Say what you may about hip-hop and the negativity you think it may embrace but when it came to demonizing crack cocaine and promoting safe sex through condom use there is no other musical subculture that kicked it to the curb. Hip-Hop made sure that you were looked at like a dumb-ass if you didn’t wear a condom and a complete asshole if you smoked crack. Hip-Hop embraced a primal creative release that has since run unparalleled in its impact on a poverty stricken culture.

Illustrator Jason Levesque blesses us regularly with his whimsically sexual, clean-line illustrations. This time around he has jumped off the two dimensional plane and directly into the third via custom painted nesting dolls.  Well done Jason. I love these jawnies.

Designer, art director and hand-crafted model maker, Kyle Bean has pleasantly neutered man’s favorite tools for creating bloodshed and mayhem. Jello Grenades and Birthday Candle Ammo may not be ideal for the goodie bags at your daughters birthday party but Id prefer the dude running the Chucky Cheese ticket-counter to pack a feather-knife than the 3″ Buck knife he has stashed in his boxer lining. Just sayin’.

I haven’t been this excited about a find since Sonny Bono discovered that tree. (just a joke Sonny) Flickr user D.Shelley has blessed us with an absolutely incredible photo set detailing the custom artwork applied to the back panel of WWII bomber jackets. Hand-crafted and war-torn, these jackets set the tone for graffiti-adorned jean jackets of the 80′s. These dudes were seriously bombin‘ shit…. no, seriously.

You remember that video of that chubby Indonesian kid smoking cigarrettes that went viral a little while ago? So did Belgian photographer, Frieke Janssens. The difference between us and her is that she acted on her reaction to the video and put together an incredibly kick-ass photo project titled, “Smoking Kids”. Keep in mind that no actual cigarette product or smoke was involved in the shoot.

Believe it or not this bad boy is the Guiness Record holder as the Largest Caganer. For those unfamiliar with the Spanish custom of the caganer let me enlighten you. He is a dude that typically poops next to the traditional Catalan Christmas nativity scenes. No bullshit. If enormous pooping mountain men in the mall aren’t your thing then maybe a menagerie of miniature pooping politicians, super-heroes or  seasonal snowmen may tickle your dingleberry. Happy Holidays!

Being a notable scientist requires a thin line to be walked between the brilliant and the stone-crazy. This series of illustrations titled,”Science vs. Delirium” by graphic designer Simon Bent give some props to our greatest scientific figures LSD-testing style.

When a double-dip recession looms and unemployment is at a record high what should you invest your money in, you ask? Koala Poop Earings of course. Maybe dangling mammal fecal matter from your ears isn’t really your thing but you would like to display your wealth prominently. Well, I offer you a Tasmanian Devil turd gilded in genuine 23 carat gold leaf embedded in a paperweight, my good sir. Poop for sale, people. Poop for sale.

Yo sculptor Tony Cragg, you actin’ real dicey right now. Really though, the dude is sick with it. CEE-LOOOOOOO!

Working with hammer-formed steel and re-purposed objects Greg Brotherton brings the creepy heat! It’s like Tim Burton and Hieronymus Bosch copulated with a Goodwill donation bin. Pleasant dreams need not apply.

Sometimes doodling can get out of control. Just ask Skeme’s Mom. If Mrs. Skeme has seemingly lost her perspective Jason Sho Green has gone bat-shit crazy! From afar these amazing quilted assemblages of ball point pen marvelings appear to look like well executed portraits. Up close, you have bought yourself a ticket to Doodle World where Robocop pulls a gat on your neck and overweight naked men bask on the clouds in your head. You are killing it with these Jason. Wow.

What the bicuspid, cuzzy?!  Tattoo-able real estate is truly limited on the human body. Since you have already thrown a few Nascars on your back, some bacon and eggs on your head, a MySpace logo on your pubic region, a bong smoking dolphin on your tricep and a Hello Kitty on your tongue - what’s left to ink? Your teeth you imbecile! For a very reasonable fee you can get your crowns sent off to a very pleasant looking young couple who offer the bizarre service of custom tattooing your teeth. Now …

Go big and get small! Anja Markiewicz freaks it with her miniature origami skills. Strange, true and obscurely useful, her mini-skills are major.

