The Creative Youth Network Online Art Auction

Via CYN

The Creative Youth Network, located in Kingswood, England, near Bristol, is a center for inspiring youth through the arts, and is hosting an online auction of a number of contemporary artists. The Youth Network is a pretty amazing program, and I'm always excited to come across educational and proactive programs that really encourage young people to pursue the arts, and to take it seriously. They are hosting an online auction, and some names in the catalogue are familiar, such as Shepard Fairey and HUSH, and I discovered the photography of Barry Cawston on the Art Action @ The Station online catalogue. The auction opens October 18 and stays open for two weeks.

Even though The Creative Youth Network is located in England, I urge anyone and everyone with even a passing interest in the arts, to think of and support local endeavors that promote the arts to students and young people. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for the arts (and I mean music, drama, creative writing, you name it -- the arts, plural) to be a part of young people's lives. These initiatives need all the support they can get, and even if it's a matter of a suggested donation at a local museum, consider dropping in a dollar. You'd probably over-tip the bartender with it anyway, so put it to good use and keep the arts in schools and keep the doors open for institutions and programs that keep kids creating.

liu bolin.

liu bolin! my latest find. can check out a bunch more of his work here, and a short profile with exhibition history here. the photograph above is entitled graffiti, 2008. his latest work is in a similar fashion: he paints chinese citizens to blend in with their backgrounds. he's only recently been exhibited outside of china, and i only learned about him yesterday. but i got a big kick out of it! and he's worth keeping an eye on. i think it's a cool take on raw photography in this era of digital photographic manipulation and retouching. additionally, he sculpts. and it doesn't take a genius to detect direct chinese political tones in much of it. one such sculpture i like is his bronze burning man 3, 2007, depicting a burning chairman mao statue. i don't think he could have been more clear. worth a look. :)

the storybook wolf by josé luis rodríguez

via the guardian

the guardian just posted a gorgeous and stunning gallery of five photographs that are winners of this year's veolia environment wildlife photographer of the year. the above photo is by josé luis rodríguez of spain, "storybook wolf," which won under the category of animal portraits. there's another photo of a HUGE flock of starlings that took the prize for the black and white category by danny green of the u.k.

the photo up top is so mysterious and exciting; i would hang this in an edgy living space. actually, i would display it anywhere i could. i was hoping i could dig up a little bit more on rodríguez, but i can't seem to find much else, at least at a brief glance.

le fotos

via behance

came across some photography today. this photographer, luca privitera, has a small portfolio on behance.net, and i couldn't help but share. a lot of it is really atmospheric. some is more journalistic, some is more fine art (like above). the above photo is part of a series he titled 'how long a memory?' it's all very mysterious, and some of it very culturally-packed. if that makes any sense whatsoever.. ;)

and while i'm sharing photography, another:

also via behance

kim erlandsen has a couple of collections of architectural photography that i totally dig. these are the kinds of photos i usually take on trips. the symmetry is really fun, and the atmosphere in some of the cityscapes is well-pulled-off. the above photo is from the tokyo collection.

nils jorgensen

nils jorgensen... my friend katie shared this with me just now. i'm totally in love, so i had to share. photos of my favo(u)rite subject -- england! but they are also really, really witty!

not much else to note today, except there was one of those fantastic stormy-skies sunsets tonight where the clouds are thick and dark and heavy, and the sun illuminates them all in these brilliant shades of magenta and orange and violet. mom and i went to downtown appleton to check out "art on the town" (which was kind of... hm.) and the sunset was magnificent.

nat geo photogs for the first time.

via nytimes

this image is a perfect way to end the day: hunting white tail deer with a camera, northern michigan, 1930, but george shiras III. one of 150 vintage images from the national geographic archives that will be on display at the steven kasher gallery in chelsea starting september 17. george shiras III is one of a dozen photographers on display. this totally rules. yes, rules!