Project Colorize Marie Claire Published on 9/15/2008
Featurette with Ron English, Toofly and myself for the RayBan and Marie Claire Project Colorize. More information about this article on ToyCyte or read the transcript below!
"Project Colorize" Marie Claire July 2008 / Volume 15 / Issue 7
Five artists turn a fresh new lens on the season's hottest trends.
First introduced in 1952, Ray-Ban Wayfareres have become the most instantly recongnizable, stylishly iconic sunglasses in the world. This spring, Ray-Ban is re-inventing these glamourous shades by adding an array of colors to their distinctively-shaped frames. To introduce this new line of colored Wayfarers, Ray-Ban and Marie Claire partnered to launch Project Colorize, inviting five of New York City's hottest artists to create works of art inspired by the season's fashion trends: Day-Glo, Floral, Painterly, and Tailored. In keeping with Ray-Ban's motto, "Never Hide," Project Colorize will install the artwork on prominent billboards across Manhattan.
Marie Claire caught up with the five artists in their studios as they prepared to paint the town red (and pink and violet and turquoise) this summer.
Heart Wide Open Each piece of Tara McPherson's art - whether it's a painting , a graphic novel, or a Kidrobot toy - reflects her fascination with other-worldly colors and characters. "For this project I'm thinking of a low contrast floral painting paired with a bright neon flat color. Its the harmony between colors that matters most to me. Like bright red and turquoise - they clash, but to me they fit really well together; they still have an important balance." Tara's lyrical character, like her famous "heart-hole" girl, is both whimsical and strong. They seem to hide, even when their eyes are covered. "One of my favorite characters has bangs that completely cover her eyes," she notes. "Some people would say she can't see, but I think she sees everything. She's very strong, almost like a goddess who has an intuitive understanding of what's going on everywhere."