Reduce The Panic » art

Guerrilla Yarn Artists combine Graffiti and Craft

Catherine South — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:15:57 +0000

Yarn crafts have been practiced for centuries, mostly by women. These needle and hook crafts can be used to create blankets, clothing, table cloths and even curtains. Knitting and crochet have now found their way into street art, as yarn graffiti.

Yarn Bombing creates Colorful Shrapnel

Crochet and knit graffiti is sometimes known as “yarn bombing”. The craft street artist will most often create their piece in the quiet of their own homes, before constructing the art work on its intended surface. Yarn graffiti is not limited to any one surface. It has been found on trees, hand rails, fences and hanging from bridges.

source:crochetconcupiscense

Grandma’s Tree Cozy

One of the more well-known yarn designs is a crochet tea cozy. These are essentially a woolen covering that is placed over a hot tea pot to keep it warm. In the images below, a similar covering has been created to cover these trees in a public park, transforming an ordinary public space into a fantastic wonderland.

source:streetartutopia

Yarn Bombed Statues

Statues appear to be one of the favorite subjects for crochet and knit artists to graffiti. These life -like representations of the human form make a perfect base for a statement, and crafters will often either dress them in crochet items in much the same way that a living person would wear crochet clothing, or pose a crafted creature with the statue. Unlike paint graffiti, these street art works don’t vandalize or damage property. The crochet art can simply be cut away and discarded.

source:knitonesaveone

source:craftzine

Barbed Wire and Doilies

Fences make ideal canvases for crochet and knit graffiti artists. These structures have plenty of places where a yarn artist can attach their crafted street art. Crochet seems to be the yarn bomber’s choice of craft for fence decoration, as it is easy to make flowers, birds, butterflies and other decorative elements in crochet.

source:bitrebels

source:adriennemtrew

5 Funny YMCA Spoofs

Catherine South — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 09:51:27 +0000

The song Y.M.C.A was released by The Village People in 1978 and quickly shot to the top of the music charts. Decades later, the song and it’s accompanying dance is still popular, and has inspired a number of funny spoof images.

The Blonde Version of the YMCA

In this YMCA spoof photo, four grinning girls pose their arms to create the letters Y,M,C and A. It must have been a blonde’s idea, though, because the word is inverted. The brunette should have known better. Unless she’s just an undercover blonde.

source:shipmentoffail

Star Wars YMCA

Stormtroopers are highly recognizable characters from the Star Wars films. They have been parodied in dozens of Stormtrooper fan art works, giving any spoof a humorous aspect with their ridiculous plastic armor.

source:screenrant

YMCA, it’s Harder in Other Languages

This funny demotivational poster shows several soldiers performing martial arts, with the caption, “YMCA, it’s harder in other languages.”

source:verydemotivational

Jesus Blasphemous YMCA

This image uses a sculpture of Jesus Christ to create the Y letter in the sequence. The grinning people who make up the rest of the abbreviation have used distance in the image to create a funny optical illusion; although the statue of Jesus is enormous, the distance between it and the foreground figures makes it seem smaller.

source:funkydowntown

Funny Jesus Christ YMCA

Like the photo above, this demotivational poster uses Jesus Christ’s outspread arms to create the Y in YMCA. The label on the poster states, “BLASPHEMY, a ticket to hell has never been funnier.”

source:wmschwartz

McDonalds gets Super Sized in Art

Catherine South — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 09:10:35 +0000

Since its humble beginnings in the 1940s, the McDonalds franchise has grown to become a globally recognized fast food restaurant. It now serves around 64 million customers in 119 countries each day. Because of its bright color scheme and recognizable mascots, McDonalds has found a place in fan art. It has also earned the dubious honor of being the subject of propaganda art.

Ronald McDonald’s Wife

Ronald McDonald, the franchise’s clown mascot, wears a red and white striped shirt beneath a yellow waistcoat, a red curly wig and a red nose. The mascot is displayed in nearly every form of McDonalds advertising and media. The picture below shows an artist’s interpretation of what Ronald McDonald’s wife would look like, basing her clothing and make-up on the McDonalds clown mascot.

source:artstyleonline

Why so Happy Meal?

