Raghava KK, a world renown cartoonist/ contemporary artist, gave a talk at the recent TED Conference in February. Most known for this larger than life paintings that were done by his hands and his feet, Raghava gives an intimate glimpse into his 5 poignant and substantial marks in his artistic career that went hand-in-hand with his life’s experiences.

Death of Strangers

Flame (Painted with hands and feet!)

Yen

If You…

It’s an endearing talk, different from other TED speakers, because of his nervous giggles and boyish charm. He conquered so much by the age of 18, and continued that momentum well into adulthood and his artwork is representative of that.

If you are in the mood to listen to a great story and possibly be inspired, this is a video you definitely need to watch.

All photos via Raghava KK

PowerShovel, Ltd. and the super cool, New Museum in New York will be teaming up NEXT FRIDAY for an exhibition dedicated to the Digital Harinezumi camera! The name of the exhibition, “Imperfect As They Are” is far from the impressive pedigree of video artists they have lined up to showcase their unique take on their Harinezumi world. Unfortunately, this event is invite only, and for one night, but we are sure some these artists will be posting their videos online after the event, and maybe inspire a new generation of video artists around the world!

Some of the artists being exhibited at this event include:

Agnes B, So Yong Kim, Bruce La Bruce, Harmony Korine, Isabel Coixet, Patrice Leconte, Claire Denis, Albert Maysles, Christopher Doyle, Jonas Mekas, Mount Eerie, Erroll Morris, Charlotte Gainsbourg (!!), Chan-Wook Park (!!), Kim Gordon, Kelly Reichardt, Miranda July (!!) and more…

Here are some of the ethereal videos Vimeo users have captured with their Harinezumi’s:

Play all three at the same time and you have an instant video art installation!

We have only a few more in stock at Poketo.com, so get ‘em while they’re still hot!
Digital Harinezumi

SUPERbrand Surf

SUPERbrand Apparel

Our good friends at SUPERbrand are doing amazing and completely new things for surf culture. Founded in 2008, SUPERbrand stands out from the rest in their unique vision of merging skateboard culture and aesthetic to surfing. Come to think of it, there’s definitely a natural cohesion between the two. We’re so happy to be collaborating with Creative Director and friend, Tony Larson, who was in charge of designing SUPERbrand’s newest and freshest apparel line that is currently previewed on their website.

Pretty rad, right?

Also be on the lookout for future collaborations with Tony Larson and Poketo. We’ll keep this a secret for now, but, it’s part of a bigger project that will be huuuuuge!!

Photo via Ithaca Times Art Blog

On March 1st, OK Go released its RGM video for the single, “This Too Shall Pass” off their newest album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. Known for their outrageous, low-cost, and highly innovate viral music videos, OK Go, surprised us yet again with their collaboration with Synn Labs. The video was shot in a two story Echo Park warehouse and was directed by James Frost. One of the most elaborate and complex Rube Goldberg machines I’ve ever seen…(Didn’t know it had an official name and its own wiki page!)

What an amazing feat.

Even better! There will be an official launch party for OK Go THIS FRIDAY @ LACMA! Tickets are only $20 and can be purchased here.

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting products we think will make your life more interesting.

1. The “Ink” Calendar:

See time pass through the magic of ink! This calendar slowly absorbs the ink, revealing a new number representative of the date.

2. Book themed Bookmarks

Instead of ruining the pages of your book by folding corners, why not use these bookmarks which have been carefully crafted to match the theme of the book. An idea created by Igor “Rogix” Udushlivy.

3. “Crtl + Z” Cards

These super geeky “sorry” cards should “un-do” whatever it is you did.

4. Sudoku Toilet Paper

Toilet paper really doesn’t have that much use for anything else other than wiping bodily fluids. Until I found this! Ingenius! Kills two birds with one stone. Saves paper!

5. Portable Lunch Setting

Designed by Demelza Hill, this portable lunch setting is so cool! But it still hasn’t really addressed the biggest issue of portable eating which is cutting food with a knife and fork. Yes, those utensils are present, but dont you still need to sit down at a table to do that?

All Via Design Fetish

The MAK Center presents How Many Billboards? a public art exhibition that showcases 22 contemporary artists all over Los Angeles. The exhibition which goes from February to March 2010, will also include a reception, public panel discussion with some of the artists, and an open topped bus and bicycle tour that takes visitors on a tour of all 21 billboards around Los Angeles.

By David Lamelas

By Jennifer Bornstein

By Kenneth Anger

By Kerri Tribe

By Yvonne Rainer

Entire list of participating artists include: Kenneth Anger | Michael Asher | Jennifer Bornstein | Eileen Cowin | Christina Fernandez | Ken Gonzales-Day | Renée Green | Kira Lynn Harris | John Knight | David Lamelas | Brandon Lattu | Daniel Joseph Martinez | Kori Newkirk | Yvonne Rainer | Martha Rosler with Josh Neufeld | Allen Ruppersberg | Allan Sekula | Susan Silton | Kerry Tribe | James Welling | Lauren woods

Kimberli Meyer, the Director and master mind behind the installation had always wanted to showcase fine art on billboards, especially in Los Angeles because of its strong presence within the city landscape. And since the recession, this proved to be a boon for Meyer as more billboard space became available.

It’ll be interesting to attend the public panel discussion to see why artists and curators and chosen the locations they did, and what relevance the art had toward that respective part of Los Angeles. All the information, as well as a Google Map of the 21 billboards can be found here!

We’ve been listening to a lot of “Little Dragon” in the studio lately. Yukimi Nagano’s voice, slightly withered, and her soulful falsettos is hauntingly beautiful.

While “Indie” is a total understatement, and would not do their music any justice, they also kind of float in between soul, dance, rock, and reggae. It doesn’t really matter, I’m really just using this blog post as an excuse to show the band’s talent.

Fortune

Twice

I’ve really been digging their older stuff, when it was more soul and r&b inspired:

Constant Surprises

Can’t wait to see them at Coachella!!!

I don’t even know where to start with this post. The videos pretty much speak for themselves. NAKeD COMPAGNIE a motion design company based in Paris that create STUNNING visuals for concerts and live shows. I’ve never seen anything like it. Their strengths definitely lie in their ability to capture the essence of dance music, with technology and visual art. Many of their collaborations so far have been in Europe, but I pray that they do more events in the States, especially at dance clubs.

You bobbed your head a little, didn’t you?