FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Aesop Rock just came off his Australian and New Zealand tour. I guess he can really say he was reppin Upper Playground being in the land down under. I wounder if they think thats what U.P. stands for down there?

A New Gift from Augor

New Spring/Summer Tees by Michael Sieben

Introducing new designs from Mr Michael Sieben:

First one up is a new design for the FIFTY24SF line. Push here.




The second design is for the Premium line. Push here.

Lyrics Born on Kimmel w/ UP

Can you spot the Upper Playground?

New Work by Ben Tour

I love this new piece by Canadian artist, Ben Tour. I tried to snag it from his site but since he uses flash I couldn't get the whole thing. To see it in its entirety go here.

U.P. X MORNING BREATH X OBAMA

Here it is. Another dope print to help support the man we have all come to love. This one is by Morning Breath. There are 200 hundred of these bad boys and the screen prints are numbered and signed by MB. The prints are on pre-sale now, and ship on the 21st of May. 200 bucks lands you a piece of art that helps support something that could go down in the history books. So put off buying another pair of Dunks. Invest in something that means something.


SUPPORT

Never Heard of Yah!!!

Opening this Saturday, April 26th at Deeda in Sacto, "Never Heard of Yah!!!": Photography Group Show curated by Austin McManus. Check out the flyer for all the deets.

CRAOLA LIMITED TOY

Its here, the new limited color way of the Craola walrus.
There are only 350 made world wide, and they are going so fast. Probably because it comes with a signed and numbered 5.5 x 6.5 offset print. Better snatch one up. $78 bucks.


PUSH


Signed Print

12 GRAIN 08

New Sam Flores gear in. Plenty more where this came from.

We both know that you are waiting for a gust of wind to blow up that little pink dress. Be patient. Wait, fantasizing over art is gross. How could you.

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Weird, that girl has a cock on her head.

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Im not sure what Russia's main export is? Vodka or gymnast? Both are equally as good though.

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MUNK 1 PRINT

MUNK 1 stopped by to sign his Obama prints today. Here are a couple of shots of the man working on a mean case of carpal tunnel.





Prints are on sale now and will be shipping on the 21st of April.
So be patient.
CLICK

Fan Art from the East Coast

Got this image in our mailbox this morning from Phayce on the East Coast. A good lookin' Walrus if you ask us. Thanks for the respect.

Brian Barneclo Website is Up and Running

Check out Bay Area artist, Brian Barneclo's new website at www.brianbarneclo.com



And don't forget! He'll be showing Thursday, May 8th in the group show, "Orchestrated Oddities" at Fifty24SF Gallery along with Romanowski and Sean Somers.

NEW 5024SF T's

For the next few weeks i am gonna beat the hell out of you with new product that has come in. Get used to it. Besides i know you are looking forward to the abuse anyway.Here are some new T's from the 5024SF line.


Pigeons




BIG GAME HUNTER



MAN EPIC

Augor's Graffiti in New Film

Here's the trailer for a new film featuring Augor's graffiti. Juxtapoz had a nice little synopsis that we got right here: "LAUFF’s (Los Angeles United Film Festival) official 2008 selection includes Piece of Mind, a sick new documentary exploring the world of graffiti, as considered a criminal activity. Focusing on Southern California’s “war on graffiti,” Piece of Mind is a timely examination of what society considers art, and why graffiti has moved beyond old standards of traditional artistic expression." Thanks to Jux on that.

Coming soon to Fifty24SF...

Sam Flores x Adidas

Adidas asked Upper Playground to donate the perfect assassin to take on the mission of designing a 15-foot sized Adidas Superstar, and we got Sam Flores to complete the mission. It was part of a competition versus Surface to Air, with Sam making the left shoe and Surface making the right. You know what they say about big feet . . . actually, I don't know what they say.

Here's more of a summary from Creativity-online.com: "Adidas Originals and 180 LA have taken the "huge" aspect of this trend quite literally with the web film "The Left-Right Project," the first film in a series dubbed "Celebrate Originality" that will be rolling out this spring and summer. The film stars a passenger van-sized pair of Adidas Superstars, the brand's iconic shell-toe sneaker, split between the East and West and customized by artists representing each respective American coastline. While the brand's goal to show Originals as "a vehicle for self-expression, creativity, authenticity and individuality" sounds a bit lofty for a shoe, the artists with which the brand chooses to work certainly help. In this case, Sam Flores and Upper Playground represent the left, while NYC and Paris-based Surface2Air collective steps in for the right."

