The work of multimedia artist and all-around digital maverick Travess Smalley really fucks with my sense of scale. Mountains nest within mountains, Magic Eye patterns might be topographic maps of lava planets, and neon galaxies of abstract forms easily meld into the molecular substructure of THC. There’s no solid distinction between part and whole. A weird alchemy is at play here: everything in Smalley’s world seems perpetually caught in the process of becoming another aspect of itself.

His vibrantly visceral objects of inscrutable origin are fundamentally maximalist and endlessly nostalgic for an era that never happened but, with luck, still might. They appear equally at home wherever you encounter them: in the nowhere-place of the internet, the walls of a gallery at CTRL+W33D’s rad recent “Troll” exhibition, or the centerfold of a fancy magazine. Intrigued by the output of this cryptic chameleon, I sought answers from Mr. Smalley himself. He was kind enough to illuminate a few of the many mysteries surrounding his craft, and share some new pieces:

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I like to imagine that Fritz Lang, with his penchant for blown-up science textbook illustrations, and Leonardo da Vinci, with his designs for contraptions both whimsical and practical, would be totally stoked on the work of multimedia collagist Jacob Whibley. A quick survey of his artistic output reveals microscopic vistas of the still-beating hearts of impossible automata and altars for the worship of logic and ideas… or at least that’s what I see. Whibley’s work is like a blueprint for imagination, equal parts Rorschach test and mechanized mandala whose contemplation allows you access to hidden inner truths. Of course, this only raises more questions about the man behind the mysticism. He took the time to address a few of my queries about process, precision, and future projects.

From diagrammatic collages to surreal sculptural pseudo-playscapes, your work, while fantastical, seems to encourage the perception that it is meant to be used for a specific function: creation, recreation, meditation. What kind of purpose does art serve for you? What effect do you want it to have on your audience?

Art has always been about exploration and inspiration for me. I get excited working with new materials and looking for new bits of ephemera. Each piece is both an Lose Weight Exercise in solving spatial/compositional problems and the examination of a variety of themes: interstitial spaces, unfulfilled histories, new combinations of forms, and unfulfilled potentials. For the viewer, I want to instill that same sense of confusion, curiosity, and contemplation.

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Being an all-around rad dude primarily, and a master of children’s literature on the side, it’s only natural that An Awesome Book author Dallas Clayton finds himself frequently pulled into fantastic situations. Like how on his last book tour, he ended up reading to both pre-schoolers on a sheep ranch in Bodega and college students at a crusty punk house in Eugene.

Or how he was recently invited to paint a mural on the walls of Silver Lake children’s boutique Tomboy. I accompanied him on a midnight mural-painting mission and shot a little video (with my beloved new GH1) about the opportunities that keep popping up as a result of being Dallas Clayton.

Careful examination always rewards the viewer of Allison Grant‘s enigmatic photographs. Her images keep no secrets, but they do speak in a kind of code that has to be mulled over a bit before its full meaning can register in the conscious mind. Her two latest projects, Unsoiled and The Nature of Instability, toy with our ability to distinguish between natural and unnatural elements in outdoor environments. Like puzzling over a Buddhist koan, our initial confusion is always compensated with a higher level of enlightenment, a more refined awareness of the things that make up our universe and their origins. Grant recently took some time from her busy schedule to share with me her techniques, inspirations, and some exclusive images from a new project!

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How rad would it be to live the life of Landon Metz? He travels around the world taking stunning photos in collaboration with his beautiful and talented wife, artist Hannah Metz. He put on shows, make zines and connects a league of rising art stars through his curatorial project, The Company of People. And he paints, graphic designs, and blogs, to boot. Awesome, right? The world is his oyster. Read on to find out what Landon was like as a mid-90′s tween in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Christopher Schulz created one of the greatest magazines about naked dudes on the planet: Pinups. Since I first interviewed Christopher about the photo-based graphic design experiment back in 2008, he’s been a busy bee. Now in its 12th issue, the latest Pinup is cult favorite actor Guillermo Diaz, sexy-dancing to records in nothing but a pair of leather cuffs. In his spare time, Christopher has been appropriating vintage and contemporary porn for beautiful, amusing–and sometimes unnerving–digital collages in his Tumblr-based design project, Mopping Is Stealing. He’s also begun a series of illustrations devoted to his long-time muse: lovably corn-fed thespian Seth Rogen.

Catch up with Christopher after the jump! And if you happen to be in New York, don’t miss the latest Pinups release party on Saturday, June 19th at Blackout. (NSFW butts and penises below).

