Some call it art. Some call it graffiti. Banksy has a different view of his work:

People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish… but that’s only if it’s done properly.

The work of the English graffiti artist simply known as Banksy has invaded the Bristol Museum located on Queens Road in Bristol, England. Not much is known about the artist. What is known, is what can be seen through his unique ideas and wild artwork, which steer clear of commercial galleries and has been seen in various cities across the planet.

Banksy once said:

Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a sharp knife to it.

The fact that Banksy has a wide range of different art styles and techniques, whose artwork pops up all of over the world, leaves one to question if perhaps Banksy is actually a group or collective that run under one identity. Over the years various information has come out regarding Banksy’s true identity, but nothing solid.

Banksy wrote at his website:

I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being ‘good at drawing’ doesn’t sound like Banksy to me.

The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.

Banksy’s art has been within the Bristol Museum since June 13 and will be on exhibition until August 31. The Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm, with admission being free.

Samples of his art can be found below.

• Stencil on the Thekla Social entertainment boat, central Bristol.
• Naked Man image by Banksy, on the wall of a sexual health clinic on Park Street, in Bristol.
• Stencil of Charles Manson in a prison suit, hitchhiking to anywhere, at an Archway, London.
• Work on a building in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Graffiti paintings on the Israeli West Bank barrier near Qalandia.
• A painting on a wall near Bethléem.

Really, if you’re nearby, you must check in.

Robert Buelteman is not your average photographer. He’s not out there taking pictures of lawn chairs and chain link fences, or endearingly fat babies in buckets. He is turning nature into a vision of electricity so difficult and dangerous that nobody else will even attempt it.

Here is a thorough breakdown of Buelteman’s process:

1. Buelteman begins by painstakingly whittling down flowers, leaves, sprigs, and twigs with a scalpel until they’re translucent.
2. He then lays each specimen on color transparency film and, for a more detailed effect, covers it with a diffusion screen.
3. This assemblage is placed on his “easel” — a piece of sheet metal sandwiched between Plexiglas, floating in liquid silicone.
4. Buelteman hits everything with an electric pulse and the electrons do a dance as they leap from the sheet metal, through the silicone and the plant (and hopefully not through him), while heading back out the jumper cables.
5. In that moment, the gas surrounding the subject is ionized, leaving behind ethereal coronas.
6. He then hand-paints the result with white light shining through an optical fiber the width of a human hair, a process so tricky each image can take up to 150 attempts.

The images may not look like much at first, until you consider the ridiculously tedious process behind it (an extension of Kirlian photography).

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind seeing some of his herb photography.

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art presents “GET RICH QUICK!” a selection of rare originals and prints from the collections of their collectors.

Some of the strongest voices in the contemporary art world are featured:

Antony Micallef, Banksy, Barry McGee, Bast, Beejoir, D*Face, Dalek, David Choe, David Choong Lee, Faile, Ian Francis, KAWS, Nick Walker, Paul Insect, Shepard Fairey, Sixeart, Skullphone, Space Invader, Swoon, Will Barras and more to be announced!

The opening reception is on Thursday, May 7th 2009 from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm. The exhibition will be open for viewing through Thursday, May 28th 2009 at 1.00PM – 7.00PM, that’s plenty of time so I don’t want to hear any excuses. The gallery will be held at the following venue: 1257 N. La Brea Avenue in W. Hollywood CA 90038.

We’ll be attending the event so look out for some full coverage in later days. See you there!

Trendhunter Magazine presents the Top 50 Graffiti Trends and Counter Culture Art in Q1 2009. The report reflects the ranking of several million monthly views they receive at Trendhunter.com and their Graffiti Trend Database which has an incredible 2,508 graffiti trends.

Once I saw the pictures of the Scottish Kelburn Castle, I knew I had to be in an alternate mindset to fully appreciate and understand them. The psychedelic artwork is aesthetically nuts and the story behind it being there is very cool at the same time. The castle’s located near Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Scotland, also providing space for the current seat of the Earl of Glasgow.

The Crack Addict photography project was interesting as it depicted, what I can only assume, addicts and dealers in a naturally typical setting for the sort. Gritty and real with a very honest approach.

The third graffiti project, the illusory 3D Pavement art, is mind-blowing and challenges the viewer’s perception. Artist Edgar Mueller had a stroke of genius when he created his street art ice crevasse in Ireland. The huge 250-square meter picture, took 5 days to complete, working from sunrise to sunset with 5 assistants.

