The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Sol Lewitt

This week on the DWP we have a very special artist that I’m really lucky to have be a part of the project. Sol Lewitt was an American artist known for his minimal and conceptual work, creating both paintings and sculptures that are always amazing to see. But he was also an avid photographer and took a number of photographs of New York’s Lower East Side taken back in 1979. Morgans Hotel Group, along with Paula Cooper Gallery, are currently displaying 120 of the photos on the side of the Mondrian Soho in New York. Awesome for us, the folks at Morgans approached me about using some of the photos for a wallpaper, and of course I said yes.

It’s pretty fantastic to see the world of late 70′s New York through the eyes of such an artistic genius. As I was selecting images I couldn’t help but wonder what drove him to shoot some of these photos. Was it the colors? The naturally beautiful compositions of some haphazard posters, wheat pasted to a wall? Also, when I look at the layout of the photos, I can’t help but think of how much it looks like Instagram, only 30 years removed.

I hope you enjoy the wallpaper, and check back next week for a winter-y, adorable wallpaper.

Bobby

The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Jesse Tise

Today’s wallpaper from Jesse Tise just might make your eyes melt, and that’s why I love it. I’ve become buddies with Jesse over the last few months because he had sent me a few things in the mail, and they were totally awesome. He also happens to live and work in South Pasadena, so he’s a local to boot. His work is great because it’s so bright and fun, and always has space monsters or kaiju or abstract landscapes. His wallpaper reflects all of these, and he was even kind enough to make some icons for the wallpaper, which you can download by clicking here.

A big thanks to Jesse for making a rad wallpaper. Be sure to check back next Wednesday for something completely opposite, and totally brilliant.

Bobby

The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Ten Paces and Draw, with Mary Kate McDevitt & Jen Mussari

I had planned on posting this yesterday, but unfortunately I had some crazy Internet outages and couldn’t find the time. Nonetheless, our monthly wallpaper from the gang at Ten Paces and Draw yet again does not disappoint. This month we’ve got the combined talents of Mary Kate McDevitt and Jen Mussari, two very talented women who we’ve featured on the site before. This month it was Mary Kate who came up with the original sketch, and Jen who decided to take her sketch a step further and cut the whole thing out. In her own words:

This time I wanted to conceptualize Mary Kate McDevitt’s sketch in a way that she probably wasn’t expecting when she originally drew it. I altered the typography slightly and added decorative elements that are more in line with my personal style and went through a couple X-ACTO blades to get it just right. I had Jonnie (Jen’s boyfriend) photograph it in such a way that it almost looks digital, until you start to notice the imperfections in cutting.

I love what they did with December because it’s got so much texture and life to it. Plus it doesn’t succumb to any of the trappings of traditional holiday designs, just some amazing typography and some precision with an x-acto knife!

Bobby

The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Tymn Armstrong

It might be winter in the northern hemisphere but today’s wallpaper from Tymn Armstrong is a welcoming, sunny image. Tymn is a Florida based illustrator and designer who’s work is clean, bold and simple. Projects like the logo he did for video artist Pogo are inventive and timeless looking, and the physical stuff he makes are totally rad. I really love his wallpaper because it’s so warm and cheery. I put this as my wallpaper and it literally glows, it’s really, really nice. A big thanks to Tymn for making this!

Bobby

Craig Redman and Ed Nacional spice up your desktop for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow so it makes sense to change up your desktop to try and impress your relatives. Thankfully we have two rad wallpapers by two very talented guys to aid you in your mission. The first is an old school wallpaper by Craig Redman featuring the always miserable Darcel. It’s funny to think that Craig did this wallpaper 3 years ago, and to see how big Darcel has grown over the years. I still think it’s one of the funniest wallpapers I’ve had on the site, especially because Craig is Australian.

Then we have Ed Nacional’s turkey day inspired doodle which I saw one day and it made me laugh, so he was rad enough to turn it into a wallpaper. This one is the minimalist Thanksgiving celebrators dream, even the text itself has bene simplified down to it’s basics. Throw this onto your desktop when your in-laws pop over and you’ll be seen as festive but with great taste.

Bobby