The American Dream is familiar enough territory, but what of the allure of the West? The group show "A Place in the Sun: Picturing California" highlights Los Angeles photographers, some native and others transplants, who explore the Caliifornia dream. Images cast a collective portrait of the Golden State as...

A major part of the early graffiti scene, photojournalist Martha Cooper is now on the other end of lens as the focus of a new exhibition at L.A.'s Carmichael Gallery. "Martha Cooper: Remix" sees over 50 artists recreate their favorite images by the ever-present documentarian, including works by Lady...

Not all graffiti books are created equally, but a behemoth like the forthcoming "History of American Graffiti" shows how meaningful collections of photos and information on the subject can be when edited with a careful eye. Co-authors Roger Gastman (co-curator of the eMoCA "Art in the Streets" show and...

Turning classic book covers into inspirational t-shirts, Out of Print recently added a kids line to its collection of "intelligent" literary fashions. Tykes can don soon-to-be-favorite reads like "The Catcher In The Rye," "Moby Dick," "Pride and Prejudice" or "Brave New World" with their distressed, 100% cotton tees. Out...

A contemporary Dr. Seuss, Calef Brown's childrens books are as an exciting read for kids as they are adults. His catchy rhymes put his self-illustrated book "Flamingos on the Roof" a place on the NY Times bestselling list and his latest edition "Hallowilloween: Nefarious Silliness" is no less entertaining....

Founder of the record label Breakbeat Science and an early proponent of drum and bass, DB Burkeman (known to most as producer, promoter and DJ DB) wears many hats. Most recently, he took up the role of editor with his book "Stickers: Stuck-Up Piece of Crap: From Punk Rock to...

Known as "one shot Shulman" for his knack for capturing subjects perfectly on the first try, architectural photographer Julius Shulman first entranced the world with his image "Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." In honor of his would-be 100th birthday (he passed at an impressive...

"Dirty Baby," a music project joining guitarist and composer Nels Cline (of Wilco fame) and poet David Breskin, "recontextualizes" American artist Ed Ruscha's "censor strips" (artworks that depict the black marks used to censor documents). The resulting album and art book represents an aural and visual conversation between the...

Like most artists, Tom Sachs is very exacting of his tools. He does a lot of tagging and signing as part of his work and is very particular about the pens he uses, even selling a personalized Sharpie from his website. As part of an exchange with graffiti artist...

Raised in Paris by a French mother and Congolese father, photographer Nicolas Premier traveled to the Republic of Congo to investigate his roots for the first time in September 2001. Shocked by the destruction and poverty plaguing much of the capital city Brazzaville due to the civil war, Premier...

A fresh take on French classics, Chance offers a tightly edited collection of clothing, accessories, books and music. Building off of the essential striped shirt— first worn by the French Navy in 1858, made popular by Matisse 50 years later and worn by everyone from rebels like Hunter S....

Opening at L.A.'s Hi-Lite studio space, "River Pictures" represents the culmination of photographer Ruben Cox's summers spent cruising the waters of his Highlands, North Carolina hometown. What started as casually documenting people while they enjoyed the river elements, grew over the course of three seasons during the late '90s...

In graffiti's latest museum show "Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue With The Urban Landscape," the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego looks at how everyday visual cues—signs, advertisements, tattoos, graffiti, graphic art, trash—have become central to several fields of today's art world. The exhibition showcases the works of talented...

The brainchild of husband-and-wife team Joshua and Stacey Abarbanel, Jewnion Label is a witty take on vintage union label design coupled with a love of Jewish culture. Joshua (a fine artist who honed his handyman skills as a teen doing apartment maintenance) was laughing with his wife over the...

The near-impossible task of finding the perfect bottle belongs in the "things people don't tell you before you have a baby" file. Initially, the nipple plays the decisive role—will your baby like it or not? Then, make sure your kid isn't taking in too much air with the milk...

With gourmet popsicle brands all over Manhattan touting newfangled flavor combos (see Popbar, People's Pops and La Newyorkina), the Zoku Quick Pop Maker steps in with a DIY way to concoct your own—three at a time—in less than 10 minutes. Fun to use and loved by kids, you can...

