Tuesday, July 21, 2009

the cosmonauts are coming...


down in melbourne there is a man. that man's name is jeremy geddes, and he makes paintings. but not really. they're much more than that. this is the world on the other side of the looking glass. the world that we see when we sleep and never quite comes into focus. the world that mr. geddes sees much clearer than you or i.

this is heat death. i own it. and by own it, i really mean a print. but i like to think that i owned it the instant i first saw it. because it moved me. it tickled something in the back of my brain that hadn't been touched before. not while i was awake anyways.

falling from grace.


this is where the story really takes flight.
there is another man. another australian for that matter. another man that creates paintings. but not really. he's another man that sees a world that the rest of us pushed out of our brains years ago. replaced with grocery lists and elaborate "fuck you" notes to our bosses. that man's name is ashley wood.

i'm not even going to begin to get into what ash has already done with his toy company 3A... that's for another day.

today is for the cosmonauts.
graceful in their swan dive towards death, and yet frozen in a way
that they might fall forever.

jeremy's series of paintings are being brought to life by ash and 3A.

this is all we have for now.
but it's enough.

jem has been teasing us with box art and preliminary glimpses of what we will soon hold in our hands. these are "rough" for him anyways.
his blog holds all the others.



in my internet walkabout, i stumbled across these amazing images of an exhibit at the national air and space museum. celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. naturally, the first thing i thought of was the geddes cosmonauts. surreal and possessing a feeling so foreign, in a way that things from the past don't normally evoke.

jem is intentionally vague in describing the narrative of his paintings. that being said, i really enjoy the potentially unintentional juxtaposition of a cosmonaut and an astronaut. this exhibit gives us stoic reminders of man's first steps on the moon. while jem gives us cosmonauts falling from the skies, forever grounded to the earth. suspended in, and by their own failure.

jules verne... is that you?

corpses in the mirror.

climb in...

it's only taking you to the fucking moon.

all exhibit images from io9


no date has been set for the release of the 3A cosmonaut,
but know that i will be first in line.
if you've now taken an interest in jeremy's work. read this fantastic interview done by australian edge. he gets a little deeper into his process.

and i will cover ash and 3A sometime soon. promise.

Friday, July 17, 2009

charts and graphs.

in bloody we trust.


file this under: things i wish were mine
that's a ribcage that could absorb a mortar shell.

in full 6' glory.

at night he comes to life and bleeds on your floor.

and we continue the tour past my hairdo from 7th grade...

get trucked.

giant g.i. joe stand.

that is a 1:1 giant of a pain, done of course by coarsetoys. so rare they're almost an urban myth. with only 20-25 of these large extremists in the world, i thought they'd all disappear into the homes of indonesian land barons. but one showed up on crazytoyzlife. 

as you can see, it's in his actual home not some magical german beach. it comes with 3 heads and the subsequent 2 extra busts to display those heads. plus, those blood spots aren't a joke. 

i've no idea what one might pay for one of these guys, as they were available directly from coarse "on special request." i believe that request might have involved some sort of human sacrifice. or at the very least, some black market organ dealings. either way, i'm down. 

swimming buddies picture taken by mark landwehr at timmendorfer beach

Monday, July 13, 2009

artist spotlight: [ chris ryniak ]


chris ryniak will destroy you. or at least your mind.
this man has built quite a name for himself with his 
nightmare fuel paintings.
but here i want to focus on only his custom vinyl. 
which will also destroy you.

nothing is safe when he gets his hands on it. 
piercing glares, corroded teeth, orifices, bone stubs and scars... 
all add up to something quite beautifully disturbing. 

hi-fructose did a fantastic interview 
with chris about his sculpture process.
make sure you read it as well. 
you know, since they actually spoke to him.

this was a gosho until someone fed it after midnight.
how can you go wrong with tiny tusks and a skin mask?
get me a spoon. that stew looks killer.


this slice of skin is actually a plush
and is not actually stuffed with children's nail clippings. 
i hope.


a yoka from the other side.
those nubby clubs look naked without a thick sheen of fresh viscera...


stony bone growth and a butthole? you win mr. ryniak.


a tastier pic of the yoka's disease and rhino skin.


smile. you now won't sleep for a week.

chris doesn't do too many customs, but makes up for it by absolutely killing it every time. if you happen to be lucky enough to own one of his pieces. consider yourself awesome. 


the stance of a champion.

lucky for all of us, chris has begun to explore the world of multiple figures. he's already released muscamoot, which I showed earlier and right above. if you don't have one of these little choads, don't fret. there are more colorways coming. the next drops at sdcc.

and now he's got a collaboration piece 
in the works with jonathan bergeron...
at the gardens of misfortune show this month.

the turd has tentacles!


it's getting good. 
good thing you know.

all the sticky pics of chris' customs courtesy of his flickr.
his paintings are here.
his thoughts are here.
visit them. 

Thursday, July 2, 2009

artist spotlight: [ cris rose ]


cris rose is an artist. 
he creates worlds. gives them purpose. and lets them live. 
this is not a pristine imaginary terrarium. this is gritty and real.

there is nothing sugar-coated about a rampaging guardian ripping apart logging machines with his bare stone hands. "protect all wildlife" used to be a coarsetoys paw. no more.
do not get in his way. there is no off switch.
rusted retribution.


thomas han's pusher is now cris rose's "deconstructor
looks like an assassin, but his directive is good.
stripping parts from defunct robotics is a cakewalk for this little buzzsaw.
just don't call him a butterfly.


seal clubbers beware. "avalanche" has clubs of his own.
this was a ledbetter smash... really. kicks the shit out of the ham fisted monkey.
he may have gone rogue, but his heart is true.
protect all wildlife AND avalanche? is there a noble underground organization deploying these badboys?


a brilliant little slice of time. "the wandering memorial
a neth creature no more. this is the future.
i want to wander the rainy green bits of england when i die.
encased in a majestic caretaker. 
wave hello. say goodbye.

this is only a small sample of the brilliant works of the very busy man. each one has the look of years ground into it, and yet he continues to pump them out. one greater than the next. i love his rusted dented behemoths. and the fact that he gives each one a story only adds to the worn patina. 

i will own a cris rose piece someday. i will.

all of the fantastic shots are courtesy of cris' flickr
if you've got a hot hand, you might be able to grab one of his pieces here

click on the individual piece names to read cris' story for each.


red 5

file this under: things i wish were mine
I used to bullseye womp rats back home...


this used to be a kanser. now it is the shit.
an absolutely killer custom by nikejerk.
you are now on the watch list my friend.
the adaptation is perfect.
but his signature sketchy style is what really put it over the top.
plus the little bastard comes with a customized box,
and a good one at that.

[slow clap]



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