NATHAN SEABROOK | YUBA DIAMOND VIDEO

I wanted to share a video by Nathan Seabrook that I've found inspiring. Seabrook is an artist, photographer and budding director here in San Francisco. I've known and worked with him for over a year or so now and his passion is really compelling. His vision in his newest piece, a music video for Yuba Diamond, is told through old fashioned film techniques including stop motion animation and projecting backgrounds. I only saw this piece in the making for a couple of hours one afternoon which was a fraction of the time he invested. For more of Seabrook's work visit his Vimeo page.

GULP | WORLD'S LARGEST STOP MOTION BY SUMO SCIENCE

GULP is the 'world's largest stop-motion animation' and latest endeavor from Sumo Science, the animation and direction team that brought you the 'worlds smallest stop-motion animation', Dot (also shot on the Nokia N8). This piece is quite and underpinning, shot outdoors over a day on a beach with a large film crew of volunteers and animation experts, cranes and the Nokia N8 for all the still captures. Using only the N8 for the largest and smallest stop motion animations Sumo Science has just avoided pandering to a gimmick by making a cleaver piece with GULP. With a run time of 1:46 it's a quick reminder of what technology can enable with a creative mind at the controls and a little funding from a company that wants their product to be shared.

GULP

MAKING OF GULP


Check out more from Sumo Science and read more about the Nokia N8.

RUBEN B | COLLAGES

Before I began posting art that I find inspiring on this blog I would bookmark an artist's work on my browser, hidden from the rest of the world. RUBEN B is one of those artists I had tucked away that should be shared. His series Black Hole Collages,Sasha Grey Was Here and Deer Woman are by far my favorite and are featured here. But his work expands beyond collages. Deer Woman is an installation that he created and photographed. Check his website, rubenb.info for more of these iconographic works.

PETRINA HICKS | PHOTOGRAPHS

I ran across Petrina Hicks photography today. I was instantly struck by her color palette and compositions. Her imagery is reminiscent of another one of my favorite photographer/director, Charlie White. Hicks hails from Australia and is quite a prolific artist, showing her work since 2002. Her series The Performance, Every Rose Has It's Thorn and Beautiful Creatures are my favorite of her works and reflect a very refined and precise knowledge her craft. She is represented by Stills Gallery in Sydney, Australia and by Hammer Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. For more information visit her website Petrinahicks.com

SAMUEL BAYER | RUNNING IS DEAD

I've found Samuel Bayer's work inspiring for quite a while now. This piece seemed fitting to post now as I've been traveling for work and the only running I've been able to get in has been in the gym on a treadmill. Without saying too much enjoy Bayer's "Running Is Dead" and see more on his site.

RUNNING IS DEAD - click here to see the video on Bayer's site.

REED AND RADAR | V MAGAZINE

I discovered Reed & Radar in 2010 and I've been very inspired by their animations. I can honestly say it's shown up in several of my own works - specifically iandi. Their latest editorial piece for V Magazine is every bit as compelling as what originally attracted me to their work, the subtle motion. I love the still figures as they come to life like little dolls and the repetition with the .gif format shows a sense of humor commonly lacking in fashion spreads.

Check out Megabytes of Sprint at V magazinee or Reed and Radar's website for more.

ALLISON SCHULNIK | NERMAN MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

While back in Kansas City for the holiday I visited The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. The Nerman is on the campus of Johnson County Community College. I've always enjoyed the modern art sculptures scattered across the campus, in their collection and now at this new contemporary, minimalist building. I had never been in the museum which opened in October 2007 and was impressed, even surprised by the collection. I could have easily been in a modern gallery in a major city like LA, NY or SF, not on community college campus in suburban Kansas. My friend Whitney works there and I was fortunate to get a private tour through the museum when it was closed on a Monday. I really liked the installation work of Anne Lindberg's Raume Yellow, and the Allison Schulnik, Skipping Skeleton's. Whitney told me the Nerman had another piece of Schulnik's in storage and she took me to the storage space see the piece wrapped in a plastic and wood 9 ft shipping container. I love seeing art out of the usual public viewing context, be it in the artist's studio or in the storage space before it goes up into the ideal viewing space. Schulnik's paintings looks like cake icing and makes the brush strokes in Van Gogh's work look callow in comparison. I imagine her work takes a long time to dry and is heavy to transport and hang. The works are haunting and beautiful in their flow and narration. Her use of nuanced color heightens the dimensionality of her paint application. I love her claymation video for one of my favorite bands, Grizzly Bear but her paintings are by far my favorite.

Mound by Allison Schulnik from garaco taco on Vimeo.
FOR MORE FROM SCHULNIK VISIT HER WEBSITE allisonschulnik.com OR AT markmooregallery.com.