This year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, presented the requisite set of features and documentaries with the not-so-surprising general consensus that the smaller, independent works transcended the generally lackluster star-studded blockbusters. Whether speaking to current issues that plague the American conscience or shedding light on new innovators, each...

Photo LA was sprawled across the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with as much bustle as the city itself. Wandering through the labyrinth of pop-up exhibitors, those that stood out most conveyed a strong cinematic narrative with a sense of humor. Pulp Art Book marks a collaboration between photographer Neil Krug...

Brothers Shea and Raan Parton founded Apolis with the simple idea that people can live better lives if they are given equal opportunity. Now, seven years later, they've opened Apolis: Common Gallery, a new shop that opened in a spare, industrial-inspired space in downtown LA on 10 November 2011....

Curator of the upcoming exhibition "Dark Water," Brooklyn-based painter Martin Wittfooth drops his brush in favor of hand-selecting contemporaries who inspire him, compiling 29 representational painters' whose visions reflect the exhibition's namesake. Wittfooth admits, "As an artist in the curator's seat, I've been very biased in who I invited...

Rife with the painful vulnerability of reclaimed innocence, Jason Bard Yarmosky's painting series "Elder Kinder" reflects the parallel behaviors of growing up and growing old. Exhibiting at his first solo show (which opens this Friday at Brooklyn's Like The Spice gallery), the works depict a cast of characters portrayed...

The new Festive Holiday Underwear Collection from Pact brings light not just to your skivvies but to those who need it most. Featuring three festive patterns designed by Yves Behar and his team at Fuseproject , with every purchase the brand donates a handheld, solar LED lantern to Haitian...

We always appreciate an appropriate use of a medium, which is why we're glad to see the aptly-titled book "3DD," a book celebrating the breast with 86 pages of anaglyphic images. The concept is simple—the contours of topless ladies bounce off the pages with the help of 3-D glasses....

Runner Runner Gallery, a new art space within a production studio, will open its second show, featuring the recent work of Minneapolis-based artists Brian Lesteberg and James Holmberg. In the heart of the warehouse district, the interdisciplinary venue is a welcomed gesture in the Minneapolis art scene. Next Thursday's...

Artist Candice Lin's new exhibit "Holograms" uses video and sculpture to challenge the distribution of power among races and genders, exploring the concept of authentic identity. In her ceramic sculpture "The Moon," Lin challenges understandings of feminine interiority by requiring audiences to peer through the vulva of a truncated...

At age 19 Yves Klein stood in the backyard of his parents' home in Nice and pointed a camera up at the open sky. This photograph of endless blue was his first monochrome work, setting the stage for hundreds more created during the artist's short yet profound career. Exploring...

From Jason Segel's to the Internet sensation-turned-IFC show Food Party, puppetry endures as a medium that brings the absurd and fantastical to life. To celebrate the ancient art form, the Twin Cities' Walker Art Center kickd off the performing arts season with five distinct shows under the banner Adventures...

Likening his process to "web surfing in the real world," photographer Alec Soth spent the past 15 years traversing the U.S. with an 8x10 field camera, quietly composing narratives of subjects he finds on his travels. While projects have taken the Twin Cities native down the Mississippi, to Bogota...

The brainchild of Wisconsin-based artist Amy Arnold, Peepwool are individual stuffed dolls handmade from completely recycled materials. A mix of personality and found objects, no single Peepwool looks the same as the next. Arnold started creating Peepwool when she came across a box of remnants she had been keeping...

An interactive project, Open Field invites the community of Minneapolis to use the Walker Art Center as a medium for their own expression. Inspired by the creative potential of online social networks, WAC turned their backyard into a physical environment for the collaborative exchange of ideas to occur. The...

by Max Gold Artist Alexa Meade works in the medium of flesh. The Washington D.C.-based artist, 23, calls her style of portraiture and performance art "Reverse Trompe L'Oeil," compressing a 3-D space into a 2-D plane by painting directly on models. The resulting photographs of the person within a painted...

A collaborative visual arts fundraiser, Buy What You Love supplies over 200 artists from around the world with the materials to create an original work over the course of one day. Limited to 8.5 x 11 inches in size, each of the works will exhibit at NYC's Jack Shainman...

Using capsaicin (the endorphin-stimulating ingredient found in chiles), the spicy new beverages by Prometheus Springs give drinkers a happy, healthy high. The world’s first capsaicin-spiced elixir, the addition of the antioxidant-loaded active ingredient (naturally-derived from chiles) also boosts metabolism. Founder Rahul Panchal was raised in a household that was...

