HAZE’s ability to stay ahead and on top of the ever-changing mediums of artistic expression over the last 30 years has allowed the native New Yorker’s creative impact to reach far beyond the City subway yards and skate ramps of the ’70s. From his early work with Def Jam to starting his own clothing label, HAZE was a predecessor of streetwear, being “big in Japan”, and getting down with Stüssy. Through the years, big brands have gained plenty from a HAZE co-sign, but in return the big homie got exposure and renown. Hit the jump for a history of HAZE’s work in corporate culture, from early logotypes to decking out Nike Dunks and Lotuses…

HAZE x Def Jam, 1987
HAZE’s post-train graphic art made its way onto mad classic album covers. From EPMD to Public Enemy to the Beasties—dude was the hand of ’90s hip-hop. To that, we (and you) tip our caps.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Casio, 1999/2005/2008
HAZE’s relationship with Casio began in 1999 when the Japanese watchmaker tapped him alongside DJ Spooky and Dog Town to be a part of a US “Artist Series” of G-Shock watches. In 2008, Casio appointed him to handle the design of the company’s 25th anniversary logo, as well as the packaging for all watches to be sold in 2008. He also got to design his third G-Shock—the only one to be available worldwide (as opposed to Japan/Europe only releases of the two previous models)—a couple of years back.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Nike, 2002
These much-sought-after sneakers, as well as the box that they came in, were designed by HAZE. The release marked one of the first times people actually cared about packaging.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x New Balance, 2004
For New Balance, HAZE put his spin on this 574, and then the brand tried to trick everyone else with a similar make-up that dropped for the general release set. Real heads knew what was up.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Know1edge Swiss Made Watch, 2006
Only 50 of these watches were made, so if you’ve got one, hang on tight. A different version of the watch with metal straps was also released.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Neils Shoe Meulman Show and T-Shirt, 2007
At the “Calligrafiti” exhibition in Amsterdam, HAZE and calligrapher Neils Shoe Meulman showcased their work, some of which turned into a t-shirt design, sold exclusively at Amsterdam boutique Patta.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Lotus/Gran Turismo, 2008
HAZE was commissioned to add his touche to a brand new Lotus Exige as a part of Sony/Playstation’s 10th-anniversary celebration of popular racing game Gran Turismo.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Mountain Dew Green Label Art, 2008
In 2008, HAZE did the Dew and incorporated his signature arrows and stars into the traditional Mountain Dew color scheme. The low-run “MD Superstar” was a standout amongst the many other recent artist-designed MD bottles.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Standard Hotel NYC, 2009
A frequently mentioned name in many “Best Dressed” lists, celebrity hotelier Andre Balazs probably couldn’t stand the idea of his patrons rocking 5-for-$10 “I Love New York” t-shirts. That’s why he enlisted Eric Haze for a specially designed, limited-edition T-shirt for his new Meatpacking District hotel.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

HAZE x Stüssy Las Vegas Art Installation and T-Shirt, 2009
HAZE painted the wall at Stüssy Las Vegas (check out the entire painting process here—so dope), and his design inspired a T-shirt that came in two colorways.

The cover is kinda reminiscent of something Prince might do, but since the album is entitled Graffiti, and it features Chris Breezy using an aerosol can, it might have behooved him to hire an actual graffiti writer to help illustrate his cover. In fact, big names from the graf world have been designing album art since the dawn of hip-hop. Check out 10 artists who could have helped Chris Brown’s Graffiti look less corny…

