Musiccosmos

Framed Text by Huzan Tata Salman Toor Armed with a master’s in fine arts from NYC’s Pratt Institute, this 35-year-old straddles two continents with his art, and considers it an achievement that he’s made “this dual life in New York City and Lahore” work for him. Inspired by pop culture from both the Subcontinent and the Western world, Salman Toor enjoys painting “stories in picture-book style”, usually working with oil paints on canvas or wooden panels, and looks to represent South Asians who, like him, are living a life that’s in between cultures. The pigeonholing of artists from South Asia being his greatest challenge, Toor hopes to portray both the ordinary and the unusual that’s associated with his homeland in his works. Creative Beginnings “I started drawing when I was very young, and found it to be the most exquisite escape and means of invention. I represent stories of brown people living between two cultures, created using an illustrative — sometimes abstract — st...

A visual exploration of renowned hacktivist group, Anonymous, by Brooklyn-based photographer Anthony Tafuro (previously featured here ). Following from BA.KU. (2015), which followed a balaclava-clad skateboard crew in Vancouver, Tafuro’s latest publication with powerHouse Books is based on a years-long project driven by his own fascination with the subversive international network as well as the very idea of masked portraits. That is, how removing conventional markers of identity, works to draw more attention to that individual’s actions. Since 2013, thousands have been gathering in cities around the world every Novemver 5th to take part in the Million Mask March — an event that allows ordinary citizens to share in the groups efforts and keep the legacy of Guy Fawkes alive. In addition to documenting these marches, Tafuro also gained access to various Internet gatherings and behind-the-scenes meetings. See more images from the fascinating project below or check out Anonymous:...