Yoskay Yamamoto

I've previously defined Chick Art on this blog.  It's a subject - and a genre - I am quite find of.  Initially, I defined Chick Art as being by chicks for chicks.  But since I discovered that the fab Yoshitomo Nara is indeed male, I need to revise my definition.  So here's my definition of Chick Art - art that is decidedly feminine, but with an edge.  It often features young women who at once possess innocence and wisdom beyond their years.  It is sweet, but with a little edge of creepiness to it.  It's romantic and mysterious. It attracts as well as compels at the same time.  The women in these works are incredibly complex, and very  alluring - just like a woman.  If you'd like to see more on my Chick Art series, please click Chick Art under Regular Features on the side bar.

Today it is my pleasure to add another very fine male artist to the series.  Yoskay Yamamoto.  Here is a small sample of his work, I am sure you will agree that it is fab!

I love that Yoskay includes sketches on his blog.  I like having a peek into into artists' creative process.

Aren't these flower pots that he designed awesome?  I usually don't like flowers growing out of head vases.  But these work for me.  The cacti look like the elaborate sculpted hair of a Geisha.

I want the pillow he designed.  To see more of Yokay's work, his website is here.  His blog is here.  Pillow and fab tea cup available at My Plastic Heart.

Square Peg, Your Curator, Vol. V

Welcome to my online gallery.  I'm Square Peg, Your Curator, and I've got a very exciting show lined up today.  You are already familiar with my love of street art.  I love the idea of a public, open gallery, where everyone is invited to express and view creativity.  I have fantasies of an entire city being a gallery.  Today I am featuring art which is influenced by this visionary art scene.  All of the art featured is fresh, graphic and edgy, just like art should be.  Art should stretch your comfort zone, it should encourage you to look at things in a different way and to consider things you might miss.  And it can be pretty while doing so, as these works prove.  Hope you enjoy!

Stencils have become increasingly intricate, this is a skill I'd like to master.  I dig 'em.  I want this work by Rex and Poppy.

Another beautiful use of stencil.  Love it combined with the clean lines.  I adore simple, minimal works.  As you know simple is not easy.  This painting took some skill and a steady hand.  When the street is your gallery, you must set aside fear, paint quickly and learn to paint with a steady hand.  Painting by Tayac.

Update:  I received a kind email from Tayac.  I love hearing from the artists I support!  The link to his website is here.  It's fairly new, but looks like he's involved in some interesting work.

The public nature of street art allows some of these talented artists to gain worldwide recognition.  The very exciting movement in art toys (also called urban vinyl, which I've written about a lot on this blog), brings these works to life.  kaNO kid is one of those artists who has become very recognizable and has toys produced of his work.  I'm gonna let you in on a secret.  All artists want this kind of fame, but they might not admit it.  We want our art to be seen by the whole world.

I dig the work of Erin Crawford.  Sensual, otherworldly and psychedelic.  Is it just me, or do these groovy paintings remind you of Barbarella?  Love her use of color as well.  Her Etsy shop is here.  She has a really cool web site too, which is here.  I'd like to commission her to do a painting of Goldie Hawn wearing go-go boots.

I like art that is beautiful, and a little creepy too.  This type of art is inexplicably compelling.  It repels and attracts at the same time.  This artist is successfully communicating a deepness of thought.  The woman in the painting is preoccupied by her dissatisfaction, yearning and melancholy.  I think women can identify with this work, because these are feelings that are all too familiar.  Constant yearning is the state of contemporary woman.  The artist has communicated these feelings in a gentle and romantic way.  This is a painting I would proudly hang in my home.  Painting by Melanie Shewchuck.

I dig an urban montage.  Fab.  ByHandClothing. 

Painting by Robert Comire. I find this work extremely compelling.  The industrial laundry, now a ghost in a post-industrial age.  Floating on an island.  Post-industrial themes are often present in my photographic work.  In fact this piece speaks to me, as it reminds me of one of my photos (click here if interested).  I think I need to turn some of my photos into paintings.  My next series of paintings will be heavily influenced by street and urban art.  I have so many ideas I need like a million dollars to buy canvas, paint and brushes.  And oh yeah, time.  There's never enough time.  

If you liked this series, be sure to check out my my series on Chick Art.

Year in Review - Best Toy Designer

Envelope please . . . . the award for Best Toy Designer of 2008 goes to Julie West!

Julie had a marvelous show entitled "Sickly Sweet" at My Plastic Heart. Julie's work is included in my series on Chick Art (see previous post here). I adore her new Bumble and Tweet Series. The characters have geisha-like hair dos and a bonnet with either birds or bees.

Candy Edition - Bumble and Tweet.

Spring Edition - Bumble and Tweet.

Tree Edition - Tweet and Bumble. I want them all! Images from My Plastic Heart and StrangeCo. Julie, you go girl!

Chick Art, Vol. IV

It's time for more Chick Art. Politics has been a huge digression lately, but as we return to optimism, so must we return to art. I have been curating an online show featuring Chick Art, which I have previously defined here. Here are more fine examples. Be sure to check out Vol. I - III. Hope you enjoy!

I adore the illustration of Ali Douglass, so much so, that I had a hard time selecting only a few images.

Junko Mizuno is world famous, so doesn't really need any words. But here's a few anyway. Her images are cute and down right nasty. I've described the yearning that is present in some chick art - none of that is present in Junko's work. Just strength, life, death, feminine power. Junko is obviously channeling Kali. Her work is impossible not to look at. Fans of Junko will know that I've selected rather tame imagery to display. But I dig it all. All I can say to Junko is - You Go Girl!