ARTIST: HAZE
ALBUM: Beastie Boys Check Your Head
• NYC graf icon Eric Haze is well known for creating iconic logos for groups like EPMD and Public Enemy, as well as the often-imitated lettering on the Beastie Boys’ third album. Today, his name can be found on everything from furniture and G-Shock Watches to T-shirts and Nike Dunks.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: DOZE
ALBUM: Rock Steady Crew “Uprock” (single)
• This graf legend was an original member of the Rock Steady Crew known for being “The King of Characters.” He also did artwork for the b-boy supergroup’s early 12″ single covers, including 1984’s “Uprock” and 1983’s “(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: FUTURA 2000
ALBUM: UNKLE Psyence
• This ’70s graf icon first hit the music world when he designed a 7″ single cover for The Clash in 1981. In more recent years, he’s created a regular partnership with seminal British label Mo’ Wax, regularly producing album art, including the haunting 1998 debut from trip-hop outfit UNKLE.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: EWOK
ALBUM: Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus
• This writer, known for his big murals, was just a Pratt student from Upstate, NY when he did this iconic underground rap LP for the early Rawkus Records group. A decade later and he’s one of the most respected names in the game, popping up in galleries around the world.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: CEY ADAMS
ALBUM: Method Man and Redman Blackout
• The legendary creative director from Def Jam was originally a graffiti writer in NYC before going corporate. Since then, he (along with his company The Drawing Board) has designed countless ill album covers, including 3rd Bass’ The Cactus Album, Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, DMX’s It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, and many more.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: REAS
ALBUM: Artifacts Wrong Side of Da Tracks
• Todd “REAS” James has had his hand in tons of dope multi-media projects over the years (including Complex’s 2008 Lupe Fiasco cover story!), but one of his early commercial projects was doing the “Artifacts” train piece for the first single from the graf-friendly Jersey rap group.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: KEO
ALBUM: MF Doom Operation Doomsday
• KEO aka Lord Scotch aka Blake Lethem has a storied history in the hip-hop world, which we chronicled in our 2008 feature on his life. In more recent years, he’s re-established his rep with some great cover work, including the debut solo album from the kid formerly known as Zev Love X.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: MISTER CARTOON
ALBUM: Snoop Dogg Malice in Wonderland
• You probably know him as the L.A. tattoo artist who’s inked up everyone from 50 Cent to Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé, but his roots are in graffiti. After years of doing memorable artwork for Cypress Hill, he recently completed the sexy cover for Snoop’s latest album.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: DONDI
ALBUM: Malcolm McLaren Duck Rock
• British music impresario McLaren was alllll over downtown NYC’s hip-hop art fusion on his experimental 1984 album, which features the seminal track “Buffalo Gals.” In addition to collaborating with The World Famous Supreme Team and artist Keith Haring, he got a real graf O.G. Dondi to do the “Duck Rock” lettering you see on the boom box speakers.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ARTIST: KAWS
ALBUM: Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak
• You already know we love KAWS, who designed our most recent Clipse cover. In 2007, another one of the iconic artist’s fans asked him to create inside artwork and a special iTunes cover for his controversial auto-tune album.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

BONUS ARTIST: BANKSY
ALBUM: Paris Hilton, Paris
• Although he’s not exactly a “graffiti writer” by traditional standards, British street artist Banksy has done some album artwork of his own…sort of. In 2006, he slickly inserted his own subversive messages into 500 copies of Paris Hilton’s debut album and put them back in UK record stores for unsuspecting consumers to discover.

Nike’s collaborative art project with Livestrong, entitled STAGES, opened in New York on Friday night at the Deitch Projects space on 480 Broome street. The collection is a series of art that features big timers like Tom Sachs, Ed Ruscha, Shepard Fairey, Kaws, and Jose Parla. If you live or are in NY for the next month, go check it out, the work is impressive and a great way to check out some contemporary heroes all in the same spot.

For the New York edition of STAGES, a few new pieces were brought into the mix, including a piece by Brooklyn artist Dustin Yellin, a two part sculpture titled, “If Ink Were Blood (Man and Woman)”. Before this, we didn’t really know Dustin’s work, so we took the opportunity to catch up with him. Hit the jump to check out an interview with Yellin where he explains his process, then peep some of his more recent work.

Dustin Yellin, on his piece for STAGES: “Lance Armstrong and the Livestrong Foundation contacted me about STAGES, I guess Lance had been aware of my work for some time. I met him as part of this show, and these two pieces were made specifically for STAGES. I was thinking about the body and how cancer affects it and how disease in general affects it. The body is this perfect machine, and we’re continuing to figure out ways to fix it and build it back up again. These are life-size humans that are pretty much all ink and resin.

“The pieces are created by stacking layers of drawings poured over a four-month period. For this one, I used computers, to build the men, and I sliced them up digitally, like an MRI, to create the 2 dimensional layers. The process works by pouring a layer of resin, letting it dry, and then painting a layer on it. The next day, I repeat the process, pouring another layer of resin on the previous drawing, letting that dry, and then painting on top of that. The form slowly builds as the 2-D marks build up. It’s about 70 drawings, stacked to make one composition over a 4-month period. This is how I work, these forms are a language that I am creating. I do all kinds of different biological and abstract forms, you can see additional work at dustinyellin.com.”

Additional work by Dustin Yellin:

Died and Gone to Heaven with My AK47
Resin and Ink
36″x13″x3″, 2008
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Gold Skull, No. 1
Ink and Resin
13.375×13x6.25, 2008
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The Heart is Only a Muscle
Resin and Ink
13×17.5×9, 2008

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX ART POSTS!

We just put the uncut interview with KAWS online, where he speaks on Sorayama, Clipse, working with Supreme and BAPE, and new projects on tap. We also put together an exclusive bonus video that features a smoking hot model making out with the KAWS x Hajime Sorayama x Medicom/Original Fake NO FUTURE COMPANION figure…

• CLICK HERE TO READ THE UNCUT KAWS “SHOTCALLER” INTERVIEW

BONUS VIDEO: KAWS x HAJIME SORAYAMA’S NO FUTURE COMPANION TOY:

RELATED: Exclusive Photo Preview: KAWS x Hajime Sorayama NO FUTURE COMPANION

RELATED: A History Of Mr. Cartoon’s Sneaker Collaborations

When it came time to recruit an artist to help create the cover of our annual Style & Design issue, So-Me was at the top of our list. The man’s also in high-demand overseas, providing art direction for Ed Banger Records (Justice, Uffie) and designing for his clothing brand Cool Cats, so we were honored that he took the time to make Miss Keri look even better. Check out a quick interview we did with the elusive artist about his Complex collaboration …

Interview by Jonathan Lees

Complex: Were you familiar with Keri Hilson before Complex asked you to work on her cover story?