Direct and intensely intimate, Jason Yarmosky's figurative paintings are emotional studies of his subjects. On the heels of "Orpheus", a painting we took a look at here earlier this year and that Yarmosky recently showed at the 25th annual "New Directions" exhibition at The Barrett Art Center in Upstate...

The "iPhone among hot chocolates," Hotchocspoon is made of a wooden spoon stuck into a large cube of solid drinking chocolate. To enjoy it, simply stir into a searing cup of whole milk for a deliciously rich treat. Available in over 46 exotic flavors, including Strawberry and Pink Pepper,...

Called the most fearless documentary filmmaker of the the Twin Cities, Melody Gilbert's Frozen Feet Films unearths the strangest stories in the most banal places. With locations including the world's largest mall and abandoned urban environments, Gilbert presents her characters with rare intimacy that unravels their pain, much like...

Prussian scientist Baron Alexander von Humboldt explained aurora borealis and founded modern bio-geography. Less known however, is Humboldt's adventure to Spain's American colonies for what would become the greatest botanical expedition of all time. Now, at the 150th anniversary of Humboldt's death, the beautiful hardcover, "Alexander von Humboldt and...

Of its many qualities, Palacio del Retiro wins the most points for its calming charm and perfect location. The small boutique hotel rests on the edge of Madrid's magnificent central Parque del Gran Retiro. Retiro, both the most coveted residential neighborhood and in walking distance to Chueca and Gran...

B@ TV is a new platform (still currently in beta) created for virtual and vicarious clubbing. A pioneering web TV community, the channel broadcasts from every major club event in the world with exclusive content from the hottest international DJs—from WMC events to Deadmau5 in London. Featured DJ Pete Tong...

A cross between gallery and gift shop, Design Collective fosters fresh style and original designs in the Twin Cities. Located in Uptown Minneapolis, the store gives local designers the opportunity for exposure by providing them with shelf space and marketing capabilities. Keeping things "designer-centric," Design Collective remains focused on...

NYC-based painter Jason Yarmosky's latest series, "Orpheus," is the young artist's starkly realist take on the epic story. Over the course of eight narrative panels, the well-known Greek myth unfolds in Yarmosky's world of charcoal, gesso and tea felt. There are, however, a few tweaks to the original story....

Using recycled silver and 25 karat gold, Vera Balyura's fanciful rings, earrings and necklaces bring out the child within. Vera's story starts with her own childhood in the Ukraine, where she worked as an apprentice to her grandfather, a woodcarver, before leaving in search of the extraordinary. During her...

The only thing better than a laid-back stroll around Prague during the winter holidays is to be able to come back to the Hotel Josef. Set on an ancient street a short walk from the Old Town Square and on the edge of the old Jewish Quarter, it's an...

Opening tomorrow in Miami and presented by local artists Team Turbo Sex, "Together For Never" is a surreal trio of giant photographs that would fit perfectly above your family's dining room table. Alexis Mincolla, one half of Team Turbo Sex (TTS), explains that these photographs are a reflection of...

New Yorkers have long had the summertime privilege of Shakespeare In the Park, but only recently have Madrileños caught on. Like NYC, the city of Madrid boasts an abundance of independent theater, a beautiful park and now, as of this autumn, the two cultural assets combined with Shakespeare performed...

"You have to be understood by every kid in the classroom including the dunce, not only by the smart ones." Cesar Fernandez Arias' principles of simplicity make for powerful art in multiple mediums while maintaining the integrity of his message. The figures he creates have a primal quality lending...

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend at the boutique Grand Hotel Central situated in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. The Grand has pulled off the rare feat of blending in completely with the city, making a stay in the hotel a perfectly subtle complement to one...

This year the San Sebastian Film Festival was an interesting mix of new cinema and nostalgia. The festival hosted a retrospective of Japanese Film Noir or Japon en Negro. A complex genre born out of imported American detective films, Japanese film noir is essentially American film noir digested by...

Largely unknown in the West, Ayurvedic Massage combines deep tissue massage with coordinated breathing and yoga stretching. Brad Teasdale and James Winstanley have spent much of their lives traveling through Asia, studying the art of Ayurvedic Yoga Massage.Teasdale and Winstanley recently returned from Asia with the intention of sharing...

After being wowed by the Deambulants and other sights of La Noche en Blanco, I made my way to the Caixaforum building of Madrid to see more. Pushing through the crowd to get closer, I gaped in awe at the enormous exhibition called Graffiti Virtual created by the Catalan...

