It's Called Design

Last night I saw a hooker at Islands restaurant... an observation.

2011-05-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's a case for intelligent design, perhaps not design, but I wrote something so I'm posting it...

...Last night Lu and I saw a hooker meet her john at the bar in the Pasadena Islands restaurant. A sad and stunning, tiny waif of a painted up SE Asian girl, she showed up without emotion ordered a whiskey, "Anything but Jack Daniels" she said in a heavy accent that was so Asiatic it almost sounded Russian.

She then made a phone call to a man, said she was at Islands and was waiting, said she wasn't feeling great. After receiving a pimps pep talk she sighed, hung up the phone and downed the rest of her Segrams shot.

About 5-10 minutes later a nerdy once attractive middle aged white guy showed, and awkwardly introduced himself. There was an instant language barrier and she was very clearly uninterested in him physically, so the money was going to have to be the motivation. He tried to make small talk, telling her 15 seconds into the conversation that he was "scouting locations" for a new _____ film ( I didn't quite catch the name that was dropped.... but some shit got dropped). It was a line that might have worked when he was 22, fresh faced and less jaded, less full of shit, less motivated by ego and more motivated by a youthfully innocent need to just get laid.

"What do you eat?" ... he asks. Speaking like a tourist from some red state who doesn't comprehend that speaking louder and slower is a sure fire way to get ignored, not understood.

"What do you eat... nnoorrmmaallyy...?" he says again, slowing even more in the hope that the look of disgust and confusion on her face is merely because she doesn't comprehend the words.

But she understands fine, and has now gone into defense mode... essentially thinking, "the only way I'm getting out of here tonight with my dignity, is to pretend I can't speak a lick of english." I've seen this defense before, it's the same thing that happened when my car was hit by an uninsured undocumented latino gentleman, he spoke english for a full 5 seconds after the accident, and when he realized it was his fault, he forgot any previous knowledge of english real fast.

"You're so beautiful"... the graying location scout says... she thanks him, and musters a fake smile outwardly, as her insides recoil in discomfort and her body language can't help but reflect that. She begins to tap the table, clearly through with him, ready to leave, ready to get this over with... ready to perform whatever prearranged act for whatever prearranged price.

At this point we were late for our movie, so after paying the bill we get up and leave. As I leave I make eye contact with both of them one last time, stealing a look at the awkward couple I have been eavesdropping on for the last 5 minutes. She looks like a hostage, and he looks like a kid who is doing something wrong and desperately trying not to seem nervous.

We make it to the front door of the restaurant and Lu and I look at each other simultaneously...

"Did we just see a hooker meeting a John"???? Yea... we totally did.

dead blog for now...

2011-03-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

AEG 4 NFL 2 LA?

2010-12-15T19:42:00.001-08:00

AEG released some "preliminary sketches" for the proposed downtown LA football stadium, and they feel like every other stadium that has been made in the last 10 years...C'mon now AEG, make a splash, TRY SOMETHING AMAZING... these feel like an intern drew them up from leftover Texans 'Reliant Stadium' files... edit points > blend tool.

The sad fact about LA sports is that if you aren't a winner, or don't have a revolutionary new way of displaying your product, you can not sustain a fan base... ask the 7,000 people who show up on a nightly basis for Clipper games. Or just ask anyone who has been to a Dodger game when the boys in Blue are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the ravine is empty aside from a few Korean tourists and those old dudes who listen to the game on vintage headphones while sitting a mere 50 feet from the action.

So AEG...build an average ultra modern football stadium, and fill it with average players, and see what you get... average support from average fans. This is LA, on paper that is Hollywood to the rest of the country, but you still need a nice medium of hype and real contemporary quality for profitable sports run in this town.

More info >> click here

*EDIT*
Follow up...

I had a friend send me some really interesting links about a new stadium built in Taiwan and opened in 2009. Aesthetically and practically this solar powered stadium is light years (no pun intended) ahead of anything we might see in any of the AEG sponsored sketches.

I LOVE T__(Y)(O)POGRAPHY

2010-12-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Designing tumbleweeds

2010-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

...and cobwebs...

been busy, been lazy, been something something.

