Ewoks and George’s last 3 movies made us hate Star Wars but Usugrow’s gangster Darth brought us back… 

If you’re like us the last thing you wanna look at is another painted toy/object show. Keeping that in mind, we couldn’t help but be stoked to catch a look at the ill work of our boy USUGROW at the Japan touchdown of the VADER PROJECT 2008 at MAKUHARI-MESSE in Chiba this weekend. Lending his signature black ink linestyle and to-die-for lettering to a creamy vanilla Darth Vader helmet (a real one at that) for the show honoring the 3oth anniversary of Star Wars in Japan, the mysterious artist proved that there’s still fresh blood in the murky waters of this tired genre. Other good looks came from amazing Japanese toy sculptor T9G, and an amazing Vader as samurai helmet. Of course the hoards of Japanese otaku nerd girls in stormtrooper uniforms wasn’t too hard on the eyes. Now the only scary thing is knowing that a painted Han Solo-in-Carbonite sculpture show is undoubtedly on the horizon. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Turntabilism fans who haven’t yet caught CUT CHEMIST & DJ SHADOW’s amazing live “Hard Sell” show have exactly 12 days and seven tour dates left to catch up on one of the best live events of the year. Looking to break open the traditional DJ performance, the pair teamed up with the idea to perform live mixes using only vintage, traditionally pressed 45’s to create their impromptu soundscapes. Sequenced on an array of eight turntables fed through four mixers and an effects box or guitar pedal, the resulting “songs”—accompanied by an eye-popping image reel—are an incredible mash-up of genres, tempos, and eras, some never to be replicated again. Click HERE to check out the remaining tour dates. And, for fans looking to take home more than a T-shirt the just-released Hard Sell JUKE-BOT vinyl toy designed by English street artist PAUL INSECT and produced in a limited run of 500 units is available at the shows and in limited quantities online. Says Shadow of the toy: “We conceived it as a throwback to a pre-digital era. There’s something about a jukebox doing battle with pesky iPods that seems to resonate with people. It’s a kind of protest against the technology rat-race, particularly where music is concerned.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

The new holy grail of vinyl toydom. He’s laughing at how much you’re going to pay… 

Yeah, that thing’s real. It’s a special collaborative figure made by KAWS and Chinese art phenomenon YUE MINJUN for a special show of vinyl toys designed by Chinese artists called “Art For The Masses” at Taipei’s MUSEUM OF TOMORROW that opened tonite (through July 27th). Featuring new sculpts by  ZHOU TIEN HAI, LIU YE, JING YU, ZHOU CHUN YA, and YUE MINJUN (with KAWS), the show is the first to address the genre for a Chinese audience incorporating domestic modern artists. All figures have been produced in runs of 500 pieces for sale at the museum and are not being distributed domestically. Translation: keep your eyes on eBay and your PayPal account locked & loaded. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »