Computerlove™

Le Tigre "Deceptacon"

Timo Wilke did a motion graphics music video for Le Tigre's "Deceptacon".
A very nice graduation project at FH Dortmund, Germany. View on YouTube or in a better quality on T-23 (click "Diplom").

Otaku Magazine: Japanese Horror Issue

Otaku Magazine is a Romanian publication which aims to promote visual artists both national and international.

'Kaidan', is the subject of the latest 4th issue, which Wikipedia describes as follows: "In its broadest sense, kaidan refers to any ghost or horror story, but it has an old-fashioned ring to it that carries the connotation of Edo period Japanese folktales."

Only 100 copies are available for international orders, so if you're interested you'll need to get moving.

Cover by Aya Kato

Sigur Rós' new video [NSFW]

Sigur Rós will be releasing their fifth album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English translation : With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), on June 23rd. The first song from the album entitled Gobbledigook has been unveiled through this pleasant video that is definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Warning: this material contains adult content. By clicking on the link above you are confirming you are over 18.
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Thanx to Egill Harðar for the info.

Let's Talk, Leah Hayes

Boston-bred illustrator Leah Hayes, who's a phenom with a Bic-brand ballpoint pen, enjoys laughing. "I laughed forever the other night, watching these rare Andrew Lloyd Webber music videos," she says. "But actually I was laughing out of happiness, not making fun of them. I love musicals so much." Life isn't all shits and giggles for the 27-year-old, Parsons School of Design graduate though. Thumb through the pages of her graphic novels—2004's Holy Moly and the recently published Funeral of the Heart,—and you'll realize Ms. Hayes has her share of somber days too. But it's the less-than-sunny nature of her graphic novels that makes them so appealing. Hayes' multi-layered illustrations aptly compliment the tales of sadness and woe captured in her diary-meets-sketchbook approach to storytelling.

When she's not feverishly sketching ideas for graphic novels (or watching obscure Andrew Lloyd Weber music videos), Hayes stays busy doing editorial illustrations for publications like The New York Times, McSweeney's, and The Wall Street Journal. She also fronts a rock band called Scary Mansion and has a twin sister named Vanessa, who is, coincidentally, also a singer. We took a minute to chat with Ms. Hayes recently, here's how that conversation played out.

When did you first begin drawing in a serious, career-minded way?

I've always been drawing, and I've always wanted to be an illustrator—I used to read my father's Illustration Annuals obsessively when I was a kid. But I started trying to get jobs when I was 19. I was in college and knocking on the doors of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal between classes. It sounds ambitious, but it was at the expense of my schoolwork I'm afraid.

So were you eager to begin working as an illustrator, or just bored with school?

It was both.

What I enjoy about your ballpoint illustrations is the incredibly distinct feeling and tone they have. What prompted you to use a ballpoint, and can you talk about the advantages and limitations?

I started to use a Bic pen because it is so much like a pencil—the line quality varies greatly, and you can get a super soft fine line, good for cross-hatching. I suspect too that I enjoyed drawing with a tool that is un-erasable. I did it again later with scratchboard. I think I like the recklessness—and stupidity, maybe—of doing something once and not being able to change it.

This idea of permanence related to drawing in pen, would you say it’s helped you develop confidence in your work?

Yes. It’s made me take more risks, in a weird way. Because I always want to do the silly, dangerous thing; the foolish thing. Pen and scratchboard don’t really allow you to make mistakes, so the stakes are higher—I made a lot of mistakes anyway, though.

Your work has been collected in two books published by Fantagraphics, Holy Moly and the recent graphic novel Funeral of the Heart. Can you tell me how your relationship with Fantagraphics came about?

I sent them a cold submission when I had just graduated from college. They were nice enough to read it and give it a chance.

_Holy Moly_ was more of an abstract collection of illustrations threaded together by a loose narrative where Funeral of the Heart is a graphic novel with a defined plot. Can you talk about the difference between the experiences of putting these two books together?

Well, Holy Moly was literally a collection of doodles that I did both during class and at restaurants, and it was a bit like an illustrated diary of what I was going through at the time. It's a really sad book—I can't even look at it now. It makes me so sad. Funeral of the Heart is basically the same thing, but more organized. It's my feelings on certain things, but expressed through metaphor instead of crazy, ranting snails. I'm not sure if one can say that metaphor is a ‘clearer’ way to express an idea, but because of the short-story format it at least gives the illusion of structure.

For future publishing projects, would you be interested in pursuing a more structured approach?

