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Pop Chart Lab – The Vocations of Heroes & Villains

Pop Chart Lab imagines business cards of comic book superhero & villain alter egos

Pop Chart Lab: LOVE! This awesome print imagines the business cards of famed comic alter-egos, from Clark Kent to Tony Stark to ‘The Bruces’ both Banner and Wayne – as well as a slew of notable CEOs notably Green Arrow and Green Goblin, mallet-wielding psychiatrists like Harley Quinn, and patriotic military personnel including Captain America and War Machine. The credentials of over 30 secret identities are featured here – all beautifully designed and hand-illustrated – to form a brave, bold, and business-casual rolodex that makes for an uncanny addition to your wall. Each print is signed and numbered by the artists from a first printing of 500, and comes packaged in a Pop Chart Lab Test Tube. Finishing options include print with hanging rails, print mounted on a panel or simple framing available in white, black, oak or walnut. Also note that framed prints require an additional 3-4 business days of processing time from the date of order. Using 100 lb. archival stock certified by The Forest Stewardship Council, this fantastic poster is pressed on an offset lithographic press with vegetable-based inks in Long Island City, Queens. Not to mention for $29, its an absolute bargain! This is a ‘Want, Love, Need’ with some ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ thrown in for good measure.

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Natalie Shau – Lost in Wonderland

Natalie Shau's dark, strange and surreal world

Below are a selection of the latest creations by Natalie Shau, a photographer, artist and graphic designer who combines illustrations and photographs to lead us into a dark, strange and surreal world populated with beautiful creatures. Natalie Shau is a mixed media artist and photographer based in Vilnius, Lithuania who has an amazing talent in fashion and portrait photography as well as digital illustration and photo art. Coupled with her personal work, Natalie also creates artwork and photography for musicians, the theatre, fashion magazines, writers and advertisements. Her specialties include digital art, painting, CD artwork, photo manipulation, book covers, illustration, CD design, collage, digital painting, art direction, production design, advertising and fashion photography. Her digital masterpieces have graced the pages of French Vogue during a Lydia Courteille jewellery campaign and her extensive client list of music labels includes Island Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Century Media, and Nuclear Blast. Gothic horror fiction, fairy tales and Russian classics (e.g. Dostoevsky and Gogol) are among the influences she lists for her surreal and strange creations. Natalie Shau uses a range of media, mixing photography, digital painting and 3D and the quality she seeks is “at once fragile and powerful”. “My works are digital mixed media. I mix photography, 3D elements, vector elements and digital drawing. I also enjoy creating surreal and fashion photography. My photography and digital works are often surreal portraits of women; however, I love portraying animals sometimes.” Natalie Shau regards her works as ‘pretty motionless and doll-like’, but they express the burden of waiting, and the inner conflict that boils within the characters. You can sense this in their expressions or in some contradictory elements or symbols hidden in the work. When questioned whether there is a reason that most of her illustrations and images are of women, Shau notes that she does not choose her characters, they choose her – she’s unable to explain how this happens. Her influences are many however Alexander McQueen, Eiko Ishioka, Trevor Brown are amongst them. Describing her creative process, Shau reveals “I have a flash of an idea or vision and, after exploring it in my mind, I try to sketch it and see if I can express it. I collect all the materials I need for that, take portraits, photograph elements, find any elements needed, and then I start working on a piece.” Take a look at Natalie Shau’s beautiful work below and be sure to visit her website:

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Milo Greene – The Most Epic Lies of all Time

Milo Greene's 'Lie to Me' Mash-up Vid is our Track of the Day

Milo Greene: Everyone loves a good lie – or rather, uncovering one. It’s newsworthy, it’s scandalous and it’s hard to look away. So it’s only fitting that, to visualise their song ‘Lie to Me’, indie-electro quartet Milo Greene created a mash-up of some of the most monumental lies and scandals throughout history, particularly in the pop culture realm. From Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa and Joe Giudice’s assorted crimes to Bill Clinton’s infamous statement, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” this video, contains some particularly cringe-worthy material. If you haven’t heard of Milo Greene before, know that: A. It’s a not a singular person named Milo, it’s a band; and B. It isn’t your average band. Each member of the quartet — Graham FinkMarlana SheetzRobbie Arnett and Andrew Heringer  – is a distinct songwriter and vocal duties alternate. Accordingly, Milo Greene’s sound is as varied and ever-changing as their non-defined roles. “The sound has evolved, but this band is the four of us as writers and singers,” says Fink. “It’s very centered both on our vocal presences and our identities as writers. We come from different perspectives, so that cross-section is what makes us distinct from what we would be as individuals. It’s the sum-of-the-parts thing.” The band describe their sound by explaining, “Originally when we started this band we wanted to create music that we could potentially see being placed in movies and TV,” says singer/multi-instrumentalist Sheetz. “We really love scoring and that’s how we wanted the music to sound. Very cinematic – which is kind of why we like to call it cinematic-pop.” Milo Greene is the name of a fictitious booking agent, a persona created by the band to help them get gigs in the early days of playing shows. The band describes Milo’s identity: “He’s British. He wears a three-piece-suit. He wears a monocle. He’s albino. He has chops, sideburns. He’s confident, charming, well-read, well-spoken. He’s a gentleman, the kind of guy we all aspire to be.” The band decided to keep the name of their fictitious booking agent for the group. This completely collaborative and unconventionally structured band is making waves so check them out. Milo Greene’s new album Control was released in January 2015 and is available now.

