Jon Todd‘s art is chaotic and colorful but every piece seems to have purpose.  Borrowing from many styles Todd has truly crafted something very special and very much his own.  His technique of layering allows for the final product to be quite interesting indeed.  Add to that his dedication to framing each piece with rescued and refinished frames, there is no part of Jon Todd’s art that is not eye catching.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Whitby Ontario – the outskirts of Toronto. I now live and work in Toronto.

What were you like as a child?

I played a lot of basketball and watched a lot of Wrestling (WWF Superstar and Lucha). I was always interested in dinosaurs and fossils, I liked to draw a lot of comic book characters and I liked to watch cooking shows.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an archeologist. I’ve always been interested in old relics and treasures. To do this day I’m always on the look out for new treasures to add to my collection and interesting old frames for my art pieces.

What cultures have influenced your work?  What stories or legends?

My artwork is influenced by many cultures but the following three tend to stand out in most pieces.

Mexican – the Lucha libre culture, the colours and patterns, the Day of the Dead celebration.

Japanese – Yurei in Japanese folklore, Samurais and Geishas.

Russian – prison tattoos and the way a life story can be symbolically illustrated on a person’s body.

Tell us about the difference between Panel and Masonite when using acrylic paint.

I use wood panel when I really want to distress my work. It is a more forgiving surface. It’s able to withstand my belt sander, knives, and chisels. I tend to use panel for more of my installation pieces.

I use clayboard masonite for most of my fine art work. Its smooth for painting, great for etching, great for the absorption of stains and glazes and it is very archival.

How does your approach differ when you are making a painting compared to a frame?

I don’t make the frames for my pieces but they are a very important part. I get most of my frames from Romania and Eastern Europe. They are art pieces in themselves. For the most part they are hand carved but in pretty rough condition. My dad does restoration work on most of my frames.

I have a full storage cabinet of unique frames.  Once I have my ideas and colours figured out for a new piece I choose a frame that best compliments it.

If you could be any of your paintings, which would you be?

“Tower of Babel” because it is a self-portrait and all of the tattoos symbolize something from my life.

How much does your work change when it is translated from your mind to real life?

My paintings are always evolving, from the original idea to the final piece. I always have more than one piece on the go at a time. I like to step away from a piece for awhile and then come back with a fresh mind.

What does your use of color say about your personality?

The dark colours are a medium for me to get out my frustrations, angers and issues. The lighter colours show my hope and optimism.

I like to always pair dark imagery with lighter colours so that the viewer sees a beautiful image despite the heavy subject matter.

What are some of your favorite color pairings?  Why do they work so well together?

I’m a big fan of seafoam green. I like to pair it with orange and gold.  These pairings really explode from a black background.

Where do you find inspiration?

I’m big into German Expressionism these days – namely Otto Dix. I really like his post WWI portraitures.

What does it feel like to sell one of your pieces?  What did you feel when you sold “The Coal Man”?

It feels great when I get paid – sometimes I get paid in Tattoos, food and bar tabs!

I actually traded “The Coal Man” with a client for a Fred Stonehouse original painting – ones of my favorites in my art collection.

Name three mentors/inspirations.  How have they affected you personally?  How have they affected your work?

There are a definitely a lot of people who have inspired me over the years but here are three.

Harvey Chan – He was my instructor at Sheridan College and now a great friend. He is a talented artist and really helped me to develop my style.

Jean Labourdette – He is one of my favourite artists and also a great friend. He inspires me to become a better painter.

Bill Todd – my father. He has always supported my art career. He is always there to help frame, to restore frames and to help with installations.

What are you working on currently?  What is next for you?  What do you want to have finished by the end of the 2012?

My plan for 2012 is to complete a series of work called “Troll”. It will be a collection of grotesque oversized portraits.

What was the best meal you had this week?

My homemade lasagna- it is pretty good!

http://www.jontodd.ca/

Geoff Lilleman‘s and Minivegas‘ joint efforts have generated the three-dimensional web GL interactive music video Waxflatter. Awesome tune by Fabrizio Greco. A very intelligent and beautifully constructed intersection of visuals, audio, and viewer involvement. Deeply thoughtful background info as follows:

“Fabrizio Greco’s new composition is named after a much beloved film character and is realized by using musical analitical data extracted from photographs that evocate memories of the village he grew up in.