"Swoon," the new eponymous book by the artist (aka Caledonia Curry and one of the best known female street artists in the world), finally came out this month. Tracing her process and showing some of her installations in galleries and streets around the world, as well as her larger...

Borrowing their name from the Latin word for energy, Navitas Naturals makes the best in exotic organic and raw superfoods packaged in equally refreshing zip-top bags. The Marin County, CA-based company's 24 functional foods have seemingly unlimited possibilities for use. From simple snacking to flour substitutes, they all work...

With much of her art focused on African diaspora and the female form, Kenyan-born, Brooklyn-based artist Wangechi Mutu transformed the Deutsche Guggenheim into a cocoon-like setting to aptly display the new works in her upcoming solo show, "My Dirty Little Heaven." Named "Artist of the Year 2010" by the...

Better known as Ramblin Worker, San Francisco-based artist Steve MacDonald combines sewing and embroidery with tech-savvy techniques to come up with his colorful illustrations, currently showing at NYC's Fuse Gallery. "The Last Dragon" skews toward MacDonald's interest in pop culture, layering colors and images to play off CMYK printing...

To help kids understand the story of Passover—one of the more popular holidays for Jews and non-Jews alike because of its humanitarian message of social justice and peace—Francine Hermaline and her husband Adam Levite created "My Haggadah: Made it Myself." The 48-page book speaks in a language that both...

Currently on display at L.A.'s Carmichael Gallery, Nina Pandolfo's "Life's Flavor" marks the first solo show for the successful contemporary street artist. Known for depicting wide-eyed, stocking-clad girls, the Brazilian explains that the title of the show reflects her view on life, "sometimes it is sweet and some times...

Founded in 2008, Eco-Kids is the brainchild of mother and former nanny Cammie Weeks, who used her mother's recipe to make eco-dough for her son and his friends. Cammie explains that she and her husband "realized the need for safe and natural art supplies and toys," so the duo...

For Valentine's Day jewelery designer Laura Lobdell, known for casting found objects like champagne corks and matchsticks in silver, created four new pieces, which each come accompanied by hand-painted cards. A more gritty version of Margiela's hospital bracelet, the Four Letter Love Cuff says "I found you and you...

Brothers, artists and Colorado natives Andrew and Peter Sutherland are having their first ever show together, called "Amateur Hour" and opening tonight at NYC's ATM gallery. The title of the show celebrates the time we live in now and the line between professionals and amateurs. The thought comes from...

LA-based, Philadelphia-born filmmaker and photographer Larry Yust combines 10 to 100 digital images to create giant "Photographic Elevations" up to eight feet long (pictured below, detail above). Opening 24 September 2009 at the Lumas gallery, this will be Yust’s first show in New York City after solo exhibitions in...

Of the coverage about Os Gemeos' new mural on Houston in NYC, the indefatigable Martha Cooper's series of images wins for the most elegant telling of the recent history of the street corner. Contrasting images shot over the last several days of the twin painters with pics both of...

No Longer Empty, a new non-profit group of artists and curators, finds unused (or should we say un-leased) storefronts in Manhattan and fills them with temporary art shows. The project revitalizes empty spaces by filling them with art, situates art in the public realm and supports work that touches...

In early 2003, photographer and writer Tom Schutyser traveled in a West-East direction along the Silk Road documenting the sights he saw along the way. The resulting show, "Caravanserais a Metaphor," is a photographic glimpse of his journey from Iran through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to China, shot in...

Beginning with a dream in 1999 to save a 1.5-mile-long unused elevated rail structure running through NYC's lower west side, Friends of The High Line founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond (pictured below, left) have a lot to smile about today with the opening of the new park and...

Following the wild success of his first NYC solo show earlier this year, photographer Peter Sutherland is doing what he does best and hitting the road for an encore solo show opening at the Hope Gallery in L.A. this weekend. Sutherland, who's also a documentary filmmaker, is as interesting...

With over 200 pieces of work from the 1930s-70s, "Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda" at UCLA's Fowler Museum is a stunning retrospective and the first for the famed silversmith. It's also first time Pineda, who is 89 and one of the only two living members...

Bill McMullen is so — I hate to use the word — creative. Widely known as one of the Beastie Boys' graphic designers (we're talking "Hello Nasty" and beyond here), he is also well known for his limited edition "action" figures which were sold at Kidrobot while they lasted....

