 11 experts, explaining the history and science behind the images, citing the mission log and publications of the day, and post-flight astronaut interviews

    The 348 page Hardcover book is available for £ 27.99 at Taschen and also at Amazon.

    Or if you have a few hundred thousand euros lying around, you can even consider buying the Lunar Rock edition (comes with a moon rock housed in a Marc Newson designed case) !!

    Take a look at the images from the book below.

    Make sure you take a look at the leaf-through of this amazing book here.

    Read More

  • Yukuten Spring/Summer 2010 Collection

    March 11th 10, 9:11

    A range of products from Yukuten’s Spring/Summer 2010 Collection has been released at Oi polloi. Consisting of a number of different styles from their footwear range, including the country ranger and a few Moc models as well as a great canvas and leather backpack with a unique ring design and some great simple leather detailing which gives them a very artisanal feel. Take a look below.

    Available now at OiPolloi

    Read More

  • Banksy vs. Robbo Continues

    March 11th 10, 8:14

    It seems the feud between Banksy and Robbo is far from over as more modifications to Banksy’s stencil pieces have appeared accross London. The feud sparked by Banksy’s mural in Camden where he painted over a vintage Robbo piece. Banksy’s mainstream success has taken the Bristol artist to great lengths in recent years, having works sold at major auction houses and high profile feature films being debuted at film festivals, contrary to his mainstream success however it seems his street cred has gone the opposite direction in recent months. Take a look at these retaliation efforts by Robbo (more here) and you will get an idea of what we mean.

    Thanks to Arrested Motion for the info.

    Read More

  • Maison Martin Margiela x Barney’s New York German Trainer

    March 11th 10, 1:52

    Every season we see a new rendition of the timeless German Trainer design from Martin Margiela, based on the original silhouette from the German Military in the 70’s – 80’s and known for it’s distinctive simple construction and sole design. Here we see a collaboration between the New York fashion retailer Barney’s and Belgian label on this classic piece of footwear. Featuring a unique Pollock-esque paint smear. May not be the most practical design but definitely one which Margiela fans can appreciate.

     

    Info: GQ

    Read More

  • Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With Opening Ceremony – Part 2

    March 7th 10, 13:18

    Here is a look at part two of the VBS.tv feature of Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With… Opening Ceremony (Part 1 here.)
    A very insightful look at what is possibly one of the best fashion retailers (and label) at present. The second part sees again great conversational interviews with the founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, in this episode about their work with Ace Hotel.

    Read More

  • JR: Women Are Heroes Exhibition | Video

    March 1st 10, 3:33

    Here is a look at an official video of JR’s much talked about “Women Are Heroes” Exhibition held last year at Île Saint-Louis in Paris.  Pasting photographed images of women from Africa on the walls along the Seine River. Definitely one of the best large scale exhibition we’ve seen.

    More about JR and the exhibition here.
    JR / Exposition Paris 2009 – Ile Saint Louis
    by JR
    Read More

  • Harvest by haroshi Exhibition: Skate & Destroy Recap

    February 23rd 10, 1:52

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-12

    Here is a look at the Harvest by Haroshi: Skate and Destroy Exhibition we told you about a few days ago (here). Currently on show at plsmis gallery in Tokyo till the 27th. Haroshi creates a series of playful artworks making use of old skateboards and broken decks.

    “Skate decks eventually see its life shortened by snapping, cracking and/or wearing out. Purchasing new decks is a never ending cycle and this was evident by the tower of old decks that were reaching to the ceiling of my room. We can’t throw away these decks because they hold sentimental meanings to us. I looked at these unusable decks every day and thought there must be something I can make with these.

    I decided to make some accessories with the old decks and this was the birth of Harvest. The works of Harvest are through the perspectives of a skater and as an artist. As a skater, I want to take responsibility of reusing skateboards when they were no longer useable. Also, as an artist I want to explore the possibilities of what can be done with skateboards.

    We see the care and effort that a skater can have for his/her deck and we also acknowledge the origins of a skateboard. We believe that if the small things we do can connect to sustainability then we’re doing something right. We’d be satisfied in our effort when people look at products and start thinking of ways to recycle.”

    Take a look at the images from the gallery courtesy of Brandon Shegeta.

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-2

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-5

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-4

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-3

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-bear

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-bear1

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-front1

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-1

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-6

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-7

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-19

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-16

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-8

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-9harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-14

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-11

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-15

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-10


    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-13


    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-17

    harvest-haroshi-skate-destroy-recap-18


    Read More

  • Shanana Mil U.S. Navy Deck Parka

    February 22nd 10, 1:14

    Shanana-US-NavyHere is a look at an interesting Navy Deck Parka by Japanese label Shanana Mil. Based on a Deadstock 60’s – 70’s Navy Deck Parka, this piece is as close to a real vintage navy parka as it can be. Founded by former vintage clothing dealers Satoshi “Gypsy” Takahashi & Maria Takahashi, the Shanana Mil label is an extension of their deep knowledge and understanding of vintage military clothing. Featuring embroidery work hand sewn by Maria (Satoshi’s wife) to give the clothing a real artisanal, hand-crafted feel. 100% cotton. A fine example of repro vintage items done right. Take a look below. Available at anoutcommunemeta for ￥24,000.

    shanana11

    Info: houyhnhnm

    Read More

  • Jonathan LeVine Gallery Five Year Anniversary Group Exhibition

    February 21st 10, 9:02

    Scheduled to open coming Sautrday on the 27th of February will be Jonathan LeVine Gallery’s Five year anniversary group exhibition. Featuring many of our favorite artists the likes of Blek le Rat, AJ Fosik, Mark Dean Veca, Ron English, WK amongst many others.  Over the past five years, Johnathan LeVine Gallery has had a strong emphasis on a street influenced genre of art, and has played an integral role in helping many emerging artists  by providing them with an environment where they can further develop their work. Their DIY approach has really allowed many of the exhibiting artists, free reign for their creative expression in the gallery space, encouraging artistic exploration. Congratulations to the Johnathan LeVine Gallery! Stay Tuned for more info and coverage of this show.

    johnathan-levine

    Jonathan LeVine Gallery 5th Anniversary Exhibition
    February 27th, 2010
    529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor
    New York, NY

    Read More

12345678910203040Last
slamxhype.com on Facebook

Follow SLAMXHYPE


  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • RSS

  • Daily E-mail

Recent Posts


Popular This Month