Saturday, July 30, 2011

Superheros - Alter-egos





Artist: Danny Haas

Dead Relatives



Dead Relatives opened July 9th at the Black Book gallery in Denver, Colorado. Dead Relatives is a collaborative show of artists  Philip Lumbang and Ernesto Yerena. The two artists combine their own unique styles to create characters that are inspired by Day of the Dead imagery.


Animals are our relatives. Dead Relatives is a special look at death, as a satire. Usually a taboo subject in many cultures, Mexican traditions revere death. Death is celebrated, it is humorous. The Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) patterns embodied by the endearing silhouettes of chosen animals set a cunning tone to the show.


The styles of Ernesto Yerena and Philip Lumbang contrast and compliment. Whether the animal is mythological or culturally relevant, each animal carries a message that the artists would like for the audience to ponder. The dynamics of the artists collaboration result in striking imagery with two different styles working in perfect balance.


The Smurfs Wars


Forget about the Smurfs now playing at the theaters check out The Smurfs Wars. Brazil­ian artist Marcelo Braga developed this  con­cept art for a Smurf graphic novel that will never be made. He has also developed a plot line for the Smurfs Wars


Zombie Mash-up

Waldo/Andre de Freitas

 Zombie mash-up of favorite cartoon characters by illustrator Andre de Freitas

Luffy/Andre de Freitas

Popeye/Andre de Freitas

Charlie Brown/Andre de Freitas

Donald Duck/Andre de Freitas

Archie/Andre de Freitas

Friday, July 29, 2011

The Rocketeer: 20th Anniversary

The Rocketeer turns 20 this year. The film is a 1991 period superhero adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is based on the character of the same name created by comic book writer/artist Dave Stevens. 

Vintage- Faux Rocketeer movie trailer created by ManticoreEscapee/Uncanny Antman 2008 
The film clips are from the 1991 movie


 Directed by Joe Johnston, the film stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino and Tiny Ron Taylor. Set in 1938 Los Angeles, California. 



The Rocketeer tells the story of stunt pilot Cliff Secord who discovers a jet pack that enables him to fly. His heroic deeds attract the attention of Howard Hughes and the FBI, as well as sadistic Nazi operatives.
 
 
The Rocketeer [comic book] makes a great number of references to pop culture from the 1930s to the 1950s. 
 
 
The first storyline, "The Rocketeer" features characters from the Doc Savage pulp series, though Stevens takes care not to refer to any of the characters — including Doc Savage himself — by name, so as not to violate copyright and have to pay a licensing fee for use of the characters. 
 
 
"Cliff's New York Adventure" similarly features unnamed characters from The Shadow pulp series, including the Shadow's famous alter-ego, Lamont Cranston.
 
 
Besides pulp characters, actors of the 40s and 50s have also visually inspired two characters: Lothar, the villain in "Cliff's New York Adventure", is based on the likeness of acromegalic horror movie star Rondo Hatton; and Cliff Secord's girl-friend Betty is modeled after "Queen of Pinups" Bettie Page.

A similar "Rocket Man" character with a near-identical rocket backpack and costume appeared in four Republic Pictures movie serials from 1949 through 1953. The fourth serial, originally conceived of as a Republic TV series, was first released for contractual reasons as a theatrical serial. Two years later, it was finally syndicated on TV as twelve 25-minute episodes. The serials were: King of the Rocket Men (1949), Radar Men from the Moon (1952), Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), and Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe [serial 1953, TV series 1955].




About Digital Banana Studios:
Digital Banana Freelancing is a Freelancers studio set in 2005 by John & Elton Banana.
Due to its increasing success the studio turned into Digital Banana Studio, a Paris based company offering its clients a more solid structure to handle bigger projects.

 
About John Banana:
John Banana : owner. After 10 years in the digital industry, John Banana starts Digital Banana Studio, the first studio in the world with a taste of banana. In 2006 John Banana co-created the raving rabbids characters and directed the very popular crazy campaign that lead to the success of the franchise.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Emeli Sandé


Scottish signer Emeli Sande has written songs for Tinie Tempah and Cheryl Cole, but is now preparing her own chart assault with single "Heaven" – a string-swept piece of trip-hop with more than a touch of the Massive Attacks about it 


Heaven is scheduled for release on August 14, 2011. The complete alum is scheduled for release in November, 2011


Sandé was the voice behind Wiley’s ‘Never Be Your Woman’, the single charted at number-eight on the UK Singles Charts becoming Sandé's second exclusive Top 10 Single.

Reign of Death: Sci-fi Noir


Reign of Death is a sci-fi pulp noir detective short film, starring Noel Clarke, written and directed by Matthew Savage, using extensive CG backgrounds to portray a stylised reality, as in 300 and Sin City, and shot with the RED camera.




Robots of Brixton


Robots of Brixton is a short animated film, created by Kibwe Tavares, an architecture student from London. It depicts a dystopian future, years from now, when robots do man's dirty work and are discriminated against by human's.  



Tavares used the riots of Brixton in the 1980's as a reference point for the film and inspiration for some of the scenes.


He created the film for his Masters in Architecture and this shows in the impressive imagery . The robots in the film live in shanty town like structures tacked onto buildings and Tavares has transformed the Barrier Block, AKA Southwyck House, in Brixton and the Town Hall. 



