The Stark Files

What Is Max Mainless

2011-06-11T12:38:00.002-04:00

http://maxmainless.tumblr.com/

Blinky™

2011-03-31T00:22:00.001-04:00

Miami 2 Ibiza

2011-02-28T16:01:00.005-05:00

Tinie Timpah - Miami 2 Ibiza feat. Swedish House Mafia

The Black Mamba

2011-02-22T05:50:00.005-05:00

Starring Kobe Bryant, Bruce Willis, Danny Trejo and Kanye West.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Sword Dance

2011-02-21T05:17:00.001-05:00

Masker Minded

2011-01-31T22:18:00.014-05:00

Ben Hopper of the UK considers himself "the average unusual photographer" & with his photo set "Naked Girls With Masks" he poses the question "...why do we reveal our faces, yet hide our bodies from view? ....what happens when that arrangement is turned on its head"?

“I like every element of my compositions to fascinate; it might be the energetic, quirky image of a nude woman in a moose head jumping into the air that first arrests the viewer, but then they notice interesting elements in the background too. I want everything about my photographs to provoke comment and exclamation."

A*Team: Paula Patton

2011-01-19T02:48:00.008-05:00

Paula Patton:
Extremely gorgeous & talented wouldn't be a bad way to describe Los Angeles native Paula Patton. As a matter of fact, it may not do her justice. Most know her as the female lead in Outkast film "Idlewild", or maybe from "Deja Vu" along side Denzel Washington. She's also appeared in the acclaimed film "Precious" & can be seen in the upcoming Mission Impossible sequel as an operative of the IMF. She graduated magna cum laude from USC Film School after leaving Berkeley & has since had a consistent career in Hollywood. Paula has been married to her high school sweetheart singer Robin Thicke since the summer of 2005 & the couple gave birth to a baby boy in April of 2010.

Jay-Z/Charlie Rose Interview3

2011-01-15T21:55:00.002-05:00

Jay-Z/Charlie Rose Interview2

2011-01-13T15:43:00.003-05:00

Phoenix Jones

2011-01-13T14:35:00.007-05:00

Seattle can claim to be the only city with its very own real life super hero....or something like that at least. As "Phoenix Jones" one costumed mans patrols the streets with the intent to actually fight crime...not even an ass kicking will stop him!

Phoenix Jones reportedly tried to stop two men from attacking another when the attackers then turned on him.......wow.

Jay-Z/Charlie Rose Interview1

2011-01-13T13:46:00.004-05:00

Rapper/author Jay-Z sits down with Charlie Rose of PBS to discuss his New York Times bestselling book Decoded, life as a fatherless child, & more...

Random Pic #43

2011-01-05T17:50:00.004-05:00

I always say; "in a bowl of lemons, no lime belongs".

Gavin Bond x Jay-Z

2010-12-28T20:12:00.006-05:00

Gavin Bond showcases the duality in one of Hip Hop's favorite microphone & boardroom specialists.

The Funky Drummer

2010-12-28T15:59:00.009-05:00

Joshua Pablo Rosenstock offers up an experimental display of James Brown's "Funky Drummer" & showcases the famous breakbeat in a way that oldheads & Hip Hop purists would drool over. Hats off for the creativity JP. The breakbeat was basically a 5 second sample from the original that spawned a movement of inspiration through various producer & DJ's.

"...ain't it funky?"

25 Covers: ATLiens

2010-12-13T00:53:00.005-05:00

I love art & I love music. With that said I decided to critique 25 album covers that I find interesting....with the help of course of my circle of comrades; The Initiative. Next up...
ATLiensOutKast; 1996

Stark: The art alone got me interested in the album. this was the first comic art I remember seeing on an album at the time. Wasn't there a full comic inside too?

Kevlar: Likewise here, the cover along with Elevators makes me have visions of weed & the jungle. It made me want the CD I must admit. I know thats left field but I'm not afraid to express how sound/visuals make me feel.

