Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture, Technology - Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:34 - 3 Comments

Robot Edition Theatre

The Taiwan University of Science and Technology has announced a special performance of the Phantom of the Opera on December 27, with robots playing the two leads.

The robots, named Thomas and Janet, can walk and have silicon muscles that help them make the same facial expressions and mouth movements as real-life actors (well, at least the ones who don’t use botox). There will be two additional robots in the ensemble, a jazz drummer and a painter that moves on wheels.

Arts & Culture - Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:25 - 11 Comments

The Invader

Street art has always been an essential part of Hip-Hop culture and it’s fascinating to see where artists from around the world are taking it.

The Invader is an artist from France who goes into cities and ‘invades’ them using ceramic tiles. He’s gained notoriety amongst street artists for some time now, with his classic video game themed pieces (think Bubble Bobble on the inside of a tunnel). Now, he’s taking it up another notch by designing QR codes that can only be deciphered using readers like BeeTagg (formerly I-Matrix) on the Iphone. Trust, this ain’t your average tag.

Find out more and check out more of his pieces in the clip below.

Arts & Culture - Monday, November 10, 2008 11:20 - 8 Comments

Frederick Douglass NOW

The Past + The Present = Hope

Late last month, Obie Award winning actor, Roger Guenveur Smith, performed his latest work Frederick Douglass NOW at Joe’s Pub in Harlem. Some might remember Smith from the Spike Lee Joint Do The Right Thing and another Lee collaboration - the film adaptation of his award winning play A Huey P. Newton Story.
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Arts & Culture - Monday, October 27, 2008 17:45 - 7 Comments

Shepard Fairey: The Renegade

For those who are familiar with the work of Shepard Fairey, like the hypnotizing Obey Giant or his more recent Progress (right), which he created to energize Obama’s base of supporters (and to convert others), then you know that Fairey is no stranger to bold statements.

Fairey is featured in our November issue. Check out the extended version of his conversation with The Source’s AIMSTAR and images of his art work after the jump.

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Arts & Culture - Thursday, October 23, 2008 7:54 - 4 Comments

Chanel Mobile Art

The Chanel Mobile Art exhibit opened in New York’s Central Park Tuesday. Celebrities Eve, Sarah Jessica Parker and of course, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld all hit the red carpet.

Chanel’s “contemporary art container” houses art from around the world. The container itself was designed by British architect Zaha Hadid, who Lagerfeld called “the greatest living architect today.”

Photos of Eve and the Chanel “container” after the jump.

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Arts & Culture - Monday, October 13, 2008 18:39 - 4 Comments

“For Flow” A New Hip-Hop Musical

Hip-Hop play “For Flow” will run November 6 to November 23 at Theater for the New City in New York. The play features two main characters based on Vladimir and Estragon, the main characters from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

The two main characters in “For Flow” are rappers and the show features live DJ sets, rap battles and blues guitar. Click here for tickets and information.

Arts & Culture - Thursday, October 9, 2008 10:03 - 11 Comments

Women In Hip-Hop Stand Up!

Harlem stood up to honor MC Lyte and Roxanne Shante, among others this past weekend in the first ever Women In Hip-Hop Awards ceremony held at the Hip-Hop Culture Center in Harlem. More than worthy of the accolades they received throughout the evening, Lyte and Shante were revered as true pioneers in the game, with careers that span more than 20 years in Hip-Hop. The event sparked a great commingling of their past achievements and continued success coupled with a slew of a new generation of female emcees who felt inspired to rock the mic.

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Arts & Culture - Thursday, October 9, 2008 8:57 - 5 Comments

Banksy Does Manhattan

We kinda knew Banksy was in New York, when random pieces that resembled the British bomber’s infamous stencils ended up in the hipster parts of B.K. But when we finally saw Banksy’s mega-sized murals along the streets of Manhattan’s trendy Soho district we were amazed. Actually, we were thrilled that Banksy, the masked art vandal, was commissioned by Colossal Media to do the legit art piece and that he had finally arrived in person. (Large images after the jump).

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Arts & Culture - Tuesday, September 23, 2008 15:01 - 3 Comments

Hip-Hop Theatre Comes Home To NY

“In the past, the Hip-Hop Theater Festival has focused on introducing the hip-hop culture to other cities. This year, we are extremely excited to bring the festival back home,” said Clyde Valentin, executive director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival.

The festival opens tonight with break/s a multimedia performance from spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s inspired by Jeff Chang’s book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.The piece, explores the spread of Hip-Hop around the globe.

The Hip-Hop Theater Festival runs through October 11 with free shows in all five boroughs of New York City.

Arts & Culture - Thursday, September 18, 2008 13:25 - 16 Comments

Michelle Obama’s ‘Makeover’

Sculptor Daniel Edwards’s piece, “Michelle Obama’s Makeover for America” rocks hoop earrings and a Nefertiti ‘do. Her pearls aren’t worn around her neck, they’re on the afro pick in her hair. The sculpture also features an American flag tattoo above its bare breasts.

The piece is part of Edwards’s “Inspire America” series and will be on display at New York’s Leo Kesting Gallery October 1 - 10.

A spokesperson for the gallery says, “Michelle Obama inspires a fashion template change that many First Ladies of the 21st Century may follow, as we witness minorities in this country becoming the majority.”

Larger images after the jump.

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