So-Me: Yeah, kind of. I mean, we’re always a bit late with the upcoming U.S. artists in Europe. But yeah, of course, I know she used to be like Timberland’s protégé, and these days she’s blowing up. Everybody seems to love her right now.

Complex: What was the idea behind all the cats?

So-Me: The funniest part for me was to create those little characters. The little cats are kind of like…most of them are in love with Keri. They are like groupies, male groupies. And they are all like, playing around her, and trying to grab her attention, and some of them are protecting her from other ones. It’s like a cool world all around her of people moving, and talking. And she’s just there, being like a queen surrounded by her subjects. But she remains quiet, doesn’t really pay attention to these dudes.

Complex: So what materials did you use for this project in particular?

So-Me: Well, I’ve been sketching some stuff and looking for ideas and then I use my good-old computer to do my graphics because that’s usually the way I do. I use like very classy design tools. But my idea was to have all these cats that were in love with her, and going all around her for the fashion story. And then we decided to create some graphics as well for the cover. But then it was more informative than the crazy drawings that are inside, so the cover is a little bit different than the story. But yes, they’re all connected to the same graphic style.

Complex: How does this relate to your usual style, and stuff you’ve done in the past?

So-Me: Well, actually it is a style that I’m using sometimes. But I think I could have used a lot of different styles, I can use a lot of different tools, I can draw in…even when I think I’m changing my style, it ends up looking like me, I guess. But definitely this was a very powerful and very bold style for this one. Because when you get a cover for a magazine in newsstand, you always think about having an illustration on the cover that will bring some impact to the magazine. Unfortunately, you always get more impact when you use photographic cover. So to keep the strength of picture or photographic cover, I needed to have very, very strong colors, a lot of impact in the contrast, and there’s also the photographic element, which is Keri Hilson on the cover.

Complex: How involved were you in coming up with the concept?

So-Me: It’s total exchange from the beginning, actually. They asked me to do drawings and then one day they said, “What about doing the titles?” So I was like, “Yeah, sure?” Usually when I do a cover for a magazine, I always try to ask if I can do the whole thing, like draw their logo, everything. But this time I didn’t ask for it, but after I started they were just like, “Why don’t you just do the logo?” So I think we were on the same line [of thinking]. We have similar ideas about what I could do, and that’s pretty much what they have in mind to.

Complex: The photos and the art work so well together. How did seeing the photos effect what you produced?

So-Me: Actually, with the working process, I could even discuss with the magazine before the pictures were taken. So yes, I was actually inspired by what I saw, but it was not something that they just gave it to me like, “These are the pictures, what can you do with that?” We really, really tried to conceptualize it beforehand. I was looking for specific poses but then I was not too…I didn’t have like one opinion for everything, I was giving a lot of space? So I was like, “Oh, I would like some pose that would be some kind of like this, but make it exactly the way you want it to be.” So I sketched some stuff, and then made the best of it during the shoot because they made changes, and they made new poses. And then at the end of the day, that was exactly what I was looking for. So we were always exchanging, and talking during the whole process.

Complex: So as far as working with magazines, this is not your first. You’ve done covers before?

So-Me: I’ve done a few, but I’m not like collaborating often with magazines. I just go for it when it’s an interesting project, which doesn’t happen everyday. I’ve done a couple of collaborations, but not so much. Just trying to keep myself for the official stuff. So I was very happy that they gave me such freedom, such space, that was very exciting. I hope I can come to the States this summer and see it in the newsstands!

• CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL KERI HILSON x SO-ME COVER STORY!

One of our four tastemakers (representing the “living” portion of the package) is former Complex Shotcaller Aaron Rose, the man who put on pretty much all of your art heroes back in the day with Alleged, and continues to kill it with projects like ANP Quarterly, Beautiful Losers, and various art shows around the world. He gave us a rundown on the top ten things that he sees affecting his world/our culture right now, and for the next few years. Check out the extended version that didn’t fit in the magazine below…