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Horror Movie Bow Ties

Be dressed to kill in a stylishly scary bow tie

Horror Movie Bow Ties: So we stumbled across these awesome Horror Movie Bow Ties on Etsy by the very talented ‘The Vintage Beau‘ who specialise in hand crafted bow ties made from vintage, themed, and reclaimed fabrics.

The Shining inspired adjustable with chocolate brown strap

The Shining Bow Tie

Here’s Johnny!!! The Shining inspired pre-tied bow tie will be the perfect addition to your wardrobe or horror collection. First date, a wedding, being a hotel caretaker for the winter… this bow tie is perfect for any occasion. Each bow tie is handmade with an organic cotton that has a nice shine to it.

Friday The 13th Jason Voorhees Pre-Tied 

Friday the 13th Bow Tie

Be dressed to kill! This bow tie features a repeating image of Jason Voorhees over a dark green background printed on an organic cotton sateen. Perfect for any occasion, you can dress it up or wear it down. It can also be accessorised with a machete, pitchfork, axe, etc. Be truly unique in this amazing creation from The Vintage Beau. Camp counselor tested, mother approved. Fabric designed by Travis Falligant.

A Nightmare On Elm Street Freddy Krueger Pre-Tied

Freddy Krueger Bow Tie

One, two, Freddy’s coming for you! This shockingly awesome bow tie features the famous red and green sweater stripe over a knit design. It also features Krueger’s burnt skin coming through several slash marks on the sweater design. Both fabrics printed on a high quality organic cotton sateen. Perfect for any occasion, you can dress it up or wear it down… or just wear it while you haunt teenagers dreams. Be truly unique and indefinitely sleepless in this rad creation. Fabrics designed by Travis Falligant. Each bow tie is unique and no two are alike. Placement of stripe and slashes will always slightly vary.

Halloween Michael Myers Inspired Pre-Tied 

Michael Myers Bow Tie

Be dressed to kill at any occasion with this stylish and scary pre-tied bow tie. Each Michael Myers bow tie is handmade with an organic cotton and nice shine to it. The fabric was designed to perfectly display this amazing image and you will not find it anywhere else.

Poltergeist Retro TV Static Inspired Pre-Tied 

Poltergeist Bow Tie

They’re heeeere… Be dressed to haunt at any occasion with this stylish and unique pre-tied bow tie. This bow tie features a retro television static print which was inspired by the movie Poltergeist. Perfect for any occasion, you can dress it up or wear it down. Stand out in this truly unique creation.

Blood Splatter Horror Pre-Tied 

Blood Splatter Bow Tie

Be dressed to kill with this stylishly bloody pre-tied bow tie. Each bow tie features a blood splatter design over a white cotton. Perfect for any occasion, you can dress it up or wear it down. Be truly unique in this rad creation as no two bow ties are alike and the blood spatter design will always vary.

 

Charlotte OC – Video of the Day

Charlotte OC's new video 'If My House Was Burning'

Charlotte OC: TFIF and we stumbled across this awesome new track and video from Charlotte OC entitled If My House Was Burning. Charlotte O’Connor, better known by her stage name Charlotte OC, is a British singer-songwriter that the BBC classed as “tipped for success in 2014” and named as “one to watch” by Digital Spy. Charlotte OC was signed and dropped by record label Columbia in her late teens but worked her way back with her debut EP “Colour My Heart” which was released by Stranger Records, an early home of Lana Del Rey. In July 2014, she played on the BBC Introducing stage at T In The Park Festival, supporting her latest EP “Strange”, released by Harvest Records in the US and Polydor in the UK. Musically, Charlotte OC is influenced by electronic sounds (such as that heard in legendary Berlin clubs like Berghain) and as her parents surrounded her with folk and soul music, she lists Alicia Keys, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Marvin Gaye among her major influences. Charlotte OC’s new track is an intoxicating mix of emotional lyrics and heady, thick vocals. The 22 year old, Blackburn born singer has spread her wings and recorded and produced a supernatural meets broken down Hollywood track and video. There is a spooky and bewitching sound to the song that is powered along by underlying beats and earthy melodies pulsating throughout. Charlotte OC draws on an influence that through darkness there is beauty; an idea that dawned upon her and is perfectly woven throughout her work and this video perfectly compliments the track in light of this. With a definite overtone of mystical beauty, her music feels contemporary, spiritual and almost, on occasion, neon disco occultist. Love it! So check Charlotte OC’s new video out – I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Mary Poppins’ Death Metal ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’

Mary Poppins belts out her trademark song

Mary Poppins: Andy Rehfeldt has created a fantastic mashup featuring English super nanny Mary Poppins belting out a death metal version of the her trademark song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“. Singers Sera Hatchett of Mercy Brown and Thomas Hinds performed the vocals, Andy Rehfeldt played all the instruments, and music producer Grant Cornish did all the arrangements. Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, loosely based on P. L. Travers’ book series of the same name. The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in the role of a magical nanny who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family’s dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns are featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Mary Poppins was released to universal acclaim, receiving a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture—an unsurpassed record for any other film released by the Walt Disney Studios—and won five; Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee”. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Now check this out, it’s so great!

