Cool Hunting

by Jeremy Brautman

French shop and gallery, The Dirty Cream, recently selected a handful of artists to re-imagine that dormitory staple—the beanbag chair. The upshot, Giant Kolor, a series of massive 55" x 70" pillows channels a decidedly urban aesthetic. The vibrant, all-over designs evoke graffiti, toys, tattoos and video games, from Flying Fôrtress' Teddy Troops (see it after the jump and Skwak's Maniac World to Niark1's Chaos and Bunka's tribute to gluttony.

Earlier this year, I talked to Skwak about The Maniac World, which he says he tries to give rules, aiming "for a kind of coherence in an incoherent world. At first glance, it's as if my work is made up of chance: a giant mess! But for me, all is organized in this chaos. The stories I tell have a beginning and an end and a sense of follow through. The characters have personality; they have reference points. So yes, I enrich my universe, my second world, by placing in it new codes and new inhabitants every day."

On the debut of his Giant Kolor edition, I checked back in with Skwak to see how it plays a part in his unique universe. Using the two sides of the pillow to convey a dual storyline, one side continues the story of The Maniac World—a classic fight between good and evil, but peppered with references to Adam and Eve, Rick Hunter, Indiana Jones, Dolph Lundgren, Barry White and Alf. When you sit on this side of the cushion, you sit atop the hamster king, making you the god of this world. Side two represents the "simpler" (his word!) side to make you feel like a "super hero in a Maniac World."

Making their debut this week, this collection marks the largest so far in The Dirty Cream's line of artist pillows. More Giant Kolor pillows will continue to be released exclusively through the website, each in an edition of 100 for about $420 each. And if you are short on space (or cash), there are also 15" artist pillows starting at around $50. The store also stocks an assemblage of artist toys, customized sneakers and apparel.