Be back when writing strikes, sorry to be a blog loaf these days.

DAVID A. SMITH THE SIGN WRITER

2010-09-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my dad had a beautiful antique Reverse Glass sign that he purchased while living in England. I remember staring at it as a kid, enjoying my own reflection segmented and contorted against bits of typography and old commercial design.

This video by Danny Cooke is a great look inside the painstaking process that master of Sign-Writing, and Glass gilding master David A. Smith uses on each piece he produces. They don't make 'em like this any more... I guarantee you this is worth the short amount time it takes to watch it.

RACE MAPS OF AMERICA

2010-09-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

These info graphics are visually stunning.

Red = White
Blue = Black
Green = Asian
Orange = Hispanic
Gray = Other

Each dot = 25 people.

Segregation and separatism are alive and well, only this time its subliminally engrained in our society without any fences or signs. The data in these maps is from nearly a decade ago, but I'd be willing to bet a lot has stayed the same, perhaps even gotten worse during the economic downswing.

LOS ANGELES

SAN FRANCISCO

So much of this is actually classism that has been enforced by pre existing urban divisions, but the stark visual evidence based solely on race and not earnings is staggering. I would assume that maps based on income would show similar results, but that is purely speculation.

SEE THE FULL STORY

MY CAMERA WENT TO CATALINA AND ALL I GOT WAS PICTURES OF SIGNAGE

2010-09-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

POWER IN THE VALLEY

2010-09-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

This week has been oddly paced, but I have found some time to play around a bit which is a rarity. I continued using my photos of street sign typography, as well as vintage erotica photo book type. It isn't anything revolutionary, but I love to use appropriated icons and type to create a bit of nostalgia, or at least a nod to a different time and place. Something like this is nice to play with, because I can use it as a focal point or even just texture for background work.

POWER in the valley '88

GO TO HELVETICA

2010-09-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Even my satire is dated, so why do people keep cranking out those horrible Helvetica shirts? The other day I saw one of these typeset shirts done in Myriad... what the hell is that about? Some random, lazy, mac using t-shirt designer couldn't even explore beyond the program default typeface? Half the time I see one of these shirts, they aren't even kerned correctly...

...So here is my answer, I promise I won't make a shirt out of it...unles there is demand for it of course... Shit, this is how these things start!

Enjoy.

COME TO SEE US SCRIPT

2010-09-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

COME TO SEE US
LA//CA 08.30.10

More hand drawn script and an amazing arrow from the upholstery shop.

LOW PRICES SCRIPT

2010-08-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

LOW(X3) PRICES
LA//CA 08.30.10

LEGACY OF LETTERS : LUCA BARCELLONA

2010-08-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

Legacy of Letters from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

Wow... even that Copic marker is astonished.

Amazing hand lettering styles by Luca Barcellona. This guy has to be an "ex" graffiti writer, as I dig around his material I see some of his more contemporary and commercial based hand styles, and it is equally impressive.

Perhaps I'm late to the Luca Barcellona party, but as a fan of people who have the ability to replicate and create letters with beyond digital cleanliness, I am blown away by these skills. At ACCD they offered a class taught by type legend Doyald Young titled "Got Curves", the whole class focused on creating hand drawn calligraphic curves... to this day it's the only class I regret not taking.

Of course another contemporary I am reminded of is Retna, Graffiti/Fine artist. His large scale letters are clean hand made hybrids of several old world letter sets, drawing influence from many classic hand drawn alphabets.

Thanks to Enrique Ortega for posting this video, I haven't been able to stop sending it to people, and quietly wishing I had skills like that.

STREET SWATCH

2010-08-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

BURBANK, CA
(MATTRESS) X (CURVES)

PLEASE DON'T ACT LIKE A FOOL IN THE CLUB / STUNTIN LIKE MY DADDY - 09.11.10

2010-08-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Devin Troy Strother has a new set of works showing September 11th - October 9th.

I went to school with Devin at ACCD, which doesn't make me cooler, it just makes me less capable of delivering an unbiased opinion. The guy is a huge young talent, I love his work, and if you don't, then you are a punk ass buster. The dude could make a career on titles alone. Middle class raised crackers with hip hop tendencies will be clamoring... myself included.

