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MCA Tribute

Christina — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:43:34 +0000

A new mural proclaiming “Rest in Peace MCA” has appeared in Brighton.

In a fitting tribute to the late, great Adam “MCA” Yauch, AROE from the Heavy Artillery crew has created a 64×12 foot mural, re-imagining the Beastie Boys Billboard topping Licensed to Ill album art work. As well as a commemoration the mural is reminder of what the Beastie Boys gave to the music world, namely the first number one hip hop album on the Billboard chart.

The same album is also back in the charts after the sad passing of MCA earlier this month on May 4th.

Jeff Soto x Chevrolet

Christina — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:40:54 +0000

Street art collaborations between artists are by no means rare but Jeff Soto has taken part in a world-first by creating a mural alongside a Chevrolet.

The car, featuring a variety of robotic arm attachments including a industrial sized one folded into the boot, helps create the background and outlines before Soto gets stuck in with the detail.

This is just one in a number of stunts the car company has completed to promote it’s new product, the Chevy Sonic. Our friends at Secret Walls previously worked with Chevrolet at this years SXSW collaborating on the “Chevy Sound Garage”. The full mini documentary can be seen above.

Monorex x Game Marketing Summit

Christina — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:36:16 +0000

We recently collaborated with Promax BDA for their Game Marketing Summit in San Francisco.

Artists Iain Mc Arthur, Jimbob Isaac, Riff & Joel Benjamin designed some sick limited edition T-Shirts; inspired by the following games as give ways:
Battlefield 3, Assassins Creed III, Borderland 2, & Mass Effect 3.

Big thanks to all the artists that turned around the designs in such a short amount of time and Promax BDA.

Dudebox launch

Christina — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:11:51 +0000

Last week we were lucky enough to attend the now legendary the Dudebox launch event at the Village Underground with the full Monorex and Secret Walls team.

Dudebox is a new range of Vinyl toys we have been collaborating on and feature Monorex artists Conzo, Alfa, Gauky and Hicks. The launch night went down a storm, showcasing Dudebox’s 3 new collections: ‘The Super Amazing Spectacular Collection‘, ‘The Big Bang Collection’ and ‘The Most Wanted Collection’ set to be released for sale in the coming months.

Dudebox also released to the public 4 limited edition large Dudes, including one by our very own Hicks and 20 custom toys

Secret Walls provided a special battle hosted by Reeps One, between Team Dudebox: Pete Fowler and Conzo Vs Team Monorex: Mr Gauky and Alfa, with Team Monorox winning the public vote

Hicks set to work painting a giant 4 foot custom Dudebox figure live on the night to go alongside custom 4 foot figures from 2much, Mark Gmehling and Conzo

With Big Apple Hot Dogs, sushi, popcorn, cakes, Mojitos, cosmopolitans and great music- Dudebox defiantly threw a party to be remembered and set the bar for launch events!

Blown Covers

Christina — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:29:10 +0000

Francoise Mouly became art director of the weekly New Yorker Magazine in 1993 and has since been collecting the ‘too outrageous for publishing’ front cover entries to decorate the walls of her office.

Now Mouly, who along with spouse Art Spiegleman masterminded comic anthology RAW magazine, has gathered the witty illustrations into a coffee table book called ‘Blown Covers’. The book is available now through major book retailers. It promises to be quite the read, expect controversy throughout!

Meet the artists 3: Dan Leo

Christina — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:40:57 +0000

In the third of our series of artists’ interviews, Monorex have zipped over to Canada to catch up with Dan Leo and find out just why he deserted Ireland for Vancouver.

So Dan, tell us a bit about yourself…..
Man child artist in my late twenties. I enjoy Indian food, watching cartoons, swinging on swings and giving people the ”death stare”

What does a typical day consist of in your studio and what are you working on at the moment?
Well, usually I’ll get up and head out on the bike if the weather is good, get some food then paint for the best part of the day. Stick on some music and just relax. I’ve been working on a few commissions recently, acrylic on wooden panel mostly and I’ve been making some toys with two part moulds. Alot to learn there but hopefully we will some some good stuff coming out soon.

Your style heavily character based and clean, where do you get your inspiration for your characters from?
I really dont know – I guess like alot of artists today watching cartoons as a kid really shaped the way I paint. When it comes to a character, whether it be a human or animal, I will loosely base it on something that exists and then morph it into something new, it’s more interesting to create something weird.

Do you prefer computer based design or getting your hands mucky painting?
I will go through phases of just doing work on the computer, I might do six or seven pieces in a row. Most of the time it’s for a reason, like if I dont have the materials I need at that time then I’ll just get really into it and never get around to getting what I need to paint. When it comes down to it though painting is number one.

What’s your favourite products to paint with?
I mix it up every now and then. I was painting with spray paint, emptying the can and applying with brush. For my last show everything was done like that. Now I have a smaller space to work in so I started using Liquid acrylics more and I really like them.They have really vibrant colours and they are quick to use. I’ve considered oils but I dont think I could do the waiting game.

