Kanye West speaks on fashion and labeling, spits a freestyle on the topic.

via herfection.

SUPER, an Italian eyewear manufacturer, has announced its spring line.  The translucent colored frames with matching zeiss lenses are inspired by the classic wayfarer.

via SUPER.

Northwestern University’s Block Museum is exhibiting original drawings by Michelangelo and other 16th century masters from January 23-April 5, 2009.

“See 70 original drawings by Michelangelo and other 16th-century masters from the collections of Spain’s prestigious Prado Museum. Focusing on the period from roughly 1520 to 1620, this exhibition highlights the exceptional technical proficiency achieved by artists of the time while demonstrating the importance of drawing in the creation of multiple types of art, including ceramics, frescos, prints, tapestries, and stained glass.

Scholar Nicholas Turner’s extensive research in identifying and documenting these drawings has led to the first exhibition of most of these works outside the Prado since the institution acquired them more than 75 years ago. Turner’s work also revealed two of the drawings as Michelangelo figure studies for the Sistine Chapel’s Last Judgment.”

via Northwestern University - Block Museum

A Bathing Ape (BAPE), a high-end Japanese clothing company founded by Tomoaki “Nigo” Nagao, has announced plans to open an online store.  It’s not known whether the store will offer worldwide distribution or serve the Japanese market exclusively.  The company currently has stores in New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and Taipei.

via Hypebeast.

The art scene is not what it used to be in Wicker Park.  Rents have increased forcing artists to move farther south, the art scene has not faded, it just went “underground.”

Ed Marszewski is an important figure in the Chicago underground art scene.  He is the founder of The Co-Prosperity Sphere in Bridgeport, an experimental cultural center that hosts exhibitions, screenings, presentations, installations, festivals, and concerts.  In addition, he runs Lumpen and Proximity magazines, publications that explore Chicago’s place in the art world.  PAPER MAG interviewed Marszewski about Chicago’s growing underground art scene.  Check out the interview here.

image via Lumpen.

“Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.”

Attention Chicago and San Francisco: this Monday tickets will go on sale for a special screening of Objectified.  Director Gary Hustwit and designers from the film will be in attendance at the screenings.

April 28
Chicago IL, USA, 7:30pm
Music Box Theatre
Tickets go on sale here Monday, February 2nd, at 12 noon CST.

April 21
San Francisco CA, USA
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 7pm & 9:30pm
Tickets go on sale here Monday, February 2nd, at 12 noon PST.

via Objectified.

There is nothing worse than a fool in the rain.  Umbrella Today? is a website where you enter your zip code and it lets you know whether or not you’ll need an umbrella.  You can also enter your cell number and they will send you a text on days when you’ll need an umbrella.

via Umbrella Today?

Kaws’ “A Long Way Home” exhibition, a collection of paintings and scultpture, will take place at Honor Fraser in Los Angeles from Feb. 1 2009 - Apr. 4, 2009.

Just when you thought you’d heard the end of overpriced protein and energy drinks…Say hello to MeatWater. Meatwater is, you guessed it, a meat-flavored beverage chock full of protein.  Till Krautkramer and Brian Kane are the brains behind the company, which offers over 20 flavors including Dirty Hot Dog, Cheeseburger, Beef Jerky, Escargot, and Peking Duck.  A liquid meal in a 12 oz. bottle?  A supermodel’s dream!

Too bad it’s all just an elaborate hoax.  These guys are hip to our nation’s obsession with novelty goods and meat.  I just made a supermodel cry…

Poster Boy, a New York native, mashes up and remixes subway advertisements using only a razor. He cuts images and text from ads and uses them to alter other ads. His work usually conveys some sort of message regarding societal structure.

Check out his Flickr page here.

via Kanye’s blog.