This mesmerizing animated GIF is an excellent illustration of an optical illusion where our human cognitive system plays a trick … More
Category: Art
BREAKING! NEW BANKSY “AACHOO” ARTWORK GOES UP IN U.K.!
The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. has reported that a new work of street art has been put up by … More
IT’S HERE! THE “ALOHA DEATH” PLAYLIST!
Yup, by popular demand we’ve finally set up a proper playlist for GlobalGraphica’s indie-rock-electronic soundtrack music project “Aloha Death.” AND … More
MUSIC: OUR NEW WINTER 2020-21 PLAYLIST IS HERE!!!
Our new Spotify playlist for Winter 2020-21 is here with lots of new tunes, lots of favorites and some obscure … More
MEDIA DIET: WHAT WE’RE WATCHING, READING, AND LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW!
In a new installment of “media Diet” here we’re sharing some of what we’ve been consuming across the cultural landscape. … More
ADDICTIONS: COFFEE, IT’S NEVER ENOUGH!
As many Global Graphica readers will know, we’re big — BIG! — coffee drinkers here. We drink a lot of … More
FINALLY! NEWS OF TRUMP DEFEAT AS ANNOUNCED BY NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE WORLD!
We woke to the news this Saturday morning that the U.S. presidential election result finally has been called in favor … More
POLITICAL CARTOONS: ARTIST’S ILLUSTATIONS SERVE UP SCATHING CRITIQUE OF DONALD TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY IN WAKE OF ELECTION!
New York artist Edel Rodriguez, has made a sub-career the past few years of creating clever illustrations that offer scathing … More
PHOTOGRAPHIC: WHAT GORDON PARKS SAW!
. . . . . Gordon Parks was a multi-faceted artist who worked across diverse mediums, but his photography capturing … More
UPLIFTING: JAPANESE ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI DECORATES CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL WITH ICONIC ARTWORK
Mega-superstar Japanese artist Takashi Murakami recently decorated part of the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., with his iconic cartoon-like … More
ZEITGEISTY: STREET ART REFLECTS COVID PANDEMIC AND BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS
With urban architectural surfaces an almost always available canvas for street art and graffiti art, new artwork can emerge quickly … More
SPACEY: MAN GENERATES 2.5 GIGAPIXEL IMAGE FROM MORE THAN 2,500 PHOTOS OF ORION TAKEN OVER 5 YEARS!
A man in Tennessee has spent over five years taking detailed telescopic photos of a single constellation. The man is … More
GREAT SCOT! RIP, SEAN CONNERY
Scottish actor Sean Connery passed away this past weekend at the age of 90. Connery was a bona fide movie … More
COOL: BIDEN FRIDGE OR TRUMP FRIDGE? TAKE THE PHOTO QUIZ!
Is it possible to discern which U.S. Presidential candidate an American voter supports by merely looking at the contents of … More
JUST FOR HUE: THE QUARANTINE COLOR PALETTE IS REAL AND IT’S HERE!
As many people enter the eight consecutive month of Life in the Time of COVID and further come to terms … More
LA LA LAND: INTERACTIVE DRIVE-BY PHOTO ARCHIVE OF EVERY BUILDING ON EVERY BLOCK OF SUNSET BLVD IN L.A.!
The Getty Museum has launched a website called 12 Sunsets that is a fascinating interactive archive of 65,000 photos taken … More
CURATORS GONE WILD: A SELECT LIST OF WONDERFULLY OBSCURE AND UNUSUAL MUSEUMS!
From professionally curated museums devoted to specific sub-genres of art to suburban homes-turned-museums devoted to the usually discarded ephemera of … More
THRILLS, PILLS & SHARKS: NEW DAMIEN HIRST EXHIBITION BRINGS BACK THE FORMALDEHYDE SHARK AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
British artist Damien Hirst made a name for himself in the early 1990s with a sensational exhibition of works that … More
HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ARTWORK SELF-DESTRUCTS, ROTS, FALLS APART, BREAKS, ETC.?
Museums are increasingly having to deal with works of art that require regular maintenance during periods of exhibition and throughout … More
DENIED! BANKSY TRIES AND FAILS TO TRADEMARK GRAFFITI ARTWORK!
