Film Forum is pleased to present the U.S. theatrical premiere of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, opening Wednesday, July 21. Filmmaker Tamra Davis charts the meteoric rise and fall of her late friend, the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, born in 1960. In the crime-ridden New York City of the 1970s, he covers the city with the graffiti tag SAMO. In 1981 he puts paint on canvas for the first time, and by 1983 he is an artist with “rock star status.” In 1985 he and Andy Warhol become close friends and painting collaborators, but they part ways and Warhol dies suddenly in 1987. Basquiat’s heroin addiction worsens, and, tragically, he dies of an overdose in 1988. The artist was 25 years old at the height of his career, and today his canvases sell for more than a million dollars.

With compassion and insight, Tamra Davis details the mysteries that surround this charismatic young man, a painter of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the rollercoaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody. Combining never-before-seen interview footage of Basquiat with commentary from friends and art-world luminaries, the film offers a moving portrait of one of the leading lights of late 20th century art.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child will have a 2-week engagement July 21 – August 3 at Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (W. of 6th Av.) with screenings daily at 1:15, 3:15, 6:00, 8:00 and 10:00.

Prior to my trip in Argentina, I always longed to witness the excitement of a foreign country during a fútbol match yet along a World Cup match. On Tuesday June 22, 2010, Argentina and Greece faced off in the South Africa World Cup match. Arriving in Argentina that morning, I receive a note from our tour lead that we should settle in, meet for lunch and we were invited to watch the match. My heart pounded with excitement, the moment I desired had finally come. We trekked down to Caseros in downtown Buenos Aires, enjoyed “baby chicken”, drank their native beer, Quilmes and then we proceeded on our hunt for a local bar that would be watching the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck finding a local bar due to the fact that the majority of downtown Argentinians gathered at the San Martin Plaza to cheer on and support their beloved fútbol team. Continue reading “Argentina’s Victory at San Martin Plaza” »

Cradled in the heart of San Telmo in Buenos Aires lays the Moreno Hotel. Formerly a printing house designed by Hungarian architect Johannes Kronfuss and now a contemporary hotel that still holds dearly onto their old-school self pull elevator.  Upon entering the Moreno, I was greeted by their doorman who gladly took my luggage and escorted me to the front desk. After being mesmerized by the dim light cozy reception area, I was shocked to find that my room for the night was larger than your average Manhattan apartment with high ceilings and wooden floors. Continue reading “Larger Than Life In Buenos Aires” »

Cool breezes, summery hotels and horses instead of cars.

It seems that many East Coast islands struggle with the short summer season — with businesses going in and out of service and either too many hotels or not enough for summer’s sudden influx. Due to its colder northern clime, Mackinac has been welcoming visitors for an even shorter season — and they do it extremely well. In May, throngs of seasonal workers arrive from around the country and around the world — flowers get planted, food arrives, hotels get painted and before long, it’s ready for its yearly close up. Continue reading “Mackinac Island, Michigan” »

Every once in a while, we’re presented with individuals that are the risk takers that society needs to watch. Those individuals don’t follow what the masses do, in fact they do the complete opposite. Those individuals are important to the culture, whether it’s fashion, music or art. We need rebels. Le Messie and Amanda Scully found FALSE, a brand that stands as one of the early purveyors of independent fashion anarchism. I got up with Le Messie for our long over due chat on what’s behind False, his tats and his relationship with Lupe Fiasco.

What’s the meaning of FALSE?

It’s the questionnaires question, the counter cultures counter, the rebels subconscious, the modern anarchist way of thought and the lefter side of the leftfield. Continue reading “Q&A: Le Messie of FALSE” »

Following the rest of the market, Dooney & Bourke have designed a iPad case to complement and protect the new gadget. Made from durable cabriolet fabric – the same that is used on Porsche convertibles, the cases are stain and fade resistant, totally waterproof and virtually maintenance-free.

View more images after the jump. Continue reading “Dooney & Bourke’s iPad Case” »

The Big Bear tee and the Bear Applique shirt, with its contrast felt bear cut-out on the right breast, both draw inspiration from the iconic bear in the brand’s logo, switching it up to playful effect. The bear shows up again in the Penfield Crest t-shirt, which pays homage to the brand’s 35 year-old history with an old-school crest straight out of Hudson, Massachusetts. The Dale t-shirt features a contrast Oxford cotton chest pocket, referencing the traditional workwear shirts found year-round in the Penfield collection.  And, rounding out offering of tees this season are the Logo and Original Logo tees.

View more images after the jump Continue reading “Penfield Summer ’10 T-shirts” »

Dutch based design duo Minale-Maeda (Kuniko Maeda and Mario Minale) playfully reprise Gerrit Rietveld’s grace to reconsider his de stijl masterwork, ‘buffet’ for Dutch design company Droog. The ‘rietveld LEGO buffet’ uses over 25, 000 pieces of LEGO, updating the de stijl’s call for simplified materials through the use of the iconic toy building blocks known to us as children, creating a re-iteration of one of modern design’s most relevant historical suggestions. The buffet comes in a numbered edition of 5.

The Rietveld via LEGO, buffet is on show as part of Droog’s presentation at Design Miami / Basel 2010 from June 15th – 19th, located at booth G28, hall 5, Messe Basel, Messeplatz.

View more images after the jump Continue reading “Minale-Maeda: Rietveld LEGO Buffet for Droog” »

To celebrate this year’s Tour de France cycling race in July, British fashion designer Paul Smith will reveal his ‘art wall’ at the Paul Smith globe store at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. The art wall is by London artist and curator of the online NÖ gallery, James Straffon who is also a cyclist. Continue reading “James Straffon for Paul Smith” »

I’m not one to play video games but when Call of Duty releases each time, I gotta get my hands on a joystick and get in a few hours. With the Call of Duty: Black Ops commercial causing a ruckus in the industry (as they always do), it’s nice to see Microsoft is coming out with a new gaming console to make your entertainment more enjoyable. Continue reading “Xbox 360 Slim and Kinect” »