chumpchampion

For lovers of cool shoes, small companies who make cool shoes, and cool shoes on sale made by small cool companies, check out Keep’s sample sale this weekend in LA’s Chinatown. Music, drinks, and deals on shoes on a warm LA day, sounds like good times to be had.

And not only do the good peeps at Keep create fine shoes and clothing, they also keep good company as they are tight with an artistic community who support and share their same ideals. Among the Keep family contributors are photographers Tobin Yelland (who shoots most of Keep’s catalogs as well as being the director of photography of our film Beautiful Losers), Deanna Templeton (the lovely wife of Ed), and the brothers Ray and David Potes of the omni-present Hamburger Eyes (I actually just randomly met Dave in NY a few days ago through our mutual friend Ito!).

Thanks to Stephanie at Keep’s Hillhurst store for passing along the good info.

May 31 Sat 10 am - 6 pm
June 1 Sun 12 - 5 pm
Keep Chinatown HQ
418 Bamboo Lane
LA, CA 90012

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Once again the Secret Headquarters of Silver Lake bring the goods with tonights opening featuring Mark Todd’s latest works on paper. His previous illustrations I’ve seen of iconic “bad asses” ranging from Mr.T to Miss Piggy and reconstructions of comic book covers from our youth, make Todd’s lo-fi sensibilities a perfect fit for our friendly neighborhood comic book shop.

From the secret heads of the Secret Headquarters:

Painter, illustrator and author Mark Todd took his first creative cues from comic books and Star Wars: worlds of inventive fantasy that still inform his art. His latest work involves intense scrutiny and alteration of classic comic covers from “Fantastic Four,” “X-Men,” “Iron Man,” “Spiderman” and other series, including the work of legendary illustrators like Jack Kirby.

“I love the type, the heavy shadows, the colors and the way they seemed to use every inch of the page,” says Todd. “I sit and study them, and my brush reconstructs them.”

Todd is referencing the past, waxing nostalgic about it and simultaneously lending his own post-modern sensibility to it, employing a limited palette, repetition, distortion and mixed media materials including spray paint, cel-vinyl, glossy varnishes and dusty stains. The pieces are rounded at the edges, appearing as prized objects; tablets encoded with civilization’s most iconic collective wisdom.

His work has appeared in scores of publications including Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Spin, New York Times, and for Country Music Television. Todd graduated with honors in 1993 from Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, where he has also taught since 2003. He has also written several books, including “Whatcha Mean, What’s A Zine? ” co-authored with his wife and fellow artist, Esther Pearl Watson.

Join Mark Todd for a drink at Secret Headquarters
from 8pm - 10 pm TONIGHT, May 30th.

Secret Headquarters will feature Todd’s one-of-a kind original works of art through July 2nd, 2008

www.funchicken.com

Secret Headquarters is located on 3817 W Sunset Blvd. LA 90026 and is open Monday through Friday from 11am-9pm and on Sundays 12pm-7pm for all your geek book needs.

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