A Worldly Wardrobe: Beautiful Vintage Maps As Dresses and Shirts By Elisabeth Lecourt

above: “Coquille de Noix et Allumette”, Bird Eye View of San Francisco rep. 1846, Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012, 841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request

London artist Elisabeth Lecourt's Les robes géographiques is a series of sweet dresses and a few buttoned-down shirts that use actual vintage paper maps from all over the world in lieu of textiles.



Made for displaying rather than wearing (the paper fashions are in plexiglass boxes), several of the stunning pieces are available for purchase at the Stephanie Breitbard Fine Arts Gallery.

“Coiffure Playmobil et Bouton Fleur”, Le panoramic map of New York City rep.1851
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Dans les Nuages, les Cigognes”, Los angeles panoramic sightseeing map, rep. 1932
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012, 841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“La Barque des Giraffes”, map of New York from the Battery rep. 1892
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Jerusalem Artichaud et Topinambour”, Jerusalem City Map, Historic Holy Land, rep. 1660
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Trésor des Corsaires Coquillages”, Known world map of the world, rep. 1565
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“La Bulle de Savon Multicolore”, USA Railroad map Atchison, rep. 1888
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“La Chasse aux Papillons”, map of Cambridge
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2011
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“La Mongolfière Sac de Sable”, Balloon map of London rep. 1831
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“L’Aventure Peter Pan”, Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, Cartagena Columbia map rep. 1585
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Chateau Mandarine”, map of the world
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request :


“Le Far West ZigZag”, Bacon’s Shilling War map
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Petit Canard Danceuse Ballerine”, Balloon map of London rep. 1831
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2011
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Poisson d’Argent Volant”, Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, Santo Domingo map, rep. 1585
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Tableau Noir et la Cloche”, panoramic map of New York City rep.1851
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request :


“Le Trèfle à 4 Feuilles et le Lutin Blanc”, Dublin Ireland, Historic City Plan map, rep. 1797
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Le Voyage dans les Entrailles”, Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, Atlantic Ocean map, rep. 1585
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request :


“L’Étoile et la Souris Dent de Lait”, map of Connectucut, Long Island & Manhattan rep. 1777
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Pierre Verte, Rubis Rouge”, Voyage of Sir Francis Drake Saint, Augustine map rep. 1585
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request :


“Pop Corn Edelweiss Pop”, Rivers and mountains of the world, rep. 1849 with gold leaves
Signed and sealed E.L Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:


“Caramel Elastique Chewing Gum”, New York Central and Hudson River rep.1876 Railroad map
Signed and sealed E.L. Elisabeth Lecourt, 2012
841 x 594 x 30 mm, price on request:

images courtesy of the artist

Several more of Elisabeth's paper map fashions can be found, and purchased if available,  here.

The Pop Surrealism Of Emmy Lincoln (AKA ItchySoul).

above: In 'The deeply misunderstood friendly Shiphugger', ItchySoul has added a giant octopus and water details atop a found vintage oil painting of a classic clipper ship.

Sweden-born artist Emmy Lincoln, who goes by the artist moniker ItchySoul, creates imaginative lowbrow artwork by up-cycling flea market finds such as old oil paintings, antique photos and old book covers as well as creating her own original acrylic works.


above left: acrylic body art painting upon a 1922 book cover (Snovit) and acrylic demons painted atop a vintage 1917 Budapest photo of a one year old Hungarian boy (Ferike).

Inspired by sci-fi, fairytales, animé, toys and all things kitsch, this is her way of paying tribute to the unknown or forgotten artist. She sees her paintings as "stories yet to be told."

Here are more of her wonderful pieces.

The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said (acrylics atop a vintage landscape painting):

Mermaid and Alligator (original acrylic painting in vintage frame):

Neon Menace (painting and wax seal atop an IKEA printed canvas):

Piggy's Big Day Out (acrylics atop an antique landscape oil painting):

When I Was A Young Fawn (acrylics atop a vintage oil painting):

detail:

The Good Girl (spirits in acrylics painted on 1915 Hungarian photograph):

Forest Mushroom Dwellers (acrylics on plywood) and Visiting (acrylics on canvas):

Friends (Acrylic triptych on canvas):


About the artist:


Born in 1980, Emmy grew up as a middle child in the tiny village Dösjebro. She was constantly drawing on things and her friends and family always encouraged her to. Both her grandmother Berit who was a map drawer and painter, and her mom Yvonne who is a ceramic artist, were great inspirations for her growing up.

After finishing high school in 1999 Emmy traveled for a few years and had stray jobs in hospitality in London, Tokyo and Sydney. She ended up studying graphic design at the Enmore Design Center, Sydney. Then followed internships at design studio Campbell Barnett and ad agency Arnold Australia.

Since returning to Sweden in 2005 Emmy is working as a Visual Designer in the mobile phone industry and is currently freelancing under company name ItchySoul AB.

Emmy lives in Malmö with her boyfriend Mattias where they share a cozy music- and art studio. Her debut art exhibition was at the No White Walls 43 gallery in Malmö in May 2013, where her quirky mash-up paintings were very appreciated by the audience.

all images courtesy and copyright of the artist

See more of her fun work here.

Robots Reborn. Upcycled Illuminated Robot Sculptures by +Brauer

Bruno Lefevre-Brauer, known as + Brauer, is a graphic designer living in Paris. Over the past 20 years he has designed numerous album covers for French and international artists and pursued his personal artistic expression through painting, photography and sculpture.



An artist who regularly exhibits in Paris, these charming illuminated metal upcycled robots are from his series "Viva la Roboluciòn!"









More than their technological features, he tries to reveal the original, almost primitive, form of the robots he creates. +Brauer carefully chooses vintage objects that have an industrial past, that are marked by time and whose patina has been moulded by years of manual use. He admires the beauty, sometimes hidden, of these discarded industrial parts, alters their appearance, sculpts them, and incorporates light sources into their structure before assembling the parts together to create a unique and poetic piece.





The beauty of the materials and the venerable patinas express their beauty in the light of day, while at night, it is the turn of the strange, evocative light fittings to reveal their magic. Right from conception, the element of light is an integral part of the artwork: each robot is designed to interact with it’s environment in a different way whether it is turned on or off.




Abandoned or forgotten in workshops and garages, the industrial parts are reborn in unique works of art that embrace us with their kind presence, imposing personality, and amazing humanity.


images and info courtesy of the artist

Each piece is a statement of poetic resistance to mass-consumption.

See more and other works by +Brauer here

Technicolor Twinkle Toes. Embroidery on Vintage Photos of Dancers.

Now living and working in Berlín, Chilean-born Jose Romussi formally studied landscape design when growing up, but over the past few years has gained a significant following for his screen prints and collages in which he combines vintage black and white photographs with colorful forms of embroidery.



In this series, Dance, the supernatural power of dancers and their poses and movements inspire him with their precision and elegance. Romussi brings these pictures back to life with bright vibrant colors, underlining the dynamic of these frozen movements. With each new line of embroidery he invites the viewer to dream with him and to experience each subject's hidden vitality.












Artist Jose Romussi at work:


See more of Jose's unusual work here