A Chrome Cube the Size of The World's Deserts

February

2012-02-29T19:49:00.008-08:00

Prototype

2012-02-21T14:22:00.002-08:00

truck balls imprinted in concrete.

Perkins...Speak of the Devil.

2012-02-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Co-conspirator Richard Perkins' Hamburger Eyes zine, Speak of the Devil, is out. It looks rad. Get your own.

January Pics

2012-01-31T09:41:00.001-08:00

After ten years, it's over.

The Boathouse Re-Imagined

2012-01-17T13:30:00.001-08:00

Me and Thom White, principal architect at Work Program Architects collaborated on a project re-imagining the now dilapidated music venue "The Boathouse" in Norfolk, Virginia. The project was published in Cannonball City's last issue. Here's the text from the article and pics from and of the publication.

"With the American century coming to a close and the cycle of NEW! becoming as passe as salivating over the top of the GM consumer triangle, the good ol' US is moving into a more stately demeanor of it's European parent. This contemplative position brought on by having more time to think during stretches of unemployment and wondering why we were bit by the globalism animal we set loose on the world has culminated in a generation treating nostalgia as a sacrament. To facilitate this sepia lust for the prosperous Clinton years we've redesigned, with the help of the private funder, the Boathouse as a sanatorium/museum for our most beloved national treasure- 80's and 90's alt/punk rock heroes. We've retro fitted this "remember when" temple for the Gen X and Y crowd as a place where the now decrepit inspirations, to old for the coveted re-reeunion tour, can spend their final days in spa baths and therapeutic massage sessions. The museum portion of this rebuild allows the congregation of fans to observe their heroes through two way glass, allowing for a generous helping of nostalgia, hopefully satisfying that fix and allowing room to contemplate one's own path in our national and local history."

the nostalgia temple in it's current state

scan from Cannonball City

There's also an overview on WPA's site here.

Work in Progress

2012-01-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Blood of the Young shout

2012-01-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

Psychic Sacrifyx makes an appearance on Blood of The Young with mini interview with zine collabo and younger brother in arms Richard Perkins. See it here.

RVA cover and interview

2012-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Psyched. The issue is viewable online for the above the mason dixon line crew.

FLOPBOX shout

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

The good folks at theflopbox.com were nice enough to shout out Psychic Sacrifyx. It's nice to see it in such good company.

Psychic Sacrifyx

2012-01-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

A couple spreads from a new collab zine about the psychic skin of the suburbs from yours truly and co conspirator Richard Perkins. 20 color pages, color heavy weight cover.

Virginia MOCA

2012-01-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

New and Selected Works... older work , 4 new pieces, a new zine, and a short lecture.

http://www.virginiamoca.org/art-showing-john-sebastian-vitale-moca

http://shadowlawncreepers.tumblr.com/post/12959211537

above photo by Todd Askins

Hey Joe Kelly

2012-01-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

At some point you probably had a song written about you or a close friend in some capacity- whether it be in coded language buried somewhere in a bad demo tape or a thinly disguised ex-lover's embarrassingly earnest death gurgle. Rarely is it a bromantic soul tune with said person's full name in the song title.

The Immaculates - Hey joe kelly by Immaculates

SHAHS

2012-01-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

Just got some copies of a 7'' cover I did for the Missoula, MT outfit SHAHS. It's being put out by my friends at Death by Audio- the record labe l/ guitar pedal factory/art &music venue/recording studio/dude ranch.

Public Art Project. 330 Granby St.

2012-01-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

... I Realize it's Just a Picture in a Frame.

13,447 paper airplanes made from an entire World Book Encyclopedia set.

Title taken from Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing by Marvin Gaye

FULL

2012-01-16T10:33:00.001-08:00

Me and Mike are sourcing equipment tomorrow morning for a project to fill the void that the defunct manned space program has left in our psyches.

Here is a video I shot of him the day before he blew his elbow into a million pieces at the same spot.

Untitled from Stay Young on Vimeo.

Commercial

2009-12-13T02:57:00.000-08:00

Art Directed.

Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms

2009-12-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

Captured Fallen Blossoms gunpowder project for Cai Guo-Qiang with friend and Director of Photography Greg Wilson for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"The city that loves you back."

Installation Views

2009-11-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

SAMMA

2009-10-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Above is a video I directed for SAMMA jewelry. The designer behind SAMMA, Hanna Sandin, is also a crazy talented artist. Been working on it non stop for a couple of weeks now. Just completed it today.

OCT 29th. Envoy Gallery.

2009-10-25T19:48:00.001-07:00

ReBurbia : Suburban redesign contest for Dwell magazine. My entries.

2009-10-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Title: Higher density, take down the fences.

To make the suburbs a useful and enjoyable place I propose drawing a strict perimeter around existing developments that are within reach of public transportation to urban areas, taking out all the fences, and increasing the density. These areas should then virtually restrict automobile use within these clearly defined perimeters. Former backyards are zoned for residential towers and former houses are zoned for business. All front yards are zoned as public space with the original street used as a thoroughfare for bike and pedestrian traffic. Where do you put that car you use on the weekends? All cars are housed outside the perimeter in giant corrugated sheet metal parking garages - the former Walmarts and Home Depots.

Title: Go underground.

For suburbs disconnected from mass transit bordering on rural areas I propose sealing these developments and covering them with dirt. As foreclosures in these areas multiply with no end in sight these fringe populations are becoming increasingly sparse; covering them would allow additional farmland to be cultivated for the increasing world population. The intact, functioning, and sunless suburban infrastructure would be turned into a "free zone" where those who wish to stay or those unhappy with "above ground" parameters can live cheaply and act out their own utopias. Libertarians, Christian fundamentalists, hippies, and music cults can develop a parallel structure insulated from national governments and others whose ideas differ from theirs. Essentially escaping the external pressures of prying eyes and a need for insularity still remain the key motivations for inhabiting these suburbs.

Your Name in Lights

2009-10-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Your Name in Lights

A musical short about tepid American architecture and other stuff.

Directed by John Sebastian Vitale

Starring Heidi Lindgren

director of photography- Paul Helzer

stylist- Kat Clements

hair and makeup- Aya Fukuda

stylist assistant- Omar Campbell

Shot on location in Buschwick, Brooklyn.

Originally produced for surfacemag.com.

Build a dome for your goddamned niece.

2009-10-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

"God is a verb." -Buckminster Fuller

"Fuller is a lousy architect." - Philip Johnson

"Climb the Highest Mountian. Punch the Face of God." -unknown

2009-10-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Music video concept for Wolf Eyes "Stabbed in the Face."