As if 2020 wasn’t a weird, dumpster fire of year already, especially in the United States where political goings-ons of … More
FAREWELL: A MASTER PAINTER OF PHOTO-REALISTIC SUBURBIA AND CARS DIES
We just learned of the passing last week of artist Robert Bechtle. If you’ve visited enough art museums and galleries … More
CHILLIN’! : PHOTOS OF LIFE IN REMOTE SIBERIAN HINTERLAND ARE STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!
Photogapher Alexey Vasilyev’s images of the Sakha (a.k.a., Yakutia) area of Siberia are a fascinating look at the locales, people … More
LOVIN’ IT: TRAVIS SCOTT AND MCDONALDS JOIN FORCES IN LIMITED-TIME COLLABO!
. . . . . For the past two years the tune “Sicko Mode” by rapper Travis Scott has occupied … More
APOCALYPSE NOW NOW! VIDEO OF SAN FRANCISCO SHROUDED IN SMOKEY ORANGEY LIGHT DUE TO CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES!
. . . . . . If you live in California, you might say it’s been “a little hot” lately. … More
VIRULENT: ARTIST AI WEI WEI RELEASES DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN WUHAN, CHINA
. . . . . Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei has produced a documentary film about the early days of … More
IN IT FOR THE MONEY: ARTIST PAINTS PORTRAITS OF CELEBS AND POLITICAL FIGURES ON U.S. DOLLAR BILLS!
Los Angeles artist Claire Salvo has a new series of portraits that she’s painted on United States dollar bills. The … More
RISE AND SHINE: ARTIST-DESIGNER PAINTS SUNRISE VIEWS FROM HIS APT. ON N.Y. TIMES COVERS, HONORS JACOB BLAKE!
The artwork is part of a series by New York City-based artist and designer Sho Shibuya, who paints sunrise view … More
“UP!” IN REAL LIFE!: DAVID BLAINE FLOATS TO 25,000 FT. WITH BUNCH OF HELIUM BALLOONS LIKE IN THE PIXAR FILM!
. . . . . Illusionist and extreme endurance performer, dare we say performance artist, David Blaine has just done … More
YACHT ROCK: U.K. STREET ARTIST BANKSY FINANCES AND DECORATES REFUGEE RESCUE BOAT IN THE MED!
Mysterious and infamous U.K. artist Banksy has bankrolled a small refugee rescue ship sailing the Mediterranean Sea. The boat is … More
BEATS: HOW 9TH WONDER MAKES BEATS FOR KENDRICK LAMAR!
. . . . . We like to think we’ve got a dab hand at music production, and have recorded … More
DATA VIZ GONE WILD: ARTIST TURNS VISUALLY BORING-ASS STOCK CHARTS INTO AWESOME LANDSCAPE ART!
You’ve seen financial charts. Maybe they mean nothing to you. Or they mean everything. Maybe you’re a day trader with … More
AND NOW YOU KNOW THIS: THE VISUAL LOOP HAS A NAME
You’ve seen it. You know what it is. But did you know there’s a name for this? It’s called the … More
ARCHI-TORTURE: SOMEBODY’S BUILDING A MEMORIAL TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC
An architecture firm in Montevideo, Uruguay is building the worlds first memorial to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The firm is … More
STUNNER: VANITY FAIR PUTS BREONNA TAYLOR ON COVER OF SEPTEMBER ISSUE!
The cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s September 2020 issue is a triumph. It’s a beautiful, bittersweet portrait of Breonna Taylor … More
WTF!: YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHERE WE SPOTTED AN INFAMOUS NYC STREET ARTIST’S GRAFFITI TAG!
“Wow!” Just “Wow!” That’s what we exclaimed as we approached the stop at the T-intersection in our car. We were … More
DIGITALISM: THE FX OF “THE EVER-EVOLVING WALKING FIGURE” GETS A 2020 UPDATE!
. . . The awesomeness of “The Transfiguration“ by Universal Everything studio collective is still spellbinding. The original version of … More
BIG BANG THEORY: GIANT CHIMES SCULPTURE AWES US!