The opening reception is @The Richard Heller Gallery on Saturday, September 11th, 2010 from 6-10 PM. I own one of his older pieces, but really hope I am able to pick up another... wishful thinking with my current personal spending budget.

MORE WORK BY DEVIN TROY STROTHER >>HERE

CEELO 'F**K YOU' VIDEO TRUE 'KNOCKOUT'

2010-08-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yet another music video to post involving typography... I swear this isn't supposed to be a music blog.

'Knockout' is the typeface, knockout of a song, knockout of a video... phenomenal capturing of a moment in pop culture with simple animated text. Beautiful typography, fluid movement, and a guaranteed pop music hit as the soundtrack, not a bad combination.

Here is another sample of Knockout and its wide variety of weights and uses.

More about 'KNOCKOUT' by Hoefler & Frere-Jones >> CLICK HERE

SINCERE COMPLIMENT

2010-08-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

The current wall of fame.

THINGS ARE STILL UGLY...

2010-08-23T15:43:00.001-07:00

I think it is time to finally leave the world of Blogger for greener pastures...after playing with several templates and stripping things down a whole bunch, I'm tired of fighting progress... time to bend up the training wheels.

more soon...until then, please forgive the mess.

FORGIVE THE MESS

2010-08-06T01:46:00.001-07:00

I was messing with my template and am now not able to retrieve my dated format.

So it seems for the present time I will be using this boring techy MTV news type template until I can go through and try to fix the code or settle on something new I like. Damn...

IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT 'POWER' WAS NOT ONE OF THE BEST VIDEOS OF ALL TIME

2010-08-06T00:54:00.000-07:00

'Power' is merely a chip off the old block that is 'Civilization'.

Here is the full length version of the Kanye/Marco Brambilla "collaboration". It is certainly a whole lot shorter than I anticipated (roughly 90 seconds) but with Brambilla's visual style I can imagine how labor intensive even a short amount of time could be.

All in all, I'm blown away by the fluidity and classic beauty that is captured in ultra slow mo, but I still draw no real connection to Kanye West, other than the fact that his record label funded the project. It seems to be another huge ego trip by one of the worlds biggest trippers, but still something that will be considered revolutionary in the eyes of mainstream pop culture.

Enjoy the work for Brambilla, in spite of Kanye.

From Civilization to Power: The making of Kanye West's POWER by Marco Brambilla

2010-08-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

You may not be a fan of Kanyes music, antics, or his ego, but he has undeniably taken a forward approach to finding the most amazing ways of blending his image with the ultra contemporary. In his new video he has commissioned Marco Brambilla to create one of his signature sampling pieces with Mr. West as the focal point.

Here is a quick little tease/makng of video... While I can already imagine the aesthetics of it, I really can't wait to see the final piece.

from the videos caption:
"Marco Brambilla's POWER shows a continuous camera move from extreme close-up of Kanye West revealing an a neoclassical video tableau showing characters and creatures surrounding him in an abstract environment - all moving in extreme slow motion. Inspired by Michelangelo's frescos in the Sistine Chapel, the piece depicts a faux historical moment - an empire on the brink of collapse from its own excess, decadence and corruption".

The Making Of Kanye West's "Power" found on Pop

The video will be premiered in its entirety on Thursday @ 11PM on Mtv. (VIDEOS ON MTV?!?!? HAS THE WORLD GONE TOPSY TURVY?)

For more of Kanyes work just turn on a radio and wait 15 minutes...
To see more of Marco Brambilla's work >> CLICK HERE

ANTOINE DODSON

2010-08-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

...The victims brother, and my new favorite meme.

Here is a quick little tribute I made while watching the first innings of the Padres/Dodgers game this evening. Sometimes it just feels healthy to put ridiculous shit into the world, thanks internet for your never ending supply.

*UPDATE

Antoine gave a follow up interview, and this time he is wearing his sisters low rise jeans and looking oh so fresh & clean.
Seriously, this dude is not just a caricature, there is something undeniably likeable about him.

