red hot passion

Last March 24, I was at the London Heathrow Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Madrid, Spain. Instead of sitting in the lounge for coffee, pastry and Facebook, I decided to kill time by window shopping.

Okay, I admit that with me, window shopping can turn into panic buying at the sight of a sale sign or a hot new item.

So, yes, I ended up getting the bright red loafers on the left.

Frankly, I had to think hard of where I would wear them before I gave the cashier my Visa card. Probably not to church, like what the vain little girl did in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale entitled "The Red Shoes" – the priest might deny me Holy Communion! I doubt if I would wear them to a bullfight in Madrid, either, unless I wanted the bull to run after me. And I don't think I have a chance of ever wearing it to the beach, but that's not because of its color, right?

Nevertheless, red is awfully attractive. And like red roses, red lips, red hearts, red sportscars, red apples, strawberries and cherries, those shiny red Bally shoes are simply irresistible to me.

(Top pic) The red Jellybean Bearbrick from Series 18. Pic by yours truly / Copyright March 2010.

score a tetris be@rbrick!

Wanna join?

All you need to do to win a Tetris Bearbrick (and more) is to play Tetris, the popular video game invented by 53-year old Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1985.

1. Where to play:
freetetris.org

2. How to join:
Take a screenshot of your highest score and email it to acomia@pldtdsl.net

3. What's the prize:
one (1) Tetris Bearbrick, one (1) Red Jelly Bean Bearbrick, one (1) Ren Bearbrick, all from Series 18 (left).

4. Deadline for submission: Nov. 18, 2009. Announcement of winner: Nov. 20, 2009. If you win, I will send you the prize via registered airmail – it's that simple!

So, why buy these bearbricks on eBay when you can get them here for free? :-)

(Pics by Bearbrick Lover / Copyright, October 2009.)

yesterday... today... futura

Finally, it arrived – my Series 18 Secret Artist Bearbrick designed by Futura 2000.

It is a 'must-collect' for me, because Futura 2000 was one of the pioneers of the 80s graffiti art scene. Back in the 70s, when there was practically no 'scene' yet, Futura (born Leonard Hilton McGurr) was already writing (also called 'bombing' or 'tagging') in the subways of New York.

While graffiti artists moved from the streets to the galleries during the 80's (like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf), Futura's career took a different turn. An unfavorable review by a prominent art magazine drove him away from New York galleries and into illustration and graphic design. In the 90s, he worked on record labels, created collectible vinyl toys, and collaborated with famous street fashion brands such as Recon, Nike, North Face, Undercover, Supreme, Levi's, and A Bathing Ape. Today, he designs for his own clothing line, Futura Laboratories which has a store in Fukuoka, Japan.

The Series 18 Bearbrick's 'paint splatter' design (above) was first seen on the "Clarks X Futura collaboration" Wallabee boots (below), a colorful classic that was launched late last year at Stless).

After that, the design reappeared on Futura Laboratories' Selvedge denim jeans, sold last March 2009 for $350 a pair.

If you're wondering what made Futura famous in the vinyl toy scene, look below. That's his 'Nosferatu', a 16-inch futuristic figure rendered in various colors and patterns. It looks more like a piece of modern sculpture than a toy, if you ask me.

And if you're curious about how he looks, then check out the pics below: Futura then (left, with Madonna)... and now (right).

While today's Futura 2000 seems to have embraced all of pop culture and the new media (his website has become his new subway walls), he still paints for art's sake. Last February, he exhibited 150+ postcard size paintings – not at a big New York City gallery – but at a local bar! Each artwork was raffled off for free (!) as his way of saying 'thank you' to his loyal followers and friends.

While Futura is not finished with fine art, he's done with art galleries. Who says art has to be hung on a white wall, anyway?

Futura Laboratories Bearbrick pic by yours truly / Info & other pics from coagula.com, Highsnobiety, flshop.exblog.jp, Wikipedia, streetlevel.com, Flyglobalmusic, dapperkid.blogspot.com, bkrw.com