NEW STANDARD CREATIVE AGENCY

Here it is! Our first ever Curator Post! Feel free to check out the images after the jump, curated by our Production Designer/Art Department Head Kyle J. Johnson. Here is what Kyle has to say about Flight and Feathers:

“The urge to fly may be the most human trait that exists. No one in existence has ever looked at a bird soaring in the skies and thought “oh, that looks okay.” No one has yearned to stay planted on the ground, when the hawk screams high above. I think that feather envy is also a common human trait. As mammals, we cannot grow feathers, and so instead we tie them in our hair, or wear them as imagery, or feather our hair, and so on. We just want to touch the magic that is flight and feathers. So keeping the universal urge in mind, take a look at this collection of interesting art/media.”

“We will start the collection with a short film by Luke Randall. Luke Randall’s short film Reach shows us that the urge to fly may be not only a human urge, but a universal urge, shared by all minds, souls, and existences.”

“This illustration from the mid-late 1800’s caught my eye as a quirky look at something between scientific and fantastic.”

“Alex Gross is one of my absolute favorite painters. This piece, Shokei, from 2004, shows us that flight comes with risk.”

“Andy Gilmore’s crow is a beautiful combination of mediums, and to me, shows the fleshiness of the bird.”

“Taking a step in a more folk art direction, this fairy assemblage is an interesting perspective on flight in relation to fairy tales, and like Andy Gilmore’s crow, brings in an organic quality with wood.”

“With a script, director, and performances that basically guaranteed this film an Oscar or two, Black Swan is the perfect example of the human obsession with flight, and free movement. This image is also a little more film noir than most of the production images we have seen used in the marketing of the film, and I like that.”

“Now this is for all of the Harry Potter fans out there. As a HP fan myself, I am always interested in the variations on the movie and book imagery. This variation, in many ways encapsulates the feeling that you are being watched. And in many ways, because of the dark nature of the Dementors, this image to me represents not only flight, but more so the aberration of flight, the horrid emptiness of weightless floating.”

“This is a much more whimsical approach to weightlessness. The sheer absurdity of the size of the dragon’s body compared to the size of its wings brings a humor to it that takes the image out of the realm of menacing. I would see an image in this style working well in a children’s book.”

“This blouse is a gorgeous example of how feathers, used almost as a graphic pattern, create intense visual interest. Plus, since I often include beaded strands with feathers on them in my own paintings, this blouse is especially intriguing to me.”

“This photograph from Greg Kadel is very enchanting to me. It reminds me of the mysticism that often accompanies flight, feathers, motion, and in many ways the spirituality that is inherent in all of these things.”

“Hugo Simberg’s Wounded Angel is a great example of how modern art has pulled certain figures off their pedestals. You would never see this kind of imagery, of an angel depending on children of men for assistance, at any point in the Renaissance, or really, any point before the mid 1800s.”

“James Jean is one of those artist whose work I cannot look it without feeling intensely jealous. His brushwork, his imagery, his color choices… His paintings are everything a painting should be. I love the bizarre quality of a cluster of wings with a body getting ready, making itself pretty. The figure here also seems to be contemplating its own existence, and seems unaware that it is being watched by the viewer. This is a private moment.”

“Jeannette Oerleman’s Pelican has a lot of visual references going. The photograph is shot in a very “in studio style”, which is not a common nature photography theme. There is almost this question of whether or not the pelican is stuffed, or if that oily looking water is merely sculpted plastic instead of a perfectly captured wave of suds.”

“These two images that i have posted here from Jorge Miguel. Both images are from his De Cabeza series, and are some of the most interesting portraits i have seen in a very, very long time. I think they show two sides of the human relationship with birds: our relationship with them as prey, and our relationship with them as role models. We take advantage of them, and then we envy them… it’s a complex relationship.”

“I discovered this piece from Juan Weiss while i was searching for a new background for my iPad. His gouache, costumed child makes me smile every time i see it, because, to me, it is a hopeful image. The child is not jaded by the world, and still can dream of being a bird.”

“If there is one artist from this entire post that you should walk away knowing about, it is Kate MccGwire. Her work is the kind of work that, for me, opened up an entirely new process of thought about shape and materials. Serpentine and feathered, spilling open, but tightly looped. It is so contradictory in theory, but so perfectly matched in reality.”

“So many times, artists, designers, and filmmakers look to other artists, designers, and filmmakers for visual inspiration. I think sometimes we forget to look at the worlds first, and in my opinion, best artist, designer and filmmaker: Mother Earth. This bird, called a Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, is unlike any bird i have ever seen in my backyard, and is a symphony of color.”

“This image plays again with the similarities of flight and dance that i think are unavoidable.”

“This piece from Nicoletta Ceccoli is just so beautiful to me. It is dark, parts are expressively painted, others are sharp, and it makes you think about the ideas and urges that sometime stay caged within us.”

“This is a photograph that shows a usually ignored type of peacock feather, used in large quantity. I love the luscious shades of greens and blues that present themselves. I always strive, in design, and in production, to bring in organic elements, and use them in subtle ways. i feel like this is exactly the type of thing i would look for and put into a production i am working on, provided the scene called for it.”

“I am in love with this illustration from Ruel Pascual. I love the ominous tone that it evokes, even though both characters are seemingly innocent, and playing a game. I get the feeling that the owl knows something that we don’t know, as viewers, and that the boy doesn’t know it either. I imagine he is grinning at a dark secret, or that he is expecting the viewer, whereas the boy is just turning to discover us.”

“Again, coming back to the idea that Mother Nature does the best design work, this variety of Rufous Hummingbird is splendorous in its color, its feathers positively sparkle.”

“This owl tattoo from Scotty Munster is a perfect example of how we can humanize animals, and yet still stay so alienated from them. You again get the idea that owl knows something you do not. I love the owl’s hands in this image, as well as the leaking tea cup. A gorgeous chest tattoo, to be certain.”

“This image is one by Sir Mitchell, an awesome artist from Los Angeles. I think this image is a prime example of how even with the use of limited colors (i.e., only white, red, black, and some minor variations on these), you can create a stunning and vibrant image.”

“This image comes to us from Russia (or so I have been told)… It is part of a sculpture park. I see this representing a couple different things… i see mountains, i see technology… but i also see wings. I see wings made of concrete. Something about that contradiction is really appealing to me.”

“This is Stolas. Stolas, according to the Ars Goetia, and of course, Wikipedia, is a Prince of Hell. He teaches astronomy, as well as the knowledge of poisonous plants, herbs, and precious stones. This version of Stolas (a crowned owl with long legs) is drawn by Collin De Plancy.”

“This is one of the most intriguing images on this list to me. I do not know the artist, but dearly would like to. His/her artistic method is a complete mystery to me, but the image looks like a mixture of paint and sculpture, and then photographed… It is stunning and bizarre.” KNOW THE ARTIST? Respond to this post with the correct artist, and win 30% off a Design Service from New Standard!

“Here is another piece of work where the artist, again, eludes me. But i absolutely love the action inherent in the painting. Is it the most stunning technical painting? No, but that is not what is important. You can feel this painting, in all of its bizarre, tribal qualities.”

“Our final image comes to us from Wilhelm Staehle, an artist who is both bizarre and darkly comic in his collage work. In the series this image comes from, Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre, the silhouette inspires us to fill it in, while the text fleshes out the meaning, and in some ways helps us create the picture.”

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If you know of any artist shown here but not explicitly credited, please let us know.