Free Humanity Takes on Monsanto (Again)

24 February 201425 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

“Winnie The Pooh in GMO Land”

Last week Free Humanity hit the streets of downtown Los Angeles with his latest guerrilla art piece entitled “Winnie the Pooh in GMO Land” in which the Pooh bear character with eyes as wide as saucers is clutching a honey pot as honey bees die at his feet.

You can find the piece near Indian Alley at 104 Winston Steet in DTLA. [Map it]

It comes at the heels of a piece he did last month called “Alice in GMO Land with Monsanto Corn-Grenade and a GMO Apple-Grenade”. The works comprise a series and are a followup to a piece he did last year entitled “Snow White & the Monsanto Apple Grenade”.

All of these works feature licensed Disney characters but the message is against Monsanto — specifically it is a protest against the company’s development of genetically engineered seeds and food products. It’s Free Humanity’s belief that “genetically modified organisms are making Bee’s Extinct and Giving your cancer”. [sic]

I’m a bit puzzled at Free Humanity’s mashup of Disney and Monsanto. I guess I’m missing the point, but I really don’t see the connection. Perhaps he’s referencing Monsanto’s “House of the Future” or maybe “Adventure Through Inner Space“, two attractions that were once at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland decades ago. I can’t really be sure.

I’ve Got a Featured Photo on Flickr!

20 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Repeat that three times fast: “Featured photo on Flickr! Featured photo on Flickr! Featured photo on Flickr!”

Woo hoo!

OK, sorry about that folks — thanks for indulging me. Now, enough with alliteration! Here’s the scoop:

Earlier this evening I was receiving a ton of notifications from Flickr with members of the community “favoriting” and leaving nice comments about the above referenced panorama.

(To embiggen, click on the image above to interact with the panorama, or click below to view it on Flickr.)

I was flummoxed! I couldn’t understand what was going on until I discovered that this image was featured today on Flickr’s blog.

As it turns out, the folks at Flickr curated this image along with several other images from other photographers that captured images at either dusk or dawn as part of their “Twilight Colors” gallery.

This is apropos as the photo is of the morning twilight at Bear’s Landing in Donner Lake, California. I literally took the panorama at the crack of dawn many moons ago as part of an equipment test for my Hejnar Photo panoramic head.

Since I sequenced the shots 8+1Z+2N on the Hejnar head, the process took a bit longer than what I’m accustomed to (usually I shoot 4+1N on a 360° Precision Atome). Within moments after capturing the shot the wind began to rise causing ripples on the lake’s smooth, glassy surface. Simultaneously, the morning’s colors and light quality began to shift considerably and suddenly the magic hour magically disappeared.

For me, this nod from Flickr is pretty epic to be recognized in such a fashion and I’m feeling pretty darn lucky so I may as well go out and get my Powerball ticket now, too! =)

Many thanks to Flickr and a warm “hello” to the fantastic photographers included in this gallery.

Morning Twilight @ Bears’ Landing – Donner Lake, California

New in NoHo: “Soliloquy” Public Art Mural by Levi Ponce in 360

19 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Artist Levi Ponce

Levi Ponce‘s latest public art’s project entitled “Soliloquy” took about a week to complete and was finished over this past President’s Day weekend. The subject and title is a rift on Hamlet in which Ophelia contemplates her beloved’s skull. This piece is located on the side of Al’s Discount Furniture in the Noho Arts District and measures 100′ x 13’. Medium: acrylic. Check it out on Google Maps here.

“On the Road” New Graffiti Art by MTO and UTI Crew in 360° Panorama

15 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

The latest graffiti art in DTLA is a giant entitled “On the Road” by MTO and UTI Crew (Black Light King, PETAL, FEAR, NUKE, SWAN) that features imagery inspired by Jack Kerouac’s 1957 travelogue of the same name.

This mural is sponsored by “L.A. loves you”, organized and curated by Melissa “Zippy” Downing with the assistance of Roy CHO. Location: Al’s Bar yard (backside wall American Hotel), 303 South Hewitt Street in the DTLA Art District. Check it out on Google Maps here.

Rest in Peace Leonard Knight (1931-2014)

11 February 201429 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

View on Google Maps Street View

Yesterday artist Leonard Knight quietly passed away. Knight was unlike anyone else I’ve ever met. He was pure love embodied. It’s visions like his and his firm belief in a loving God that give me a sense of comfort when I contemplate my own mortality.

The series of images above are from his life’s work “Salvation Mountain” located the Salton Sea of California.” Read more about them in this blog post.

While we’ve lost a great artist here on earth, heaven’s claimed one of their own. God speed, Leonard!

Dumb Starbucks Big Reveal in 360°

11 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

This afternoon at 4:00 pm PDT, Canadian comic Nathan Fielder revealed that the ‘Dumb Starbucks’ coffee shop in Los Feliz was a publicity stunt for his Comedy Central show “Nathan For You”.

I knew something was wrong not long after I got there. I cut through an alleyway to find a place in line when I found a filming permit that was used over the weekend that identified the production and its contacts. A quick google search raised my suspicions.

It was dumb. I mean, really dumb. Like…totally lame.

Being punked like that (by a Canadian no less) and suffering crap coffee would have amounted to a big fat fail in my book except for the fact that I met the legendary street artist Saber MSK and his posse. The interminable wait of over two hours in line was made worthwhile through thought-provoking discussions about art, culture, politics and a mutual love for açai with blueberries. It was Saber that disabused me of the notion that Banksy was behind this.

While other members of the press played into this event by asking questions about the show and the network, I was the one that asked Fielder where their health permit was. Not five minutes later, the LA County Health Department (← gal pal Rebecca Metz is featured in this story for USA Today) showed up and shut down the entire operation. I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t do it earlier.