Cap chairs

Yep, it's exactly what it sounds like, in two styles, by Sander van Heukelom,

Thanks to Ralf for the tip!

(No pun intended.)

Table on trucks, $1700+

I'm sure you all can do better than this. It looks like a business opportunity.

via boingboing

INSA - shoes

Spike heels for the ladies by the UK writer INSA. Hot stuff.

Crayone's Obama T-shirt fundraiser

Proceeds go to the campaign.

Estria interview

There's a great interview with Estria (San Francisco) in Nichi Bei Times.

See his paintings at estria.net and screenprinting at SamuraiGraphix.

Graffiti on stuff

This is quite an extensive look at the juncture of modern fashion, art objects, and graffiti.

Pretty funny at times. Stuff you'll want too, I bet.

Good article from IIHIH.

Laser-etched decks

Refill magazine, which focuses on our kind of artists, has curated some laser-etched skate decks. The one by Aaron Horkey (Abuse) is spectacular.

via BoingBoing

Another article about graffiti innovations

Breakthroughs? You be the judge. Some cool stuff in there for sure, but plenty to get riled about as well. As a commenter put it, graffiti is usually associated with "a certain demographic" but apparently when people of other demographics do it, it's cool. Can you smell the racism there?

Surveillance cameras: the simple approach

Headband restores anonymity on the street.

Female Sneaker Fiend

Graffiti World 2008 Calendar

Esko: write all over

Yo! laces.

Dondi - Converse

The Michael White x Dondi White 1HUND(RED) Artist collaboration shoe will be available in December 2007 at Bodega, 6 Clearway St. Boston, MA 02115. MSRP $90 with 10% of the net wholesale price of this shoe going to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Geneva, Switzerland).

New shoes by Persue

Limited, going fast, rad skull design on black sk8 shoes.

Graffiti Trading Cards

Another good reason to buy condoms ... a new artist series

Ron English, Winston Smith, Robert Williams, SubGenius and more.

via boingboing.net

Atome's new blog

Stylish goodness not to be missed.

Kaws laptop/book sleeve with Arkitip #41

Gear alert!

Arkitip is a great short-run art mag made by people like us for people like us about art and design, and of course there's not much that's more collectible than a Kaws.

Hand packaged and numbered ltd. edition of 2000

iPhone FTW on Googlefight

Well the iphone is certainly winning the hot-air wars. Go Apple. The next version will be even more fun, and so will the next. And pretty soon most other phones will be tolerable to use too. Now if we could just replace all the mobile phone reps with helpful people and get competitive phone plans that don't suck, we'd be ready to go.

But it's an exciting time to be alive here at the dawn of the information age ... and we are there.

House Candy

Digital Gravel serves up the hot furniture and cool accessories. Saber, Herbert, Vitche ... yes please.

GPS, Graffiti, and Self-Incrimination

The article above describes a system of graffiti surveillance involving police using Global Positioning System (GPS) tagging of photos, etc. We could worry about that, but consider this bigger picture:

GPS is a system that involves a satellite and a ground receiver. The satellite tells the receiver on the ground where the receiver is located, to within a few feet. This system is very handy indeed when, for example, you happen to be lost.

Problem is when your devices report your location without telling you. Your phone might already be GPS-enabled. If not, your next one likely will be. It's not something you can turn off in most cases, because it's used by the emergency services, for example when you dial 911 for an ambulance, in the USA. You have to be tracked for your own good, see?

Your car might already be GPS-enabled. Maybe it has a map or direction finder, very handy. Or maybe it has an antitheft system like OnStar that keeps track of where your car is without telling you. Or maybe your rental car, company car or truck tells the company where you are all the time and your route, again without your knowledge or permission.

Your camera is next, and of course your phone camera. They will have GPS and it will be a "feature." Your photos will automatically contain where and when you took them and with what device, and when you upload to Flickr or whatever, the websites could display that info on a map. Cute, right? Except when the buffers come to the wall hours later or your secret bridge turns into a tourist area, or when the cops need a quick list of every place you hit this year.