S: I remember their speech at the first Source Awards. This cover kind of ties into that. They felt like they were up against the rest of Hip Hop being from the south. So it can be said that the big guy in the back is Hip Hop & the guys in front represent the fans.

K: It looks like he's against them but Dre isn't looking back at him. They're both looking forward fighting until the mothership takes them home. Today it looks as if he (the industry) guided them to a safe place. Big Boi looks like Nas in this too & that Andre is casting a spell over the fans. hmmmm

S: All in all its dope to me, would you change anything?

K: At first I would've preferred some caption bubbles above their heads for explanation but that would've taken away from the art....I would leave it alone. Look how Dre is in the back. thats exactly how it is today, never really in the front.

S: Yeah he was never the outspoken one but is in fact the champion of the group.

Garden of Eden

2010-11-27T01:43:00.004-05:00

Set in the jazz age of the 1920s, the story follows a successful young American writer & his beautiful wife Catherine on their extended honeymoon in Europe. Catherine soon becomes restless & starts to test her husband's devotion, pushing him to the limits of her erotic imagination & luring a sultry Italian girl into their inner circle. With the stakes continually ratcheting higher, the events that follow change their lives forever.

Green Lantern Trailer

2010-11-18T16:35:00.003-05:00

Vincent Hui Art

2010-11-16T13:05:00.001-05:00

25 Covers: Illmatic

2010-11-11T14:23:00.004-05:00

I love art & I love music. With that said I decided to critique 25 album covers that I find interesting....with the help of course of my circle of comrades; The Initiative. Next up...
IllmaticNas (art by Aimee Macauley); 1994
Stark: When I look at this picture I see struggle, from the stare on his face to the projects in the backdrop....even the title. "Matic" meaning "with" combined with ill could symbolize "with ills" or problems,issues, & ultimately struggle. Who know's about struggle if not the projects? When I think of the title I also think of how dope he is on the mic too (The illest). What's also interesting is that this is the only album where his name is spelled with a lower case "N" which could be symbolic of the young picture (meaning not yet grown in the world), & the fact that this is his first album (not yet grown in the industry).

The Movement: So when you first asked me to review this album cover as part of your series I was like why? For the most part it's just a picture of young, 7 year old Nas super imposed over a project block. (If one of my graphic design students had turned this in for a project they would have gotten a hard D). In my mind the music on the album is what made the cover iconic. Because if the music sucked, we wouldn't even be discussing this right now. And truthfully, I still feel that way to a point.

However I can't ignore the stare of the young boy. Normally when you take photos of young children you see so much lightness and laughter in their faces. Nas has the stare of someone much older. His stare is kind of cold. Not menacing. Not hopeful but at the same time not hopeless. He looks so deep in thought to be so young. In one of the interviews Nas gave, he said that age 7 was the year that he really began to see his world change. He realized he there was more out there than just life in the projects of New York.

This was his debut album so he had to hit the world hard & let everyone know who he was, and he did that. The whole album was about him, who he was, & his thoughts & the artwork reflects that. Since the music was so great, the album cover became great. From that point every artist that used childhood pictures on their cover were trying to reflect the same idea/feeling of this one & that's iconic.

For more words by The Movement, please visit her site:
Confessions of A Disillusioned Black Girl.

Amoeba

2010-11-07T18:33:00.002-05:00

Mike Giant & Derick Montez dress up an alley beside Amoeba Music in the Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco, CA.

Adidas A.039 Mid

2010-11-06T14:14:00.006-04:00

Adidas Originals: A.039 Resplit Mid Off white & cream suede with the gumsole....Delicious! (Inspired by military training footwear & wrestling shoes)

Richard Chai Display

2010-11-06T12:42:00.016-04:00

Fashion itself is a statement, but what do you get when you present fashion in a fashionable way? Answer: The Richard Chai installation, created by Snarkitecture (& designer Richard Chai). Located at New York's HL23 the display was created from a vacant structure that was already housed in the area. The inside allows visitors to not only see the clothing that awaits inside, but also enjoy the experience of its presentation.