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Superheroes & their Secret Lives

Toy Superheroes come to life thanks to Edy Hardjo

Superheroes exposed: Hrjoe Photography’s playful and expertly-executed photos prove that superhero action figures are not just for kids. Filled with hilarious set-ups of action figures, including many iconic Marvel and DC superheroes, these images capture the world’s most adored superheroes in both humorous and often human-like scenarios. Edy Hardjo, the photographer behind the project, uses detailed, high-quality action figures to put some of our favourite superheroes into hilarious and sometimes compromising positions. After putting the Superheroes into their picture-perfect poses, he removes the stands he uses to prop them and some of the more obvious joints with Photoshop to make them seem more life-like. Hardjo was was born in Medan, Indonesia in 1973 and graduated college with a Chemical Engineering degree. He was married in 2004 and has two sons and a daughter. He currently lives with his family in Jakarta, Indonesia. All of which is a long way from the world of superheroes but that hasn’t stopped Hardjo from capturing his out-of-this-world images. For someone who picked up photography as a hobby, he certainly does an exceptional job! In an interview, Hardjo explained ‘Photography is a hobby for me. It all started when I wanted to take better pictures for items that I sell in my online store. I bought an entry-level camera and started to shoot with confidence, but the results were no better than the images shot with my mobile phone’s camera. This made me curious and feeling challenged so later I bought a better camera and took a course in the Canon School of Photography. After that I also took several photo tours—for practice—and learned from the expert in the group. Today, I have a small personal photo studio at home and I sometimes take commission photo shoots as a side job…I use my daily experience as source of ideas… All I do is replace the ‘usual’ thing with the ‘unusual’.’

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Walt Disney & the MultiPlane Camera

Walt Disney was inventing the future of animation

Walt Disney: We have seen different techniques imagined by Walt Disney to help his animators create masterpieces, like the rotoscoping technique or the use of simple mirrors. But to invent the future of animation, Walt Disney was often at the forefront, as shown in this video filmed in 1957 explaining the principle of the MultiPlane Camera which allowed animators to create depth effects never seen before at the time. Walt Disney (1901-1966) was an American business magnate, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer. As a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the twentieth century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company. As an animator and entrepreneur, Walt Disney was particularly noted as a filmmaker and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created numerous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Walt Disney himself was the original voice for Mickey. During his lifetime, he received four honorary Academy Awards and won 22 Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations, including a record of four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual in history. Walt Disney also won seven Emmy Awards and gave his name to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the U.S., as well as the international resorts, Tokyo Disney ResortDisneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, from lung cancer in Burbank, California. He left behind a vast legacy, including numerous animated shorts and feature films produced during his lifetime; the company, parks, an animation studio that bear his name; and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). You can jump directly to 3:23 for the MultiPlane Camera demonstration. Enjoy!

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Ghostbusters – The making of The ‘Stay Puft’ Marshmallow Man

A Behind-The-Scenes Look at Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters: In a new episode of Art of the Scene by CineFix, they go behind the scenes of the original Ghostbusters film and find out how the gooey movie monster ‘Stay Puft’ Marshmallow Man was created. Ghostbusters is a 1984 Supernatural-Comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City who start a ghost-catching business. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis co-star as a client and her neighbour. The Ghostbusters business booms after initial skepticism, eventually requiring a fourth Ghostbuster, played by Ernie Hudson; but, when an uptown high-rise apartment building becomes the focal point of spirit activity linked to the ancient god Gozer, it threatens to overwhelm the team and the entire world. Ghostbusters was released in the United States on June 8, 1984. It was a critical and commercial success, receiving a positive response from critics and audiences and grossing US$242 million in the United States and more than $295 million worldwide. The ‘Stay Puft’ Marshmallow Man stomping through New York is one of the most memorable scenes in Ghostbusters and movie history. When the destructor (Gozer) arrives in the form of a giant ‘Stay Puft’ Marshmallow Man and begins attacking New York City, to defeat it, the Ghostbusters decide to cross the energy streams of their proton packs (which they never do) and fire them against Gozer’s portal. The resulting explosion defeats Gozer/The ‘Stay Puft’ Marshmallow Man, and frees Dana (Weaver) and Louis (Moranis) from their possessor demons. As hundreds of New Yorkers wipe themselves of marshmallow goo, the Ghostbusters are welcomed on the street as heroes. It is simply one of the best endings to a film ever! Go behind the scenes of Ghostbusters, and see how the gooiest movie got on the road to its rampage.

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