New face, old problems… 

The stunning political depravity of the past eight years in this country has spawned an equally stunning lack of political art, a fact not lost on LA artist ROBBIE CONAL, a veteran of both street art (before it even had a name) and the gallery world. A renowned painter with a lengthy teaching career at SoCal institutions like USC, UCLA and Otis College of Art and Design, Conal’s work was first thrust upon the public consciousness nearly 30 years ago when he began illegally bombing the walls of Hollywood with posters bearing the images of his overtly political paintings attacking such then-newsworthy bad guys as Oliver North, Jesse Helms, and Ronald Reagan. In the process, he inadvertently inspired a generation of followers to come and set a precedent for modern public political imagery. Currently, at Santa Monica’s venerable TRACK 16 gallery, a career retrospective—with absolutely stunning timing, we might add—with over 100 of the artist’s most important paintings and drawings titled “No Spitting, No Kidding,” is on display and should be considered an absolute must-see show before its closure after the elections next month on the 22nd of November. For those in need of more background on Mr. Conal, have a look at the LA TIMES‘ recent article on the man and his method HERE. Meanwhile, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Detroit’s resident bad-ass painter noir GLENN BARR is well on his way to putting the finishing touches on the prototype sculpt for the forthcoming bronze edition of his “Happiness” painting that will be released in a limited edition of 15 early next year. No word on pricing or availability yet, but stay tuned to ST for the full lowdown as the time draws near…

For dedicated punk fashion fetishists, London was the place to be today when CHRISTIE’S auction house raised nearly $500,000 USD in sales at their “Resurrection: Avant-Garde Fashion” auction that featured an impressive array of the most coveted punk threads from MALCOLM McLAREN & VIVENNE WESTWOOD’s “Sex” and “Seditionaries” lines. Made famous by the Sex Pistols and named after the shop owned by the pair (it was named both “Sex” and “Seditionaries” at different points in the 1970s), the lines represented the most avant-garde edge of punk fashion and incited great scrutiny and derision in mainstream culture and high-end fashion circles when they were introduced. McClaren, of course, would become best-known as the ultimate boy band architect for his assemblage and management of the Sex Pistols, while Westwood went on to be regarded as the reigning radical of British fashion. Because of the extreme scarcity of original garments produced by the pair (punks tended to wear them to shreds, after all) an extraordinary amount of fakes have been circulated in recent years, and even made their way into Damien Hirst’s private collection. Only time will tell if these recent offerings stand the test of time. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Prince’s new kix, size men’s 5… 

It’s safe to say that we at Supertouch have a serious shoe fetish, but it’s not often that we get to legitimately obsess over women’s kix. The recent release of this sculptural pair of asymmetrical heels by London-based Iraqi modern architect ZAHA HADID for the little-known Brasilian eco shoe company MELISSA, however, proved to be just such an occasion, and stopped us in our tracks and made us stare just a little too long. And a model wasn’t even wearing them. To celebrate the collaboration, Melissa has created a massive pair of the shoes as sculpture currently on display in their flagship boutique in Sao Paulo. Marc Newson, we expect your response in shoe form within six months. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Yeah, you read that correctly. Last week a newly reunited, totally OG lineup of legendary LA band JANE’S ADDITION played the hipster hotspot LA CITA as part of DANCERIGHT for a capacity crowd of 200 lucky fans. Joining the band for the first time since their breakup in 1991 was founding bassist Eric Avery whose role had been filled by Flea and Mike Watt in previous reunions. Playing a set that drew heavily on the band’s earliest material including several songs from the first live album “xxx,” including “Whores,” “Trip Away,” and “One Percent,” the quartet gave the kids a glimpse of the fury that was once the most formidable and influential band of its era. A straight-ahead Mexican cantina during the week, La Cita’s innate “Tijuana Modern” decor provided the perfect backdrop for the boys, with Christmas lights and religious iconography straight from the “Ritual de lo Habitual” aesthetic playbook. Of course Danceright mainstay SHEPARD FAIREY warmed up the crowd as “DJ Diabetic,” and provided the highly coveted poster art for the gig. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Perfect timing for an R. CRUMB peacenik tattoo. And yes, that is an arm…

Insert your own “dust in the wind” joke here…

We gotta admit it, we’re big fans of dust art. From the ubiquitous “Wash Me” signs to the “Dusty Willie” masterpiece you see here by an anonymous dust painter in AUSTIN last week. What better excuse is there not to wash the whip?

From this year’s upcoming “Treehouse of Horrors” Halloween special…