STEALING TYPE // Crookers-Remedy (ft. Mike Snow)

2010-07-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Any asshole can use Helvetica, but it takes a special brand of asshole to use Helvetica scanned from a stolen subway sign.

This song is a few months old, but I heard it on KCRW this weekend and went digging for a copy and found this really great video that accompanies it. Directed by Paul Kamuf the Crookers boys run around Brooklyn & Queens stealing bits and pieces from the world around them in order to create a found typographical logo for the name of the group and song "Crookers / Remedy".

This is a cool premise for a video, and reminded me a lot of the exercises done early on in design school. So much of learning typography for myself was breaking away from traditional digital typefaces and creating new and unique characters. While traditional typefaces have infinite correct uses, a good way to break from conventional forms is to create your own in this same fashion.

As an analytical designer jerk, I'm not a fan of the finished product, but as with many art and design projects, the process makes up for much of the final products flaws.

Comic Sans becomes a Twitter trend... Cooper black sulks back to myspace to troll for 17 year olds.

2010-07-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

You have just been betrayed and personally embarrassed on national television by your chosen son and messiah, what do you do?...

UNLEASH THE COMIC SANS!

At least thats what Dan Gilbert (majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers) did on Thursday, when media whore Lebron James left the state to announce in a cold blooded one hour ESPN special, that James was leaving the team for the Miami Heat.

Comic Sans is regarded as one of the worst typefaces of all time, a perennial whipping boy for designers and tech based employes of the english typing world. If a typeface is supposed to help establish a tone of voice, then Comic Sans says, "I'm unprofessional, unoriginal, childish, and probably enjoy hanging Ziggy or Family Circus comics in my cubicle".

I have to assume that it was somehow an accidental default font on Gilbert's email, but that means that Dan enjoys using comic sans for day to day business. Maybe it was intentional, and he felt it looked more personal, as though he were using his computer to construct a, "From the desk of..." type of letter.

Regardless of the reason for the type choice, this letter is pure comedy gold from start to finish, for designer or sports fan.

SEE THE FULL LETTER >> CLICK HERE

My first 12" Vinyl Record Sleeve : Designed for Rubik Records (RRT016)

2010-07-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

Some say that vinyl is dead, we live in a digital age, why be a dinosaur? I say, it's alive and well...at least for my own selfish purposes.

So many of my graphic influences have come from 12" sleeves, I used to flip through my parents large collection as a child and memorized them visually long before I began memorizing the actual lyrics on the record. It is such a cool medium, a large square format that requires a minimal amount of information, and must be alluring to a casual shopper.

As a DJ I have seen many recorded devices come and go, currently the trend is to download .mp3 files and play them remotely from a laptop with a program like Serrato or final scratch. This medium while making the art of DJ'ing profoundly more affordable, has also led to a major downfall in the visual allure of DJ'ing. No more brightly colored sleeves that made dancers anticipate the next track based on visual cues as the DJ flips records off and on. Now Dj's hunch over a laptop and use a mouse to switch tracks while the same 2 vinyl midi controllers spin endlessly. My biggest issues with the progress in technology isn't moral or audio based so much as it is visual.

As a designer I always hoped to create a record sleeve, and now I finally got the oppurtunity. There is something infinitely more rewarding to me about being able to hold a tactile final copy of my layout/packaging, than to look at it purely onscreen in a digital form. I hope that there continues to be a market for projects like these, but at least I have finally made my contribution to the format.

LONG LIVE VINYL!

FOR MORE RUBIK RECORDS INFO >> CLICK HERE

FOR THE JAPANESE RELEASE ARTICLE >> CLICK HERE

Dust Tags

2010-07-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

If a blog falls on the internet and no one is there to read it, does it make a sound?

It's that time of year again...

2010-03-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's that day of the year again... the annual occasion where every Los Angelino is held hostage. MARATHON DAY!!!! Anyone who has lived in Los Angeles for more than a few years has had a similar marathon experience.

