artnouveaumag: Our full list of the 25 Artists, Places & Trends we couldn’t get enough of this year. #Bestof2011 25. On Behalf of our Generation: Welcome to the Ophiuchus ShowAstrology and society mirror each other brilliantly: stars dictating lower astral elements’ every move, pulling pieces to and fro in the midst of suspense, battling with rival orbs’ gravitational forces, and universal supremacy held by the number of other bodies revolving around the ruling luminary. 24. Soundtrack to 2011: Five Tracks That Please and Here’s WhyJust like any other year, 2011 was a musical hodgepodge. We had our queen bees and our wanna be’s, our good, bad, ugly, uglier, and everything in between. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say this year brought the tears, the pain, the Acid, and the rain. And then of course, there was “Ni**as in Paris.” On that note, I’ll leave you with the music. Ladies and Gentleman, the Soundtrack of 2011:   23. Here’s Looking at New…R.I.P. Gil Scott-HeronNo matter how far wrong you’ve gone. You can always turn around. Met a woman in a bar. Told her I was hard to get to know. And near impossible to forget …astonishing piece. gil scott was a crucial figure in american music and poetry for his righteous anger and deep compassion. there will never be another like him. but as he says here, “turn around, you become full circle and be new here again.” may you find peace, brother gill scott. om mani padme hum. 22. 2011 Brought Us Back in the Day When People Wore Adidas and Lived Life Slow2011 brought out the kid in all of us, and finally, we simply decided to not give a big  F-U-C-K; shit, the world is ending next year anyways, so what’s the bother? Perhaps we should entitle it Innocence Found? The Retrieval of Childhood? I don’t know; regardless, this year was on like Donkey Kong, literally. 21. Style is a Pattern, So It’s Going to get RepeatedStyle is a pattern so its going to get repeated. Designer this. Hand made that. Gucci, Gucci, fendi, prada, vintage appeal nevertheless stopped winning, and won. This year patterns and prints found its way into some of favorite designers palettes and work.20. When Sex Doesn’t Sell: The Keri Hilson Edition Keri Hilson is not that great of a singer, her live performances are mediocre and it isn’t as if she is pulling out these awesome dance moves that would give her an excuse for her voice to sound so strained when she isn’t lip singing. She isn’t a good dancer: watch the “The Way You Love Me Video” clips below and how she is pathetically doing a spiced up version of the macarena and two step. Keri Hilson has no style, she is a ghetto girl playing dress up in Forever21 clothing and Melody Ehsani accessories. 19. Touche Kehinde, Touche The silhouette or shadow of any particular culture is ever changing and can be misleading if judged just by what you see on the wall. If the sun is too high, the shadow stretches. If the pose is just right you might appear more statuesque. In our world, the media is the mirror and the flashlight that all too often simplifies and reveals these shadows and silhouettes for what they really are. There seems to be no group more simplified or more revealed in the past few years like gay men, specifically black gay men. 18. Cult Fiction: The Cults Are Living A FairytaleYes, the emergence of indie-rock/pop band, Cults, is something right out of a Nicholas Sparks novel turned film, but it is their reality which probably makes the duo more fascinating. “We met in San Diego on tour with my brother’s band.” says front-woman Madeline Follin. The other half of Cults, Brian Oblivion adds, “We’ve been dating for a lot longer than [we had] the band. After that night in San Diego, we hit it up.” 17. Nobody Loves You BabyThe quote above is from our interview back in February with TMNK aka NOBODY. The NYC based street artist’s career in art began with chance. Off for the day from his job as a graphics manager, the artist headed to the SOHO shopping district in New York with the noble intent to sell his paintings on the street. This was street art, literally. After selling his first painting for $29, he could easily get $1000 now for the same work, he decided to make art his career and continued to sell art on the street by day and on Ebay at night. The voice for the disenfranchized, Somebody loves you and his name is NOBODY.16. Disciples, Faggots, Odd Future & Other Shock Tactics Odd Future has a virtual how-to map of how to maximize on angst-y teens and upset-for-no-reason white kids with money (and cocaine) to blow. Throw some tunes about eating girls, some homophobic lyrics and killing people in there, and you have the perfect formula for success. But why be lazy, Odd Future? Why not push boundaries and do things that don’t just make me feel like I’m listening to the bomber of Columbine meets Ice Cube? 15. This One Time at Brand CampIn 2012, the world is supposed to end. ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes never looked so inviting. Why waste your time with preserving connections and work relationships when in two years, your ass will be caught up in the rapture, literally. No Anita Baker. If you aren’t fancy to believe in 2012 being the Earth’s end, you can’t dispute the economy being in shambles. Between these two haunting ordeals, the entrepreneur has grown from being a cute idea to a mission. 