my tumblr

lately i've been putting energy into my work blog/page. this blog isn't dead, but newer stuff is on the other one. check it out.

megknobel.tumblr.com

recent tattoos and art

new art

new

i work at an incredible new studio, i live in an amazing cabin, i live in a beautiful city that i'm getting to explore, i have great friends, i sold my car, i love my bikes, i'm learning to paint, and i have a wonderful new partner to share exciting new things with.

100 Abandoned houses

100 Abandoned houses, a project by Kevin Bauman... From his website:

The abandoned houses project began innocently enough roughly ten years ago. I actually began photographing abandonment in Detroit in the mid 90’s as a creative outlet, and as a way of satisfying my curiosity with the state of my home town. I had always found it to be amazing, depressing, and perplexing that a once great city could find itself in such great distress, all the while surrounded by such affluence.

Brush Park, on the outskirts of Detroit’s entertainment district was always an area of interest to me. For as long as I can remember the area, housing large houses and mansions, sat largely abandoned just a stones throw away from the Fox Theater, and not far from Wayne State University, the Masonic Theater, and even the central business district. How could an area that was obviously once a wealthy enclave in the city become an example of the downfall of American cities?

For years the area had signs advertising the redevelopment that was about to take place. It finally began to happen, with the construction of the new ballpark for the Tigers, and Ford Field for the Lions. New condos, and town homes began to appear amidst the rubble of burned out mansions turned apartments. Some of the houses were so large they became “loft condos”. As the entertainment district flourished, and Brush Park began to transform into something new, I realized the other approximately 135 square miles of Detroit was largely ignored. The excitement about Detroit’s “rebirth” took center stage, while much of the rest of the city was becoming largely abandoned. Even Brush Park itself was still largely abandoned, but with the remaining tenants of Brush Park buildings being pushed out, and many of the old houses torn down, I moved on to other areas, where Detroiters were attempting to make a life among abandoned and burned out houses. Often times, the neighborhoods were almost completely abandoned. In these neighborhoods I encountered concerned citizens, packs of wild dogs, 20 foot high piles of toilets, and houses with the facades torn off, filled with garbage.

As the number of images grew, and a documentary style emerged, I switched from mostly black and white, to color, and decided to name the series 100 Abandoned Houses. 100 seemed like a lot, although the number of abandoned houses in Detroit is more like 12,000. Encompassing an area of over 138 square miles, Detroit has enough room to hold the land mass of San Francisco, Boston, and Manhattan Island, yet the population has fallen from close to 2 million citizens, to most likely less than 800,000. With such a dramatic decline, the abandoned house problem is not likely to go away any time soon.

bubbles

photos by Richard Heeks.

artististic people

need to add a couple artists i (and many) love. a little tribute.



jeff soto.. check out his page, and be totally amazed. you probably recognize his work, and it's on juxtapoz all the time.




mike giant updated his website and added art!



Amanda Wachob is a tattoo artist who pushes boundaries between fine art and tattooing.

all modern houses

new site i'm exploring, with tons of modern houses!!! great photos.

inspiring- check it out. Plastolux.

tattoo artist art

just found a site with lots of different tattoo artists' prints and stuff. really good! check it out.

fat zombie.


derek (at our shop) just bought a flash set from derek noble... it's pretty evil looking.

anyway, worth a glance.

my new love: lisa bengtsson

first, check out artist/graphic designer lisa bengtsson's portfolio. then check out the site Bunny Maxwell, which sells her wallpaper along with other super fun stuff that i can't afford.


i'm thinking lisa's roses....are going in my next tattoo. i've been waiting for an image that clicked, and i think i found it.

tv polaroid

love these pictures. going to use them.............. need more tvs.

your meat is mine

wow.

awhile back, lucas and i saw these tattoos... didn't bookmark the page, and kind of forgot about them.

tattoo artist Yann in Montreal (?) has this simple style that is absolutely amazing.

check out his work at YOUR MEAT IS MINE. there's an option for english at the top left, or just click on each gallery to see his work.

artist Sean Barber

Sean Barber paints... mostly tattoo artists and their body art. and, he does an INCREDIBLE job.

Here's an article on Mike Giant's site, fecal face, about him. shows where to buy his book, etc. check it out for a summary.

what you should really do though is go to his art site. an amazing collection of his paintings over the last few years. Checkout the doll project- creepy!

Mike Brodie aka The Polaroid Kidd

So, periodically looking at the polaroid kidd's website (ridindirtyfaces.com) was something worth anyone's time, until the site suddenly disappeared.



mike brodie, born 1985, took a series of photos on the railways of runaways, homeless people, squatters, etc. which is incredibly intriguing...

Here are a few of his photo collection, in an exhibition in LA. And here is an interview on Mike Giant's site, fecal face. Oh, and more on fecal face, a great collection of Mike Brodie's photos.

The guy in the middle here is mike brodie, at his final show apparently.