Bad Artists Copy Great Artists Steal

I think Malcom Mclaren was an idiot for trying to use people in such a shallow way, however he was never boring. Before The Sex Pistols were formed he owned a clothing shop with girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. They sold many different kinds of clothes which would eventually lead to the wardrobe of the Pistols and the image that became packaged as "punk". After the Pistols came crashing down, he tried to search for the next big thing. He then decided to form a new band, which became Bow Wow Wow. With the help of Viviene' pirate fashion and world music, he gave Bow Wow Wow an identity. Their first single was C30, C60, C90 go!, which was urging kids to tape the radio and take away sales from the record industry. The single ironically was released on EMI, a major label losing money in this way at the time. EMI dropped them after their second single.


"Every day I get a brand new show
off TV record and radio
I breeze with the sleaze on my cassette
'cause I got the affirmative

C30 C60 C90 Go
C30 C60 C90 Go
C30 C60
C30 C60 C90 Go
30 60 90 Go"

The cover for the single caused controversy because the singer was underage, another ploy by McLaren to get attention. But interesting enough he got the idea from Edouard Manet's famous painting "Lunch on the grass", which also caused commotion in his day. McLaren's genius was not in using people (for that he was an idiot), but combining all these rich concepts like the avant-garde fashion of Westwood, the african tribal beat, the rebellious lyrics and the sampling of art history. Together these ideas created quite an intriguing piece of work. If you look back on art history, all the great paintings have layers of ideas. Perhaps too, McLaren was attempting the same feat, but with pop culture.

RIP MALCOM MCLAREN

One of the most peculiar of individuals has passed on. I think he pissed off a lot of people, but the way he used life as a means to produce art and culture remains forever perpendicular to the usual means of art production. Duchamp made ideas superior to the objects they represented while McLaren made the production of culture superior to ideas. He definitely didn't invent punk rock or the wheel, but a disruption he did create. He's most famous for the Sex Pistols, but he also helped along the new wave group Bow-Wow, and created some classic Hip-Hop. Much Respect.

Too Big to Be Ignored

The previous words are from Jay-Z. I feel the same way about Banksy. I'm not crazy about him. There are a hundred other artists I'd rather have on my own wall at home, however he's definitely one of the most important artists of the age. Maybe I'm just stupid or maybe he's too clever. That being said he's got a new film out called Exit Through The Gift Shop, which I can't wait to see.

Futura

From Graffiti Artist to Web Designer to Clothing Designer to now photographer. He keeps his audience interested by keeping us only guessing about what's next. He's one of those artists that offers an original use of any medium. Just look at his graffiti. When everyone was doing letters, he was doing abstraction. In the 90s he started collaborating with MO'Wax (DJ Krush album covers and then later UNKLE). Now his work can be seen in many brand collaborations like Stussy, Descente(outerwear), North Face, and Nike. The guy keeps going and it all looks fresh in my opinion. I was motivated to make this post when I saw his photography because I also think its original. He's using A Canon Mark2 digital camera which produces the cleanest images possible. Second the way its archived is definitely sublime. See for yourself.
Futura photography

Harry Partch

Comme Des Garcons

In 2004 They did a collection featuring only skirts (and some hats). No tops, no shoes, no bags.





In 2004 They did a collection featuring only skirts. No tops, no shoes, no bags.

LIFE IS

TO