Limited Edition "VL" Ephemera by Slick

Check out these limited edition items by Slick, available through the Fifty24SF Gallery and online here as part of his show, "Ceci n'est pas Graffiti" which is up through the end of April.


"VL" Bandana, also available in brown


Limited Edition "VL" Print, available in black too


Numbered "VL" Tee

Just Got Wood

I thought you might get a rise out of this. Here is the first installation to the U.P. Board series. Limited edition, screen printed, American made boards. Don't see that anymore. So whether you are gonna actually skate the shit out of it ( My suggestion ) Or just hang it on your wall as art, either way you will not be disappointed. I give you Estevan's Board.

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Barack Obama Hope in Philly

More Obama poster advertisements sighted in Philadelphia. . . .

U.P. PREMIUM - WE THOUGHT WE WOULD 1 UP OUR SELF'S

We decided to spread our roots a little further for you with our new Premium line for spring 08. In fact we 1 upped our selfs. This line has a slightly slimmer fit and is made of finer cotton for a softer feel. Here are just a few new designs that came in for the Spring 08 line.

DORA DRIMALAS




KORALIE




SIEBEN

Lyrics Born

Lyrics Born stopped by Upper Playground in Berkeley to pick up some new gear.

SuperBlast!

Our friend, SUPERBLAST, has a new book coming out: Neo Utopia - The Art & Work of SuperBlast



Berlin based graphic designer SUPERBLAST was immersed in the world of punk rock and skateboarding when he discovered graffiti in 1990 and quickly became addicted to the energy and vitality of the street art underground. As a logical evolution of writing with spraypaint, he started a career as graphic designer in 1999. While studying graphic design, he freelanced for several urban brands, had solo and collective art shows. In 2004 he honed his skills in the beautiful craft of creating letters, by attending lessons in Fontdesign from the world-famous Luc(as) de Groot. His unique iconic style and use of color in illustrations, lettering and wall pieces lead him to projects with some of the most interesting and innovative artists and companies in his field. Most notable are his collaborations with Playstation Portable, Ecko Unltd, Volkl Skateboards, Montana Cans, and many more. SUPERBLAST has designed clothing, graphics, magazine ads, and skateboard decks. Neo Utopia –The Art & Work of Superblast is a fascinating career retrospective from a pioneer of the European graffiti world. Included is a personal selection of graphic design work, graffiti, illustration, ad campaigns, logo design, typography and related art of the past 17 years as well as sketches and full color photos of work in progress.

USUGROW'S VISIT

USUGROW was in town for a couple of days after his show at 5024PDX. Me and him had some business to attend to.





Keep your eyes peeled to see what it is we where up to. Also if you are in Portland check out his show.

Obama Around Pennsylvania

More Obama campaign poster ads from Shepard and Mac have been seen around the state of Pennsylvania prior to the primary on April 22nd. The support is helping get the word out on Mr Obama.

New 08 t's are here

Here is a small selection of what came in for the 08 season. Check online or our retail stores for more new products.

Alex Pardee Creeped in this spring with this slug looking walrus.

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Nate Van Dyke is not monkeying around when it comes to armed robbery.

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Open Season Polishes up with a little target practice.

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New decks by Jeremy Fish in collaboration with Sam Flores, Matt Irving, and Travis Millard

Upper Playground in association with superFishal announces the launch of three new graphic skateboards created by artist, Jeremy Fish. Each season, superFishal will offer a series of screen printed decks in which each graphic is created through collaboration between Jeremy Fish and another artist. For the Spring/Summer collection, Jeremy collaborated with three of the most prominent names in the contemporary art world; Sam Flores, Matt Irving, and Travis Millard. The screen-printed decks will be a limited release of 300 for each design and will retail at $80. Upper Playground and superFishal are also offering the decks in a set of three for $210, with the first 100 sets being signed by Jeremy Fish.






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Street Art Brazil

BEHIND THE BLACK - BEHIND THE WHITE

The gents over at 5024PDX sent us some photos of Usugrow's opening. The show was sick and some heavy hitters came out to see it.


Paul Wall & Skinhead Rob stopped by to see Usugrow's show while they were in Portland on tour.


Pushead & Usugrow

Augor Mural

We just got these shots from our friend, Augor. All in an evening's work . . .