Painkiller is an original exhibition of 48 Polaroid images by groundbreaking photographer Robert Frank taken from the 1970s through the present. Blue Sky  gallery in Portland closely collaborated with Frank in selecting photographs to be reproduced in a special series of enlarged prints for this show. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of photography, Frank has redefined the aesthetic of both the still and the moving image via his pictures and films. Blue Sky presents Frank’s work again in Portland, having first shown his photographs in 1981. Painkiller closes this week at the Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

Self portrait by Megan McIsaac, San Francisco, California, January 2012.

Ephemeral Nature, a film by Gsus Lopez. Winner of the Grand Prix ASVOFF Barcelona 2012 for Best Film. See film after the jump. [Continue...]

Diane Pernet’s A Shaded View on Fashion Film (ASVOFF) Barcelona comes to a close today and the winners have been announced. Barrel of a Gun, by Jason Last, has won the Mobile Fashion Film prize. The film features models Mikhael Ayoub, Christoph Ribbe, & Mikey Wydra in Comme des Garçons. See film after the jump. [CONTINUE....]

There’s an old Turkish proverb: “like a butterfly on a donkey’s dick” used to express the disdain of two objects which just don’t go together or match…. If the proverb is taken literally and further illustrated by Aurel Schmidt, one might just think the two are a match made in heaven! Aurel’s intricately drawn works merge flora, insects, beers, genitalia, condoms, cigarettes etc into delicately composed works. The individual components of the compositions are themselves traces and elements from a downtown life which seems to consist of endless nights! Artist Aurel Schmidt and poet Franz Wrights collaborative book Reveries Of A Life Mask is now available. The 68-page publication has been produced in a limited run of 1,000 by Morel Books.

Beligum based photographer Frieka Janssens’ series of children smoking is a stark reminder of the perverted glamour of something that once deemed a symbol of cultural cool, but what is now as good as poison. Janssens says, “A YouTube video of a chainsmoking Indonesian toddler inspired me to create this series, “Smoking Kids”. The video highlighted the cultural differences between the east and west, and questioned notions of smoking being a mainly adult activity. Adult smokers are the societal norm, so I wanted to isolate the viewer’s focus upon the issue of smoking itself. I felt that children smoking would have a surreal impact upon the viewer and compel them to truly see the acts of smoking rather than making assumptions about the person doing the act…..The aesthetics of smoke and the particular way smokers gesticulate with their hands and posture cannot be denied, but among the different tribes of “Smoking Kids,” – Glamour, Jazz, and The Marginal – there is a nod to less attractive aspects, on the line between the beauty and ugliness of smoking.” But not to worry, these kids weren’t actually smoking.  Much more after the jump.  [Continue...]

Youth tee inspired by Kenneth Anger’s seminal underground film Scorpio Rising, original design by Oliver Maxwell Kupper. Now available in the Pas Un Autre store.