“TEENAGE TEARDROPS is a record label from Los Angeles that seriously puts out some of the best bands in America. The venture is headed up by Cali Dewitt, who has some of the most interesting music taste of anyone I’ve ever known, and they’ve got a whole slew of new releases planned for the fall that will blow your mind.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“DEVIN FLYNN is an amazing animator. I first met him years ago through Steve Powers (ESPO). From the first time I saw his stuff I was totally blown away, and I believe he’s a true genius. His series “Y’All So Stupid” on Adult Swim is just a little taste of the offerings from this man.” (Ed Note: Check this out)
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“CINEFAMILY at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles has one of the most impressive revival house schedules I’ve ever seen. Living completely and utterly outside of the rules, they continue to program films, videos, animation, and music that always comes out of left field. A true gem of a theater.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“MISSISSIPPI RECORDS in Portland, Oregon is one of the most amazing all-vinyl record shops I’ve ever been to. Their taste is second to none. There seriously isn’t a bad disc in the place. I actually have to try to avoid the place when I’m in town because I know I’ll drain my bank account.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“PARTNERS AND SPADE is a new shop on Bond Street in New York. Andy Spade started it as some kind of retail experiment and it does not disappoint. Sure, there are some clothes in there, but mostly it’s made up of small curated sections by artists, authors, filmmakers, etc. I just got an email that they are offering an “avant garde” pre-school there too. What?”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“WE LOVE YOU SO is a new ‘blog project’ by film director Spike Jonze. It’s edited by Spike along with a host of friends, the stuff that you can find on there is always quirky, smart, and different. I generally hate blogs, and don’t look or care that much, so the fact that I’m mentioning one here should be testament to the fact that this is good stuff.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“THROBBING GRISTLE have been around since the 1970s, so this isn’t necessarily a new thing, but I recently had the pleasure of watching them do a live score to Derek Jarman’s “In The Shadow of the Sun” and it seriously sent me back to school for a month. Like I just couldn’t make anything at all without somehow comparing it to the majesty of that evening.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“TAUBA AUERBACH is a young artist that I love. I met her in San Francisco but I’m not sure she lives there anymore. She might be in New York now. Her paintings and sculptures are based on mathematical formulas and geometric theory, but always with a very hands-on feel. She is great! One of the best.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“O’ SALVATION is a film production company started by Harmony Korine and Agnes b. It’s based in an old house in Nashville, and in addition to producing Harmony’s last film, they’ve also produced short narrative films by local Nashville filmmakers James Clauer and Brent Stewart. It’s refreshing to see such a small operation in existence that has nothing to do with Hollywood.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

“CAFÉ LEGS is a little retail shop/café in Los Feliz that is only open one (random) Saturday a month. You never know when it’s gonna open up, but when it does they’ve got by far the best coffee in LA (they’re sponsored by Stumptown!) along with some of the most eclectic retail offerings around. $2 rolled joints anyone? They’ve got em. Real ones.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF COMPLEX’S 2009 “STYLE & DESIGN” PACKAGE!

RELATED: The Shotcaller: Aaron Rose

It all starts with sketches. On his blog, Augor writes,

“Going along with the ideas herd in KID CUDI’s music a couple drawings were done on the plane ride from LA to NY in prep for a meeting that was to be held at the COMPLEX office about what ideas Augor had for the photo shoot.”

We’re not sure why the third person is needed, but hey, he’s good with the pen, so his choice! Check the preliminary ideas that Augor brought when meeting with Complex’s Art team and Cudi:

“After a few crude sketches were produced the realization that maybe the all grey toned approach wouldn’t catch the impact Cudi was trying to get with the shoot…Once back in LA Augor took screen prints and got to work with a 2 week deadline laying the base plans down of how his imagery would fit with the photos.”

Augor was on hand to help art-direct the cover shoot with Cudi, and following some input from the musicain and Complex, Augor began going in with color and some heavier line drawings:




It’s a step by step process, with many rounds of sketches. On his blog, Augor continues:

“After getting a solid idea of how the interior illustrations were going to fit, development took place on the finals.”

“After doing the analog part of the illustrations it was time to move onto the digital bond. Along side with co worker Sram we tossed around a few ideas on what would suit Augor’s illustrations the best. Here are some in process pics of making it happen.”

“After the hard part (of figuring out what was going to be in the illustrations) was done another hard part surfaced….how do we make the background pop without overpowering the monster and Cudi? A couple background elements were drawn and scrapped but one made the cut that was used in sections throughout the spread”

“With all the elements into play the final interior illustrations were produced”

“After knocking out the interior the hardest part is saved for last!!
Developing a cover. A cover itself is extremely crucial. It is what catches the eye and draws a customer in. So in developing this a few ideas were passed on before the final came out. The first idea was to have Cudi as some sort of sorcerer in the woods. Very Halloweeen like.”

“Even though it was a cool concept the first cover attempt didn’t mesh well with the summer heat the issue was due to drop in so it was back to the drawing board. Here are the ink drawings used to compose the final cover”

“After trial and re trial this is what came out of the new set up.”

“The background cover kind of felt a little mack and cheese and the snake man was clouding Cudi’s flow so the final cover that will go to print has a very aqua splash feeling… “

“Hope everyone enjoys the issue”

For Augor’s full behind-the-scenes look, be sure to visit his blog.