The images of Chernobyl narrate a vision of a lost city, alive with micro organisms, animated by the squeaking of derelict carousels and entraped in silence and empty squares, where many lay the signs of a nuclear disaster.The author imagines himself as Waxflatter, the scientist in Barry Levinson’s film, and travels within different landscapes that fuse non places with melancholic memories of his own lands.

As the acoustic carpet trips within a vortex of echoes we find ourselves confronted with a crossroad; we are then suspended in mid air with our feet glued down in cement. From then on the journey continues in a tranquil mood slightly overshadowed by the unpredictable and inevitable future that is to come.

The memories of laboratories and industries that chocke the green of that fertile land suddenly hit us; hence the sounds become more acid, louder and heavier reminding us of the very machinery that is the culprit

A surreal staccato brings us amidst train and then coach tracks, at who’s guide are phantoms of the past that soften the atmosphere with folk guitars. Next we are transported in a forest that in the author’s mind represents both stupor for the marvellous and melancholy for the time been.

At this point we feel fire under our feet that forces us once again to choose which path to take at the crossroad we have previuosally encountered. Desert and glacial-like sounds allow us to communicate with our most inner selves where we discover the mountain and its animals. Next the sound of an abandoned ski resort brings us back to a space inhabited by others. We listen to the snowflakes falling, the sound of a chairlift is fused with that of a subway.

Once again we are confronted with the crossroad: shall we go up or down? It is in this very instant that the skilift brings us to the mountain hut, where childhood memories and dreams came to life, where all music was listened to, from violins to violas.”

Best played with a web GL like Google Chrome, but check out the playback video embedded down below!

Waxflatter, 2012
Geoff Lilleman and Minivegas
Fabrizio Greco

Hailing out of Poland, Justyna Neryng was featured back in July 2010, and it’s about time that we brought her back for a second look! Neryng is currently based out of Brighton & Hove, UK.

“Perhaps the most evocative of her works are her exquisitely emotive self-portraits that seem to carry the dark spirit of the forest from her childhood as well as potently baring the scares of modern womanhood. They show vulnerability and intimate eroticism as well as a deep sense of isolation and alienation.”

http://justynaneryng.co.uk
http://justynaneryng.blogspot.co.uk

http://www.sing-g.net

Elena // Eлeна, is the latest feature from powerhouse Russian filmmaker Andrei Zvygaintsev that chillingly recontextualizes the phrase “family first.” A slow-burn of a crime thriller that corners its female protagonist into executing a plan of deceit, love, and betrayal. More detailed synopsis can be read as follows (via Cannes 2011):

“Elena and Vladimir are an older couple, they come from different backgrounds. Vladimir is a wealthy and cold man, Elena comes from a modest milieu and is a docile wife. They have met late in life and each one has children from previous marriages.

Elena’s son is unemployed, unable to support his own family and he is constantly asking Elena for money. Vladimir’s daughter is a careless young woman who has a distant relationship with her father.

A heart attack puts Vladimir in hospital, where he realizes that his remaining time is limited. A brief but somehow tender reunion with his daughter leads him to make an important decision: she will be the only heiress of his wealth. Back home he announces it to Elena. Her hopes to financially help her son suddenly vanish.

The shy and submissive housewife then comes up with a plan to give her son and grandchildren a real chance in life.”

Watch the plot unfold in the trailer down below.

Elena // Eлeна, 2011

Takeshi Suga is a Japanese photographer who has been working out of the UK for a number of years now, but is currently back in his home country shooting away. Suga carefully utilizes light and color in his work to carefully conjure up dream-like images that evoke feelings of “nostalgia, sentimentality, euphoria, and loneliness.”

http://sugarcrisp.viewbook.com
http://flickr.com/people/sugarcrisp

Angela Grossman is a Canadian artist who uses photographs, discarded materials, and paint to create intricate collages, graphic and gripping, with a forceful social narrative.

http://www.angelagrossmann.com/

http://hzone.com/artists/2010/kim-hee-soo/

Justin Cherry‘s work is the stuff of dreams, of nightmares and of everything in between.  It is mystical and fantastic.  It draws you in with an eerie sense that you’ve passed into a place that is haunted, but it’s so tempting to keep going.  Drawing on lore and myth for inspiration Justin crafts his art from the land of Southern California.  Read his words and go deeper:

Introduce yourself.