Hmm… no. I look forward to doing another insanely frustrating, confusing, hard-to-read/swallow book.

Your editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, McSweeney's, The Wall Street Journal, and so on. How does contributing artwork to these types of publications differ from say, creating artwork for a graphic novel or more art-minded publication?

Well, I get paid for them, which is helpful. They have also led to some interesting things, too. Every job leads you to something amazing eventually, no matter how small or underpaid.

It’s funny you say that. I’ve had this discussion with so many people, the idea that one opportunity can have this sort of spiderweb effect, leading to so many other opportunities. Can you give me one example of how this has worked in your career?

I drew Holy Moly and had it published, virtually no one bought it, and then one day I got a call from Steven Page from The BareNaked Ladies. He had seen my book in Canada, liked it, and asked me to do the album cover for his next record. That was by far the weirdest career connection that’s ever happened to me.

You also play in a band called Scary Mansion. Can you tell me little bit about the music and what you do in the band?

I started the band a couple of years ago as a solo project, but now I play with a drummer and a bassist. I don't know what to say about the music. I guess it's sort of a musical version of Holy Moly. I have other side projects, too. Lots of little bands.

As a musician too, I see so many similarities between pursuing music and art. I wonder what types of parallels, if any, your experiences have shown you?

I write songs about sadness, dark things, [and so on]. Similar themes to [the] books [and] art I’ve done. I cannot really say what the exact connection is, but I can’t do one without the other.

If you had the opportunity to completely change the trajectory of your life, would you still be an illustrator?

Yes. And also I would have thought to invent cuteoverload.com.

Related links www.leahhayes.com www.fantagraphics.com www.myspace.com/scarymansion www.myspace.com/vanessahayes

Radiation exposure + Sonny J = zombie line dancing

Sonny J's Handsfree (If You Hold My Hand) is the latest from director Eran Creevy via Between The Eyes, London and Sleeper USA.
View it here
Full credits and some words from Creevy
Creevy also directed Utah Saints Something Good 08 a few months back.

Korb.lt

New work up at Rimantas Lukavicius' Korb , including this music video for Mario Basanov & Vidis .

Sea Legs

Sea Legs - A Patagonia and FCD Surfboards Short Film

Patagonia surf ambassadors head to the Indian Ocean to test surfboards and gear, visit local communities and surf as many waves as daylight allows. Belinda Baggs, Mary Osborne, Fletcher Chouinard and Chris, Keith and Dan Malloy join up with Adam Kobayashi and the crew of the Southern Cross for the trip.

Anything Can Happen

Anything Can Happen, the 60sec film takes the viewer on a hyper condensed journey through live action, 3D, animation and hand crafted sequences generating the heart pounding energy of a film title sequence.

SciFi Channel Movie from DixonBaxi

Interpol - Rest My Chemistry by Blip Boutique

When Capitol Music approached Blip Boutique to make a video for Interpol's Rest My Chemistry, they wanted something that was not specifically intended for broadcast, something that was more of an art piece that would live and grow primarily online. Blip Boutique created this abstract piece, what they like to call a "blip", using a new data mapping technology.
Watch at 640 x 480
YouTube
Full credits and a Q&A with Blip Boutique

Maxim Zhestkov : Advanced Beauty

Maxim has uploaded his HD 2:10 film ( audio by Simon Pyke/Freefarm ) for the Advanced Beauty DVD project.

Go for a walk, get inspired

Fi Design is about passion and detailed understanding about how Next-Generation interactive experiences should look, feel and function on the web.

During the Stockholm Design Walk, an organized series of parallel open house events during the ED-Week to be held starting this Thursday in the Swedish capital, Fi will be welcoming guests for a beer (on Friday) or a fresh smoothie (on Saturday) and a chat with the Fantasy Interactive teams about World Design. That or a challenge at a game of Wii!
All interested should register by sending their name and what day they want to attend to julia.nero@f-i.com
Registering translates to 2 tickets for the bar.
Other stops of the Stockholm Design Walk include ACNE,, Fellow designers, North Kingdom, Pangea design, Dolhem design and Stockholm design lab

LO. LOAF. LOEB

For those who don´t already know
LO Recordings – providers of quality esoteric music since 1995.
Don´t miss Cursor Miner if you like electro!
You can also find a few of Non Format designs.
LOAF: Lo Alternative Frequencies – new sonic exploration.
LOEB: Lo Experimental Beats – 12 vinyl excursions.