Related: Complex’s Kid Cudi x Augor cover story

Today, a 25-year retrospective of his work (600 images) opens at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, in London. Since that is London, and we’re in New York, we’re not there. Instead, we’ve composed a brief history of what this guy does to help you on the way to learning who he is (so you sound cultured) and what he does (so you have a little inspiration on what to wish for/new T-shirt graphic ideas). Read on below for an abridged history of Rankin’s work and then go get your Google on. The man is a beast…

Dazed & Confused (1992), RANK Magazine (2000), Another Magazine (now) and Another Man
Rankin rose to fame through Dazed & Confused, a magazine he started with Jefferson Hack in the early ’90s. It was known for its finger on the pulse of awesomeness, and Rankin’s lens made the imagery nutso. Dazed & Confused has outlived it’s imitators, and while Rankin is no longer the man behind it’s imagery, it’s still known as a leader in what is left of the fashion mag scene. Following that, he did RANK, another tour de Rankin force. Now that he’s famous as crap, he’s not behind the monthly lens but publishes Another Magazine, and Another Man.

Snog (2000)
All of Rankin’s books are insanely sexy and make great gifts for female friends on the verge (of bisexuality or otherwise), so look up his catalog and choose your own adventure. Pretty sure “Snog” means “Make Out” in bad teeth-speak.

Sofasexy: Turning a Cheap Sofa into an Object of Desire (2002)
We were going to sit here and go through each of his books, but you know what? Maybe you should just buy this one, and then go from there. We also reccomend Rankin Nudes for the coffee table.

Breeding: A Study of Sexual Ambiguity (2004)
What if you photographed everyone in black and white, with no shirts on, all in a row? Kate Moss? What if, indeed.

Me Me Me (2007)
This series of self portraits included portrayals of the photographer as Claudia Schiffer, Superman and a sinister pig accomplished through costuming and digital manipulation techniques.

Eyescapes (2007)
Rankin’s London show was a series of extreme closeups of friends, family, and colleagues’ irises. “The eye is the first thing that I look at,” Rankin was quoted. “I ask subjects to communicate with the camera through their eyes.”

One Dress (2000s)
As part of a passion project, Rankin photographed upwards of 50 models in the same light beige Gucci dress in a variety of ways. Selections of it are on his site, dude is king of the ladies.

Domestic Violence Campaign (2007)
Rankin composed this series of staged domestic abuse images to bring art and reality to the situation for the UK organization Women’s Aid.

Snow was an alternative icon, and perhaps you were familiar with his work. If not, read on below for our quick look-back at 5 of his greatest works…

SACER (1990s-)
• Snow was one of the founders of the IRAK graf crew, an iconic NYC group.

Fuck the Police (2005)
• A series of NY Post headlines themed around police corruption, and adorned with Snow’s dried semen.

Dash Snow Polaroids (2006)
• Snow took Polaroids since he was an early teenager, using the medium to document wild nights and life in the city. He began displaying the work in the mid 2000’s.

Nest (2007)
• The “Nest” exhibit was the result of repeated late nights at the Deitch space, a collection of party remnants and 3000 shredded phone books.

Photographs (2008-2009)
• Snow continued to document the life he lead, and donated a series of photographs along with his art dealer Javier Peres to the Brooklym Museum this spring.

The name “Damien Hirst” is famous, and perhaps you posted his Supreme skateboard collaboration to your blogspot/Twitter and pretended to know his deal. Or maybe you copped that 10Deep T-shirt (?). Dude is actually pretty awesome, and just in case you find yourself pulling a blank when the British homie gets brought up in conversation, we figured we’d break down the bullet points for you. Hit the jump and get educated on Damien Hirst’s most iconic/interesting work so next time you sneak into a gallery function for the free Krug you’ll be all set.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)
• It’s a shark swimming in formaldehyde. Anyone can do that, right? Right, but only one guy did. Originally commissioned in 1991 by Charles Saatchi, the ad superhero re-sold it in 2004, turning Hirst into the second most expensive living artist after Jasper Johns at the time (he surpassed Johns in 2007). It also put Hirst on the map in a big way. Due to deterioration of the original 14-foot (4.3 m) tiger shark, it was replaced with a new specimen in 2006. It is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City until 2010. Cop the Lego version and act like you know.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Pharamacy (1992)
• A lot of Hirst’s art questions the ideas of art itself, and this life-sized recreation of a pharmacy inside the Tate London was one of his more banger wacko installs. He had all that shark money leftover and figured, “Yeah, let’s just go for it and see what happens.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Spot Paintings (1990s)
• Recalling his Spot paintings, for which he first became known in the ’90s, Hirst says: “I only painted the first five and I was like, ‘Fuck this,’ I hated it. As soon as I sold one, I used the money to pay people to make them. They were better at it than me. I get bored. I get very impatient.” There’s about 300 or so of these, one of which we’re pretty sure Hov owns.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Hymn (1996)
• Hey, get it? It’s like science class only way way waaaaay more expensive. As a side note, the science guys got mad.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Stations of the Cross by Damien Hirst and David Bailey (2004)
• This series of twelve photographs depicting the final moments of Jesus Christ got the Christians in a tiff while making Hirst more of an art star. The collab with David Bailey mixed some nudity in with the blood and dead cows—click over if you want to see the boob shot.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Aubade Crown of Glory (2006)
• Ok, stained glass window. Wait a second, those are exotic butterfly wings! Thousands of them. L.A. shit its collective pants when these showed up.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