In a spoof of the Joker character played by actor Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, the Joker is shown dressed as Ronald McDonald. This fan art throws a shadow on the normally cheerful McDonalds characters, parodying the Joker’s favorite phrase, “Why so serious?” with “Why so Happy Meal?”

source:vi.sualize.us

Ronald McDonald gets Super Sized

Ron English promotes propaganda through his art works, encouraging the public to take a good hard look at many of the things that we take for granted. In the piece shown below, English portrays the Ronald McDonald mascot as an overweight clown. This is a comment on the obesity epidemic that is currently taking place in America, pointing a very chubby, super sized finger at McDonalds food as a direct cause of the weight problems.

source:upperplayground

Death by French Fries

In the documentary film, Supersize Me, Morgan Spurlock conducted an experiment to determine the life span of McDonalds menu items. The McDonalds french fry was portrayed as being near immortal, barely degrading even though weeks had passed. Though the artist’s intention with the food art work below is not clear, there is a definite link between the seemingly innocent french fry and death. Perhaps the message is that McDonald’s french fries are so far from being organic that the food itself is dead.

source:neatorama

Ronald McDonald the Obese

In another controversial art work, the art has depicted the Ronald McDonald clown as being grossly obese. The art work comments on the fact that though McDonalds fast food has been linked to obesity, the McDonalds media characters are slender and healthy.

source:jgaver

McDonalds Fats Food Restaurant

This street art sticker shows an obese man eating the McDonalds mascot. A banner across the graffiti image proclaims “FATS FOOD”, a parody of the type of food that McDonalds serves; fast food.

source:thoughtbrain

McDonalds Food Art Animals

The food art work below shows two creatures that have been made out of McDonalds food items and packaging. On the left is a crab-like animal made from french fries, battling against what looks like a cockroach made out of wire and a McDonalds tomato ketchup sachet.

source:supremeplate

A Photographic Travel Guide to Food Art

Catherine South — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:03:02 +0000

Food art is the art of making food decorative by dying the dish’s ingredients, carving them or arranging them in an artistic manner. A dish is first experienced through the eyes, which means that if we perceive a dish to be beautiful, we are more likely to believe it will be delicious.

Caribbean Food Art Photography

The Caribbean is famed for its tropical fruit, shown below in this food art photo. The fruit has been cut and arranged to create edible dolls of musicians. The photographer has managed to capture the personalities of the characters.

source:cruisesavvy

Food Art in France

France is a favorite travel destination due to its exquisite architecture, romantic ideals and world famous food. French food art often consists of bread or cheese, as these are firm favorites among the local french people. The photo below shows a delicious French food art display in whic the flower petals have been shaped out of thin slices of bread.

source:erzaveria

Photographing Food in the Phillipines

The Phillipino islands are famous for the beauty of their tropical beaches, sunsets and the local flowers. In this food art photo below, edible flowers have been arranged to create a beautiful, unusual salad.

source:sparkazine

Japan Masters the Art of Food Design

In Japan, the manner in which food is displayed is very important. For this reason, there are dozens of different edible art styles in Japan. Shown below is a photograph of a Wagashi food art display. Wagashi is a term that is given to sweet Japanese confectionery, often served as a dessert or a treat. Read more about Japanese Food Art.

source:akiba-station

Thailand’s Tasty Food Art

Thailand’s tropical setting and delicious exotic foods attract thousands of visitors every year. Most food vendors will attempt to catch the eye of tourists by displaying carved fruit. This food art most often takes on floral or geometric designs.

source:tripwow

Smart Street Artists create Clever Graffiti

Catherine South — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:55:42 +0000

Graffiti art often focuses on expressing the political or social expressions of the street artist, but sometimes the temptation to create a visual pun is too strong, and clever graffiti art designs are created as a result.

Calvin and Hobbes Sledding in the Streets

One of the most famous images of the popular comic duo, Calvin and Hobbes, is the picture of the friends tobogganing. This clever graffiti gives the image a new setting, allowing Calvin and Hobbes to sled in the streets.

source:artrick-playground

No Smoking in the Streets

This clever graffiti art work is both a visual pun and a statement of the artist’s view on smoking. This graffiti piece cleverly incorporates existing objects into the design.

source:sugarandlux

Giant Graffiti People

This graffiti design shows an image of two giant girls, crammed into a tiny building. The piece creates a spacial deception that is more effective when standing in front of the street art.

source:boingboing

Hang Man Graffiti

Like the street ashtray graffiti above, this piece uses an existing object to create the desired effect; the character appears to be pinned to the wall by the peg.

source:buzzhunt

Street Puddle Olympics

These Tim Burton styled cartoon characters have been graffitied beside a street puddle, acting out a parody of an Olympic diving event.

source:omundotemsolucao

Anatomy Tattoos: The Inside Story

Catherine South — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:24:19 +0000

If you’re too wimpy to grow some backbone, why not get it tattooed instead? Ever been told, “Have a heart”? Well, you can have as many as you want, with these anatomical tattoos of the human body, which ironically, are tattooed on the human body.

Inside Out Tattoo Designs

Anatomical tattoos are visual representations of the inside of the human body, whether it be bones, muscle or internal organs. Often, anatomy tattoos are placed to create an X-ray effect, showing the parts of the body that lie directly beneath the body art design. The inside out tattoo design below shows the muscles of the arm, as though the skin has been torn away from that area.

source:kukuchew

Open Your Heart Tattoo

The human heart is a surprisingly colorful organ, with contrasting colors of red and blue. These colors are aesthetically pleasing in tattoos. An interesting tattoo art work is created by contrasting the organic shapes of the heart organ with a man-made, repetitive pattern such as the zipper.

source:ipanic

A Very Brainy Tattoo

This anatomical tattoo gives us a view inside this guy’s head. By using different shades of tattoo inks, the tattoo artist has cleverly given this design a natural, 3-D feel.

source:esofuehoy

A Skinny Skeleton Tattoo

This anatomical tattoo shows the backbone and ribs, minus the muscle, fat and veins that make up the rest of the body. Because the skeleton tattoo design overlays the real body parts, the skeleton is animated when the person moves.

source:gesundheit

Alice in Ink: a Wonderland of Tattoo Designs

Catherine South — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:52:27 +0000

Author Lewis Carroll penned his popular children’s novel, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland in 1865, introducing to the world a host of bizarre, funny and downright silly characters. The story and its players have become so popular that several movies have been made and dozens of illustrations created to continue telling the story of Alice in Wonderland. For many, a way to express their enjoyment of the nonsensical tale is to have a fan art tattoo inked of one or more of the Alice characters.

Tattoos of Alice in Wonderland

The story is centered on a pre-Victorian era girl, Alice. One day she walks out, and finds herself in a marvellous adventure, as told in the book. It is said that Lewis Carroll based the character on Alice Liddell, a child friend of his. Shown below are Alice tattoo designs, from John Tenniel, Scott Olive and Walt Disney Studios.

source:tattooinspiration,tattoolit,anulesia

Tattoos Through the Rabbit Hole

Alice begins her adventure by following a white rabbit, which leads her to fall down a rabbit hole. The white rabbit has been depicted in song, in film and in illustration. A fruitless search for something is now referred to as “chasing the white rabbit”.

source:merchantcircle,misterroadtripper

The Cheshire Cat in Ink

The Cheshire Cat is a popular tattoo design, symbolizing a fun-loving nature and an enjoyment of all things silly and bizarre. With his toothy grin, colorful fur and recognizable silhouette, the Cheshire Cat makes an attractive tattoo design.

source:galleryoftattoosnow,tattoodonkey

The Hookah Smoking Caterpillar

One of the most famous Alice in Wonderland characters is the Hookah Smoking Caterpillar. He sits atop a magic mushroom, smoking his hookah and puffing riddles at passersby. This character has proven to be a very versatile tattoo design, as he is recognizable no matter what illustration style he is rendered in. (See more Magic Mushroom Tattoo Designs)

source:inkarttattoo,inkedplus

Tattoos of Alice in Wonderland Characters

The story of Alice in Wonderland is acted out by a host of funny and silly characters. These too, are popular tattoo designs. Shown below are tattoos of the Alice in Wonderland characters; The Walrus and The Carpenter, a Horsefly, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

source:painfullyhip,weheartit,gurlgonegeek

Cult of Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel Fan Art

Catherine South — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:54:25 +0000

The Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican City, Italy, is famed for its painted walls and ceilings. Most notable among the artists who worked on the chapel is Michelangelo, with his famous frescoe The Creation of Adam. This painting has inspired fan art that replaces the figures of God and Adam with cartoon, film and gaming characters.

source:wikipedia

Beavis is God

MTV’s popular animated TV series, Beavis and Butthead, produced two teenage American characters that have entertained and repulsed the world for over a decade. It’s likely that in this setting, Beavis would be saying to Butthead, “Pull my finger!”

source:wrkhrp

Eat My Shorts

Bart Simpson’s shorts appear to have already been eaten. All of the other figures in this humorous Sistine Chapel knock off have been styled to resemble characters from the popular TV show The Simpsons.

source:blawgletter

The Creation of Al Dente

“The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of the parody religion the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism” – Wikipedia. The Spaghetti Monster was created by Bobby Henderson in 2005, in protest of the American government’s decision to teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.

source:nous

Miyamoto’s Creation of Mario

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of video games franchises like The Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda, is shown here in place of the original Christian God. Miyamoto is surrounded by other Nintendo video game characters, and reaches towards Mario on the left of the image, in a parody of God creating Adam in The Creation of Adam.

source:geekologie

The Creation of Kermit the Frog

Jim Henson is shown below with the most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog. Henson, the creator of the Muppets, has been placed so that like Miyamoto, above, he is portrayed as God, giving Kermit the touch of life.

source:poppedculture

Luke, I am your Father

Luke Skywalker, from the cult movies Star Wars, is shown with his father, Darth Vader. True to form, Vader is trying to kill Luke.

source:nerdnirvana

Ceiling Cat Creates You

One of the most lovable LOLcats titles is that of Ceiling Cat, bestowed upon dozens, possibly hundreds of shy cats that have taken to living in peoples’ ceilings. This parody of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam is also a pun on the LOLcats title Ceiling Cat.

source:shewhoseeks

Charles Darwin’s Monkey Business

Charles Darwin, an English Biologist, proposed the idea of evolution; that all creatures on Earth have transformed over time through a process of natural selection. Darwin’s theory seemed ridiculous to many religious folk, especially since Darwin suggested that man evolved from apes.

source:darwin-legend

Trippy Tattoos of Magic Mushrooms

Catherine South — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:30:57 +0000

There are thousands of poisonous mushroom varieties, many of which have psychedelic properties that induce hallucinations and distort the senses. These mushrooms are often collected and consumed for the express purpose of creating a “high” or trance-like state.

Realistic Magic Mushroom Tattoo

Amanita Muscaria is the famous red-with-white-spots mushroom that is portrayed in many children’s books and films. Its hallucinogenic properties have won it the infamous name the Magic Mushroom. Below left is a photograph of Amanita Muscaria growing outdoors. On the right is an image of a magic mushroom tattoo design. The tattoo artist has used highlights and shadows to create the illusion that the mushroom stands out from the skin.

source:wikipedia,tattoogathering

Magic Mario Mushroom Tattoo

The creators of the famous Nintendo game, Mario Brothers, referred to the natural design of the Magic Mushroom for ideas when designing their Mario mushrooms. These come in a variety of colors, and are often decorated with white spots. Mario mushrooms are a popular tattoo design choice among gamers.

source:mariomayhem

Billy Bob Thornton’s Tattoo for “Angie”

Billy Bob Thornton sports a magic mushroom tattoo with the text “Angie”, in homage to Angelina Jolie.

source:westlord

Trippy Hippy Tie Dye Tattoo

“Tie dye” refers to the patterns created when clothing or material is tied and dyed. (But you guessed as much, didn’t you?) This Magic Mushroom tattoo design follows the slightly distorted patterns of tie dye, completing the tie dye effect by having the yellow and blue lines “bleed” into one another, creating green.

