Philip Kennedy

Stories by Philip Kennedy

Philip Kennedy is a twenty-something designer and writer from Ireland. He enjoys living in new cities, watching old episodes of Seinfeld and working on fun projects with exciting people. His favorite film will always be Back to the Future.

Crazy & Beautiful Animated Video from Her Ghost Friend

Whenever we post music-videos on The Fox Is Black we tend to include a few images alongside it to give you an impression of what it’s like but to tell you the truth the images above can’t really prepare you for this strange, childish and utterly brilliant music-video by director Saigo No Sundan.

Animated with a fantastically crude DIY aesthetic, the video prances along at a fanatic pace and it bursts onto the screen with the kind of joyous manic energy you can only get from Japan. It’s an utter joy to watch and it manages to be both surreal and beautiful all at once. The track itself is by the electro-pop unit Her Ghost Friend and its title loosely translates into “After-school Thesaurus”. Watching it is a wonderful way to start the week!

Text by

Philip Kennedy

September 17, 2012 - See more posts by Philip

Beautiful hand-crafted illustrations by Owen Gildersleeve

Owen Gildersleeve is an illustrator and designer from London. His work involves a number of techniques with much of his efforts focused on creating beautiful hand-crafted illustration and typography.

I have such respect for this kind of hand-made work. The amount of time and delicacy it requires is unbelievable and Owen does it with such refinement and playfulness. You should also take a look at more of his work by visiting his website – there you’ll find a number of pieces he has created for clients such as Harrods, The Guardian, Rolex and The Royal Mail.

The work above are two of his personal projects. The first is called Stargazing and it’s an illustration inspired by the night sky that references various celestial charts. The second is a piece inspired by the recent London Olympics. Both of these pieces (and more) are available for purchase from the website Many Hands, you can also see more of Owen’s work online here.

Text by

Philip Kennedy

September 13, 2012 - See more posts by Philip

‘Thank God That’s Over’ – Photos from a cruise by Emiliano Granado

When photographer Emiliano Granado finally set foot on dry land after five days aboard the MS Explorer of the Seas the first thing he said was “Thank God that’s over”. With a camera full of photographs and a thankfulness for getting home those words would go on to become the title of a series that showed life aboard a cruise-ship in all its, eh, splendid glory.

The Argentinean-born, New York-based photographer creates fantastic images that examine pop-culture, exhibition and spectacle. His cruise-ship photos are particularly wonderful – highlighting the baffling world of cruise-ship culture and all the bewildering and beautiful parts of it. It’s a fantastic series and one which shows a slice of life I have absolutely no desire to witness firsthand!

You can view the full series of photographs online here or purchase a really neat looking 16-page newspaper of the series from his shop.

Text by

Philip Kennedy

September 12, 2012 - See more posts by Philip

Stunning and mysterious paintings by Aron Wiesenfeld

The work of San Diego based artist Aron Wiesenfeld is simply incredible. Wiesenfeld’s powerful images are both haunting and emotional, creating fractured parts of imagined stories that seem rich in narrative and beauty.

Originally a comic artist, Wiesenfeld received some attention back in the 90′s for his artwork but he soon tired of the churned-out nature of the comic-book world and decided to focus purely on his art. Looking back it’s clear that doing this was definitely the right move. Wiesenfeld’s work is stunning. Reminding me of the likes of John Currin and Edward Hopper, his work shows a magnificent understanding of the importance of light and his paintings and drawings bring together a fantastic sense of composition.

Emily Falke, the chief curator of the Bakersfield Museum of Art describes his work perfectly: “There is a feeling of running, searching, and foraging within the figures; a rite of passage with no ending.” For her, the viewer is left with a sense of impending transformation, a place where something is in a state of flux. What that is – we don’t know, and trying to discover that is where the magic lies. Check out more of Aron Wiesenfeld’s work online here

Text by

Philip Kennedy

September 11, 2012 - See more posts by Philip

Video for ‘Black Egg’ by Snake & Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band by M&E

If you want a fun way to kick off your week then may I suggest you check out this great video for Black Egg by the Danish indie rock band Snake & Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band. The video was directed by the Malmö-based duo M&E who decided to take the name of the band’s album, Stuff That Rotates, as their starting point and with it they’ve created a video made out of stuff that very literally rotates.

Parts from drums and bicycles were used along with bits of wood, metal plates and an electric drill to create a camera that could rotate at high-speeds as the band performed. The resulting video is as energetic as the band themselves, bursting on to the screen with trails of bright colors and blurring people and objects into strange abstract shapes. It’s a fantastic video which suits the bands sound perfectly. Best of all, the duo didn’t add any effects to the footage in post-production, making this a true triumph of DIY video making.

Stuff That Rotates was released in May and is availble to purchase here.

UPDATE
M&E have just sent me a fantastic video showing exactly how the video for Black Egg was put together. Make sure to check it out below:

Text by

Philip Kennedy

September 10, 2012 - See more posts by Philip