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As if being a master of the subtly breathtaking– an ace of the ethereal– weren’t enough, Vancouver-based photographer Jennilee Marigomen comes from that rare breed of people who possess an uncanny ability to identify other rad artists, and then connect them for awesome things.

For instance, she recently assembled a photo projection show called Stream, and then simulcast it bi-coastally at Space 15 Twenty in L.A. and Pent House Gallery in Baltimore. She art directs 01 Magazine, a blog/magazine hybrid with impeccable taste and innovative content. She even manages to elevate Tumblr to an art form. Whether looking at her curation or creation, one thing is clear: Jennilee Marigomen’s eyes have superhuman powers. They can see invisible dimensions of light and space. Here, she opens up about what they look for:

Although some of your photos have people in them, you seem to avoid straight-up portraits. What leads you to pick nature over people?
The images that resonate with me are the ones that embrace a certain kind of ambiguity and leave room for interpretation. There is always a bit of uncertainty and mystery in nature… It can’t be fully controlled and is always changing and adapting – which is what my Botanophobia series is about. I’m not really interested in subjects that are too direct or give a lot away.. I want people to revisit the image with a new perception each time. Kind of like a film with an open ending. Or maybe I prefer not to take portraits because I’m a little shy.

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A troubling energy pervades Steven Brahms‘s photographs. The world through his eyes is toxic yet exciting, coy and irreverent. It’s a desolate landscape dotted with slapdash abodes far off the grid, half-buried bodies in dread-filled trash heaps, naked hippies in nature, and men running with the intensity usually reserved for post-apocalyptic self-preservation. Image by image, Brahms slowly scratches away at the poisonous detritus of modern life to reveal the wonderment and humor buried beneath. He has done us the heavy of responding to a handful of prodding and open-ended questions:

Are the men in your photographs running towards something or away from something?
I ask them to run for their lives! So, I guess it depends on what each guy is thinking when he is running. The long haired asian guys running is a series I have been working on a lot lately. My project/question is: What makes a man run?

Scientists use constants and variables when investing questions. I decided that my constants would be: Asian guys with long hair, motivation (“Run for your life!!!”), and capture (the camera and lighting I use). Therefore the variables would be gesture and environment, resulting in an artifact of experience both personal and shared.

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Marc Smith is a Disney animator by day and Lucha Libre photographer by night. After graduating from CalArts, Smith began his animation career as an inbetweener on The Lion King and Pocahantas. Inbetweeners are responsible for drawing the tens of thousands of action images– yes, you guessed it– in between the key frames. Not a bad way to foster an understanding of the human figure’s multifarious angles and expressions.

By Smith’s own account, he was content expressing himself through drawings and sketches until “one fateful day, after enjoying a particularly garlicky plate of hummus as his girlfriend dug though her purse for a piece of gum, she handed him her camera to hold. Just then, a 400-pound man carrying a 2-pound dog rounded the corner. With no sketchbook in hand, he used the camera, and a passion was born.”

The seed of that newfound passion has borne some spectacular fruit. Smith’s images explode across the screen. They are as immediate and arresting as they are thoughtful and measured– a precise balance that can be traced back to the photographer’s keen sense of timing and fundamental understanding of the body. Smith was kind enough to send us over photos and share some thoughts on photography, the appeal of Luchadores, and the very real pain of searching for missing teeth.

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Artist, wordsmith, and my We Love You So co-blogger Dallas Clayton is responsible for the existence of an incredibly rad children’s book. It’s called An Awesome Book, and in the year following its release, it’s taken off like rocket-powered unicorn. The tidal wave of love that has engulfed Dallas’ electrifying book is rather awe-inspiring considering the fact that the book’s not available in stores yet– not even Amazon! The process of promoting and distributing An Awesome Book has been an entirely grassroots, D.I.Y. affair, leading Dallas on a wild adventure across the country for a wonderfully non-traditional book tour.

How does your illustration relate to your writing? Do you make drawings that aren’t related to what you write? Also, have you ever experimented with the comic book format?
I’ve never done comics. I might some day. Maybe 3D comics. My illustration is just something I do for fun that became a part of my writing. I’ve always considered myself a writer who draws more so than a drawer who writes, but a lot of times people will stoke out way harder on the drawings. Especially kids. I think my drawing has a lot of catching up to do before it really feels like I own it completely but I’m on a bit of a fast track with the success of An Awesome Book so now it’s really sink or swim I guess. Draw! Draw! Draw! Write! Write! Write! See what happens. Hopefully more awesomeness!