14. Nicki Minaj - The Masquerade de MaitresseNicki Minaj is the pre-eminent female MC of Generation Now. She’s a massive attack on the senses; scorching eardrums with fire-breathing vocals, and blinding corneas with neon-shine vestments – and it’s all at once. She’s so pink you can taste it – a Blow Pop, scattered, chopped, and cooked up by a local street vendor on the Brooklyn block: pank; young culture’s saccharin-infused quarter water: Pank pop. Hype, hair, and hyperimmediacy with hood-pass in hand – she is the pop face of urban misses. 13. Jesus Christ & Other Pop StarsNo, I’m not Jesus but perhaps subconsciously I want to be? Of course, most Christians want to be Christ-like, but are we jealous of Jesus also? The perfect one? God’s son? The attention he gained, the magic he made, the lives he changed, the followers he garnered. Jesus was the first pop star and it seems like we’re all trying desperately to catch up in our own ways to prove that we can compete with his celebrity. Michael Jackson might have moonwalked, but Jesus walked on water. 12. Some Prose & Pastiche, Hooves Gone Hard & Angela Bassetted Burnt Up Cars, Beyonce’s “Run The World” The modern music industry’s Mitochondrial Eve returns with a fervor to prove – once again – that despite all patriarchal restrictions and destruction: she who bears the womb… the forever battlefield, and said burden… is she who is best equipped to commandeer the cultural revolution. Who rev the world? Girls. 11. Instagram & The Death of the PhotographerWant to be a Photographer overnight? There’s an app for that. Want your snapshots of meaningless nights of binge drinking to look like it was taken on the set of Mad Men because you ‘like really love‘ that vintage look? There’s an app for that. 10. One of these Years These Boots Are Gonna Stunt All Over You Boots are made for stunting and that’s just what they’ll do… and one of these years these boots are gonna stunt all over you… Little Boots were made for shaking and heartbreaks… Swipe’s were made for trekking the transatlantic scape… Doc’s were made for leaving a footprint on the place… Politicians, happy-until-a-week-later marriages, Hauskeepers, one-percenters, tea-sippers, common sense and decency got a boot straight to the face… This year the bottom fell out in a most beautiful way, how do you destroy angels? Close your eyes… and just listen to the sounds… of these big, black, boots... 09. Amy Winehouse Opened The Doors to the Lush Silhouetted Life, Liberated Her own Caged Bird & OursNevermind the Mercedes-Benz, forget the Purple Haze of London’s Eclectic Ladyland, Amy Winehouse opened The Doors to the Lush silhouetted Life, liberated her own caged bird – and ours – humming and harmonizing along said Birdland’s Lullaby… this little Lady did not merely Sing the Blues, she bathed in them… this Bitches’ Brew fueled the Cold Train through said night when we needed a conductor to charge on like a Rolling Stone, and Rebirth The Cool 8. Prince William Ain’t Do it Right if You Ask Thee, If I Was Him I Woulda Sprayed the Town with Banksy From Amy and Adele, to Riots and Rupert, with William somewhere in the Middleton, London was the City that kept it trill in 2011… the rhyme and reason for the subtly subwoofed season at the beacon of fringe culture and on the brink of collapse… London Bridge is falling down, and because of that it wears the crown… Prince William ain’t do it right if you ask thee, if I was him I woulda sprayed the town with Banksy… 07. American Dreams, American Nightmares & Troy Davis This makes the mantra, “we are Troy Davis!” that much less a declaration of justice, but a reminder that we’re all in moral limbo to our justice system. We’re all simply just marching and chanting in purgatory, hoping (and blindly) waiting for the next sacrificed lamb. 06. Technology Is Wonderful, But Let’s Not Race To Get Ahead Of Ourselves Gone are the days that discovering new indie acts consisted of going down to the record store to see if any new artists had dropped anything off, or heading out to an underground music club, usually a hole-in-the-wall in an undesirable neighborhood, to see if there was anything worthwhile happening that night. Within this new digital realm, there is a constant influx of new independent music all the time, especially now that artists are shedding the harsh restrictions brought on by big record companies, allowing themselves to self-release their albums via the Internet. 05. New York is Not Just a Tan That You’ll Never Lose–Because All Other Occupants Pale in Comparison 04. Romantic Naturalism, Cultural Anxiety, Savage Beauty, Fashion as the Fundamental Function One of the reasons why McQueen’s collections often were so hard to watch is that they often channeled our cultural anxieties and uncertainties, and that was very much part of his raison d’être. 03. Protest Movements Don’t Start Large, They are Grains of Sand that can Become Pearls with Time; Why #OccupyWallStreet Matters 02. The Parisian Throne: Because Egregious is The New Black #Amen As much the Four Evangelists as they are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Britney, Jay-Z, Kanye, and GaGa – our proud and prestigious pillars of Pop – stood tall and held rapturous court this year as the cause and cure for our ailing culture… 01. Say Yes to DrugsAs far back as any sort of art has been produced, there is very often a strong connection that has been forged between said art and the use of drugs. Today there is much dispute as to what constitutes as ‘drugs’ and what lies outside the often debatable definition of the word itself. Several everyday occurences and practices owe their initial fruition to the use of drugs, yet nowadays, due to strict regulations, the use of drugs is seen as taboo and often a crutch in relation to the artistic process.