My name is Justin Cherry.  I’m an artist currently living in Southern California.  By day I work in videogames as an Art Director; by night I am a steward of the gloom.

Where was your favorite place growing up?

My favorite place growing up were the woods near my friend’s house. I spent many hours pretending to have special powers, building tree forts, and writing stories about our activities.

How do you decide that a piece is finished?  Have you ever gone back to a piece after you thought you were done with it?

Haha, a piece is finished when I’m sick of looking at it!  Often, I will be mentally done with it long before I have gotten anywhere near actually finishing it. This is usually because the aspect that I was looking to portray in the image is already “done” or “has passed” in my head.  Finishing pictures is just a lesson in patience for me.  I have not gone back and edited a piece that was finished, unless it was for the purposes of color correction for print.

What is your favorite of your pieces and why?

Well, this is a tough question.  I’d probably have to go with “The Opera Tree”.  Even though I don’t think the technique in the image is particularly great, I do think that the soul of the picture is intriguing.  If I were to redo any image, I’d pick that one.

Tell us about “The Walkers”.  Where did you get the idea?

“The Walkers” is self portrait of sorts.  I was feeling particularly feeble and disgusted with myself at that point in my life — like a mundane King of the Damned.  The image represents those aspects of me; the small inept hands trying to clean up vomit of good intended words that come out as flowers and blood, etc.

What media do you use?  What media have you experimented with?  How did you decide to settle on the media you currently employ?

I use pencil and paper for the initial sketch (Strathmore pads, Berol Mirado pencils) and then Photoshop for the “painting” process.  When I was younger I was enthralled with oil paints, and as a personal pleasure I will do that from time to time.  However, my “go-to” media is Photoshop; it’s quick, clean, and super fast to iterate with.

How have you matured, personally and artistically, since you first decided you wanted to be an artist?

Of course!  I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was 5 or 6.  So inevitably my art has grown up with me.  I’d say for anyone who really does art as a passion, it always will.  Art is a representation of one’s ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and personality – which evolve over time.

What is your favorite animal to paint and why?

Interestingly enough I haven’t painted the same animal repeatedly in my images.  I like wolves, sea animals, and birds, but I really like the aspects of them that tie them to this world at an ancient state. Like a primal memory – not necessarily the animal itself, or how we’ve changed what it means socially.

What myths, legends or stories have influenced your work?

My work is all about myths, legends, and dreams, so I’ve drawn inspiration from a variety of sources.  Mainly, the books of the dead (Celtic, Tibetan, and Egyptian), books about demonology (African, Christian (Goetia), and Hindu), poetry/spirituality (Rumi, Osho), and also creation stories (Poetic Edda, The Veda).

What artists have influenced you?  If you could only chose one to spend a month with who would it be and why?

Eiko Ishioka was my greatest influence.  I saw Bram Stoker’s Dracula when I was about 11 or so and I fell in love with her designs.  My mom had the costume book by Eiko Ishioka and I used to look at it and draw.  I was really sad to find out that she died recently.  It was like having a great teacher or mentor pass away.  I think though, if I were to choose to spend a month with someone I would pick Rumi or Osho.  They had such an amazing view of the world that it would be awesome to just listen to them talk.

By the end of 2012 what do you hope to have finished?

I really want to more prolific with my personal art.  For the last 5 years I’ve done very little art. Like, shamefully very little.  My mental tone has been shifting recently and I am excited to show this new direction.

Who is your alter ego?

Kangmin Kim‘s impressive blend of animation and stop motion, along with his exceptional collaborative work with frequent partner-in-design-crime Seulhwa Eum, leaves my eyes begging for more. Their latest entry entitled 38-39°C regales the hypnotic memories of one Korean man’s trip to a local bathhouse. Read more official short details as follows:

“38-39˚C gives us the blueprint of a relationship between a father and son inside the dream the protagonist experiences while under the spell of the elevated temperatures of a bathhouse. Thick sheets of paper in exquisite arrangement represent the two men who are linked by their identical birthmarks, yet cannot seem to look at each other.”

Check out the two video embeds, the full short and the making-of, down at the bottom of the page!

Complete stream for 38-39°C.

Also watch the making of 38-39°C.

38-39°C, 2011
Kangmin Kim
Seulhwa Eum