The interior was designed in the likeness of erosion & landscape. There's something to be said about the display of both the clothing & the structure itself, its as if the exhibit un-deliberately poses in a deliberate way. Side note; at the conclusion of the display all materials are schedule to be recycled.

Natural Breasts & Science

2010-11-03T19:06:00.009-04:00

Chris Calhoun is the CEO of Cytori Therapeutics. He & his company are on the cutting edge of "regenerative medicine". They've discovered how to use stem cells to enhance organs. Due to both cancer & vanity, breast seem to be his company's entry point into the market ($964 million was spent on augmentation in 2009; United States). The teams research has said to be able to improve aerobic capacity which could combat heart disease & even improve kidney function. Big claims, but since those are huge battles it makes since for him to tackle breasts first. They're more vanity oriented & the top reason for plastic surgery. Cytori could prove themselves greatly in this area & then move on to matters of the heart, liver, kidney, etc.

How do they do it you ask....easy, Duh!!!!!!!

First the fat is liposuctioned from a patients abdomen, some of the fat will be used to create volume while some will be used as regenerative cells. Next the fats cells are mixed with enzymes that hold them together. The cells are then mixed back together. The surgeon would then inject the breast with the new super cells either at the site of damage (in the case of breast cancer mastectomy), or all over (in the case of enlargement) the patients breast. Its said that the injection won't even be painful & patients go home the same day. Within 48hrs of the procedure the body bonds with the new fat cells and growth begins. Voila!

Roger & The Sky

2010-11-03T17:56:00.007-04:00

Hello again...meet Roger.

Roger prefers the window seat during flights.
....its so easy for him to become lost in the misty clouds.
As he boards the plane he eagerly takes his seat.
...his ipod ambiently in the background mixes with the visuals of the sky.

[visual/audible stimulation] >>>

He thinks....
What do they feel like....smell like?
There seems to be an entire world above the layer of clouds we see everyday.
Roger imagines how life would be if we inhabited the troposphere.
The city looks so electric from afar. The sky so true.
He wishes he could reach out & touch....
Is this heaven...no it can't be heaven.....but it seems like it.

25 Covers: Graduation

2010-11-01T11:48:00.012-04:00

I love art & I love music. With that said I decided to critique 25 album covers that I find interesting....with the help of course of some of my circle of comrades; The Initiative. First up...
Graduation Kanye West (art by Takashi Murakami); 2007 D. Ambrossi: On the Graduation cover; art is art, so I can't say that it is whack. I like that he maintains the actually theme of the record, because it's annoying when the cover seems to have zero relevance. I also appreciate the use of a symbol to tell who you are. (The bear) it's like a logo. He's good for that, four albums now, & none of them have his face on it. I feel like that says a lot...especially for someone that is supposed to be totally absorbed in himself. I do feel however, Rap doesn't really have an identity for it's art. Which I believe is a problem & Kanye doesn't really help. If I were totally ignorant to who Kanye was, or what kind of music he is, his covers including this one doesn't really tell that from a distance. If I could change anything, I would somehow give the cover some sort of direction, other than the apparent theme that saying "this is a hip hop record" from a far.

Stark: The use of color to me is aesthetically pleasing. Hip Hop has been going crazy with the bright colors in the last few years (clothing), but Takashi's use with this cover is tasteful. I'm a dude that loves symbolism so I see a few things going on in this picture. To me its like the school is a machine/monster that he (the dropout) survived...so his ascension represents his huge & unlikely success, now he's on his way to a whole 'notha level. The classmates have survived the system/machine too, but they look on because they're obviously not on his level. I've always liked the eyes on Drop Out Bear too...they remind me of records on a turn table.....also its like as he soars away the chain represents that Jesus has his back (funny how its actually near his back too).

Catch up w/ my dude Ambrossi on his own blog; The Ambrossi Mindset.