. This sublime kinetic, sculptural artwork by Etienne Krahenbruhl is made up of thousands of chimes and absolutely awes us. … More
MEDIA: THE SINGULAR GENRE-DEFINING STYLE OF CREEM MAGAZINE
Early rock music journalism and writing was unsparing, fun, raw, crude, effusive, deep, indulgent, sexed-up and complicit in the style … More
REVEALED: AUTEUR-HIPSTER FILMMAKER WES ANDERSEN SHOWS OFF HIS STORYBOARDS FOR “GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL”
This is a super awesome video for fans of Wes Andersen and cineastes. It’s an exploration of Andersen’s storyboards for … More
DESIGN: THE LOOK OF THE THE FIRST TOKYO OLYMPICS
It’s now August 2020, which is when, had the global COVID-19 pandemic not upturned life as we knew it, the … More
DESIGN: THE MAN WHO MADE DAVID BOWIE A STYLE ICON
Pioneering Japanese designer and visionary of sartorial style, Kansai Yamamoto has passed away. He may not have been a household … More
“IF YOU DON’T SURF, DON’T START”
“If you don’t surf, don’t start. If you do, never stop.” These were the searing copy lines from an iconic … More
STREET ART WILL EAT ITSELF: ART-ON-ART VIOLENCE IN VENICE SHOCKS PASSERSBY
Yes, it’s true, folks! An illegal wheat-paste street artwork on a utility box in Venice Beach, Los Angeles has been … More
BREAKING NEWS: VIDEO FRESHNESS – NEW ARTWORK FROM BANKSY ON THE LONDON UNDERGROUND!
. . . Breaking news out of the U.K., where Banksy has unveiled a new coronavirus-inspired series of artworks and … More
WATCH: SLOW-MO VIDEO OF DINNERWARE GETTING SMASHED TO BITS TO BACH SOUNDTRACK
. . . Well, this is brilliant, mesmerizing, exciting, destructive, beautiful and the highlight of our day. Yes, it’s a … More
STARS, STRIPES, POST-MODERNISM: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, AMERICA!
It’s 4th of July and in the United States this date is America’s Independence Day holiday. It marks the nation’s … More
SIGN OF THE TIMES, VOL. 07: “BLACK LIVES MATTER” DASH SIGN
We stumbled upon this small, handwritten cardboard “Black Lives Matter!!” sign placed on the driver’s side dashboard of an old … More
MILTON GLASER LOVED NY, RIP MILTON GLASER
Rest in peace, Milton Glaser. You did many things. Your creative achievements were many and influential. You created an enduring, … More
ARCHITECTURAL: THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE MOST INSTAGRAMMED WALL IN WORLD (OR AT LEAST IN LONDON)
This scaly wall is the exterior facade of a building in London. For a while it may have been the … More
ARE LUXURY BRANDS CO-OPTING PROTEST ART FOR THEIR OWN GREEDY SELF-INTEREST?
Amidst the recent protests and Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis … More
AND THAT’S A WRAP! GIANT OF CONCEPTUAL ART CHRISTO PASSES AWAY – REST IN PEACE!
Bulgarian conceptual artist Christo passed away this past Sunday at the age of 84. According to the New York Times … More
BOOK COVERS CHALLENGE VOL. 03
The third installment in our 7-Day Book Covers Challenge is “Mutations.” This singular book was produced by groundbreaking Dutch “starchitect” … More
BOOK COVERS CHALLENGE VOL. 02
Here’s the second post of our 7-Day Book Covers Challenge. The book is “Obey the Giant: Life in the Image … More
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, VOL. 04
We keep stumbling upon discarded personal protective equipment in our neighborhood. Pictured here is yet another glove we found thrown … More
BOOK COVERS CHALLENGE VOL. 01
We were recently invited by a friend via Instagram to post images as part of the “7-Day Book Covers Challenge.” … More
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, VOL. 03
The Los Angeles County Public Health department recently started posting signs in local neighborhoods around the city with information on … More
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, VOL. 02
A by-product of the coronavirus pandemic in many cities has been the appearance of “COVID-19 litter” on the streets. For … More
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, VOL. 01
In an ongoing series of posts we’re chronicling some of the evidence we encounter in daily life of the COVID-19 … More
“LIVIN’ THAT COVID LIFE”
We’re now officially in Month Two of stay-at-home, social-distanced working-from-home (WFH), and self-quarantine here at Global Graphica HQ in Los … More
BOW DOWN TO CONTEMPORARY-ART GREATNESS: YOU MUST SEE THE LUCIO FONTANA EXHIBITION IN L.A., PT. 1
CONQUEST OF THE USELESS: STREET ART BUILDING TAKEOVER IN VENICE
SUSTAINABLE: GIANT CRUMPLED ALUMINUM FOIL MADE INTO GIANT SCULPTURAL OBJECT
Go to your kitchen! GO! Go right now! Grab some aluminum foil. Rip a sheet out of the box. Now, … More
GRAFFITI FARM: THE AESTHETIC OF THE URBAN VEGGIE GARDEN
ED RUSCHA AND L.A.: INSEPARABLE UNTIL NOW!
