French artist JR is certainly getting a lot more attention than usual. He recently received the 2011 TED Prize (click here to watch the speech). If you haven’t heard of him, you’ve probably spotted his incredible large-scale black and white portraits of ‘ordinary’ people all over the internet, or in person if you’re lucky. Because this year’s TED conference is currently being held in the Los Angeles area, JR blanketed the city with more of his gorgeous portrait murals (above).

His TED prize “wish” is to create a global art project called Inside Out that is attempting to involve the general public in the process.

INSIDE OUT is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images will be made into posters and sent back to the project’s co-creators for them to exhibit in their own communities.

I happily came across the work of Australian photographer Nabil Elderkin this afternoon. He started his career shooting surfers in Australia and soon after ventured into the music industry in the States. He has worked on documentary projects covering subjects from Kanye West (Kayne West Glow in the Dark) to the people of Africa. Nabil currently lives in downtown Los Angeles

As a photographer, I couldn’t agree with this approach more…

I honestly don’t really get too concept driven with my photo shoots with musicians. Though I have here and there when the project called for it, and will continue to explore it more and more. But unlike commercial work, where concepts are the key element to the shoot, I prefer to capture something about the person in their natural environment, where they are most comfortable, or in a moment of self, in a more documentary-type style.

Starting tomorrow, Project Space in Los Angeles will be featuring photographer Janette Beckman, marking the third installment of this experimental project by the always inventive and inspiring Arkitip.

Beckman culls works from her time in London during the punk era through the hip-hop decade in New York and Los Angeles. The show will feature artifacts and photographs of musicians, their fans and youth culture.

Beautiful, disturbing, dreamlike work by Los Angeles-based Illustrator Shannon Keller.

Los Angeles-based artists James Welling recently exhibited work from his “Glass House” series at Regen Projects gallery.  These bold, beautiful visuals were taken over a three year period at the Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. I’m really drawn to their magical quality and thought it best to share the love.

In case you didn’t spot this post on NOTCOT today, be sure head over there now to get a thorough run down on Manifest Equality. Better yet, check out this incredible multimedia art show in person. It’s going on all this week in Los Angeles in Hollywood on Vine. In addition to the eye candy, there is a great music line up as well including the Crystal Method and Sea Wolf.

Via Brand X:
Through Sunday, more than  10,000 people are expected to tour Manifest Equality, including film industry glitterati stopping by between Oscar engagements. An opening night reception Wednesday features musical act Fitz & the Tantrums and DJ sets by artists Tim Biskup and Fairey. Another event Saturday features performances by indie band Sea Wolf, singer-songwriter Sam Sparro and Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, with DJs sets by the Crystal Method.

All photos are the property of NOTCOT.

Raymond Molinar is one of dozens of artists (and skateboarders) represented this Friday at This gallery in Los Angeles. Photographers and husband-and-wife duo Jeremy and Claire Weiss are two of the five artists behind this newly formed creative space in the Highland Park neighborhood of LA. Some familiar names showing on Friday include Shepard Fairey, Alex Prager, Todd Selby and Jason Lee.  I’ve been following the work of the Weisseseses (sounds fun) for years and look forward to seeing what else they have in store for This. Be sure to check out the gallery’s blog to see what their friends (including Mr. Molinar) were up to when they stopped by the space to say hi.

“THIS is a group of 5 artists pooling their resources under one roof to provide an outlet for themselves and other creative people. The intention of THIS is to provide a gallery space which brings friends and family together in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles not just for traditional gallery shows, but a venue for artists to speak about their work, to interact with their audience and facilitate a creative atmosphere in the community.”

There is a good chance if you’re reading this that you don’t really “need” anymore stuff. The friends and family you’re buying gifts for this year most likely have their basic needs covered. Why not give the gift of education to some excited kids in Kenya and El Salvador in their names?

This past weekend I attended a fundraiser/holiday shindig in Venice, California (hence the surfing imagery) that supports an organization called One Kid, One World.  This small group of dedicated volunteers head to Kenya and El Salvador multiple times a year and work with remote communities to help students and teachers build/rebuild their schools. Why not give some books, a desk or a classroom in your friend or family member’s name? It may not look as shiny as the new whatever-you-were-about-to-buy initially, but its value will far outlast it.

If you’re living in most of the northern hemisphere, your winter probably doesn’t look like the shots captured by Dan Monick. In Southern California, this is pretty much how it feels all year round with a slight variation on temp here and there.  I spotted his work this morning and wanted to share the warm overtones with you. And I swear I’m not posting to rub it in if you’re living in colder climates…those of us in warmer climates very often dream of snow.

Photographs copyright Dan Monick.

Jose Caballer of The Groop posted some staycation iphone shots (above) on Facebook that are so beautiful I just had to share. Jose and his wife, Lorraine Molina, are talented artists living in downtown Los Angeles. Lorraine used to run the Bank gallery and now oversees LM Projects.

Their connection to esteemed photographer Michael Kenna? None that I’m aware of, but their shots of Santa Monica beach immediately reminded me of a Kenna show I saw at the Prague House of Photography when I was living there in 1997. Back then, I was still using film and couldn’t even fathom the concept of an iPhone.  I was a 22-year-old photographer looking for adventure and The Party. I wasn’t really feeling the work, but my 30-something friends were gushing.

Now, ten years later, rediscovering Kenna’s work is like a gift. The peace, depth and calm of his photographs are just what the doctor ordered, especially during this holiday onslaught of Santa and retail. I hope they bring you some calm (if you need it) as we head into the weekend. Yay, Friday.

Above photographs copyright Michael Kenna. All rights reserved.