Around three in the morning last Sunday, several hours into Madrid's La Noche en Blanco festival, I stumbled to Plaza Vazquez de Mella in search of Perpetual Sunshine. The brainchild of meteorologists, interior designers, and club kids, the exhibit is composed of 334 infrared bulbs that are wired to...

This past weekend at Madrid's annual La Noche en Blanco, a city-wide, all-night arts and culture festival, I watched the Deambulants defy the laws of gravity at 00:30 in the Real Madrid stadium. The floor became the walls and the walls became the floor as the improvisational circus performers...

Revolution Tea's new 3D teas make their premium blends portable and add a little something extra. Known for a triangular tea bag (the Teapot Infuser, which is designed to brew a small pot of tea), Phoenix, Arizona-based Revolution company is never afraid to make a good thing better. Known...

If one were to gaze off into the ancient hills of Santiago de Compostela, their eye might be snared on a large interruption. Architect Peter Eisenman's brand-new City of Culture complex is currently in the heat of construction and sticks out like a sore thumb. However, if completed as...

The paths through the City of Sacred Pilgrimage, otherwise known as Santiago de Compostela, have been smoothed over by centuries of foot travel. Most of the city exists, both literally and figuratively, in the shadow of la Catedral de Santiago which casts a somewhat stagnant and stale artistic environment...

"Drink water, not sugar" is the mantra of Hint Inc., a conscious beverage company whose goal is simple: to make a simple drink that tastes good. It's a fresh break from all of the "functional waters" on the line that promise all but the meaning of life. We love...

The Dopamine campaign is the latest from Australian clothing company, Insight, divided into two inspired and highly original photo/film projects: the Surf and the Skate. Redefining "the life aquatic," the Surf Campaign mixes elements of surrealism, 1950s counterculture and a nuclear/grunge aesthetic. Each of Dustin Humphrey's deftly-composed photographs are...

Forget toting dogs, iguanas or other pets, nothing will impress the in-crowd like bringing a bird to class or work. And now you can—on your back—in the PetPocket Bird Carrier. The PetPocket is a transportable birdcage, complete with a removable bottom tray and two toy hanging loops from the...

Through this Sunday, 20 July 2008, watching Minneapolis' skyline from the Stone Arch Bridge at sunset is more than nature's daily lightshow. As the sun falls, like clockwork a row of 25 eight-foot photograph cubes illuminates. A futuristic-chill soundtrack faded up as a soothing woman's voice speaks, "Welcome to...

We're wishing we had Turkish designer Hakan Bogazpinar's design solution for aerial photography for the height of summertime madness. The Flee Digital Camera is like Nerf-vision, capturing images from vantage points otherwise only experienced by low-flying and vigilant feathered friends. As soon as the Flee launches, it begins to...

Sony's new titanium HD cam is the epitome of consumer-friendly. Besides the fact that it's the size of a stuffed wallet (it's the smallest HD camera in the world), it includes a button labeled "easy," making great HD video attainable for anyone. The button allows the shooter to simply...

A new hybrid retail concept mixing fashion and art, walking into FAVA (FAshion/Vintage/Art) feels more like walking into somebody's warmly-lit living room. At a recent opening, a live acoustic blues guitarist set the tone while strangers wandered shoulder-to-shoulder, inspecting eccentric dresses and looking at art for sale. In spite...

"25 Under 25" is the second volume of the collection of work of young, up and coming American photographers. Curator Sylvia Plachy selected the photographers based on whom she believes offer the viewer the greatest passage into a visual epiphany. The body of work covers everything from the political...

When Van Gogh dreamed of a utopian community of artists in the south of France, he probably wasn't thinking of the online possibilities. Fortunately for us (over 100 years after the painter's vision), there's Veer Ideas, a social networking site where creatives and design lovers can create original content...

Element Skateboards furthers the evolution of the skateboard deck with their new Push Construction Positive Negative Series. The Push Deck is a skateboarding paradox. Lighter than any other deck, it's also more durable. This innovative structure is a result of the combination of the responsiveness and power of carbon...

Brooklyn-based artist, Brad Teasdale, blends contemporary concrete and glass design with classical mosaic craftsmanship. Teasdale's aesthetic stems from a juxtaposition of the materials themselves. He combines glass, concrete, wood, and steel to articulate natural contrasts of "light and dark," "grit and beauty" and "permanence and change." His latest project,...