For the Love of God (2007)
• Hirst’s platinum skull is encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead of the skull. It cost £14 million to produce, and went on display at the White Cube gallery in London at an asking price of £50 million, which would have been the highest price ever paid for a single work by a living artist. It sold for $100 million, kind of.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The Hours Music Video featuring Sienna Miller (2008)
• Dude had some time on his hands while the Hirst factory team churned out work. He figured he’d link up with Brit pop super group The Hours and have British Lohan-to-be Sienna Miller go nuts on video. Having Damien Hirst direct a video for your band isn’t so bad.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Damien Hirst X Supreme (2009)
• Hirst teamed up with Supreme to promote his Spin paintings through skateboards this past April. A solid investment, these puppies are reselling at at least double on eBay today.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Damien Hirst x Livestrong x TREK “Stages”
• Look for this full Livestrong x TREK “Stages” bike to be revealed next week, a special design that Hirst did for Lance Armstrong, and a pattern that will appear in a Hirst piece for the “Stages” art exhibit, a traveling show that will feature work by KAWS, Hirst, Mark Newsom, Os Gemeos and others.

In this two-part video series, we sit down with some of the charter members from the clique like musician 88 Keys, photographer Phill Knott, designer Eric Vogel, artist Aerosyn-Lex Mestrovic, as well as President of the cooperative, David Gensler. To learn more about The KDU, watch parts 1 and 2 of “Inside The KDU” below…

PART 1: ON THE COLLECTIVE

PART 2: ON THE ART OF COLLABORATION

Today’s Buy It Now, is the Kidrobot x A-Trak x Dust La Rock “Greatful Bear”, essentially A-Trizzy as a Furry sucking down a tab of acid and rocking his calling card sunglasses—always a must when you’re messing with those psychotropicalsuperdingdongpills. Hit the jump for purchase info, and get on it, these are limited and priced to sell.

Kidrobot x A-Trak x Dust La Rock Greatful Bear
CLICK here to BUY IT NOW at kidrobot.com, $50

Chad “Please Don’t Call Me Mr. Johnson” OchoCinco is back at it again. This time the Bengals receiver released two photos—via Twitter, of course—of what were thought to be two tattoos on his face. On his left cheek (pause) was the state of Florida, and on the right cheek (pause) he had two crosses. Turns out, though, that Carson Palmer’s favorite ball-catcher was just trying to Ashton Kutcher the media, as retaliation for the way he thinks they treat him. Only problem was that homie’s stunt got about as much buzz as a nun’s vibrator.

But after seeing O.C. punk out of putting his face under the needle, we thought it would be a good time to salute those who have been brave enough to take some pricks to the grill. We aren’t really too sure what the story is behind all these tattoos, but they’re all worth a double-take when you see them in the streets…

KAT VON D:
TATTOO: Stars on the side of her face
STORY BEHIND IT: She’s giving you a preview of her heavenly bodies.

GUCCI MANE
TATTOO: Tear drops under his left eye
STORY BEHIND IT: Whether or not there’s a body behind those drops, we’d be crying too if we were lugging around those heavy-ass chains

MIKE TYSON
TATTOO: Tribal symbol on the left side of his face
STORY BEHIND IT: It’s actually a map: Driving Directions To Bankruptcy Court

DANGER
TATTOO: Tiger on the side of her face
STORY BEHIND IT: Until she worked up the nerve to show the world her wild kitty, she figured a a tattoo would have to do.

LIL WAYNE
TATTOO: “Fear God” over his eyelids
STORY BEHIND IT: He was one eye short of being able to rock the WEEZY-F-BABY triclops trilogy, so this was the second choice.

THE GAME
TATTOO: A butterfly, the letters LA, and a red star all in the same spot
STORY BEHIND IT: This is what happens when you bitch out of rocking something feminine and then can’t make up your mind run out of space for tattoos

ANTWAN DIXON
TATTOO: A bunch of different shit all over his face
STORY BEHIND IT: Dixon? His face becomes him.

THE LIZARD MAN
TATTOO: Green lizard scales all over his face
STORY BEHIND IT: White people be craaaaaaazy!

Created by artist Kenzo Digital (who directed Taz’s eye-popping “Obama” video last year), the project consists of a 60-minute audio adventure created entirely out of samples. In the City Of God’s Son’s coming of age story, we follow three friends Nas, Jay-Z and Ghostface as they navigate through a surreal, alternate reality version of New York. Look for appearances from supporting characters like Biggie, Samuel L. Jackson, Raekwon and Lawrence Fishburne.

