Renowned for his old master style oil paintings of modern black males in renaissance poses, NYC based artist KEHINDE WILEY makes his first foray into photography just as memorable with a new series of stills replicating his instantly recognizable fine art aesthetic. Created for “Black Light,” a forthcoming book by Brooklyn-based publishers POWERHOUSE set to debut in May, the series consists of 17 images of subjects Wiley recruited during a day of scouting at Brooklyn’s Fulton Street Mall. Back at Wiley’s studio, they were allowed to choose poses from reference images in art history books to be photographed in, and their clothing from racks containing fresh new gear from the likes of Nike, Nom de Guerre, and aNYthing. Central to the theme of the book’s title, Wiley made his manipulation of light upon his subjects the central aesthetic concern of the shoot, a process author Krista A. Thompson explains in her introduction: Read the rest of this entry »

French photographer JEAN-YVES LEMOIGNE’s snaps of pixelated girls of leisure for the current issue of premium French gamer & toy collector magazine AMUSEMENT are truly a thing of beauty in their Lego-esque cubism. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Team USA (l to r): Coach Krzyzewski; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Tayshaun Prince; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Kobe Bryant; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul

Ramping up to tomorrow’s epic opening of the OLYMPIC GAMES in Beijing, and the impending roundball battle we’ve all been waiting for, we’re happy to report that in a very unexpected move, one of our favorite young photographers, TARYN SIMON has been commissioned to shoot an official portrait of the US men’s basketball team for the occasion. Chosen by NIKE to capture an artistic view of the 12-man team made up of Kobe Bryant, Tayshaun Prince; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, the stark photo represents the artist’s first foray into sports photography. A 33-year-old Guggenheim Fellow who has exhibited her photography in an array of prestigious international galleries and museums, including Gagosian Gallery and the Whitney Museum, Simon is renowned for her obsession with revealing hidden and inaccessible American stories in her work, most notably the highly acclaimed portrait series “The Innocents,” that documented cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and her recent body of work, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.” See more of Simon’s photography after the jump. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, the rebellious vigor of Norweigan Viking youth…

For those scratching their heads at the sight of the following images, in the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called Black Metal has emerged in Norway. It has its roots in a heady blend of splatter movies, heavy metal music, Satanism, Pagan mythology and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990’s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society. American documentary photographer PETER BESTE has spent the last eight years working in the milieu of this insulated and secretive community. Beste’s access and insight has been absolutely without precedent, resulting in an amazing photographic journey as he earned the respect and trust of this impenetrable, suspicious and often elitist community. With each visit Beste saw more, photographed more and eventually accumulated enough material for his new book “True Norwegian Black Metal,” ($60, Vice Books) a stunning visual testimonial to this subculture. In it, Beste and editor Johan Kugelberg have created a unique photographic narrative that explores black metal from a truly visceral perspective that offers an in-depth look at the amazingly-named key players and bands in the scene including Nocturno Culto and Fenriz of Darkthrone, Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Blasphemer, and Maniac of Mayhem, Samoth of Emperor, Frost of Satryicon, Enslaved, Abbath of Immortal, Gaahl, Infernus, King, and Kvitrafn of Gorgoroth, Nattefrost of Carpathian Forest, 1349, Dimmu Borgir, Ildjarn, Aura Noir, and many more. Fas can keep their eyes peeled for shows of Beste’s black metal photos in Exhibitions in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, Los Angeles through 2009. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

The alternate cover art for Ozzy’s 1983 classic, “Bark at the Moon”…

We’ve been following the work of NYC-based photographer AMY STEIN for a while now, and we at Supertouch just can’t get enough of her sublime samplings of American life. With an impeccable eye for composition, color, and that ever-elusive “perfect moment,” Stein’s visual narratives are profound in their spartan beauty and emotional tension. Presented here are excerpts from her three series: “Domesticated,” “Halloween in Harlem,” and “Women & Guns.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »