Supertouch and Jamie O'Shea

Except for a few months here and there, I was never noted for my hipness. Or even really knowing what was "in" at any moment in time. With that caveat, I just discovered Jamie O'Shea's blog - Supertouch. O'Shea was the editor-in-chief of Juxtapoz magazine from San Francisco for ten years. Now he is editing a start-up lifestyle publication called Spread Artculture. (Even though the meaning is not the same, I think I will use "artculture" and abandon "artworld".)

Supertouch - unlike most blogs - has real clarity of image selection. O'Shea has a great eye that is guided by a sharp mind. Select art tags and just watch. Be sure to click on the "more" as he always includes a full range of pictures to TOTALLY explain the situation.

O'Shea's selection is today's "high" culture. He finds a crisp version of the street that includes graffiti, cartoons, installations, sci-fi, performances, tattoos and humans. Music and zines are always conceptually or actually nearby. He prioritizes New York, California, London and Tokyo. The cool trek.

He has a true visual point of view. Not a style, (although sci-fi and skulls are more than appreciated) but rather a knowledge that he has found a creator that he likes. And O'Shea's creators communicate visually his or her method of living in world.

O'Shea does sense some similar trends that I agree with - bling as a broad cultural influence, mixing up religion and culture and the crossover in both directions between graphic artists and public artists.

Invader's Space Invaders

Kenji Yanobe in Tokyo

Aaron Young mixes Hells Angels and Jackson Pollack

Panda in the Brian Griffiths' "Life is a Laugh" in the London Underground