artnouveaumag:

Our full list of the 25 Artists, Places & Trends we couldn’t get enough of this year. #Bestof2011

25. On Behalf of our Generation: Welcome to the Ophiuchus Show
Astrology and society mirror each other brilliantly: stars dictating lower astral elements’ every move, pulling pieces to and fro in the midst of suspense, battling with rival orbs’ gravitational forces, and universal supremacy held by the number of other bodies revolving around the ruling luminary.

24. Soundtrack to 2011: Five Tracks That Please and Here’s Why
Just like any other year, 2011 was a musical hodgepodge. We had our queen bees and our wanna be’s, our good, bad, ugly, uglier, and everything in between. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say this year brought the tears, the pain, the Acid, and the rain. And then of course, there was “Ni**as in Paris.” On that note, I’ll leave you with the music. Ladies and Gentleman, the Soundtrack of 2011:

 

23. Here’s Looking at New…R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron
No matter how far wrong you’ve gone. You can always turn around. Met a woman in a bar. Told her I was hard to get to know. And near impossible to forget …astonishing piece. gil scott was a crucial figure in american music and poetry for his righteous anger and deep compassion. there will never be another like him. but as he says here, “turn around, you become full circle and be new here again.” may you find peace, brother gill scott. om mani padme hum.

22. 2011 Brought Us Back in the Day When People Wore Adidas and Lived Life Slow
2011 brought out the kid in all of us, and finally, we simply decided to not give a big  F-U-C-K; shit, the world is ending next year anyways, so what’s the bother? Perhaps we should entitle it Innocence Found? The Retrieval of Childhood? I don’t know; regardless, this year was on like Donkey Kong, literally.

21. Style is a Pattern, So It’s Going to get Repeated
Style is a pattern so its going to get repeated. Designer this. Hand made that. Gucci, Gucci, fendi, prada, vintage appeal nevertheless stopped winning, and won. This year patterns and prints found its way into some of favorite designers palettes and work.