Whatever you want to call it'a hip-hopera for the blind, an audio movie, a “Beat Cinematic” (as Kenzo calls it)'City Of God’s Son is a one-of-a-kind experience. Watch the trailer and read an interview with Kenzo below…

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE “CITY OF GOD’S SON” PROJECT

Complex: It seems like it must have taken you forever to search through and put together so many samples. How long did the project take you?

Kenzo Digital: I was a DJ and record collector from high school, and never fully took the step into music production. After a couple of years of deejaying and doing mixtapes and blends, I naturally would have gone into music production but ended up going to art school for visual art at Carnegie Mellon which further delayed my exploration into music production. So 2 years ago I came up with this project and started making beats to make this project happen. While making beats, I was also digging through a lot of interviews, movies, and all kinds of materials to get the dialogue right. That was a huge process in and of itself, recording, organizing, transcribing, editing. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. 

Complex: The project seems more influenced by gangster movies than any traditional remix albums. Maybe the only thing in music that’s even similar is Prince Paul’s Prince Amongst Thieves album. Where did your initial inspiration come from?

Kenzo Digital: Yeah, I'm a big fan of Prince Paul in general, and that project is dope, but I am not trying to recreate or make a new version of his project. This is sample-based and conceptually more about the practice of sampling as an artist's medium, recontextualizing things to make them new outside of their intended use. I'm a filmmaker/visual artist originally, so I’ve always been into how sound and image relate to each other. The original idea came from two things, one being my experience listening to Raekwon's Cuban Linx'and all of Rza's work in general'and Nas' Illmatic when I was a kid running around the streets late at night as a graffiti artist, and trying to recapture that feeling of adventure and mystery through the art and music that transformed the city into a mythical place. It's also my response to how boring and unoriginal hip-hop culture has become, and this is my attempt at reinjecting some form of mystery and intrigue into these characters that have been overexposed and run into the ground with reality TV, video blogs, and our society's obsession with celebrity culture. Here is a project where I am recreating these characters into larger than life characters within this Shakesperian/Greek Tragedy style story, all while humanizing and deconstructing them as characters within a fictitious plot that draws from parts of their rapper personas. It's a testament to how life imitates art and how in this instance art can imitate life.

Complex: It’s kind of unusual to ask people to listen to one hour-long MP3 all the way through. How should people listen to the project?

Kenzo Digital: Yeah, well part of my boredom with hip-hop music also stems from the radio single focused format that pop music prescribes to. Music has become such a disposable medium with songs being made for specific purposes'club songs, love songs etc. I wanted to break that mold and create something that functions more like a long-form narrative music/movie piece, with songs functioning as scenes and verses functioning like dialogue, no hooks, no filler bullshit. This is a form I have coined “Beat Cinematic”. This project should ideally be listened to at night, with headphones and no interruptions, but as long as you have an hour to dedicate towards listening, you will enjoy it. I understand that in today's ADD culture that could be inconvenient for some people, but part of this project is to expand the listening experience beyond the traditional established venues, and give a unique dramatic payoff that has not yet been explored in music. This project is also recorded in binaural 3D audio, an old technology that utilizes headphones to deliver a fully immersive world through sound design and music production that I feel pushes the visceral nature of the world. But beyond the music, it’s also important to understand that the music is really just an appetizer to the cinema/opera installation version of City of God's Son that I am putting on this summer at an art gallery in New York. At this event, you will experience the project in a psychedelic operatic art installation that will really push the boundaries of how one absorbs sound and image, and how they connect to this story. It will be a one of a kind experience. City of God's Son is also a trilogy, this particular installment being just the first of three. In addition to being marketed to music and film fans, I'm also trying to push this out to the blind hip-hop community.

Complex: On one hand, this seems like an homage to that ’90s New York hip-hop culture. On the other hand, by using their own words to make a sort of gangster movie narrative, it kind of points out how rappers can live in a sort of Scorsese movie fantasy world. Did you mean for it to be critical in any way?

Kenzo Digital: Funny you mention Mr. Scorsese. I met him when I had a film in Tribeca Film Festival in 2005 and mentioned this project in passing as I had just started working on it. I am a big fan of his films and a film head in general, and through this project wanted to create an epic crime satire that commented on the glorification of the gangster lifestyle and the role that media culture plays in that. I also wanted to pay homage to the artists that I felt best portrayed this aesthetic and defined that era of music that I still to this day feel is the most potent cultural time in hip-hop history. In many ways, as much as this is a crime drama coming of age story, it is also a very anti-gangster story.

Complex: How did you end up getting Joe Bataan to do the narration?