source:ratemyink

Ink in Wonderland

One of the more popular characters from Lewis Carroll’s children’s book Alice in Wonderland, is the hookah smoking caterpillar, who sits atop a magic mushroom and speaks in riddles. Walt Disney’s cartoon caterpillar character is often used in tattoo designs as it is the most beloved and recognizable of the caterpillar depictions to date. See more Alice in Wonderland Tattoos.

source:inkarttattoos

Tortoise House with a Magic Mushroom Garden

The psychedelic effects of most hallucinogenic mushrooms include a heightened awareness and appreciation of color. So it is apt that a tattoo design of Magic Mushrooms be very colorful. The obscure and cheerful character; the tortoise in a top hat, is a perfect subject for a street drug that creates bizarre hallucinations.

source:inkah

10 Fun & Funny Christmas Tattoos

Catherine South — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:08:52 +0000

If you love Christmas and the holiday season, then this collection of funny Christmas tattoos is for you. From silly to bizarre, these funny tattoo designs incorporate various characters and symbols that represent the Christmas season.

A Merry Christmas May You Have

The lovable character from the popular Star Wars movies, Yoda, is shown in this tattoo; either as a replacement for Santa Claus or as one of Santa’s little helpers.

source:geekytattoos

Kiss Me under the Mistletoe

This funny Christmas tattoo falls under the label of adult humor, as the mistletoe design is tattooed just above this guy’s belt line. In western culture, it is traditional to hang mistletoe in a doorway. If someone stands beneath the mistletoe, it is an invitation for a kiss…

source:ratemyink

A Nightmare Before Christmas Tattoo

Jack Skellington, the main character from Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, is a humorous contrast to the traditional Christmas character, Santa Claus, with his jolly jowls and bulging belly. The Jack Skellington Christmas tattoo below shows how this character’s evil looks stand in contrast to the innocent-looking characters that are usually associated with Christmas hats.

source:offbeatink

Jesus, a Bunny and a Jolly Fat Man

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In Christianity, Easter is a celebration of Jesus ascending to heaven, a ‘rebirth’ of sorts. The most recognizable Christmas character is Santa Claus, a jolly fat man in a red suit. Easter is often represented by a rabbit, called the Easter Bunny. In this funny tattoo, Jesus is shown with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

source:lonsdaletattoo

A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas Tattoo

Bill Watterson’s famous comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, has inspired a wealth of fan art tattoos. Most Calvin and Hobbes tattoos depict the main characters; the boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, but other characters from the comic have also stolen the hearts of the public, such as the philosophical snowman, shown below.

source:fanpop

Zombie Jesus Christmas Tattoo

This tattoo takes a little deciphering to fully understand its meaning. As far as this author can tell, this is a depiction of Jesus as a zombie (he did, in a way, rise from the dead at Easter). The zombie doll character has its arms outspread in a similar pose to that of Jesus on the cross, and through the palms of its hands are nails, in a parody of the crucifixion of Christ. The lightbulb is, uh, well, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

source:simplytattoo

Funny Will Ferrell’s Inky Elf

This tattoo shows funny man Will Ferrell as the character that he played in the Christmas themed movie, elf.

source:tattoofashion

Rudolph’s Predecessor, Immortal in Ink

This Christmas tattoo is a portrait of Randy the Reindeer, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s predecessor. For years, Randy led Santa’s sleigh on Christmas eve, delivering Christmas presents to good little children, sometimes, even, to deliver Christmas gifts to naughty children. Then one snowy night, Rudolph that dastardly Red Nosed Reindeer usurped Randy’s position as lead reindeer, dooming Randy to eternal obscurity. RIP Randy.

source:themusicink

We Wish You a Manga Christmas

This Christmas tattoo design uses the popular Japanese comic book style, manga, to portray Western symbols of Christmas. In this manga tattoo design, the Christmas fairy is shown wearing a Christmas outfit, holding the Star of Bethlehem and accompanied by other Christmas symbols, mistletoe and a candy cane.

source:tattootestdb

The Grinch Stole a Christmas Tattoo

The famous children’s book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, features a Who whose heart is three times too small. The Grinch is angry at the other Whos, who, every year, enjoy the Christmas cheer. The Grinch decides to stop Christmas from coming by stealing the Whos’ Christmas presents, who-ham and Christmas decorations.

source:about