Hyper Realistic Paintings Of Retro Barbies By Judy Ragagli

Artist Judy Ragagli paints original paintings of nostalgic Barbie dolls, from the retro years of 1959 to 1970. Whether it's Barbie in Bora Bora or Hollywood, on Prom Night or dressed for an Enchanted Evening, the paintings at first glance appear as photographs and upon closer inspection are incredible detailed oil paintings. Ragagli captures the smooth perfect plastic skin and uses colored backgrounds, clothing and/or venues- that compliment the clean and bright world of Barbie.



According to Judy, "I see nostalgic Barbie as possessing a soul and positive spirit; her true persona extends beyond the plastic facade."



Judy's goal, she explains, is to pay homage to this surviving icon of modernity, femininity and style. "I want my viewers to recognize Barbie as an important and positive influence within American society on both the individual and aggregate levels," she notes. By presenting nostalgic Barbie through portraiture in oil on canvas, Judy's aim is to create a vision of Barbie that is still and noble. I strive to elicit veneration for Barbie's legacy while painting a mark of beauty and grace into the world."

The paintings:













You may not be able to afford her original oil paintings, but her latest offering is a limited edition giclee print:


This Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas features a 1964 Barbie originally painted on canvas in oil by Judy Ragagli. "Platinum Swirl" is released in a limited edition of 50. The size is 20" x 16," inches, varnished with a UV protective coating and stretched on 1 1/2" stretcher bars. The price is $290. Buy it here.

Ms. Ragagli's paintings can also be viewed in the newly released hard-cover book titled EdgyCute: From Neo-Pop to Low Brow and Back Again
by Harry Saylor.

Nike 'Ballman' Made of 3000 Soccer Balls For World Cup

Nike continues to impress with more of their interesting and artful projects for the 2010 World Cup. In addition to the fabulous carved crayons, a giant sculpture comprised of almost 3,000 footballs (that's soccer balls for those of us in the US) designed by Leeds-based Ratcliffe Fowler Design hangs in the atrium of the Carlton Centre shopping mall in downtown Johannesburg.



'Ballman' as he has become dubbed, is a World Cup project for the leading sportswear brand.



Prior to being sea freighted to South Africa, a complete Ballman test build took place at Magna, the Science Adventure Centre and steel visitor attraction in Rotherham, UK. This was one of the few places in the UK with enough room to host the operation, which was co-ordinated by the Magna technical team, Transmitta.




Summit's project manager Jay Call studied the Carlton Centre's structural plans and discovered that the atrium of the building has a 12 x 12m steel grid, complete with 5 beams, 3m apart. Summit then designed an aluminum mother grid to fly below this, which is picked up on 4 x 5 ton hoists.



Once the sub-structure was flown at its 15m trim height, the bottom was filled in with flat panels and clad with moulded polystyrene - all with 537 holes drilled exactly in the right places for the 2x steel wire drops. This completely conceals all the metalwork and rigging, giving the appearance of a solid ceiling with the Ballman 'floating' in the air.



Ballman will stay in place for the whole World Cup tournament period, and when dismantled, the intention is that the balls will be given away. Jay Call commented: "It was a great pleasure to be involved in this project, which was different, challenging and extremely rewarding, both as a feat of engineering and a creative work for public enjoyment."

images and information courtesy of World Architecture News

20 Van Paintings by Kevin Cyr, An Artist Who's Driven.

Artist Kevin Cyr's series of twenty vans based on Vandura, Chevy, and Econoline Chateau vans documented in Brooklyn, New York. Each of the 20 profile images below are created with oils and silkscreen on panels.






















He has also created die cast miniatures of vans, complete with graffiti and vandalism, as well as other series of vehicle paintings and drawings.

The Artist's Statement:

In a culture in which people are easily lured by the appeal of status-enhancing symbols, I find beauty in derelict cars and unkempt landscapes. I have always been interested in painting vehicles and scenes that have defined the evolution of the American landscape.

I commemorate commercial vehicles inundated with graffiti and rust, working vehicles, and well-traveled recreational vehicles. I find that there is so much character in old delivery trucks and vans — especially when covered with graffiti — and in the old RVs parked off a main road. Removing them from their everyday context gives them portrait-like importance. I paint with devoted attention to every imperfection and sign of age.

Painting and drawing these objects gives me a chance to document a time and place, and to make still a part of the ever-changing environment.

You can purchase some of these here.

Kevin Cyr
Brooklyn, New York
talk / + 1 617 953 5734
type / kevin@kevincyr.net