Kenzo Digital: Joe Bataan is a great soul singer form NY who emerged in the '60s and '70s. He is an innovator and visionary in his own right, and I felt his voice in particular carried a lot of the feel and texture that I also like about Nas' voice. I also wanted to work with Joe because he is a very overlooked icon within hip-hop culture, his song “Rap o Clap” being one of the first hip hop records ever, coming out right after Sugarhill Gang's “Rapper's Delight”. The first time I heard his music was actually on The Fugees’ The Score album'his song “Gypsy Woman” was used in the background in one of the skits. I dug a little deeper and sought out his records and was a fan from that point forward. But that is part of what I'm trying to get at with this project, is the emphasis of history and its importance in culture, and paying my respects to those who innovated and created.

Complex: Jim Jones just starred in a hip-hop play. What’s it gonna take for you to get Nas, Jay and Ghost to star in an actual live action version of this?

Kenzo Digital: Who knows, I'm sure politically and business-wise that's a pretty tall order, especially considering the live format. But I would love to work with those artists on more conceptually-driven projects that really can redefine the genre in some form of cross medium music/film experience. In the end, I am just a big fan of their work, and want to reinterpret the genius that is their work and reintroduce it to a younger generation that may not fully know how deep and critical this music and culture is outside of the mainstream big business it is today, all within a larger commentary on the state of the culture and our society's obsession with celebrity.

The shows, called “Unnatural Disasters” and “Double Disaster,” feature never-before-seen graphic art (including some cartoon-y titties!) for the browsing pleasure of REAS fans. Check the shows out at Camperdown’s Monster Children gallery on January 15 and Melbourne’s Don’t Come gallery on January 16. Or, if you can’t make it down under, watch the trailer below to get a taste…

For more info, visit: www.toddjames.com

The Los Angeles-based exhibit, which opens tonight at 7 p.m. and runs through the end of the year, will feature Oriol's striking photos of icons from a number of fields, including Henry Rollins, Lemmy Klimister, Stacy Peralta and Robert Williams. To see some behind the scenes videos of the subjects click HERE, and if you're in L.A hit up:

Las Laugh Pop-Up Store
129 E 6th St. ( 6th & Lost Angeles St.)
Los Angeles, CA 90014

See a preview of the photos from the show below…

HENRY ROLLINS

LEMMY KILMISTER

STACY PERALTA

ROBERT WILLIAMS

JOHN CARDIEL

WES HUMPSTON

JOEL TUDOR

SARAH (COLETTE PARIS)

Complex: So you recently launched a new website, toddjames.com. What’s up with that, why the new launch?

REAS: I owned the domain for a long time and thought it would be a good place to sell zines and prints.

Complex: What’s up with the new print, “The New Deal”?

REAS: It’s a painting I did a year or so ago that I really loved and decided to make a print edition of. The results are great. The people I’ve shown it to first hand think it’s an original; the graphite ink is really mind blowing. It looks like the real thing.

Complex: The title seems kinda timely considering recent electoral events.

REAS: Yeah, but that’s luck of the dice I guess.

Complex: It looks kinda like a robbery or something. Is there a story behind it?

REAS: Nope. Just two figures making an exchange.

Complex: So what are your plans for the rest of ‘08 and going into ‘09?

REAS’s forthcoming print that he will debut in London next month

REAS: I have a big piece, the biggest I’ve made on paper, 17′ x 17,’ in a group show in a museum in Walsall, England with the Lazarides crew, I think that opens December 5th. And two shows in Australia, one on January 15th at Monster Children and another in Melbourne at a place called Don’t Come.

Two evenings ago, The Horticultural Society of New York held their Block Party fundraiser in support of their Greenhouse Program, which prepares and trains rehabilitated felons on Riker's Island for jobs in the New York City Parks Department. Hot 97 personality, and generally awesome lady, Miss Info hosted the event. Block Party Curator Dana Albarella, acclaimed editor of hip, and hop, classic tomes such as Bobbito's Where Did You Get Those? and ego trip's Big Book of Rap Lists, enlisted a slew of top-shelf artists to contribute original works for silent auction, and many incredible works moved at reasonable prices in support of the great cause.

Peep after the jump for flicks of the work'courtesy of headliners like Todd “REAS” James, Brian “KAWS” Donnelly, Steven “ESPO” Powers, Shepard Fairey, Eric Haze, Chris “DAZE” Ellis, and Barry McGee, among others'and candids of several of the contributors who showed face for the cause…


Pictured Above: Brian “KAWS” Donnelly and Todd “REAS” James

Pictured Above: Eric Haze

Pictured Above: HAZE piece

Pictured Above: Harry Chalfant piece

Pictured Above: ESPO Piece

Pictured Above: KAWS, ego trip’s Brent Rollins, and Complex Editor In Chief Noah Callahan-Bever

Pictured Above: KAWS PIECE

Pictured Above: Event host Miss Info

Pictured Above: Richard Kern piece

Pictured Above: KAWS draws on Miss Info

Pictured Above: Greenhousers take a bow