ummmmmmmmm its new years. why not have pom mimosas? @ noon? right?






shhhhhhhhhhh. don't tell the boss man.

"That picture reminds me so much of Grandma. You know if she were alive she'd be posing like that in a Star Lounge T-shirt"

a message from my mom. i was reluctant to post it. but, when it comes down to it. i needed to. for me. 

x-chicago artist bunus's excited grandmother. she got art for xmas. this makes me sooooooooooooooooooooo happy. its adorable.

oops.

worst idea EVER.

chicago artist risk got a little shout on juxtapoz check it. risk is a chicago mainstay. he has been getting'up* around here sense the 80's. good stuff.

on another note, seventh letter graff artist revok has had some legal trouble in the lsat month or so. and his newer post about shepard fairey(you will recognize all his work for obama) is really cool. but if you dont want to go to all thies places, just check revok painting live.

Blackbooks Stencils, and Logan Hicks curated this epic mammoth of a show, featuring street art’s best painting on permission walls all over Miami.
more info here

                                                                                boxi


                                                                     revok and reyes

all i know is this guys name "might" be tieri & he is french & his work is really cool. but his website is in french so, how you say? no comprendo.

ghetto blaster. made from spray paint cans. 


his site here

my friend just gave me this book. ummmmmmm..........its amazing.

their is somthing magical about 6am, sigur ros....

and a cup of tea.

deuniti
a group of 4 friends in medellin columbia. 

i love the mario house. check it.

artists to check.

iv seen work by both audrey kawasaki sand jeremy fish b4. so i spent about 2 hours today looken @ their sites. oh man.........

audrey kawasaki

jeremy fish

so iv ben on radio silence for a few days. 

just not in the mood to be on the interwebs. i guess.

so some stuff from last week. 

one: ohhhhhh man i got to meet jay ryan. a famous poster artist from chicago. he has done posters for a bunch of poeple, fugazi, the decemberists, death cab, my friends hum. we actualy got to talk about the old champaign scene, hes friends with alot of people i know. and even went to school with my old boss alisa. here is the poster i got from him. loveit.

i saw this on postsecret. 

a part of me loves the sentament of this, as i am a huge hunter fan. but at the  same time, i think he would have some problem with obama. im sure he would support the man, but his nature as a writer and political wise ass would have made us all thik just a little more about what was happening. this election would have given him soooooooo much energy, he would have been jumping, screaming, and plowing a new course through our ideas. making us think, and laugh. i wish we could have seen it. 

oh ya, and this

and this

and always thiiiiisssssssss

love.

dear america;

i hope you made it to your super savings. 

sad....

friends and shirts.

ohhhhhhhh man.




new stuff from our friend blutt for star lounge hoodies and t-shirts. im kinda excited.

mom, this is for you.

i know i already mentioned ELBOWTOE two posts ago. but i just went to his flicker page and read about his new project. its amazing. here is what its about. 

"My current body of work is an allegory about memory's power to hold us back or move us forward. The central character in this parable is a 6 x 10 foot linocut of an Everyman, who has lost it all and wanders the plains with all his belongings strapped to his back. He navigates a world in crisis by learning from his past. The remainder of the characters that he encounters are individuals lost in regret.

I have developed these paintings and prints during the American housing and credit crisis of the past year. In contemplating where we are and where we might be, I have found myself looking back at history, remembering the Great Depression, and considering what effects it had on the American psyche. The uncertainty that existed then is present now, and I am addressing the kind of escapism through nostalgia that can occur in the midst of calamity. Every character that the Everyman sees is gripped by this need to escape their present circumstance. They are people lost in a memory at the very point when they should be paying attention to what lies ahead.

