Fresh

A while back, I received a polo shirt from my girlfriend for Christmas that was a bit too small.  It was quite the rad polo shirt, so I was bummed to find that they were out of any bigger sizes when I tried to exchange it.  What on earth makes this a “Fresh-worthy” analogy?  Where am I going with this?  Hang in there.

Instead of a bigger polo shirt, I picked up this beautifully-printed, and cleverly presented book on art/street art/graffiti book called Also Known As (back).  It was put out by the talented folks at AKANYC.  Inside the front and back covers there were these stunning, yet subtle patterns that at first glance looked like hyper-decorative Victorian wallpaper tessellation, printed with a matte gloss over them, creating an awesome effect against the heavy gloss stock.  Upon looking closely at the patterns, I noticed that it was far from the traditional patterning.  Among the flourishes, crowbars, switch-blades, bolt-cutters, brass knuckles and 40 oz beer bottles were dispersed in a way that made them look like they belonged there just as much as flowers, fruits and veggies, or other traditional imagery would have (this pattern can be seen in the “Downloads” section of the AKANYC site).  I was blown away, and it would be a while before I saw this artist’s work again.

Today, I stumbled on his work again.  I was checking cpluv after getting back from lunch, and sure enough, Dan Funderburgh relaunched, and had a bunch of work on his site that I had never seen before.  Truly amazing, and dare I say genius work and vision.  He has a pretty incredible eye for symmetry, pattern, and detail, and a knack for the juxtaposition of classical if not antique aesthetics with current, humorous and sometimes dark imagery.  I am very stoked on Funderburgh.  I want some wallpaper for the crib.

Dig in there, make sure to check it all out, and if you still want more, check out the interview also at cpluv.

I am kinda in awe.

That is all—-F-in’ amazing!