GPS is only one of these passive-surveillance technologies of concern. There is also RFID, unencrypted wireless (email, texting, web browsing, pagers, keyboards, cordless phones, most cell phones), surveillance cameras, outdoor listening devices, and cell-phone triangulation, just to hit the high spots.

Clearly, humans need to be more in control of the kind of info their devices are sharing without their permsission. Nothing else will do. Try to buy stuff that has controls that put you in charge and features that are not hidden or automatic. Be aware that your devices can create big security problems for you.

And let's not forget the most dangerous form of self-incrimination: running your mouth. What you say in chatrooms, on phones, on Myspace, in email, to reporters, and to the nice policeman who promised to let you off easy if you just showed him every piece of graffiti you ever painted -- are the most dangerous kinds of self-incrimination available.

Mac and Retna skateboard from Tribal

Ooh LA LA.

Fun things to do with stencils: print clothes

Diluted bleach in a spray bottle + your favorite stencils or interesting objects = custom clothing prints.

Bluetooth Shoes

Forget LEDs, here come the shoes that authenticate you.

From Threat Level, which often warns about real threats that are worth fighting against. Bluetooth shoes may not be one of the worrisome things -- that is until they start broadcasting your identity or exhibiting other promiscuous or spoofable behavior.

On a similar note, some video cameras are being hooked up to software that attempts to identify people by their gait (how they walk). This type of mass surveillance may turn out to be more evil in the long run than shoes that let you into your workplace without a keycard.

Lumalive

From the press release:

"Eindhoven, the Netherlands -- Philips Research intends to impress the visitors at this year's IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) with a world-first demonstration of promotional jackets and furniture featuring its innovative Lumalive technology. Lumalive textiles make it possible to create fabrics that carry dynamic advertisements, graphics and constantly changing color surfaces. The Philips stand in Hall 22 will act as a showcase for the Lumalive textile products that will be worn by Philips' hostesses and embedded into booth furniture of the Future Zone.

Although the technology has been developed only recently -- early prototypes were exhibited at IFA 2005 -- Philips Research has made immense progress in fully integrating Lumalive fabrics into garments demonstrated by the jackets worn by Philips' hostesses at the show. These first-generation jackets are ready for commercialization by companies partnering with Philips Research, particularly those in the promotional industry looking for a new, high-impact medium. Interested parties could use the technology to transform their event and enhance their visitors' experiences.

Lumalive fabrics feature flexible arrays of colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fully integrated into the fabric -- without compromising the softness or flexibility of the cloth. These light emitting textiles make it possible to create materials that can carry dynamic messages, graphics or multicolored surfaces. Fabrics like drapes, cushions or sofa coverings become active when they illuminate in order to enhance the observer's mood and positively influence his/her behavior.

The jackets are comfortable to wear, and the Lumalive fabrics only become obvious when they light up to display vivid colored patterns, logos, short text messages or even full color animations. The electronics, batteries and LED arrays are fully integrated and invisible to the observer and wearer. The jackets feature panels of up to 200 by 200 sq. mm, although the active sections can be scaled up to cover much larger areas such as a sofa."

[See the link for more info and a photo -- finally, some serious fun can be had with clothing. Clearly they need artists to apply the tech. - Susan]

Roll your own Art Crimes gear

Announcing our new shirt shop!

+ Ship to USA, Canada, and Europe.

+ Print our designs, your designs (vector), or you can write some words and wear them.

+ Bulk discounts are automatic, starting at $100 in merchandise.

+ We need more "AC" and "Art Crimes" designs to put in the store.*

+ And you can open your own shop. See ours for details. It's free.


* Email [email protected] with designs you'd like us to consider (and your thoughts about the new shop, please). Final designs must be in vector format (EPS / Illustrator) in one or two colors (no fades, no tiny lines). Please send a JPG or screen capture for consideration, and if we like it, we'll send you more details. We pay royalties on the sales of your designs (50 cents each in USD).

Graffiti jewelry

Kel 1st

Daisuke Sakaguchi

Laura Bezant