Many different artists have inspired the flavor of this world including the photography of Walker Evans, the films of the Cohen brothers, the music of Tom Waits and the theatre of Robert Wilson."

please go to his page and look at the characters he is working on. this is some of the most beautiful work iv seen in a looooooooooooong time. plese check it out. 

one of our employes, val, knows nothing about pop culture. its funny.

a conversation we had about her only knowing stuff up intill about 1979.

me: have you heard of star wars? its all the rage right now.

val: i think iv seeen part of one. is that the movie with the little bears? their cute.

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
Originally uploaded by guy_on_the_streets

nyc street artist ELBOW-TOE. this is one of the best wheat paste pieces iv ever seen.

The Chicago Slushie

The Chicago Slushie
Originally uploaded by spudart

i saw this this morning. and just think its the most beautiful, gross, creepy, amazing photo.

"thank you for saving my life every day"

just saw this on the interweb. 

i hope you all have someone you can say this to. 

oh man..............

Obama

Obama (Chicago Graffiti)
Originally uploaded by mick.chicago

chicago, as you would expect is crazy for obama. and as i have shown b4, street artists are no exception. this is nice.........REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL nice.

this was written by my dear friend adriel harris. she is spot on.

"this is a profoundly, important historical moment and i am so proud to be here - aware, involved, and appreciative of what has just occurred and what amazing potential lies ahead. i was on the phone all night with several friends who were at grant park taking it all in with their own eyes and the potency is undeniable. i haven't been around for a very long time, and i'm only old enough to have voted in two elections prior to this one, but the energizing effect this entire election season has infused my generation with is something that i feared would never be possible.

we can tend to be an apathetic, selfish and cynical group of people. not because we are hateful, but because we have become isolated in a pervasive feeling of hopelessness. we have lost much of the joy of sincere communication and authentic community. we have grown up in a culture of text-messaging "dialogue" and internet "friendship". we have become suspicious of all forms of leadership... not just in our government, but in our schools, our churches and even our homes. we have become un-trusting and detached.

i would never be so naive to presume that this elected figure represents some "idea" that will fix all of these characteristics in us, but it is simply impossible not to note the turning of a page that has occurred. in my peers, i have never witnessed more passion, more intelligent and informed conversation or more of an understanding that it is imperative for us to believe in something. to have some sort of faith that our collective effort can actually accomplish something and make some sort of difference. i know that many of you are disappointed today and had hoped for a different outcome, but i hope that you can see what has been ignited in an entire generation of people. for us, it wasn't just about taxes. it wasn't just about a war. it wasn't just about an economy. it was about the fact that we actually cared. we cared enough to educate ourselves, to communicate, argue and challenge each other. to put all of our endless internal dialogue and tension into some sort of concerted and collected effort. and the effort wasn't necessarily to elect one person or another, it was to find something to hope for again. it was was an effort to convert our apathy and cynicism into interest and action.

and in that conversion, so many of my prayers have been answered. not all of them, but many...

i love you all and its been a long time coming, but i can say, with a great deal of sincerity, that i am proud..."

introducing...

i was not there.i was around good riends. wine, and a bonfire.....and a cell phone. my birthday could not have been any better. 

btw, i got 3 texts that just included one word. like: "huzza!!" "whooo!!" and "bam!!!" is it not funny that i responded to them with "RECOUNT!!"

so sitting here after a busy morning at work. eating cupcakes and playing with legos(thanks mom and dad, im glad you kinda wish i was still 10, i do to somtimes, life wasent so hard then). and thanks carrie for the cupcakes, shoot......id vote for me.



i have alot going through my mind. its my 25th birthday AND a very important day in our countrys history. wishing i could type as fast as i think. the air in chicago today is excited, scared, anxious, everything. its nice to see people so full of hope, and believing in themselves again.
and the air in my mind is wanting to be cought up in it with everyone. but i cant stop thinking about the last 24 years of laughs, mistakes, tears, mistakes, ect....the future is far more uncertain than i hoped it would be by 25. but it all boils down to wanting a place to be myself. a place with art on the walls, the smell of food, sounds of friends, wispers of love, peaceful, bright, happy, welcoming, and just maby someone to look me in the eyes like i am all thoes things.

so some street artist last weekend printed up a BUNCH of sticker heads. fantastic.





but fo'real who cares about the election?!?! there is somthing, that in my opinion is ALOT more important happn'en tomorrow.

im on the saul williams e mail list. if you dont know him, google that shit. 

this was a part of an email i got tonight from his site. one that fits my life and another email i recived.