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Latenight Callers: The Tease

 
“If a band can be defined by its drink of choice, the Latenight Callers would be a 12-year scotch. "The aesthetic of what we do is timeless," baritone guitarist Krysztof Nemeth says. "We're like the house band at David Lynch's pool party." Technically, the Latenight Callers occupy the electro-noir genre: a sexy blend of synths, reverb-heavy guitars and dancing bass riffs behind lusty female vocals. The band's live show is a vaudevillian take on the classic lounge act, sparkling at the edges with glittery, vintage rock and roll.” —  Jenny Kratz, The Pitch



The Latenight Callers occupy the electro-noir genre: a sexy blend of synths, reverb-heavy guitars and dancing bass riffs behind lusty female vocals. The band's live show is a vaudevillian take on the classic lounge act, sparkling at the edges with glittery, vintage rock and roll.


The%20Latenight%20Callers

The Mermaid Chronicles


Beyoncé declared her love for mermaids during her MTV special "The Year of 4," while Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Bette Midler have all dressed up like the mythical sea creatures onstage or in videos. 


Madonna has surrounded herself with mermen during a past tour, and mermaids also show up in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and in several new novels, including a forthcoming book by "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer. [MTV]


The Kardashians and Perez Hilton/Mark Anderson
The mermaid trend hasn't been free from controversy: There has already been beef between fans of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, accusing the pop stars of lifting the idea, and then between Lady Gaga and Bette Midler, who did the mermaid-in-a-wheelchair routine decades before Gaga did.[MTV]

Brittany Daniel/Mark Anderson
Chronicles of Mermaids have been told for centuries in the form of legends and fairytales. Images of this sea queen have haunted artists in their efforts to bring the beauty, sexuality and mystery of the mermaid to life. 

Mark Anderson
The role of mythology is ever changing in society and it is with this in mind that photographer Mark Anderson has captured contemporary images of this mythical creature as she may appear in today’s society. 

Ariel the Little Mermaid by TheMinttu - Deviant Art

We're all familiar with the playful modern mermaid of Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid and of Darryl Hannah’s depiction of the human/animal creature in Splash. But lurking behind these light figures is the sadness and mystery of the mermaid's plight. 


Using over 60 female stars of the entertainment world, Photographer Mark Anderson brings us photos that weave together a never before seen perspective on what life could be like if Mermaids lived amongst us. 

Paget Brewster/Mark Anderson
His fantastical representations place the mermaid in often-unexplored territories to expose the roles to which we assign modern women: as sexualized beings, as temptresses, as mothers/daughters, and as creatures themselves constrained and created by myth"

Hilarie Burton/Mark Anderson

Kristen Bell/Mark Anderson

Amy Winehouse: Style Icon


As ironic as it sounds in 2007-2008 Amy Winehouse was a muse for Karl Lagerfeld and Peter Lindbergh. 


“She is a style icon. She is a beautiful, gifted artist. And I very much like her hairdo. I took it as an inspiration. Because, in fact, it was also Brigitte Bardot’s hairdo in the late Fifties and Sixties. And now Amy has made it her own style. So, when I saw her, I knew it was the right moment. Amy…she is the new Brigitte.” Karl Lagerfeld


Model: Coco Rocha - Designer: Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel Fall 2008

Model: Coco Rocha - Designer: Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel Fall 2008

Model: Coco Rocha - Designer: Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel Fall 2008

Model: Coco Rocha - Designer: Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel Fall 2008


Model: Coco Rocha - Designer: Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel Fall 2008

Amy Winehouse: Momma said there would be days like this

Amy Jade Winehouse, the British singer-songwriter known for her powerful contralto and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. vocals, was found dead in her Camden townhouse Saturday. Whinehouse was only 27.


Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. 


Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British singer to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. 


She won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game", among other prestigious distinctions. The album was the third biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom.




Winehouse was credited as an influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and soul music, and also for revitalising British music. 


Winehouse's distinctive style made her a muse for fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld. Winehouse's problems with drug and alcohol abuse, and her self-destructive behaviours were regular tabloid news from 2007 until her death. 


She and her former husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were plagued by legal troubles that left him serving prison time. In 2008, Winehouse faced a series of health complications that threatened both her career and her life.



Last month the much maligned songstress stumbled onto the stage and managed a hat-full of songs during which she sang the wrong words and, to infuriate fans even more, mistook Belgrade for New York and Athens.



Despite her excesses it’s her talent as a singer and songwriter that still draws people in. Her actions, unfortunately, indicated an individual who hadn’t learned from previous mistakes. She may well be viewed as a tragic, soul genius in the future in much the same way as Billie Holiday is.


Photograph by Max Vadukul/Rolling Stone
The cause of death is still unknown for the Grammy Award winning artist, only 27-years-old at the time. Many are suspecting that her death may possibly be the result of her long-term battle with substance abuse. She also admitted to struggling with eating disorders and manic depression.



Winehouse's last tweet on her Twitter page was a promotion of Dionne Bromfield's Good for the Soul: "Make sure you all download your copy of #GoodForTheSoul the incredible album by the amazing @dionneofficial http://t.co/E2Ibn7w OUT NOW!," she tweeted on July 7.


Bromfield, 15, is Winehouse's goddaughter. Her previous debut album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, was the first to be released under Winehouse's record label Lioness Records in 2009. The latest album was released this month.


Note: The content of this blog is based on stories in the Christian Post by Nathan Black and Eyrn Sun, Celebrities with Diseases.com, and Wikipedia.