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Nowhere do you find better examples of color being used to convey properties of good and evil as in comic books.  Comic ink artists are well versed in the subtle inferences that occur through the transfer of emotions via color palettes.  Have you ever noticed what colors the costumes of your favorite comic book super heroes and heroines are, and how those make you feel?  Aside from just making comic book characters look super cool, colors actually serve a dual purpose in establishing the characters’ identities and creating a psychological bond between fans and their comics.   It’s not something we may consciously pay attention to:  Spider-Man’s classic red and blue webslinger suit and Thor’s red, blue, and gold — versus the...

Do you want to be a graphic designer?  Many people do.  Graphic design is an exciting and creative career for those with an artistic streak, and it can be very lucrative, as long as you’re with the right company and you have the right attitude and goals.  Where do you find your inspiration as an artist who often has to meet the creative needs of more than one department on a typical day?  How do you stick to tight schedules and meet deadlines without compromising your artistic skills or resorting to “blah” level graphics?  Is it true that good artists borrow, but great artists steal?   Most graphic designers will tell you that one way of standing out in your area of expertise is to anticipate needs before they arise and find ways to come in...

We know that when actor Kevin Spacey and director Sam Mendes team up, on-screen excellence is likely. The duo that perfected American Beauty in 1999, both of whom won their respective categories for Best Actor and Best Director, in addition to many other titles and accolades, have teamed up again in London, but this time they are displaying their talents on stage. Their excellent satirical work about the American mindset and lifestyle spills into London’s Old Vic Theatre in Richard III in the form of political satire, but that’s about all that’s similar. Now Spacey, who is also the artistic director of the Old Vic, and Mendes, who has run the trans-Atlantic theatre production company the Bridge Project since its start in New York in 2002, have...

After ten years of putting together some of the most renegade Asian films on the outskirts of culture in a slew of high-class New York film festivals, the Asian Film Festival is finally garnering some recognition and respect as one of the better ensembles of a genre of movies. Without the flashy red carpet scene including decked out starlets and elaborate art and food displays that characterize the prominent gatherings like New Directors New Films and the Tribeca Film Festival, the 40 feature program showing at the Walter Reade Theatre and Japan Society this July may seem to come up short in comparison to its peers. However, even without fancy promotions and insider parties, the overall quality and variety of feature presentations is equal to or if not better than...

The way we experience art is a very personal and very subjective experience. It is a matter of perception and personal taste, or, the beauty within the eye of the beholder. No one else’s standards would ever be as high as yours – especially regarding your own creation – and your personal taste may never be fully understood by anyone other than yourself. In a world bombarded by flashy ad campaigns, commercials, logos, billboards, blogs, vlogs and more signs and signals than you would ever have any use for, you can still stand out and make your presence known in a world of mass everything. Create your own masterpiece. Even better, recycle or upcycle items that have outlived their usefulness and put them back into service for your own enjoyment and...

Some artists aim to be invited to show at a prestigious gallery. Some take a slightly different route. Anonymous U.K. street artist Banksy has gained a reputation for his anti art establishment actions. The socially aware and, public relations savvy Brit has built a career doing the unusual. He is probably most famous for his hard biting and downright funny political and social commentary and of course his anonymity. One of his tactics, if that is the right word, is to place his own work in serious galleries exhibiting serious art. So far he has placed, or had work placed for him in four New York museums including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and galleries and the Louvre and the Tate in Europe. Banksy, however, is not the first artist to gatecrash big shows by...