Best of Carmelo Anthony in 2013
The NBA brings you a unique look at the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony throughout the 2012-13 season. Take a look at the best plays and emotional moments of Anthony during the 2013 NBA Regular Season from the NBA’s Slow Motion Phantom Camera.
The Combat Jack Show Episode 1
Harlem representative Large Professor. Recently sat down with the good folks over on The Combat Jack show. In part one of our three part interview with Large Professor on The Combat Jack Show, Extra P talks about changing the game, meeting Rakim at his mom’s house, and the time he met Big Daddy Kane in the studio.
Just Blaze actually kicks things off by declaring that the Professor at Large is in fact the greatest producer of all time because he produced two of the best beats ever, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” and “Looking At The Front Door.” Combat touches on how Illmatic changed the landscape of rap music (no mention of how it ruined hip-hop, however). Just Blaze gets into the nitty-gritty of production and explains how Extra P gave rise to small things like sleigh bells instead of nothing but hi-hats on beats.
Sebastian Blanck
New York born artist Sebastian Blanck has spent the majority of the past decade working as a painter, exhibiting his serene pastel-toned collage paintings at galleries including Michael Steinberg Fine Art in New York, and Scott White Contemporary, San Diego, and publishing a series of books including I Love the Shower Girl and I Blame Baltimore. Sebastian’s reductive, flat-toned canvases gives his paintings a pop of excitement which you’ll find hard to see else where.
In his Lower East Side studio, shared with his wife Isca Greenfield-Sanders (a painter who has mounted solo shows at New York’s PS1 MoMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver), Blanck crafts intricate depictions of friends and family, including indie music stars Caroline Polachek of Chairlift and Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, working in layers of acrylic wash and colored paper—up to 800 pieces per painting—to recreate quiet moments captured in photographs. His intention is always to paint a “seamless” image, with the fine details of each work only becoming visible up close.
Ricky Powell – NYC 1985 – Bushwick 2013
As the recession of the early 1980’s gave way to the wall street excess the decade is known for, the streets of downtown New York were flush with inspired graffiti from a new generation of artists. The poetic, wall written musings of Samo and rhythmic patterns of Haring’s subway chalk paintings are excellent examples of that new art form. These visual artists accompanied or actively participated in the sounds of a new style of musicians, noise bands and punk rock- hip hop fusions. The term “famous for being famous” created a mystique surrounding this urban revolution launched in the wasteland below 14th street. Scharf, Haring and Basquiat were the logical step from the father of pop art, Warhol. In the same way as the Beastie Boys, known for their punk rock swagger were learned in the school of hip hop instructed by Run DMC.
Ricky Powell, a collection of photographs from the artists archives reflecting the urban artistic and music references between these two times and cultures. Curated by Tono Radvany a longtime friend of Powell known for cataloging, exhibiting and printing Powell’s work. The exhibition is currently open to the public over at the David Kesting Gallery.
Martial Raysse
American art lovers are generally unfamiliar with the artists associated with Nouveau Réalisme, France’s analog to 1960s Pop Art. Martial Raysse‘s work was arguably the most Pop-like of the whole group, often depicting glamorous women, much as Warhol did. In typical Gallic fashion, however, Raysse eschewed Warhol’s celebration of Hollywood for a tone that was darker and more redolent of existential dread.
The exhibition features two of Raysse’s reprisals of iconic masterpieces, selections from the group of works known informally as his ‘Made in Japan’ series. Appropriating canvases by such figures as Ingres, Cranach, Gérard and Tintoretto, Raysse deployed photomontage, assemblage, neon and a garish palette to deform and degrade cherished emblems of high culture.
This is not one to be missed, the exhibition is currently on at Luxembourg & Dayan gallery located on the upper east side of Manhattan.
Action Bronson – Strictly 4 My Jeeps
We’ve been waiting to see this Action Bronson video for “Strictly 4 My Jeeps” since we caught a glimpse of some behind the scenes photos from the shoot a couple weeks back. Shot and filmed in Queens, New York, the video stars Riff Raff, pitbulls, big beautiful women, and a big ol’ badass jeep. New York stand up, Action Bronson is flying the flag for us!
Steve Powers – Visual Blues
New York based artist Stephen Powers, better known as ESPO in the art world, is set to open a solo exhibition at Alice Gallery in Brussels. The show will feature several pictures from Powers’ already classic body of work, including new renditions of pieces from his ‘Metaltations’ series. Steve himself said about the body of work on show tonight.. Im in awe of the power and the reach of music. To compete with the majesty of music, I make paintings that are visual blues. I distill my everyday experience into paintings I call Daily Metaltations. They are painted very fast, fresh from the epiphanies that inspired them. The larger paintings draw from those metaltations and go to a deeper understanding of the transactions we make everyday to live our lives.
If you’re out in Brussels make sure you check out the “Visual Blues” Exhibition, premiering at Alice Gallery tonight.
Frank 151 – Issue 51
The latest Chapter in the series of Frank151 magazines has officially hit the shops. Issue 51, is titled “Leaders” and takes a close look at leadership through talks with influential individuals currently shaping our world. New York’s coolest leaders Vashtie Kola and Eddie Huang take up positions within the magazine in the form of interviews. This particular issue doesn’t only look at those whose success is measured by their following and financial statements, but also the men and women who lead in less easily quantified ways. Pick up your issue here.