(cue "flashback" sound FX)

You leave your home on one quiet Sunday, attempting to go to breakfast/home depot/the movies/etc... etc... , no big deal. As you hit the streets you notice a weird quiet, as if you were driving at dawn, or in a zombie move, not an ordinary LA commute. At some point you will hit a wall of traffic, immovable traffic, not the ordinary gridlock we all become accustomed to... It's at this moment you think to yourself, Oh shit... it's Marathon Day.

So why is one random overweight guy writing about the LA marathon on a design blog? Because I just saw the posters for the event done by Studio Number One's Cleon Peterson, and I am now a fan of something marathon related (god knows it wouldn't be the running).

The aesthetics feel vintage while incorporating modern photo images of people and the city. The poster also acts as an abstract triptych as well, showing us the starting point at Dodger Stadium, and The finish line, downtown at 5th & Flower. I really like the throwback style, that gives a nod to hand made layouts, vintage production techniques, and hand made typography.

The print is a 19" x 25" screenprint, with an edition of 1050.

Logorama

2010-03-10T17:30:00.001-08:00

If you haven't see this winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2010, take 16 minutes of your day to do so.

One of the things I found interesting, was just how much the horizon of this fictitious logo city actually looks exactly like the one I live in now.

A nice examination of a society inundated with advertising and branding.

SEE LOGORAMA >> CLICK HERE

G88 : Greatest Moments In Sports (A Poster Show) * NOW ON SALE!

2010-03-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

As a huge fan of both sports and design, I find that there is often a major divide between the two. Since the 90's sports design has essentially meant bad vector logos with metallic highlights, cliche crests, and pop colors that are so bright and hideous that even the blazer clad announcers are talking trash. This is a debate for another day, because god knows I could rant about how amazing sports design was, up until the late 80's. I'm not sure who voted on the modern aesthetic direction, but I wasn't included in that one.

Here are a few prints form the recent show Greatest Moments In Sports (A Poster Show). The artists are familiar, but the content isn't, this is a true departure from traditional sports art and design. Young progressive printmakers give their take on the athletes, moments, and memories that make sports so enduring.

Sadly, my house is already overrun with prints in tubes still waiting to be framed, that and my thin budget leave me on the outside looking in on this one. The sad part is that I could probably find a home on my walls (and in my heart) for nearly a quarter of this huge show, ce la vie, less hoarding for the moment.

Here are some of my favorites. Feel free to gift any of them to me...

To see the entire show, just visit the link at the bottom of this entry (The show is HUGE so take some time to look through the rest, tons of amazing pieces). These just went up for sale, so hop on it!

Jon Smith
Don't Mess With The Bull, Young Man
18 x 24 inches, screenprint
edition of 55
$40.00

Shark Toof
Kobe Bryant Thriller
18 x 24 inches, 3 color serigraph with hand applied purple and gold glitter
edition of 24
$120.00

Scott Campbell
Superbrat
20 x 20 inches, screenprint
edition of 40
$40.00

Lil Tuffy
No No
14 x 14 inches, screenprint on hand perforated blotter sheet
edition of 35
$100.00

Hero Design
Wide Right - The Curse Of The Buffalo Bills
16 x 20 inches, screenprint
edition of 100
$40.00

Mike Mitchell
The Dude Invitational
16 x 20 inches, giclee print
edition of 100
$70.00

Tyler Stout
Local Legend
18 x 18 inches, screenprint
edition of 60
$30.00

FOR MORE SHOW IMAGES >>CLICH HERE

TO VISIT THE G88 WEBSITE >>CLICK HERE

Dead, decaying, peeled...More beautiful than you...

2010-02-27T14:43:00.000-08:00

Alexandre Farto
Aka Vhils

Wow...

2010-02-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

I just saw this video from Star Gate Studios, they call it their "Virtual backlot reel" (Thank you for the link Martin Helvetica) .

I don't consider myself naive in the field of digital manipulation and I am aware that many things we see are purely illustration and composite photography, but this video is stunning. I found myself baffled not just at the technical mastery, but also the sheer fact that they payed a Studio to make a normal street backgrounds for seemingly no reason whatsoever. I guess the possibility of creative control and broader landscapes is enticing, but I never had a problem with Gene Kelly in a tight shot swinging on a backlot light pole.