"All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies or, Frankly, Anybody Else” is the title of illustrator and author Laurie Rosenwald’s latest book and perhaps one of the best titles ever. (We wonder, has it been optioned?) Laurie is generally known for her “hand-made-like” illustrations...

In collaboration with Keep, photographer Tobin Yelland's fascination with his camera has taken on a new form with a graphic tee emblazoned with one of his drawings. Known for taking pictures of skateboarders, like any good photographer, Yelland loves his camera. But unlike most other photographers, he fanatically draws...

Caleb Neelon's "Book of Awesome" is a travel diary for a modern day wandering graffiti journey man. The book takes readers with him on his travels while he paints his colorful work in the streets of places like Kathmandu, Istanbul, Tegucigalpa and São Paulo, as well as into galleries...

Good things come in small packages, so great things must come from what has to be the smallest store in NYC, Laura Lobdell's jewelry store in the West Village, which opened last week. I'm a longtime fan of her found object-based designs and with the store's large assortment of...

Tomorrow multi-talented Hungarian-American artist Rita Ackermann celebrates the release of "Under Pressure from 2006 - 2007," a new collection of her collages and installation work. With an extensive curriculum of projects and exhibitions (if you've been to the NYC bar Max Fish, you've seen some of her work in...

In L.A. this weekend artist and professional skateboarder Ed Templeton will be signing his new book, "Deformer." Filled with over thirty years worth of material, Templeton has been working on the book for the past eleven years and will present it in conjunction with his exhibition, Map of the...

The NYC-based artist Ryan McGinness, known for his graphic-inspired art, is a super busy guy. He has every day scheduled until mid-2010 — just thinking about his numerous upcoming shows and books, all due out by year's end, leaves us exhausted. (Click images for detail; see gallery details after...

Steve MacDonald aka Steve Mac aka ramblinworker is one of my favorite artists, so I wasn't surprised to hear that the band Modest Mouse had asked to use a piece of his artwork for a t-shirt design. Steve asked his friend Matthew Davis, also an S.F.-based artist and skilled...

Next Friday 23 May 2008 is the opening of the Tate Modern's Long Weekend, three days and nights packed with live events and performances. Projects centering around "States of Flux," will take place in the gallery and offer spectators a chance to become participants. I am most excited about...

Richard Fine, one of the founders behind the new Help Remedies that you may have noticed around recently, stopped by our office this morning to give us some of the first samples of his reinvented bandages and acetaminophen. The well-designed, eco-packages look as good in person as they do...

Wangechi Mutu’s new show “Little Touched” at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects is so complete and polished that it feels more like walking into a museum than a gallery. Originally from Kenya, Mutu’s work focuses on the constant exploration and discovery of identity as a woman, immigrant and African...

Fans of Pee Wee’s Playhouse, RAW and SLASH magazines and the comic character Jimbo know and love the work of Gary Panter. You probably know it too, having seen his “jagged lines and surreal cartoons” in magazines, on TV and on the internet too. “Pictures from the Psychedelic Swamp:...

"Nomadaz - A Mediterranean Art Connection" features artists from Italy and Spain: 108, Microbo, Bo130, Dem (pictured at right), Eltono, Nano 4814, Sixe and Nuria Mora—for some it was their first time in sunny L.A. I really enjoyed the two collaborations in the show both by a man and...

Swoon's first Los Angeles solo exhibition, "Drown Your Boats" opens tomorrow, 16 February 2008 at New Image Art. Partially inspired by Angela Carter's collection of short stories "Burning Your Boats," which reinterprets traditional tales and twists the mundane, you can see the connection as Swoon work combines glimpses of...

Os Gemeos, our favorite identical Brazilian twin artists Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, have many reasons to be excited about their new show, “The flowers in this garden were planted by my Grandparents.” First of all it's the duo's first solo museum show. Also, their good friend and mentor Barry...

Artists best known for their work in public often have an entirely private body of work that doesn't make it out into view. Recognizing this, Michael DeFeo (the Flower Guy) assembled Behind the Seen, an international group show featuring rarely seen artwork not typically associated with the artists. Including...

The new project from Roger Gastman, Caleb Neelon and Anthony Smyrski, Amazon or Powell's....