20. When Sex Doesn’t Sell: The Keri Hilson Edition
Keri Hilson is not that great of a singer, her live performances are mediocre and it isn’t as if she is pulling out these awesome dance moves that would give her an excuse for her voice to sound so strained when she isn’t lip singing. She isn’t a good dancer: watch the “The Way You Love Me Video” clips below and how she is pathetically doing a spiced up version of the macarena and two step. Keri Hilson has no style, she is a ghetto girl playing dress up in Forever21 clothing and Melody Ehsani accessories.

19. Touche Kehinde, Touche
The silhouette or shadow of any particular culture is ever changing and can be misleading if judged just by what you see on the wall. If the sun is too high, the shadow stretches. If the pose is just right you might appear more statuesque. In our world, the media is the mirror and the flashlight that all too often simplifies and reveals these shadows and silhouettes for what they really are. There seems to be no group more simplified or more revealed in the past few years like gay men, specifically black gay men.

18. Cult Fiction: The Cults Are Living A Fairytale
Yes, the emergence of indie-rock/pop band, Cults, is something right out of a Nicholas Sparks novel turned film, but it is their reality which probably makes the duo more fascinating. “We met in San Diego on tour with my brother’s band.” says front-woman Madeline Follin. The other half of Cults, Brian Oblivion adds, “We’ve been dating for a lot longer than [we had] the band. After that night in San Diego, we hit it up.”

17. Nobody Loves You Baby
The quote above is from our interview back in February with TMNK aka NOBODY. The NYC based street artist’s career in art began with chance. Off for the day from his job as a graphics manager, the artist headed to the SOHO shopping district in New York with the noble intent to sell his paintings on the street. This was street art, literally. After selling his first painting for $29, he could easily get $1000 now for the same work, he decided to make art his career and continued to sell art on the street by day and on Ebay at night. The voice for the disenfranchized, Somebody loves you and his name is NOBODY.

16. Disciples, Faggots, Odd Future & Other Shock Tactics
Odd Future has a virtual how-to map of how to maximize on angst-y teens and upset-for-no-reason white kids with money (and cocaine) to blow. Throw some tunes about eating girls, some homophobic lyrics and killing people in there, and you have the perfect formula for success. But why be lazy, Odd Future? Why not push boundaries and do things that don’t just make me feel like I’m listening to the bomber of Columbine meets Ice Cube?

15. This One Time at Brand Camp
In 2012, the world is supposed to end. ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes never looked so inviting. Why waste your time with preserving connections and work relationships when in two years, your ass will be caught up in the rapture, literally. No Anita Baker. If you aren’t fancy to believe in 2012 being the Earth’s end, you can’t dispute the economy being in shambles. Between these two haunting ordeals, the entrepreneur has grown from being a cute idea to a mission.

14. Nicki Minaj - The Masquerade de Maitresse
Nicki Minaj is the pre-eminent female MC of Generation Now. She’s a massive attack on the senses; scorching eardrums with fire-breathing vocals, and blinding corneas with neon-shine vestments – and it’s all at once. She’s so pink you can taste it – a Blow Pop, scattered, chopped, and cooked up by a local street vendor on the Brooklyn block: pank; young culture’s saccharin-infused quarter water: Pank pop. Hype, hair, and hyperimmediacy with hood-pass in hand – she is the pop face of urban misses.

13. Jesus Christ & Other Pop Stars
No, I’m not Jesus but perhaps subconsciously I want to be? Of course, most Christians want to be Christ-like, but are we jealous of Jesus also? The perfect one? God’s son? The attention he gained, the magic he made, the lives he changed, the followers he garnered. Jesus was the first pop star and it seems like we’re all trying desperately to catch up in our own ways to prove that we can compete with his celebrity. Michael Jackson might have moonwalked, but Jesus walked on water.

12. Some Prose & Pastiche, Hooves Gone Hard & Angela Bassetted Burnt Up Cars, Beyonce’s “Run The World”
The modern music industry’s Mitochondrial Eve returns with a fervor to prove – once again – that despite all patriarchal restrictions and destruction: she who bears the womb… the forever battlefield, and said burden… is she who is best equipped to commandeer the cultural revolution. Who rev the world? Girls.