Bravo to Star Gate Studios for taking the craft to a different level, and a big thank you for the amount of transparency they gave us in revealing their invisible work.

WHY?

2010-02-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

Sure its uber hip, sure it's out of my price range, demographic, and even gender...but the new Prada ad feels right to me. There are a few moments where it turns in to an old LA gear commercial, and those shoes are pretty hideous, but damn this feels like high fashion. As a fan of seamless white backgrounds for a majority of my designs, the composition, contrast and texture achieved is simple but effective and crisp.

Of course the main reason for my interest is the music used, (Diplo Remix of 'My Secret Lover') the editing and pacing is awesome, and it makes me wanna drop thousands of dollars on fine italian handbags and shoes.

...dizzy yet?

More Olympic design : 2012 Olympics/Paraolympics looking good.

2010-02-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

Once again after dissing the designs for several future Olympics (including the cliche heavy vector neon garbage from London). I was happy to find more examples of good design for an Olympic games. While certainly maintaining mainstream appeal with a familiar vector style, these posters from the Vancouver Olympics/Paraolympics 2012 still have a nice feeling of organic movement, which I find lacking in many highly static and layered vector heavy pieces. There is just enough attention to detail, negative space, and subtle texture created from shapes overlapping in the composition. I also really love the simple color scheme, it is a good use of natural colors that aren't flat or thematically overused.

Designed by VANOC designer Ben Hulse, I found this little blurb where he talks about his process in creating the poster campaign. I was happy to read this because at first I assumed that this was entirely composed in vector with bits of texture layers added in post...*apparently not!

from the official Vancouver 2010 site-
"Created by hand using paint and mixed media prior to digital composition, the techniques employed to produce the original piece of art complement the modern and dynamic style of the Vancouver 2010 graphics. The Look of the Games graphic elements in the poster were created by members of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) design team, and the poster concept and unique interpretation of the graphic elements were brought to life by VANOC designer Ben Hulse".

Both the individual Olympic & Paraolympic posters unite to form a complete larger poster.

Olympic poster

Paraolympic poster

Individual events

Montreal Olympics 1976 : Poster Design

2010-02-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

Sadly I am at the point of watching curling... The winter Olympics has a bizarre effect on me, every 4 years I start watching events based around sports I've never cared about. Perhaps it patriotism, a love of sport,or the feeling of being a vicarious victor...maybe background noise.

After taking the time to rip the recent Russian logo, here is a collection of olympic posters from the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal produced by the Graphics and Design Directorate that are actually well designed. Maybe it was the European influence that exists in French Canada, but these are some amazing posters that employ Helvetica beautifully. The only thing that really seems to date them are the aged texture and quality of the imagery, other than that, these are tried and true layouts that are simple and timeless (you can practically see the grid).

Legends / Blubber Paint / Conart / LTS

2010-02-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to take some pics of the homies who were painting canvases for the interior of a new barbershop/graffiti boutique that is opening @ 431 N. Fairfax.

The space is empty now, but the signs of life are beginning to show.

Sponsored by Blubber Paint (A project by the original SD graffiti artist AERO) there were several local and out of town artists painting panel canvases.

All happening just up the block from Canters Deli. Avoid the overpriced deli food and spend some money at some of the high brow urban boutiques/galleries that have changed the neighborhoods business demographic over the past 5+ years.

To see more art from this session by:
VERSUS
KYLE
ARBE
+ others
Click on the link below.

MORE LEGENDS LTS PICS>>CLICK HERE

High Fashion

2010-02-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

A brief and fitting tribute by my cat Booger, to designer Alexander McQueen. Without McQueens insane ability to push the envelope of convention, we might not have cat ties today. Thanks Alexander, may you be happier in a different place. I hope you get it...this is respect.

Zines do come true, they can happen to you...

2010-02-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

I went to school with Kelsey Dake at ACCD and had class with her in a letterpress lab. She is an illustration major who is graduating this term (congratulations) and I am a big fan of her hand styles. I think the humorous and playful personality that comes out her work is what I enjoy the most about the final pieces.