Image from Gallery Notcot.

I gotta thing for mermaids. And what can be better than a mermaid with blue hair? Junko's is particularly sexy. Image from Viz Media.

And like any hip, self-respecting, world-famous artist, Junko has designed some cool toys. I love her Qee and Dunny. Images from Milk Doll.

This item sold out so quickly on Fugitive Toys. Believe it or not - I was an ebay virgin. I wanted Junko's dunny so badly, I ordered her from ebay. My first ever order on ebay. Guess I should have stayed a virgin, my first transaction with ebay was not a good one. I paid for this item over a month ago (and paid a lot more than the Fugitive Toys' price) and I still have not received it. Oh well, that's a post for another day. I have an outstanding dispute with paypal. Every day I come home from work breathlessly hoping she is waiting at my door. I am still hopeful she will arrive. See the other cool toy I bought from ebay here.

I've already written about Jennifer Davis below. But I just had to feature her new work. Isn't this cute! Geeks have never been so hip. These would make great vinyl toys! Kidrobot, I think you should produce the whole set. Man, wouldn't that be a cool job - to be a talent scout for Kidrobot?

Bell is an artist I discovered on flickr. I've been following her set for a while. I have watched her work evolve and take on an individual style. She never ceases to fascinate me.

Love it, want it, wish I'd painted it.

I adore her custom I, WZL ninja.

She does groovy street art and works on a lot of groovy colabs. She and her boyfriend, Ciah, are artists to watch. I predict rapid rise to fame. Bell, baby, you need a blog.

Yearning is a big part of Chick Art. Lori Early's art defines yearning. In fact, her sublime work makes feminine yearning tangible. Sexy.

Images from Lori's flickr set (link).

Andrea Heimer's work is recognizable due to its popularity. Definitely, influenced by Lichtenstein, Heimer has elevated sad, romantic comic book chicks to an iconographic level. I love seeing her work featured with mid-century decor. Her new work is a bit of a departure from this style and infinitely more complex. Chicks yearning are still present, but the colors are amazing. Beyond technicolor. The forms are rather classic, but reinterpreted with a new philosophy of color. I dig this new direction. I will be eagerly watching her flickr set (link) to see her new works.

Wish I'd painted that!

Chick Art, Vol. III

Chick Art is the theme of the week here at Creative Influences. No discussion of contemporary chick art would be complete without mentioning the enigmatic Kathie Olivas. Kathie's rise to international fame has been exceptionally rapid. She is, perhaps, the queen of cute and creepy.

This brings up a very interesting point for me as a curator. I find all art fascinating, even if I don't find it aesthetically pleasing. The act of creation itself is fascinating. As an artist myself, I know that Olivas is creating what she must. But why?

This is the first time I have featured work that I do not find beautiful. In fact, I find it disturbing. Her images of ghostly children with nailed up mouths are at once compelling and repulsive. I would love to discuss this work with fellow artists, but I could never hang it in my home.

Images from Circus Posterus.

Olivas obviously resonates with a huge crowd, her popularity cannot be denied. When Olivas has a show, it sells out immediately. Witness her current show at My Plastic Heart entitled Uninvited Guests. The show opened on October 17, 2008 and is already sold out!

Images from Olivas' blog (link).



Okay, I admit it. I find her character Winston kinda cute.

But I still wouldn't hang this piece in my home. Image from My Plastic Heart. I would love to hear from my readers. What do you think of her art?

Chick Art, Vol. II

This is a subject I am fond of. Last week I promised more on this subject. See previous post here. I guess I should backtrack a little - Chick Art is art featuring chicks or done by chicks that appeals to the feminine psyche. It's a little cute, and a little creepy too. In my previous post, I quote Merriam Webster's definition of creepy. "That which produces a shivery anticipation." Good chick art has just the right amount of creepiness to offset the cuteness, rendering the work more edgy and complex. Just like a sexy, mysterious woman.

Probably the first, and most famous, artist to produce this type of work is Frida Kahlo. Ruthlessly unapologetic and biographic, her art speaks to the soul of feminist artists.

Images from OCAIW.

Frida said that she painted self-portraits the most because she knew herself the most. Through these remarkable portraits of agony, passion and longing, Frida has rendered herself an icon in the contemporary art world. Many contemporary artists paint Frida's image, lovingly paying homage to her very recognizable brow. The contemporary artists tend to create cuter images, but maintaining just the right amount of creepiness.

Artist Mara Cardenas Ruz (aka Lunara) is one artist who creates fascinating, loving images of Frida.

I adore these! What a fine tribute to Frida. Love the big eyes. Cute, but complex. My favorite is the blue one. I would love to have it. Even more than that, I wish I'd painted it. You simply must check out her other art, it is sublime. Mara's flickr set is here, her blog is here and her Etsy shop is here. Oh and Mara - Amelie is my favorite movie too!

Charming Frida collage by Heather Sleightholm of Audrey Eclectic. Heather's flickr set is here, Etsy shop is here, and her blog is here.

Viva Frida! The Frida in Heaven Series by Bethann Shannon available at Etsy.

Frida paintings by Tascha. Her Etsy shop is here and her blog is here.

Tomorrow we will look at the queen of creepy. Stay tuned.