How did you get involved with Monorex/ Secret Wars?
I saw it online when it started and was hooked straight away, its just a good concept so there was no way I was not going to get involved in it at some stage. Had to get the Irish in on it.

……and who is your favourite Monorex team member?
For real? There isn’t one really, everyone has their own super-hero powers that came in handy in sticky situations. Fantastic Four shit.

Last year you relocated from Dublin to Vancouver, how are you finding the different scenes and attitudes?
Vancouver is a real nice spot. I’m really enjoying it here- People have alot of respect for one another which is good. As for art, things are quite similar between Vancouver and Eire but perhaps a bit quieter in here. I tend do do my own thing most of the time anyway.

You recently spent 10 days at SXSW with Monorex and Secret Walls on a ranch with a pretty nice pool! How did you find collaborating with all the new faces?
Really good. It was a pleasure to meet some new people and see some faces I haven’t seen in a while. It was an honour to be brought along. These are the kinds of situations that will help you progress as an artist. When you get that amount of art heads together your gonna hear some different views on things and hopefully learn some. I did and the ranch was in a place that I had wanted to go for over ten years, so im happy.

Having mastered driving a golf cart at SXSW, are there any plans to get a real driving license…..?
Haha…. You guys.. That golf cart was my favourite thing about that house never mind the pool. It was bad-ass with the skateboard too. I can actually drive I just never got around to getting all that sorted it was never a priority at all. I guess one of these days I’m going to have to or I’ll never hear the end of it. Bikes are better though ain’t they??

Why did you choose to go into art/ design?
I Dont think it was a conscious decision I made one day to get into it I just always knew I would do something like that. I was the kid in school that would get given whatever kind of art task to do, so it seemed set fairly early.

You studied Animation and Graphic design, how was the whole Uni experience for you- would you say it was worth while?
Yeah it was good, I always wanted to study animation ever since I was mad young. I kind of got a bit bored of it after a few years I needed to see results a bit quicker and found that ideas would get compromised quite easily, so I stopped doing it and started painting and haven’t looked back.

What would be your dream job/ client?
To be honest, working with bmx has always been on the top of my list and I got some good opportunities with that last year, so more of that would be great. Other than that getting to paint something really really big is next on the list. Oh and toys.

You competed in the Secret Wars Euro-League as Dublin’s team Captain. How did you find leading your team into battle?
I dont know if I ever lead anyone but it was fun. We got quite far and travelled to some interesting places. It was a good crew, don’t think anyone really expected us to get anywhere but we put up a fight that’s for sure.

I heard your good at rock, paper, scissors, have you got any tips?
Gambling will get you nowhere. ;]

Thanks Dan! You can keep up to date with Dan’s work on his website or follow his journey on Facebook

ELCAF

Christina — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:12:21 +0000

This summer the first East London Comics and Arts Festival will be held in Shoreditch, curated by Nobrow.

Taking place in The Village Underground on Sunday 17th of June this event aims to showcase the cream of London and the UK’s graphic art crop as well as exciting talents from abroad. With around 40 stalls carefully curated by Nobrow, live drawing, talks and free entry to the day fair this promises to be an unmissable opportunity for anyone London based.

So far the only sneak peek we’ve had is the poster in progress by resident illustrator McBess. The window for applications is now closed and a list of attendees is due to be released next week. The full program is yet to be announced so be sure to watch this space.

Rolling Words

Christina — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:34:41 +0000

Snoop Dogg is no stranger to controversy, which he is sure to get a whole load of with the announcement of his latest venture, a book made entirely out of rolling paper and hemp seed paper with a handy match striking strip on the side.

The book, entitled “Rolling Words: A Smokable Songbook” is filled with lyrics to some of Snoop’s most popular songs such as ‘Drop it like it’s hot’ printed in non-toxic ink for all your smoking delights. Lucky festival goers at this years Coachella festival got to sample the rolling papers from tear off posters placed around the site.

The product is a promotional tool for Snoop’s new Kingsize Slim Rolling Papers and is currently only for elite distribution with the possibility of a limited online sale.

Inspire to Create: The Monsterist and Dudebox

Christina — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:07:19 +0000

In the first of their ‘Inspire to create’ series of artists and influencers interviews, Dudebox present The Monsterist Pete Fowler.

Find out what he does, how he does it, what makes him tick and reveal the three Fiends that Dudebox and Pete have developed for the Pete Fowler and Fiends platform vinyl toys.

OBEY x Montana

Christina — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:40:23 +0000

Montana Colors and OBEY entice you with these OBEY Limited Edition spray cans in OBEY’s signature colors of black, cream and red.

Released on April 17, each color is reserved to only 500 units and comes in a wooden box that is signed by Shepard Fairey and features the omnipresent “giant” logo on the front with the words “Seven Feet Four Inches” and “Five Hundred Twenty Pounds” – a subtle nod to the mammoth wrestler.

Priced at $35 USD each and limited to 1 can per person, with strict rules that orders of more than 1 can, no matter what color, will not be accepted. The cans went go on sale at a random time during the day on OBEY’S website, to avoid collectors waiting to snap them up.