Artist José Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros redefines the “happy ending” we have all come to expect watching Disney films. With a smash-n-grab, ecstacy induced, fantasy-turned-reality take on our favorite animated fairy tales, José crushes it with his project entitled, “Disenchanted“. When you wish upon a star….

Humans are obsessed with flight. Ask 10 people what super power they would like to have and half of them will say “flight”. This never made any damn sense to me. After two weeks this “super-power” will turn from exhilarating to just another way to get to work in the morning. Only worse because every other schmuck will be pointing their fingers, gawking at you all day and the other half will be trying to shoot your dumb-ass out of the air. Suddenly you’ll find yourself caged up in some …

One bad-ass fishbowl from the good people at Psalt Design. My fish is going to crap itself… which he does every day anyway.

Color, line and depth are some shit to comprehend when you put your mind to it. Artists leverage these three tools to create illusions when painting or drawing. By layering and playing with color and line we are able to transform a flat surface and guide the viewer into a whole new world.Carnovsky (a Milan based artist/designer duo comprised of Francesco Rugi and Silvia Quintanilla) have created a series of wall installations that tool with our ability to perceive and interact with the RGB color model. I’m a huge fan of …

Never borrow a pen or pencil from me unless you don’t take issue with handling post-nibbled, saliva-coated, nasty-ass pens and pencils. Thankfully Cecilia Felli has stepped in and created a licorice pencil sturdy enough to doodle and tasty enough to chew….if your’e into that kind of thing.  Nom nom nom.

via
 

Sometimes I want to send a box of chocolates, flowers and a pajama-gram to the internet for being so god damn generous. Thank you for this internet. From the bottom of my balls.

What came first? Hitler or his moustache? French artist Alexandre Nicolas tries his hand at uncovering this ancient proverb with his completely captivating series of pop culture fetuses. I’d be lying if I didn’t have my fingers crossed on my daughters born day secretly wishing that a newborn Spider-Man was crowning. Oh well.

Street artist Combo has been KILLING IT on the streets of Paris. His approach is simple. By juxtaposing cartoons with political and pop cultural imagery he makes his mark memorable. Keep up with him on his Flickr site here.

I have joined forces with the man Joe Bruno and Critical Cutz to create a series of instructional videos to teach spray painting and illustration techniques. We are finishing up the first installment showcasing a large format caricature of Biggie Smalls on a wall and the teaser video is ready to roll. Check it out yall. The Bob Ross of can control.

Artist and photographer Alberto Sevesto has made some buzz online with his gripping “ink and water” photography. Never being one to congeal, Alberto has upped the ante by throwing a surfing Lego dude into the mix creating an absolutely awesome photo set of ink surfing. Inkwell Breakwater Tubular.

Art crew Luzinterruptus has put together what they call an “intervention” inviting reflection regarding the forever irreversible use and abuse of nuclear energy. This installation titled “Radioactive Control” was formed at the Dockville Festival in Hamburg as a statement toward the devastation and ensuing paranoia after the escape of radioactive material in Japan.

Remember that time we got wasted in Boston and woke up naked on that pier on the Harbor and that sea monster was rooting around sniffing in your crotch? Me neither. Matthew Buchholz on the other hand may have already constructed an “Alternate History” poster based on the wild night. By slightly augmenting historical posters and redesigning the outcome you may find yourself accidentally pulling a Kent Brockman and hailing allegiance to the Krgyyx.

I’m sure there are quite a few of you out there who canonize the idea of going out under the cover of night, packing an arsenal of spraypaint and getting up as big as you can go. (un)Fortunately the majority of society lacks the gusto, motivation and ethical impartiality to properly pull this off. Lucky day for you! Check out the “Walls Notebook“. A sketchbook with printed pages of ‘clean’ potential urban canvases pulled right off the streets of New York Shitty. I figure the $16.95 plus tax and shipping …

You’ve seen me sweat the hell out of the Levi’s campaign, “We Are All Workers” and rightfully so. Rustbelt heroes that hold the hustle paramount and leverage work ethic as currency. Levi’s has continued to scoop the authentic by teaming up with Portuguese street artist Vhils (who I have also written about here) leveraging their “Go Forth” campaign celebrating the spirit of the modern pioneer.

