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 »

Aging British 30-somethings will no doubt instantly recognize the faces of the BBC’s new animated 2008 Olympic campaign as the legendary Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy from the awesomely bad 1970s live-action TV series “Magic Monkey,” but kids will be even more stoked to discover this unknown narrative as a newly animated series by GORILLAZ members JAMIE HEWLETT and DAMON ALBARN. Animated by legendary British inkslinger Hewlett with a score composed by Albarn, the Beeb’s new “Monkey” series of campaign animations and multi platform media spots (think mobile, web, and other interactive) is an absolutely radical step for a massive mainstream media company, especially the venerable old guard institution of the BBC. Based on the story “Journey to the West,” a legendary Chinese novel published in the late 1500s and widely renowned as one of the country’s four most important works of fiction, the story follows a monk and his band of disciples as they battle a never-ending array of bad guys and demons on a journey to reclaim a trove of sacred Buddhist scriptures for China. On this quest, the main character of Monkey dazzles in a series of battle scenes which he fights with his magic growing staff from the back of a flying cloud. In the BBC’s new animated spot, says Hewlett, “the idea is that you tell the entire story of Journey to the West in a two-minute opening sequence, which is basically them on their way to the Olympic stadium … this is going to be the summer of Monkey.” And the beginning of awesomely integrated Pop Culture sports coverage as well. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »