Portrait of Ed by Mike O’Meally

A lifelong SoCal native whose work is most closely related to the so-called “SF School” of artists who came to prominence in the late 1990s, skate world legend and underground art phenomenon ED TEMPLETON has been quietly been building a unique and formidable visual legacy through his painting and photography for over a decade now. On the eve of “Map of the Inner War/The Great Gates of Zenith,” his joint show with kindred spirit MATT LEINES at Hollywood’s ROBERTS & TILTON GALLERY this Saturday, where some of his most accomplished work to date will be revealed, we catch up with the beautiful loser to find out what it all means. READ ON: Read the rest of this entry »

Timed to coincide with this week’s epic FRIEZE ART FAIR in London, AARON ROSE will be hosting the UK premier of his “Beautiful Losers” film in collaboration with NIKE SPORTSWEAR at the BFI 52nd LONDON FILM FESTIVAL on Saturday, October 18th, with an encore performance on Tuesday, October 21st. As a special bonus, Mr. Rose will be onhand, along with CHERYL DUNN and RICHARD LIM for a special Q&A session immediately following the premier. For those in or traveling to London, best book seats for the event now by clicking HERE. Party people with energy to spare can also hit the screening afterparty for free by presenting their ticket stub at CORDY HOUSE in shoreditch, where original art by INSA, JAMES JARVIS, CHERYL DUNN, BEN DRURY, WILL BARRAS, and FRENCH will be on display. Don’t sleep…

With today’s closing bid, the recent eBAY auction of a complete set of 15 NIKE SPORTSWEAR special one-off BEAUTIFUL LOSERS Dunk hightops has raised $9,100 to benefit THE CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY, a charity that has been working to improve the lives of disadvantaged children for over 150 years. And remember, though we might be in the midst of a full-blown depression recession right now, there’s always some kids more needy than we’ve ever been. Visit the CAS website now to learn more about how you can help…

We’re of the firm belief that these Geoff McFetridge BLosers moustache Dunks are work $9,100 alone!… 

Beginning today, September 25th, NIKE SPORTSWEAR is auctioning off a complete set of 15 pairs of one-of-a-kind BEAUTIFUL LOSERS Dunk high-tops on eBAY to benefit the venerable CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY. Commemorating the release of the “Beautiful Losers” film directed and produced by head Loser AARON ROSE, the Dunks each feature iconic stills and artful details from the movie itself and were all designed by head Nike Sportswear footwear designer JESSE LEYVA in conjunction with Mr. Rose. Remember, in these times of economic woe, a lot of kids out there have it harder than you ever did so bid aggressively and often. If that weren’t enough to get you motivated, you can sleep easy knowing that this might be the only big sneaker splurge you’ll ever be able to write off when the tax man comes for your head…

The chance to wear Geoff McFetridge’s moustache on your feet should be reason enough for bidding!…

Celebrating the global release of the new “Beautiful Losers” documentary movie, head loser AARON ROSE, in conjunction with NIKE SPORTSWEAR has organized a series of over 30 artist-led “Make Something!” workshops in Tokyo, NYC, San Francisco, and LA. Designed to bring street-level art instruction to disadvantaged urban youth, the roster of instructors includes such youth culture art heroes as Mike Mills, KAWS, Ed Templeton, Eric Elms, Mister Cartoon, Todd James (REAS), Tommy Guerrero, and Geoff McFetridge, to name a few. To date, the NYC program has wrapped up and we’re deep in the cut with inspiring sessions in LA at the MONTALBAN THEATER (where the black & white Geoff McFetridge designed wallpaper has become a de facto coloring book) including Zine Making with Aaron Rose, Film Score with Money Mark, Pom Poms with Jesse Spears, Skate Graphics with Ed Templeton, Sneaker Design with Jesse Leyva, Drawing with Mike Mills, and Movie Posters with Keith Scharwath. More sessions will continue through the fall with highlights including Design with Paul Mittleman, and Tattooing with Mister Cartoon. Meanwhile, PEEP THE RECAP: Read the rest of this entry »

Art buddies Brendan Fowler (editor of ANP Quarterly) and Chris Johanson amid the color field…

WARNING: THIS ENTRY CONTAINS HIPPIE “ARTSPEAK”
Modern abstract/experimental painter CHRIS JOHANSON’s immersive new art environment “Totalities” submerged the downtown art world in a field of vibrating color and deep theory when it opened at DEITCH PROJECTS to much fanfare last week. A member in good standing of the so-called “Beautiful Losers” camp—and its resident intellectual—Johanson has created a show he describes as a “contemporary living installation” through a multi-media construction incorporating paintings, sculpture, installation, and musical performance unlike anything he’s ever attempted before. When the viewer enters the gallery space, a giant checkerboard of skin tones and natural hues dominates their field of vision, representing the colors of the world. They then pass through the artist’s so-called (no laughing now) “natural tunnel” before emerging into a (awesomely-named) “space temple,” which represents a space ship/universal time capsule. All the paintings within are representations of the past, the present and the future, expressing the artist’s thought that time goes on forever in both directions, and stressing the importance of the here and now. Yeah, that’s a lot of wild artspeak for one show, but it’s an exhibition that must be experienced in person to be truly appreciated. Of course a nice dosing prior to entry will greatly enhance the viewing and no doubt make your time spent in the “space capsule” all the more meaningful. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Any true sneakerhead not bidding hard on these Geoff McFetridge specials is a punk, straight-up!…

As we mentioned a few weeks back here on ST, to commemorate the release of the new “Beautiful Losers” film, NIKE SPORTSWEAR created a set of unique Dunk hightops as a collaboration between Nike designer JESSE LEYVA and BLosers director AARON ROSE featuring artwork & stills from the movie via a new high-resolution digital printing technique that must be seen to be believed. Now, to benefit the CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY, the shoes have been made available to the public via an eBay auction, the second half of which—featuring 8 sets of shoes—is underway now (the first set of 8 kix sold for $510 each). For those with deep pockets and a bad sneaker habit, a final auction will take place on Sunday, September 14th for a complete set of 16 pairs of Dunks and limitless bragging rights. And remember, it’s all for the kids, so dig deep, people!…

“We went back to the Beautiful Losers film documentary and pulled frame stills of what we felt were key moments in the narrative. We used these moments to tell the Beautiful Losers story using the shoes as a medium, with the end result being a collection of works of art.” —Aaron Rose.

“When we decided on the concept of using frame stills from the film, we identified an innovative digital printing technique to create this special collection. There are 16 Nike Dunk Hi shoes each telling a different part of the Beautiful Losers story.” —Jesse Leyva

**All Dunks on auction can be viewed in person now in Los Angeles at the Nike Sportswear pop-up store at the Montalban Theater, 1615 Vine (@ Hollywood Blvd).

Eric White (top center) and Jesse Leyva believe the children are our future…

The BEAUTIFUL LOSERS x NIKE SPORTSWEAR official “Make Something!” creative workshop series designed to provide cutting-edge art instruction to disadvantaged urban youth in conjunction with the “Beautiful Losers” international film debut wrapped up its month long run in NYC last weekend with two blowout four-hour seminars: Painting with ERIC WHITE, and sneaker design with JESSE LEYVA. Schooling a diverse array of young urban students on the finer points of putting brush to canvas, Mr White distilled his years of fine art experience into a powerful tutorial that sent the students home with a greatly enhanced skill set and newfound desire to create art with a tool other than a spray paint can. Meanwhile, Nike’s own resident footwear magician Jesse Leyva guided a full house of dedicated young sneakerheads through the finer points of staying fresh-to-death on the blank canvas of a pair of all-white AF1s. Currently, the West Coast “Make Something!” workshop series has just gotten underway in San Francisco and Los Angeles with classes running through early September led by a diverse array of artists including ED TEMPLETON, MISTER CARTOON, GEOFF McFETRIDGE, CLARE ROJAS, ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT, and THOMAS CAMPBELL, among others. PEEP THE NYC RECAP: Read the rest of this entry »