Artist Ed Ruscha has a deep and longstanding relationship with the city of Los Angeles. It’s where he studied art. … More
“BODA BODA MADNESS”: THE COSTUMES OF NAIROBI’S MOTORBIKE TAXI DRIVERS
Driving a motorcycle taxi in Nairobi is a competitive business. To stand out and lure fares, the taxi riders adorn … More
BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE: HOW TO SLEEP ON A PLANE, A VISUAL BREAKDOWN
The Washington Post has published an “Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sleeping Positions on a Plane” on its website. The article does … More
NO, REALLY, IT’S A WORK OF ART: FROM THE MUNDANE TO THE “HUH?” TO THE SUBLIME
An ordinary-looking fitted bed sheet is draped from a canvas leaning against a white gallery wall. It’s an artwork by … More
AN ART-WORLD GIANT BOWS OUT: R.I.P., CARL BALDESARRI
The world was sad to see the news earlier this week that artist John Baldesarri had passed away last week. … More
GO GET ‘EM, TIGER! BIG CAT MURAL MENACES GENTRIFIED HOOD
We came across this rad black-and-white mural of tiger in full stare-down mode in Santa Barbara’s gentrified former industrial area … More
HOMAGE OR RIP-OFF? BANKSY X KOONS X ANONYMOUS IN L.A.’s LEAFY WESTSIDE
In a rare feat, a single artwork has managed to simultaneously pay homage to two iconic works of art by … More
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT: HOW A RECLUSIVE SUPERTSAR JAPANESE ARTIST’S DOG SCULPTURES POPPED UP AT LACMA
Where in the hell have these delightful Yayoi Kusama dog sculptures been hiding? Currently on view at LACMA in Los … More
PRINTED MATTER: THIS MAGAZINE HAS NAILED THE ART OF THE SPINE!
There’s a certain European “interiors” publication has made a unique design for the spine of each issue of its magazine. … More
IN TOKYO: BONSAI TREE HANGING IN SPACE MAKES US QUESTION EVERYTHING
It’s an amusing conceit. In the high-ceilinged foyer of the Barney’s store in Roppongi, Tokyo, an unpotted Japanese bonsai tree … More
IN TOKYO: “KAWAII” ROADSIDE RABBITS DANGEROUSLY DISTRACT DRIVERS, PEDS, WITH INSUFFERABLE CUTENESS
Along one side of this steep hillside street in Tokyo’s Akasaka neighborhood, there’s a guard rail decorated with cute plastic … More
IN TOKYO: BUILDING SITE IS TANTALIZING SPOT FOR GIANT GRAFFITI TAG
When the graffiti writers rocked up to this spot for the first time, they must have been salivating, drunk on … More
IN TOKYO: GETTING OUR CAFFEINE FIX IN HIPSTER COFFEE HAVEN
In what was once an old, small two-story house next to the elevated train tracks in Tokyo’s Naka-Meguro lives Onibus … More
IN TOKYO: THE TYRANNY OF CHOICE AT THE SNACK SHOP
So many choices, so many options, so many variations. Who knew there could be so many nut-based crunchy-delicious Japanese snacks? … More
IN TOKYO: POP-UP ARCHITECTURE
IN TOKYO: HOW TO SAY “DON’T PARK YOUR BIKE HERE!” IN A COOL VISUAL WAY
Iconographic sign in the Azabu Juban neighborhood of Tokyo.
