Event: The Art of Layla J. Merritt at Bamboo Lounge (Feb. 3)

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 3, super talented artist Layla J. Merritt will be showcasing new work at Brooklyn’s Bamboo Lounge. The Detroit native is the winner of last month’s Mobrit Society Art Competition.

Come out and enjoy a full evening of art, plus stay afterward for the beautiful sounds of live music and indulge in some delicious Latin American eats.

Ratchet: Law and Order SVU Mini-Valentines

Long after elementary school, I’d still buy those cute little mini Valentines Day and hand them out. I did it well into adulthood; it endeared me to a lot of my female friends and, shit, it was just funny. I haven’t bought any mini Valentines in years, though this may change all of that.

Brandon Bird has created a line of Law & Order: SVU Mini Valentines, based on his earlier line of popular folding-style SVU Valentines. (In Brandon’s world, SVU stands for “Special Valentines Unit.”) From Brandon’s site:

These slick 2″ x 3.5″ cards come with cute little envelopes and are perfect for gift tags, handing out to friends, slipping into a loved one’s lunch, etc. Printed on the back of each card is a “To:” and “From:” graphic. Each set of cards includes all eight designs shown plus envelopes.

Video: Black Swan‘s Visual Effects

As many of y’all know, Black Swan was one of my favorite films of 2010. One of the reasons for that was its incredible use of special effects. Most were subtle, such as the skin rash Natalie Portman‘s character suffered from and the swan wings on Mila Kunis‘ back during the (ahem) hot and heavy lesbian love scene, while others were a bit more in your face.

Check out the video below to see how some of the film’s SFX were achieved. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find that there was quite a bit of practical effects used as opposed to everything being all-CGI.

Oh, beware, there are a few spoilers in the video.

Art: The Page Turners at FiveMyles Art Exhibition Space

On Saturday, February 5, head down to Brooklyn art space FiveMyles for the opening reception of The Page Turners, an an art show that presents the work of several emerging artists all concerned with narrative and storytelling.

The Page Turners collective believe that being able to convey a story visually is one of the fundamental tasks to which the artistic imagination lends itself.  Whether vulnerable, diaristic tales or social commentaries on our current cultural state of being, their art examines the world through pictorial storytelling. Through the compression of time, and the use of symbolic elements, within the display of a single moment, the work inherently gains a theatricality and engages the viewer, inviting them to enter into the picture and go on a visual journey.

Curated by Kwame Jaco, The Page Turners features work by artists such as Rakeem Taylor, Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Jamal Ince, David Shrobe, Jason Mager, Dominica Paige, Musa Hixon, Ricardo Gonzalez, Mohamad Sardar, Noel Ripoll, Joshua Humphries, and Rico Anderson.