For all you museum-going New Yorkers, the always glorious Metropolitan Museum of Art has an exhibit called “Playing with Pictures: the Art of Victorian Photocollage.” Previously, the invention of collage had vaguely been attributed to the likes of Braque and Picasso, but this exhibit suggests that collage had been practiced some 60 years earlier, in large part by aristocratic Victorian women.

These aren’t just the works of casual hobbyists, however. These women artists have cut, gouached, watercolored, and glued some seriously compelling works of art.

These photocollages appear to be a precursor to some of the pop surrealist trends seen in contemporary illustration today.

The NY Times has posted a review of the show, where non-New-Yorkers can view a slideshow of the exhibit.

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

Just saw these pics last night and it blew my mind away. On Thursday night, Animal Collective, along with Danny Perez (their visual mastermind), transformed the entire Guggenheim Museum in New York into an audio/video art installation. No, there wasn’t a live performance but band members Avey Tare, Deakin and Geologist were there (no Panda Bear). I also read that there was an impromptu 11PM group scream. ow!

photos by Rez Avissar

Los Desperados Art Banditos is a posse comprised of artists, musicians, surfers, skaters, and more importantly, they are a tight knit group of friends making rad stuff. Headed up by my brother, Tom Vadakan, he has rounded up bandits like skater Ray Barbee, surfboard shaper Dano Forte, artists BigToe, Candy, Miles Thompson, Greg Landers, and Will Barton. They will be launching their first group show on March 6th at Shelter Surf Shop in Long Beach. They’ll be exhibiting new work and a live music set by Ray Barbee and Dano Forte. Here are some music videos they’ve been putting together, find out more at LosDesperadosArtBanditos.com.

Here is the official trailer for the show this Saturday.

Last summer we threw a benefit art auction for our dear friend Justin Van Hoy, from THIS Gallery, who was battling cancer. The night, as many of you recall, was a huge success, as Poketo along with 40 other artists raised $11,000+ for him.

We are happy to announce that tomorrow, will be the opening day/ reception of THIS Gallery in Highland Park from 7-10 PM. Expect nothing less than AWESOME. Just looking at the roster of artsits involved gets me excited.

Many of the artists involved in the show have also worked with Poketo in the past including Mel Kadel, Chris Bettig, Travis Millard, and Amanda Vissel to name a few. With such an inspiring gallery/ music/ community space like THIS in Highland Park, Justin and crew are inspiring examples of how art can be more of a collaborative/ neighborhood endeavor, and how diseases like cancer is merely a bump in the road when a vision as strong as THIS is too awesome to be ignored.

Hope to see you guys there!

THIS Los Angeles Gallery
5906 North Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90042
7-10 PM

Not not our Ted. The TED Conference 2010!

Yesterday marked Day 1 of the four-day conference that is happening at this moment in Long Beach and Palm Springs. This year TED has really reached out to some big-name celebs like comedian Sarah Silverman, TED Prize winner, chef, and activist, Jamie Oliver, and most surprising….director James Cameron! It will be interesting to see what words of “wisdom” Cameron will share with the world, but it’ll definitely be worth watching.

But while the rest of the general public will have to wait for these talks to be posted on TED.com, there are a ton of other videos updated daily to ensure that no one is denied access to participate in intellectual and inspiring conversations with some of the brightest minds in the world. Here’s a video that blew me away the other day. Architect student extraordinaire, Magnus Larsson and his idea on creating visually striking sand dunes in desert areas. This not only is an innovative way of using sand, but more importantly, an opportunity to create thriving communities in increasingly desolate deserts around the world.

Oh the possibilities! Free your minds!

As far as I know, this was the first art walk of its kind for Echo Park. Our good friends Heather and Marc Mertens put this together. Got to visit some amazing studios, the most memorable being sculptor Peter Shire. You probably know his brother, Billy Shire of Soap Plant Wacko and his gallery here in LA.

Peter has been an Angeleno native, specifically Echo Park since childhood. His studio is massive, over 10,000 square feet, complete with every tool imaginable, sculptures all over the place, and a library of design books. Here is Peter Shire and his wife, Donna Shire.

We picked up some of these ceramic cups from Peter’s studio, each one splattered with rad colors, all one of a kind.

Also got to meet Ricky Kim of Evil Monito. We have corresponded via email years back, when Poketo first started in 2003. At the time, Ricky sent me his rad toy he created with AdFunture and we sent him some wallets. Crazy how it took 6 years to finally meet, super cool guy.

The Grill ‘Em All truck was out front. Probably the best looking truck and logo I’ve seen yet. They make burgers.

Mr. Marc Mertens, one of the brains behind the walk.

Visit Echo Park!

Come celebrate opening night with The Wild Up Modern Music Collective–a 24-man group of musicians coming together to create a unique atmosphere of art and music. Tonight’s premiere will be a progression of classical music to present-day with a program consisting of J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Igor Stravinsky – Dumbarton Oaks, and John Adams – Chamber Symphony and a few outstanding orchestrations of Radiohead, by Joshua Bornfield.

Here’s a little taste of Joshua Bornfield’s beautiful music doing his acoustic rendition of Villa-Lobos Prelude No. 5:

What an awesome way to make classical music relevant and interesting again. I’ll be there tonight. It should be a perfect ending to your hectic week!