IN TOKYO: HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE DESIGN EVOLVED
We briefly swung by Japanese cellphone carrier and telecommunications giant DoCoMo’s current design exhibition in Tokyo that shows how the … More
TOKYO, MON AMOUR …
We’re back in Tokyo for the better part of a couple of weeks. There’s always lots to do and see … More
FRUITY: WHEN AN ARTIST MEETS LOUIS VUITTON, PART II
Artist Urs Fischer is one of a handful of contemporary artists who have collaborated with Louis Vuitton to create a … More
SURFY: WHEN AN ARTIST MEETS LOUIS VUITTON, PART I
Another contemporary artist who has collaborated Louis Vuitton on the Capucines Collection handbags is Alex Israel, whose artwork heavily employs … More
INTERGALACTIC: SPACE APE MURAL REMINDS US OF OUR HUMBLE ORIGINS
Sometimes it takes a bold yet cognitively dissonant vision to center our thoughts on what’s really important in life, about … More
MUCKROCK’S STREETSY PHOTO HOMAGE TO “LUNCH ATOP A SKYSCRAPER”
Mural artist Jules Muck’s (a.k.a., Muckrock) painting on the exterior of The Gym Venice (which is technically in the Venice-adjacent … More
SUPER MARIO, TRANSFORMERS, PAINT AND CANVAS
The “canvas” in the headline above is actually eight, large square-shaped canvas panels placed together to form a masterwork by … More
MICKEY MOUSE HEADPHONES: YOU DON’T NEED THEM EVEN IF YOU WANT THEM
Beats made these Mickey Mouse headphones for fans of the iconic Disney mouse. Beats headphones, worn here by a colleague, … More
THE PASSING OF A FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY MASTER: RIP PETER LINDBERG
Peter Lindberg, the German fashion photographer whose work ushered in the era of the “super model,” died this past Tuesday. … More
DARK MATTERS: WHY BMW USED THE BLACKEST BLACK ON ITS NEW CAR
German auto-manufacturer BMW recently unveiled a car painted in the blackest black hue in the color spectrum. This black is … More
DOLLA DOLLA BILLS YO!
Artist Brenna Youngblood’s wry painting titled “3 Dollar Bill (Dirty Money)” is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art … More
GROUNDBREAKING: ARTIST XU ZHEN’S “IN JUST A BLINK OF AN EYE” WILL MAKE YOU SAY “STUNNING!”
We’re a bit world-weary at times about art. Dare we say, a bit cynical, even. We’ve seen so much and … More
FASCINATING NY TIMES’ REPORT ON DEATH OF “MAN WHO PAINTED MAO”
The recently passed Chinese artist Wang Guodong is not well-known name in the art world. For decades and practically the … More
“WHAT’S GOING ON” MAKES US WONDER WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON
Late African-American artist Barkley Hendricks‘s photo-realistic painting titled “What’s Going On” is a beguiling image. The artwork is a group … More
REVISITING THE MESMERIZING AND LANDMARK “METROPOLIS II”
Like an incredible childhood fantasy made real, “Metropolis II” at LACMA comes to life with the sound of whirring and … More
SPITEFUL COLORS: HOW ONE ARTIST THUMBED NOSE AT A MAJOR ART MUSEUM’S TRADITION
Artist Yunhee Min’s site-specific floor mural for Hammer Projects takes center stage at the Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles. … More
SEX AND WAR: “UNKNOWN SOLDIER” EVOKES ANONYMOUS GOOD TIMES
Artist Sarah Lucas emerged in the 1990s as a so-called “YBA” (“Young British Artists”), one of a generation of British … More
GOING BIGGER: “LOVE BERTO” DOMINATES FAUX-URBAN LANDSCAPE IN L.A.
Here’s another one of these abstract, geometric murals by the artist Berto, who usually signs his work “LoveBerto.” His massive … More
CATCHING THE “WAVE OF MATERIALS”: VIEWING ZHU JINSHI’S EPIC PAPER TUBE, DUDE!
Chinese artist Zhu Jinshi’s massive art installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (or LACMA) is a giant, … More
R.I.P. “ARCHITECTURE OF DENSITY” PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL WOLF
Rest In Peace, Michael Wolf. It was reported Monday that the Hong Kong-based German photographer had died at 65 years … More
COLOR LOVER: THE SUPER-RAD MURALS OF ALBERONERO
We’ve never heard of Alberonero. Have you? No? We didn’t think so. But now we have, and you have, too. … More
You must be logged in to post a comment.