Shin X Scion X Giant Robot

Shin Tanaka is an amazing artist. I have been a fan for quite some time, and i finally decided to email, asking if he would do an interview for the site. unfortunately he is a super busy guy, but he obliged by sending me a short profile! props to him, the amount of collaborations and corporate work he has been doing of late, combined with the plethora of personal projects he has been working on, i am stoked i got a reply from the email at all!

here it is, straight from magical, papercrafting fingers of Shin:

OK, you can post some of my images.
but I’m very busy, I won’t have a time to answer the interview.
I appreciate your understanding.

follow is my info, hope it will help you.

SHIN TANAKA was just a graffiti artist.
He had been looking for an interesting canvas instead of a street-wall.
One day, he hit upon an idea to draw graffiti on a toy.
But he didn’t have a good toy for it, then he made a toy from a paper as his
new canvas.
His works have two elements; ORIGAMI and STREET CULTURE.
His ORIGAMI experiences helped it when he was young.
And when he is designing, mega volume HIPHOP music is playing.
His inspiration is the beats and rhyming flow.
Because his paper toys are based on a street culture,
many artists and brands are interested in them.
Before now, over 500 artists and brands join in his paper toy project.
His paper toys have been growing with involving pop art, graffiti art,
street fashion and more.

Apr. 2005 – Paper sneakers were released
Aug. 2005 – Paper sneakers in NIKE Design Library (Portland, Oregon, US)
Sep. 2005 – Paper figure “T-BOY” was released
Oct. 2005 – Paper sneaker “BASQUIAT” (RBK/dpmih)
Feb. 2006 – T-BOY SHOW in Portland, Oregon
Feb. 2006 – Paper figure “SPIKY” was released
Feb. 2006 – Paper sneaker “Ventilator” (REEBOK) for NY FASHION WEEK
Feb. 2006 – Toy customize for nanospore in NYC
Mar. 2006 – adicolor customize for adidas taiwan
Apr. 2006 – Compound concoction in Guestroom gallery
Jul. 2006 – Toy custom for SUG SHOW (UNKLBRANDS)
Aug. 2006 – The WALLMAN custom show in Hawaii
Sep. 2006 – PAPER TOY EXHIBITION: KAMI ZOO in Berlin
Mar. 2007 – INKTHIS 2 in UK
Aug. 2007 – ROCK PAPER SNEAKERS -the paper art exhibition of SHIN TANAKA in association with NIKE-
Feb. 2008 – PAPER TOY LIVE in KENNEDY CENTER -HYPE CULTURE JAPAN-
Jan. 2009 – SYLVAN -hoophy and SPIKY BABY show- in Issey Miyake Paris, France

Thanks,

so there you go, it all started with this papershoes. the paper models of his favourite Nike trainers obviously struck a chord with the company, having collaborated with Shin on numerous occasions.

currently, you (yes, you) are invited to collab with Shin Tanaka on his Boxy papertoy. to get the template, you just have to go to his site, and send him an email, saying that you want to make a design for boxy! (below)

Boxy

so go on, head to his site, and just take a look at the amazing amount of awesomeness this guy has been pumping out!

Shin Tanaka’s Homepage – www.shin.co.nr

i just love this pic. found it on a lil pic blog my friend sent me called – and then i woke up.

i think a couple of you mite be tickled with this one after todays breakfast meeting… we shall chat more about it later.

see more of the pic blog at – www.andtheniwokeup.net

stay tuned for a weekend artist profile… but i wont say who yet.

peace

qwux

Ryohei Hase

click image for large view

I have been sitting on this one for a while, did a brief feature on him (click here), and now i finally get a chance to share it with you all.

I first came across Ryohei in a copy of Empty magazine (issue 14) sometime last year, when detail from his work “Go Forward and Forward” (above) graced the cover of the magazine. There was no text, just a close up of the image, and the magazine title in start white letters. This was when i fell in love with Ryhohei Hase.

So, i did a little digging. The works shown in side the magazine were amazing. It was hard to believe the level of detail and the amazingly surreal depictions that Ryohei had chosen to work with. People as animals, in their most raw moments, struggling, fighting, sad. This theme of sadness, the gloomy otherworld that comes from the artists own thoughts, projected onto scenes of everyday life in Tokyo city, where the people become the animals.

click image for large view

I don’t want to waffle on, as his image speak louder then my words, so be sure to check him out.

his own homepage – www.ryoheihase.com

his deviant art – www.ryohei-hase.deviantart.com

and, if you are interested, here is the pdf presentation i used today, which has some nice closeups of his repetition series, and and comparison between Ryohei and Zdzisław Beksiński – ryohei hase presentation

yes thats right… chris uminga’s paintings from the kids that like to fight show are for sale!!! 325us each, but sooo totally awesome! i featured these just a week or so ago, and i am so in love, check the original post here (same pic)

they can be purchased at – www.davidapuzzophotography.bigcartel.com

thats all from me tonite, i have a presentation in the morning and my net is capped. so i cant deliver usual content rich posts as they load from me! but i will be back tomoz nite! yay

peace

qwux

well, its seems me and my friends are in love with tentacles at the moment, and why the hell not? they are rad, look awesome in pink, and really do add the wow/creepy factor to a lot of things…

so i decided to finally finish my squid design for some pasties/stencils/toys etc…. and here he is

very simple so far, no shading, but i will be stencilling him this week!

see more of my art in the side bar at the right, or at - www.qwux.deviantart.com

australian ioshva is a rad artist, using futuristic tentacles and people that remind me of the old movie metropolis!!!! he also got an ARIA award for best album art in 2008, and has one of the best website interfaces i have seen in a while

very strange and sexual. i like it. see more at – www.ioshva.com

geemo is a freakish new toy, and i definately want it.. part magnetic, part flexible tentacle thing, this would make an awesome landscape for shooting photos, or posing toys, or just for making organic shapes!!! perhaps even to stick your kids drawings to the fridge!

isnt that awesome!!! see more at – www.geemotoy.com

and finally, my favourite musician mark hoppus is in the country! his twitter has kept me up to date with wot he is doing everyday, and i love it… but, he has got a prototype of a new toy he seems to have been developing.. and its a freaking octopus!! and i must have it!

so fucking awesome. cant wait to see the finished product. check it at – www.himynameismark.com

and while we are at it, twitter.. i have it, ronan has it.. all the cool kid have it, and so should you! you can follow me from the link at the top of the sidebar, which tells you my latest tweet!!

stay cool, and dont forget to subscribe if you want the awesome injected to your inbox, each and everyday!

peace

qwux