Bicycle Film Festival 2009 Trailer

by Karen Day

Still rolling into new cities, the Bicycle Film Festival continues to pick up speed, thanks in part to their clever and beautifully-shot trailer. Cyclists sporting letters that spell out "Bicycle Film Festival" return in this second trailer directed by Marco Mucig, this time for humorous scenes of the partial alphabet playing bike polo.

Set to a tune from Italian band Disco Drive, Mucig's eye captures the bike's agility with shots—edited by Fabio Capalbo—that speak to his snow and skateboarding passions, providing a documentary quality to the promotional video. Check out the director's Three Months in Finland for more of his imagery.

With Europe, Australia and Japan still on the itinerary, keep an eye out for festival happenings near you.

Glitch: Designing Imperfection

by Doug Black

The result of a technological malfunction, the visual glitch is generally an unwelcome visitor—a digital artifact representing error. But when viewed in their own right, seemingly randomized visual abstractions become fascinating designs that represent a unique hybrid of human intention and mechanical failure.

Recently released by Mark Batty Publishers, "Glitch: Designing Imperfection" examines these errors as works of art and explores their geneses. The editors culled more than 200 glitch images from the various artists who created them, both by accident and experiment. The striking visuals are interspersed with interviews conducted with artists Angela Lorenz, Johnny Rogers, Kim Cascone, Ant Scott and O.K. Parking. "Glitch" also leads off with particularly illuminating essays by Norwegian artist Per Platou and designer/author Iman Moradi.

Observed through the lens of a handsome coffee table book, the amassed images garner a deeper appreciation for the digital fluke and make a convincing case for accidents as source of inspiration.

You can buy "Glitch" from Mark Batty or Amazon. See more of the book's images after the jump.

RojoOut Urban Stage São Paulo

by Phuong-Cac Nguyen

After São Paulo city officials ordered graffiti cleanup crews to leave work by Os Gemeos and other famous São Paulo street artists alone, art collective and magazine Rojo asked the city's Urban Development Department to allow them to tap artists like Tofer and MWM Graphics to help spice up drab concrete structures across the city. "It was the first time they've allowed it," says Zagg Guimaraes, Rojo's associate director in Brazil. "We're trying to make the city more beautiful." Dubbing the operation RojoOut , the public art exhibit continues a similar three-year project in Barcelona that they started in 2006.

Sponsored by Smart, the just-completed project commissioned Rojo-affiliated artists to paint 11 concrete structures including air-vent columns and blank walls across São Paulo over a few weeks. Nuria, Tony de Marco/Superblast and Eltono got on scaffolds to paint, while MWM Graphics, Ovni and Tofer scaled and drew their work but handed it off to collaborators to carry out.

Spread across three locations, Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek by the Povo and Ibirapuera parks and near the Ibirapuera Park entrance, the permanent exhibit happily faces no threat of removal.

See another image after the jump.

Manifesto Design Exhibit

by Jacob Resneck

Dispelling the age-old adage that "the end justifies the means," the Italian exhibit Manifesto instead embraces the ideology that "getting there is half the fun," displaying the works of 13 successful designers and the process involved in achieving their final product.

Offering an intimate glimpse at the methods designers employ, the goals they strive for and the tools they use, Manifesto aims to showcase the hard work and difficult process that masters of design ensue, providing a realistic overview for young creatives.

The curators gave each designer full reign to create a personal manifesto, a word that commands three meanings in the Italian language—a public poster, a programmatic piece of writing, or something obvious and transparent. Considering all three elements of the word, designers such as KesselsKramer, Ellen Lupton, Stefan Sagmeister and Daniel Eatock (to name just a few) put forward inspirational and insightful credos that are as meaningful to the exhibit as they are individually.

Check out more images after the jump

Manifesto
Through 31 October 2009
XYZ Gallery
Via Inferiore, 31
31100 Treviso, Italy map
tel. +39 328 02 81 184

Illustrator Sara Antoinette Martin

by CH Contributor

by Julie Wolfson

Beautiful and haunting, Sara Antoinette Martin's work depicts gorgeous women with long eyelashes sitting next to fish with teeth, skulls and mythic sea creatures. An animal skeleton dances with a chupacabra (a mythical hybrid creature) drinking red wine. An adorable dog wrapped in bandages sits on a bed of roses.

Upon the release of her new skins for Infectious and her plans for Alternative Press Expo APE and upcoming shows, we asked Sara to tell us more about her imagery, her plans for the future and working with Tara McPherson.

You grew up in Eastern Long Island and now live in Brooklyn. In what ways does your environment makes its way into your work?
I grew up on boats on the Great South Bay. I used to surf and fish and go beach camping. That is a big influence on my work, it is always about the water. I know how to sail. I learned on sunfishes. You can get kind of the same rush riding a bike, but nothing really beats being out on the water. Brooklyn affects my work because I am exposed to so much art.

What is a recent image or symbol that struck you to include in your work?
I like trying to adapt symbols and turn them upside down and play with them until they have a different meaning. My lady heads, for example, are piles of skull heads in bathing caps that have gills behind the ears.

Recently, I started doing a painting of this ball of seaweed. It looks like an iridescent yarn ball. For the show at Last Rites, I painted a girl with it coming out of her stomach. It represents that pit of depression that gnaws at your insides, a little ball of dead seaweed. For my next series of paintings, I want to concentrate more on portraiture. That's the next direction.

Read more and see more images after the jump.

Peter Jensen Mitten-Scarf

by Karen Day

Danish designer Peter Jensen's artful all-in-one scarf and gloves keeps necks cozy and hand-warming mittens always at arm's length. Known for his eccentric, conceptual runway collections, the high function idea makes for a classically witty Jensen accessory.

Like his 2007 scarf-hat combo—a scarf attached to a hat boasting bear ears—in this updated edition Jensen keeps his wit slightly more subtle. The scarf and mitten marriage is indeed one of the tamer accessories from the designer, considering past collections as well as a spring 2010 show featuring handbags shaped like watermelons and sunglasses playing up his widely-circulated bunny graphic. The latter (pictured below) were created as props, but we wouldn't be surprised if Jensen's upcoming sunglasses collection continued to play with what has become his irreverent icon.

Not one to shy away from controversy, the designer's current collection's nod to the traditional attire of Greenland caused death threats. Jensen's idiosyncratic take on fashion—from how he configures the basic scarf to his artistic runway staging—feels refreshing in a luxury-obsessed industry that's seen it all.

Available in green, blue and grey, the scarf can be purchased from Far Fetched for $126.