If you’re at all interested in graf art and the wonderful world of counter-culture, Trendhunter’s feature collection is definitely worth a peek; your eyeballs will thank us.

Josh Ross is a Los Angeles-area artist who knows how to tell stories with photos and create some amazing art work.

Working for years in photography, print, and web design, Ross combines an old-school feel to some of his photos, while other designs are pretty cutting edge. Ross has a design website and another that features his work behind the lens.

Ross’ specialty is in digital media, but also has an extensive portfolio showing a real craft working outside the box, with a box or pretty much using whatever materials he can get his hands on to make something look uniquely his. His work has been praised for its innovation in being able to examine how tools and materials interact to achieve the artists’ vision — but personally, I just think his designs look fucking cool.

For Tom Fruin, the line between art imitating life and life imitating art just became a little less sharp.

His new dimebag art project entitled “American Landscape,” is literally a collection of (now empty) bags of weed, coke and heroin Fruin’s collected over the years and laid into murals of different parts of counter-culture Americana.

More examples of his art work can be found on his website.

Gallery 1988 has put together a seriously kick ass art show full of nothing but Beastie Boys tribute pieces titled ‘Under The Influence‘. This show is huge – over 100 artists have produced works that cover almost every style and medium.

Go over to 1988’s blog to see tons and tons of shots, the pieces really are stunning. I’ve also included 10+ choice pieces after the jump.

If you’re into art and the Beastie Boys, move fast on any purchases or else every single piece will be sold. You can reach them at gallery1988@aol.com or call them at (323) 937-7088.

[via OMG Posters!]

Screen prints and posters don’t often make it onto the pages of tFS, but this piece is definitely an exception

David Choe, the badass muralist, got together with Burlesque Designs to create a monster of a screenprint – more technically complex than I’ve ever heard of before.

The piece is titled ‘Exodus From The Land of Play’ and measures 33″ x 30″ of 18 color screenprint goodness. It’s limited to a run of 76 prints and is priced at $909 (for those unfazed by the current economy).

Beyond the amazing color count, the entire run is hand painted by David Choe to further ensure the uniqueness of every finished piece. That’s some serious time & effort investment.

Check out a ton of detailed photos in this Flickr set or purchase the print at Burlesque Design. There are still some available.

Oh yea, you can see a video of the printing / customization process after the jump…

[via OMG Posters]

LA Pop Art is selling an exclusive marijuana leaf poster created by using the official U.S. Government list of 647 marijuana “street terms”.

As described by LA Pop Art:

So you think you have heard every name out there for Marijuana?? Some are funny, some creative and some are out there – but what people dont know is that the United States Government keeps an official list of all these names. And surprisingly enough over the years, this official list has grown to a shocking 647 official “street terms” for Marijuana.

Upon discovering this list, we here at LA Pop Art felt that we had a “responsibility” to you – our customers – to turn this list into a big ass Marijuana leaf. Enjoy!!

The poster is currently offered at 24″ x 30″ with a $13.99 price tag. Not a bad investment if you commonly find yourself staring at blank walls and going crazy with eye-bleeding boredom.

A novelty item like this will definitely jazz up some of that bleakness. Plus, if you have parents, it’s an educational tool. Right?

On a side note, expect some cool new content & features next week. We won’t stop evolving the site until the internet runs out of bandwidth, promise.

The Video

Crazy Midget Fight: Anything that makes me laugh so hard and be equally disgusted with myself at the same time, has to be posted. This is the Jerry Springer Show at it’s ultimate peak.

Supreme Fall/Winter 06′: Looks like Supreme has dropped their new Fall/Winter line with some fresh New Era caps and some cold weather gear. I especially like the Duffle Coat jacket. Too bad LA isn’t exactly the best place to sport one. [via Supreme]

Up with smooth looking blinds, down with venetians [via Trendir]
Obsessive pet lovers rejoice, feed your animal from anywhere [via BornRich]
Che Guevara + Darth Vader = collectible sculpture? [via HighSnobiety]
Finally, the ability to make a gold ball & rake handle shake [via Uncrate]
Winter Special: The best ski resorts around using artificial snow [via Luxist]
Reverse pollution art – just the name alone sounds cool [via Eyeteeth]
Yea, I’ll take 3,000 Big Macs to go please [via HaHa.nu]
Perhaps the coolest mouse yet, Logitech does it again [via Cool Hunting]
FreeCreditReport.com is finally being investigated [via The Consumerist]