Graffiti was born from the voiceless demanding to be heard. Feeling small and going big. This incredible stop-motion animation flips the script a bit and shows how getting up can get real small. The unknown creator of this film who only goes by his Vimeo screen name yo man recreated a wall of fame in Munich making Mr. Rogers‘ “Neighborhood of Make-Believe” look like child’s play….. wait….

Leave it to Kidrobot to continuously make shit that I continuously want to waste my money on. Little colorful breakdancing army man dudes?! Don’t you know I’m a grown man trying to live a life that appears to look somewhat mature? Damn you all to hell Kidrobot. I’m shaking my fist right now.

The wife of photographer Dr. Mohamed Babu accidentally spilled some milk outside their home in South India. Ants quickly gathered to sip on some of the spillage when she noticed their bellies turning white. Once Dr. Babu took a look at the buggers transparent bellies filling with milk he caught a rock solid idea. Check out these incredible photos staged in the family’s backyard. By combining food coloring with a paraffin base the drops were able to hold form while being devoured by the ant mob. Take a close look …

When the going gets rough, give the going a camera and let it take self-portraits. Photographer David Slater set his camera down while on a wildlife assignment attracting a light-fingered black macaque. Upon seeing her reflection she accidentally set off the camera taking one of my favorite pictures of the year. I love this monkey right now.

Designing dynamic duo Skrekkøgle have taken the animated cascading bliss of winning solitaire and blazed a three-dimensional version. Can you believe this jawn? They printed out each card, fused each one to foam-core and went to town. A celebration of our championing boredom throughout the 90′s! So sick.

Ad agency Ogilvy & Mather has hooked up a brilliant little campaign for the Japanese plastic model kit company Tamiya. Remember how cool it was to twist and break off each of these plastic model parts? Fuse that feeling with five of the most engaging conspiracy theories in US history and you have something pretty damn cool. The conspiracy theories created were (in order) Roswell, JFK Assassination , Elivs, Marilyn Monroe and the Moon Landing. Sign me up.

I’ve never been a good skater. It looks fun as hell and I can dig the subculture but it never really got into my life like that. Maybe next life. And hopefully the next life still has a Homer Deck for me to get busy on.

Photographer Jonathon Kambouris gets his glossy-on by fusing nail polish designs and ice cream flavor inspired by countries and cultures around the world. I can dig it.

Greece: Pistachio ice cream, fresh chopped pistachios, honey drizzle, lemon peal

India: Mango ice cream, gold and silver sugar crystals, orange peal, cinnamon stick

South Africa: Cinnamon and chocolate ice cream, fudge caramel chocolate toffee, cookie crumble

Japan: Green tea ice cream, black sesame seeds, ginger syrup drizzle, candied ginger

Morocco: Strawberry and lavender ice cream, mixed berries berry syrup drizzle, turmeric …

The opening of the Memorial will be on the 10 year anniversary this September 11, 2011. Major.

German sculptor Oliver Voss has submerged an enormous nude woman into the Binnenalster lake in Hamburg, Germany. What you are seeing is art as marketing in motion. This supersized seductress is an advertisement for British beauty products company Soap & Glory to promote the “art” of bathing. She will be pruning for 10 days before she gets out of the tub allowing her frumpy 50ft husband to use the lake as a urinal.

Damn, just caught word that the King of Style Kase 2 passed away in the Bronx this weekend after a long fight with cancer. Fuck cancer man. This terrible beast has been taking down great people left and right. Cancer is an evil, nasty, ruthless monster and it scares the hell out of me.

Miami graf artist Typoe kills it on the streets both inside and outside the gallery walls. Check out this stand-out piece titled Confetti Death created from a skull and shards of plastic spray-paint caps. Absolutely incredible. I couldn’t dig up an official site for Typoe but click here for his full flickr feed. Enjoy.

HEY LAAAADIES! Don’t say I never gave you anything.