Secret Still

I have spent the better part of a day pouring over the clever maps of Andrew DeGraff, and simultaneously reliving some pivotal moments of my childhood. DeGraff has created works of art that track the paths of characters through the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films. Beyond their cleverness and beauty, the real magic of these maps is that they follow something deeper and more meaningful than just actors in a film; they bounce around to all the emotions I felt as a kid watching those movies. I can feel my hands clench as something daring and exciting happens, and I’d say that speaks highly to both the movie and the artwork. Here’s a film saga that was so real to me as a child that it still resonates with me on an emotional level when I relive it. And here’s a map that’s so accurate and intuitive that I can’t help but relive each scene of my favorite films. Andrew DeGraff, I am high-fiving you so hard right now.

Andrew DeGraff

Holy sonofabitch is this guy ever good. Dan Lydersen combines the styles and compositions of classical painters with the delights of pop surrealism. His colors are like a less light-crazy Ron English, if Ron was stuck in the Middle Ages with only a TV/VCR combo to keep him company. The first painting featured in Lydersen’s portfolio is a fucking ridiculous modern reimagining of a Bosch painting using only cult movies for Gallery 1988’s upcoming Crazy 4 Cult Show in LA. If you’re in the LA area, you have no choice but to go see that show. It’s a moral imperative. If you don’t know, now you know.

Dan Lydersen

Having just seen the movie last night, how fitting is it that this morning I come across this great post from Lou Romano about all the work he did for Pixar’s new movie UP?  First, let me say, the movie is great. It’s more action-packed than I was expecting, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Go see it as soon as you can get the time. Try for the 3D version, too, because that adds to the magic. You should know that the Lou Romano post has some spoilers in it, especially because the trailers were nice and vague. Fine by me, I hate knowing everything that happens in the movie just from watching the trailer. All that being said, the Romano post does have some amazing art and insight into the creation of the movie, so the choice is yours whether or not to read it and spoil a little of the movie. I say it’s worth it, but I’m sitting on the other side of having seen it. Here’s a solution, why don’t you rush right out and see it now, then come back here and check out the artwork. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

The Art of UP

By now I’d imagine most of you have seen Coraline, whether 3-D or good, old-fashioned 2-D, and it was a pretty damn good movie. What I think is even better though is the amount of information about the creation of the movie that’s available online. There are making of videos on youtube, stills, character creation shots, and practically every artist that worked on the film has put their Coraline work online. If you didn’t stay to watch the credits, you might have missed out on the staggering list of artistic talent involved in this film. Luckily for you and me, Drawn has a nice post about some of the Coraline artists. From that post I went to check out Jon Klassen’s work on the film, and was blown away. I want to live in those drawings. In a real way, not just by staring really hard at them when I’m stoned. But yeah, I’m gonna do that, too.

Jon Klassen’s Coraline

I love The Flaming Lips, always have and always will. My fandom is so devout that no matter how many times the release date was pushed back on their feature film Christmas on Mars, I always believed them. I never doubted their word. After each successive letdown I refused to give up hope. Tuesday, after seven years of shooting and re-shooting, the film has finally been released. Just in time for me to fold it into my ritual of watching A Christmas Story and A Charlie Brown Christmas once the December holidays have started. I’m not gonna tell you anything about the plot. The title pretty much says it all, and if you know The Flaming Lips, then it makes sense. If you don’t know The Flaming Lips then you should believe me when I say that your life is incomplete. Buying Christmas on Mars might be a good place to start getting your shit together.

Christmas on Mars