The Urban Gentleman

Kehinde Wiley – Down @ Deitch Projects

for more kehinde wiley, go here.

Writing Your Thoughts: Moleskine Notebooks, Mini Sketchbooks

| Design & Culture, Etc, Fashion & Style | 3 Comments

Internet, ipod, tv, videos, movies, parties, work, blackberry, cell phone, computer, internet, ipod, tv, favorite show at 9, wanted to see that new video, party on Saturday, pandora, twitter, facebook, youtube, myspace, ybf, perez hilton, tmz, limewire to download the new mixtape… its like we’re caught in a matrix sometimes, where we let electronics and the media completely rule our lives. Everyday, or every other day, or if you’re That busy, atleast once week take the time to unplug yourself from the world.

For my creative types, well, I know that you often have So many thoughts running through your head and the noise (tv, ipods, blackberries) around you makes it hard to catch those thoughts. I suggest a simple moleskine notebook. I initially carried mine around because it was a requirement for one of my drawing classes, but that class ended last year and I still continue to use it. Magazine tears, quotes, ideas and just plain scribbles, there’s alot of random things in my book. Plus, its nice to look back on what you were thinking on a particular day or what inspired you at a particular moment.

one of the pages from my notebook. this particular notebook isn’t the brand
moleskine instead its a mini hard bound sketchbook by art alternatives…

Now I know blogs and online journals have replaced the need to carry around little notebooks, but there’s still that special something about having a tangible book (one perk is that it even works when your Internet or computer are having issues.)

Moleskine now offers a collection of “city notebooks” that has maps, addresses, and tips for specific cities- (New York, LA, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Madrid, Stockholm, Toronto, Vancouver, and just many many more). They are Perfect for traveling!

I really like the Moleskine cahiers because they’re really light and are super easy to carry around. I would use these to take notes in my patternmaking and sewing classes.

You can purchase moleskines at your local book store, art store, or at the urbangent store.

Inspire Me: Black & White Flashbacks

| Design & Culture, Fashion & Style | 2 Comments

click to enlarge, drag to desktop, and make it your new screensaver.

a very cool book: agnes b. Collection Book

| Design & Culture | 1 Comment

more art books for you urban gents…

“Every art-minded person dreams of amassing an art collection that will grow to outlive their life on earth (ooh that’s heavy). Agnes B is one of those people that has fulfilled that dream. Known equally for her business and her art world prowess, Agnes B has put together a one of kind collection, strong in photography and modern art (especially NYC art(. Seriously, as you flip the pages, you’d think this was a museum book, not a personal collection. But this is way too cool for any museum. It might be the coolest thing ever. Features work from Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Eggleston, Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nan Goldin, Robert Frank, Ryan McGinley, Futura, and many others. ” 65 pages. Highly recommended. via turntable.com

pre-order agnes b. Collection for a discounted price here.

Art Master: Black Light by Kehinde Wiley

| Design & Culture, Entertainment & Music | 3 Comments

Anyone who knows me knows Kehinde Wiley is one of my favorite artist, he even inspired the designs of my first collection created via fashion CAD. (It was my first time using a computer to design clothes so the designs weren’t that impressive, but I was still pretty proud.) When I got word that he would be releasing a new book of his art I was beyond excited, and a friend sent me a preview document of it.

The book, Black Light, is Wiley’s first photographic series and I must say it’s genius, he is absolutely inspiring, and I’m still wondering why he hasn’t ended up on Oprah yet, lol.

Here’s an excerpt:

For his first photographic series, the artist invited young black men to pose for him in his studio, where he basked them in a bright and luminous light. His studio was especially equipped for the Black Light series with visual technologies that “blasted out,” as Wiley describes it, “a super rapturous light,” reminiscent of the dazzling shine of Hype Williams’ Hip Hop music videos. The resultant photographic prints present viewers with young black men in a brilliant light that appears to burnish their brown skins and to highlight their facial features. Light, in particular, draws viewers to their eyes, which emit a halo of white light and reflect the source of their illumination.

(another excerpt…. )
Wiley is not the first artist to explore the representational possibilities of “black light.” In the 1960s and 70s, poets, photographers, and painters associated with the Black Arts Movement sought to represent black light and in doing so, to reorient philosophies of aesthetics and beauty more generally.3 Some artists at this time gave black light visual form by attempting to extract whiteness from the idea of and representation of light. This is evident in artist and activist Faith Ringgold’s Black Light series of paintings exhibited in 1970.

Buy the book from powerHouse. This would be a great gift, source of inspiration, or addition to your library. I feel everyone should own atleast one Kehinde Wiley book- and this would be a great first.

Title: Black Light
Photographs by: Kehinde Wiley
Essay by: Brian Keith Jackson, Krista A. Thompson

And here’s an Urban Gentleman sneak peak at Wiley’s soon to be released photobook, Black Light.

Sharrod Hosten
After Sir Joshua Reynolds’
Portrait of Doctor Samuel Johnson