Dear History,
You are behind us and we are no longer looking back. We are standing on the threshold of new times, new days, new worlds, and charging forward without battle cry or trumpet, while cynicism, apathy, and cowardice take their place beside you, behind us.

it took almost 8 months of just coffee. but im cooking again. 

tonights meal includes. 

-black beans slow cooked with garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, and spices.

-sweet potatos, onion, and red pepper cooked in homemade adobo sauce. 

-and pan fried plantains.

(my friend jay said he is bringing his own "side of meat")

the sun is going down, and this windy chicago sky has a creepy end-of-the-world look to it. if it is the end of the world. at least it ends with good friends, music, conversation, and food. 

see ya tomorrow.

OMG....NYC

here i come.

who wants to kiss???????

holy crap, this is funny.

i love you onion.

vote

as i have ben looking around the flicker chicago street art page. to find, and ask people to be in this group art show im curating at the shop. and admittedly im being kind of picky. i came across vote, and i liked his stuff. from the smaller ammount of pics/work, and comments in the forums. i could tell he is younger, and new in the street art scene. and i thought "ya know it would be nice to have some new faces in the show, among some of the veterans". so i sent vote a message and he sounded super excited. and is in the show.

tonight, at work, a mother and son came in. walked around for a minute. and finaly came up to the bar. the kid, no older than 15 years asked if i was josh. i said yes. he looked at me all shy and goes

"oh....im....vote"

so we talked about the show for a minute. he told me this is his first show. and said thank you a bunch. when he asked me who else was in the show. i dropped some names that i KNEW would make him excited. and i was right, his eyes got HUGE. 

his first show will be with some people who he really looks up to. and now im as excited as he is, just because i get the chance to make this happen for him. it feels pretty good to be in a place where i can facilitate this for someone so young. 

omg, paul newman died......im sooooooo sad. what a great actor. 


and his salad dressing......
..........delicious

r.i.p. paul newman jan 26, 1925-september 27, 2008.

Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.

thrift store jackpot!!!!

all vhs. all awesome......allllllllllllll mine.

this is travis, hes a friend. he built this bike himself. its CRAZY. i guess there are only like 3 or 4 poeple in the country who have such a bike.


"hey, wanna see this bike do a flip? throw a dollar at it."

soooooooooo, after work i did somthing i do about once every 6 months. i know what your thinking. and i agree. its disgusting.

i got this old polaroid camera today at a friends yard sale. its heavy, big and awesome. i doubt ill be able to find film. but i dont really care. soooooooooooooo excited just to have it.

art?

so iv got a group show coming up at the shop after the first of the year. im super excited. some of the street artists iv showed you here are involved. its for an after school arts program called co-op image group . they do alot of great stuff. its should be fun. this is my first time curating a show. and i love it. 

this is joe. he lives downstairs at the house. this pic may be a little creepy. but hand to god, he is one of the nicest guys ever.

bam!!!!

like clockwork.

ring....

carl: hey buddy.

me: hey papa, did i wake you up?

carl: sort of, but not really.

carl: hey can i call you back later today? what are you up to?

me: oh, you know, ill be sitting around watching lord of the rings, eating corndogs, and wallowing in sadness. so ya, call whenever.

a quick conversation carl and i have about every 6 months. we had it today.

rejoice

so im gonna give you guys some chi street art love about once a week. this week its rejoice

dont know alot about the person. love the work though.

colab with the grocer.....
next to a solve piece....
enjoy...