Tag Archives: jim mckenzie

Pop Culture, Toys and Collectibles

Five Points Festival: The Mother of All Photo Recaps is Here!

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Five Points Press Badge
All Photos By Gail

If you happen to be a fan of character-based, pop culture collectibles — which includes dozens of items encompassing such must-haves as enamel pins, plushies, art toys, limited edition / designer vinyl toys and action figures, monsters, model kits, art prints, novelties and seemingly endless subcategories of amazing swag — then the Five Points Festival, which took place in Greenpoint, Brooklyn over the weekend of June 2nd and 3rd, 2018 is the only place you want to be. There’s a lot to distill in this recap, so we are going to get right to it. If you weren’t at Five Points Fest, here is just some of what you missed!

Kidrobot Booth

You can’t really talk about Five Points Fest without at least mentioning Kidrobot, acknowledged worldwide as the premier manufacturer and retailer of limited edition art toys, signature apparel and lifestyle accessories. Their booth was crammed full of goodies like these pocket collectibles.

Andy Warhol Dunny
Andy Warhol Dunny Series 2

Andy Warhol Brillo Box
Andy Warhol Brillo Box Object Series

Post Continues, With Hundreds More Toys and Cool Things, After The Jump!

Continue reading Five Points Festival: The Mother of All Photo Recaps is Here! →

Arts and Culture

Pop Artist Jim McKenzie Announces Art Tutorial Video Series: Makin’ Things!

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Jim McKenzie With Scarecrow
Artist and “Young Paul McCartney” Impersonator Jim McKenzie, with his Scarecrow Creation (Image Source)

Regular readers of this rad blog may already be familiar with the New York Art Scene’s Favorite Teen Idol, AKA Jim McKenzie, because we’ve written about his amazing art Here and Here. Jim creates sculptures of whimsical hybrid creatures not entirely dissimilar to the work of Ron English, whom we also love. Now, Jim is bringing the love back to his fans with a weekly how-to video series called Makin’ Things With Jim McKenzie. Check out the Video Preview below:

Oh boy oh boy, this sounds like fun. Jim will debut the first episode of Makin’ Things with Jim McKenzie this coming Saturday, December 3rd, 2016, which will be airing on his personal pages at Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram! Produced by Aardman Nathan Love and Aardman Animations, Makin’ Things is an informative art web series that dives deep into the processes of creating wondrous works of art. Jim will be covering all sorts of art-making topics, such as sculpting, drawing, painting, and even how to critique your own work. Get your clay, paints, and pencils out and follow along at home every Saturday morning at 8AM EST.

Watch and participate in Makin’ Things at any of the Internet-based locations listed below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JimMcKenzie
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialJimMcKenzie
http://www.instagram.com/JimMcKenzie

Even if you don’t want to make any art, you can watch it with the sound off, and still enjoy Makin’ Things, because, gee wiz, what a handsome man he is. Jim McKenzie!

Arts and Culture

Last Weekend to See Stephen Romano’s Materia Prima at Blam Projects

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Installation View
All Photos By Gail

Oops. This is what happens when you are distracted by a neo-fascist stealing a national election, accompanied with the onset of the holiday season and other various mind-numbing events: you neglect to blog about an art exhibit until it’s nearing its very last day of installation. My bad! Continue reading Last Weekend to See Stephen Romano’s Materia Prima at Blam Projects →

Arts and Culture

Jim McKenzie’s Lost Magic Comes to at LA’s Copro Gallery June 4th!

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Pugglepillar By Jim McKenzie
Pugglepillar By Jim McKenzie

The New York Contemporary Art Scene’s very own Teen Idol,  Jim McKenzie, will launch his first solo exhibit at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica on June 4th, and if you are anywhere near LA, you had better plan to be there!  Lost Magic will feature  a collection of Jim’s Pop Surrealist sculptures that must be seen to be believed.  Jim’s creations for Lost Magic include seemingly fun and playful characters such as a Scarecrow with an ironic phobia of crows,  a half-raccoon, half-unicorn appropriately named Raccoonicorn, as well as a variety of other brightly hued animal hybrids. Despite their candy-color coating, the pieces of Lost Magic were crafted with a darker undertone in mind. Jim explains, “I wanted to showcase the intersection where beauty and sadness intertwine within. I’ve chosen to create contrasting hybrids and, though they have these brilliant colors and seemingly majestic qualities, ultimately, they are all outcasts. This show is for those who’ve lost touch with the magic this world has to offer and for those who still want to see it.”

Watch Jim in the process of creating a few of the fantastic pieces that you will see in this show, in the theatrical trailer below:

Jim McKenzie – “Lost Magic” Theatrical Trailer

Jim McKenzie’s Lost Magic will be on Exhibit from June 4th Through July 2nd, 2016, with the Opening Reception on Saturday June 4th from 8:00 – 11:30 PM. Copro Gallery is Located at 2525 Michigan Ave. T5, Santa Monica, CA 90404.

Design and Innovation

Pink Thing of The Day: Gut Guy!

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Gut Guy

Hey what’s up. Have you seen those Xifaxan commercials with the little animated wad of intestines? Whenever I see that commercial, I want to barf, because he is made to personify diarrhea. Hilariously, I recently found out that the Intestines Man is actually called Gut Guy, and — surprise! — he was created by an artist whom I actually know in real life: Jim McKenzie. Actually, Jim is not the sole creator of Gut Guy, but he contributed in the design process, which was a group effort with his team at Aardman Nathan Love!

Continue reading Pink Thing of The Day: Gut Guy! →