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To celebrate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 30th anniversary (and to promote the new TMNT movie, of course), Gallery Nucleus invited 30 artists to pay tribute to the iconic franchise by creating original TMNT-inspired fan art. Although the exhibition is obviously one big Nickelodeon sponsored marketing promotion, let’s ignore that for a second and focus on just the art. Tons of great artists participated, including Sachin Teng, Jim Mahfood, Dan Duncan, Micah Gunnell, Natalie Hall, and more. Most of the pieces have already been sold, but there are still a few more $1,000 pieces of Michelangelo available to buy for the spoiled rich kid in your life (you). |
| Recommended by The Absolute Staff | Monday, July 21st, 2014 | No Comments » |
Rock trio Eternal Summers often gets grouped with fellow labelmates Bleeding Rainbow, but Eternal Summers has always been the least abrasive of the two. Harnessing a mixture of post-punk [insert word here]-wave and shoegaze, the sound of Eternal Summers’ new album The Drop Beneath isn’t a drastic departure from what they’re used to. However, lead single “Gouge” shows off their more delicate side. Released earlier this year, the song is like a more nostalgic sounding Asobi Seksu. And the Lurid Pictures-produced video echoes that same teenage nostalgia feeling Eternal Summers has perfected. Their single/music video for “A Burial” is more recent, but for new listeners, “Gouge” gives a better first impression.
| Recommended by Tiffany White | Monday, July 21st, 2014 | No Comments » |
Holly McQueen’s new novel Charlie Glass’s Slippers is a modern retelling of Cinderella. I love reinvented fairy tales with mermaids , other reinvented fairy tales with Tumblr, and other reimagined fairy tales with the Charleston, so I was excited about it. Charlie is the daughter of famous, if deeply troubled, shoe designer Elroy Glass, and she always seems to end up serving her more attractive half-sisters and their evil mother. When her father dies, he surprises everyone by leaving the family company to Charlie.
The chicklit standard of a heroine losing massive weight and finding herself isn’t my favorite plotline of all time, but it really works here as a Cinderella transformation. Newly hot Charlie has two princes, Ferdy, the sweet boy-next-door who’s been into her the whole time and Jay, a wealthy and handsome playboy. So much to enjoy here. (Editor’s Note: TONS of spoilers ahead.)
| Recommended by Meg Stivison | Monday, July 21st, 2014 | No Comments » |
The legendary video artist Nam June Paik‘s Global Groove is a music video that comes with this introduction: “This is a glimpse of a video landscape of tomorrow when you will be able to switch on any TV station on the earth and TV guides will be as fat as the Manhattan telephone book.” The honest truth is that it looks more like tripped-out public access television from the ’80s and ’90s than anything you’d see today, but I guess that technically still counts as predicting the future, right? Either way, enjoy some light-hearted retro-futurism to kick off the week.
| Recommended by Anwar Batte | Monday, July 21st, 2014 | No Comments » |
Artist Kyle Bryant is in love with Barcelona. The Maine native has always been in awe of Barcelona’s exotic, gothic architecture, and his new project, “Bryant’s Cultural Narrative” or “BCN” for short (the acronym for the city of Barcelona), is an homage to the city’s beauty and its quirks. The project involves creating 12 prints in 12 months, with six prints made so far. Created via woodcut / linocut hand printing, each piece is a bold and vibrant declaration of Barcelona’s culture. From eccentric characters to skateboarding street culture to coffee addicts, Bryant’s work combines both the old and new aspects of the city, creating a fully dimensional portrayal of all the things that make Barcelona unique. To see him in action, check out this video where he talks more about the project and shows how he makes his prints.
| Recommended by The Absolute Staff | Friday, July 18th, 2014 | No Comments » |
Sette Frummagem has a job to do. Tasked by her crime boss father to find and demand payment from her mysterious cousin Stockyard, Sette must cross into a country on the brink of war, avoid confrontations with Peaceguards and bandits alike, and prove herself a worthy heir to her father, all while keeping a morose zombie companion in tow. And that’s just the beginning of the strange and engrossing story that is Unsounded.
| Recommended by Marie Anello | Friday, July 18th, 2014 | No Comments » |
I loved her but she was a zombie. So I put her safe in a cage.
It’s a love story about a guy, his zombie girlfriend, and his desire to keep her safe even when she tries to eat him. It might sound like a dark, depressing premise but I saw her standing there is a hopeful and even optimistic platformer set to a twangy acoustic guitar soundtrack that lends it a strangely…romantic air. Standing in your way are other zombies. Encountering them means death. Leading your zombie girlfriend to them results in a broken heart–which is proof enough that she loves you too, I suppose. Get your zombie girlfriend to chase you and trap her in a cage so that the two of you can be together safely. Watch out though–she likes to escape and chase after you again.
Short (but not always easy), sweet, and simple, I saw her standing there is a story in which love conquers all…so long as you can conquer the zombies first.
| Recommended by Melody Lee | Friday, July 18th, 2014 | No Comments » |