11. Instagram & The Death of the Photographer
Want to be a Photographer overnight? There’s an app for that. Want your snapshots of meaningless nights of binge drinking to look like it was taken on the set of Mad Men because you ‘like really love‘ that vintage look? There’s an app for that.

10. One of these Years These Boots Are Gonna Stunt All Over You
Boots are made for stunting and that’s just what they’ll do… and one of these years these boots are gonna stunt all over you… Little Boots were made for shaking and heartbreaks… Swipe’s were made for trekking the transatlantic scape… Doc’s were made for leaving a footprint on the place… Politicians, happy-until-a-week-later marriages, Hauskeepers, one-percenters, tea-sippers, common sense and decency got a boot straight to the face… This year the bottom fell out in a most beautiful way, how do you destroy angels? Close your eyes… and just listen to the sounds… of these big, black, boots...

09. Amy Winehouse Opened The Doors to the Lush Silhouetted Life, Liberated Her own Caged Bird & Ours
Nevermind the Mercedes-Benz, forget the Purple Haze of London’s Eclectic Ladyland, Amy Winehouse opened The Doors to the Lush silhouetted Life, liberated her own caged bird – and ours – humming and harmonizing along said Birdland’s Lullaby… this little Lady did not merely Sing the Blues, she bathed in them… this Bitches’ Brew fueled the Cold Train through said night when we needed a conductor to charge on like a Rolling Stone, and Rebirth The Cool

8. Prince William Ain’t Do it Right if You Ask Thee, If I Was Him I Woulda Sprayed the Town with Banksy
From Amy and Adele, to Riots and Rupert, with William somewhere in the Middleton, London was the City that kept it trill in 2011… the rhyme and reason for the subtly subwoofed season at the beacon of fringe culture and on the brink of collapse… London Bridge is falling down, and because of that it wears the crown… Prince William ain’t do it right if you ask thee, if I was him I woulda sprayed the town with Banksy…

07. American Dreams, American Nightmares & Troy Davis
This makes the mantra, “we are Troy Davis!” that much less a declaration of justice, but a reminder that we’re all in moral limbo to our justice system. We’re all simply just marching and chanting in purgatory, hoping (and blindly) waiting for the next sacrificed lamb.

06. Technology Is Wonderful, But Let’s Not Race To Get Ahead Of Ourselves
Gone are the days that discovering new indie acts consisted of going down to the record store to see if any new artists had dropped anything off, or heading out to an underground music club, usually a hole-in-the-wall in an undesirable neighborhood, to see if there was anything worthwhile happening that night. Within this new digital realm, there is a constant influx of new independent music all the time, especially now that artists are shedding the harsh restrictions brought on by big record companies, allowing themselves to self-release their albums via the Internet.

05. New York is Not Just a Tan That You’ll Never Lose–Because All Other Occupants Pale in Comparison

04. Romantic Naturalism, Cultural Anxiety, Savage Beauty, Fashion as the Fundamental Function
One of the reasons why McQueen’s collections often were so hard to watch is that they often channeled our cultural anxieties and uncertainties, and that was very much part of his raison d’être.

03. Protest Movements Don’t Start Large, They are Grains of Sand that can Become Pearls with Time; Why #OccupyWallStreet Matters

02. The Parisian Throne: Because Egregious is The New Black #Amen
As much the Four Evangelists as they are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Britney, Jay-Z, Kanye, and GaGa – our proud and prestigious pillars of Pop – stood tall and held rapturous court this year as the cause and cure for our ailing culture…

01. Say Yes to DrugsAs far back as any sort of art has been produced, there is very often a strong connection that has been forged between said art and the use of drugs. Today there is much dispute as to what constitutes as ‘drugs’ and what lies outside the often debatable definition of the word itself. Several everyday occurences and practices owe their initial fruition to the use of drugs, yet nowadays, due to strict regulations, the use of drugs is seen as taboo and often a crutch in relation to the artistic process.


1 month ago