After months of going back and forth I was finally able to score a nice stash of but a few of Kelseys Zines. She prints them herself, both with screens and xerox's, so there is an authentic minimal throwback style that makes them even more fun to thumb through.

*edit
Minutes after writing this entry, I saw that Kelsey's resume had grown, officially add published by NYLON Mens Mag! Congrats on that, Go pick up a copy folks!!!

MORE ZINE PICS : >>CLICK HERE
VISIT KELSEY'S WEBSITE: >>CLICK HERE

Pile o' zines

'Situational Comedy'

'What the fuck just happened to me?'

'What the fuck just happened to me?'

'Nice'

WTF IT'S CALLED DESIGN!!!

2010-02-03T15:06:00.001-08:00

Life has been busy, I can blame so many things, but this outlet is something I need to keep up with. I also find myself hating my own writing. It starts out fun, but after a month or so I feel like I'm writing textbook entries that talk down to you, my amazing few readers. The world isn't any less interesting, its just that sometimes I get stuck trying to write like a character rather than myself... So less writing unless it merits it, but more posts overall. I promise.

Coachella 2010 lineup released

2010-01-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Some will be happy, some will be sad, thats always the nature of these massive festivals. Regardless of your individual tastes, this is a ton of talent, and no one seems to come back from Coachella truly unhappy. Sometimes you come back broke, sometimes you come back with a sunburn and a spare tire, but never without a few great memories.

3 day passes now avalible for $269.00

My favorite Coachella memory is when I snuck in with 2 friends (it was either the first or second year), we snuck across a huge dirt lot while helicopters circled above. We dashed through the empty field dodging from bush to bush, hiding under scrubby shrubs with each pass of the chopper. One friend was wearing a rice picker hat, and we slipped into a bizarre child like GI Joe role-play moment, skulking our way to the safety of an artists entrance behind enemy lines. At that point we stuffed our hands in our pockets (since we were sans VIP wrist bands) and walked right past a security guard and into the party. It was a phenomenal moment in treachery and so petty that I take incredibly immature pride in writing it.

Enjoy!

Who approves this shit!?!?! : Olympic Edition

2009-12-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

Another Olympic logo has been unveiled and once again the worlds graphic designers are left to wonder, who approves this shit? The last logo we saw was for London, and while it was incredibly tacky, it had some sort of "personality" (however abrasive it may have been).

This new logo for Sochi 2014 feels like something that was spit out by a dot matrix printer, seemingly as futuristic as a silver 1984 Delorian. I picture the meeting going something like...

"We need something futuristic, something progressive that gives a nod to a new tech savvy crowd that gets its olympic results and streaming broadcasts online. Something that gives a nod to the global community (social networking) and it's representation in graphic form."

What we get from that, is a bad logo derived from facebook, twitter and the lot. Not only does the logo feel dated, it also contain no regional influence from the actual host city, unless maybe the designers wanted us to think of every cold war movie that showed Ruskies plotting nuclear attacks with analog punch cards and sputniks.

The one detail about the logo that is intriguing or new, is the incorporation of the web address, something we will see a lot more of I'm sure. It is a clear indication that the mainstream is loaded for bear when it comes to the internet based synergy.

"To prove our commitment to innovation, Sochi 2014 will have a clearly digital Games emblem. Today, we welcome tomorrow. We are offering invitation, an icon and an inspiration to people from across the world to celebrate the thrill of Russia’s first Olympic Winter Games.

Our emblem challenges people to look beyond what they expect from our country. We believe sochi2014.ru can become an international symbol of a sporting, social, economic and environmental legacy that lasts for generations."
—Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014

Sure thing Dmitry... I'm sure this "digital games emblem" will be as fresh in 2014 as a plastic jug of Popov.

Da Svidaniya !

Karl's House update : Carl's House

2009-12-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

I posted the last entry on a site called ecoronado, and received a link to a video that answers a few questions and shows the original photos that the art on the wall is from.

here is the link to the video. The story is pasted below.

10News Looks Into Alleged Racial Profiling In Coronado

Rolena Jones Claims Coronado Police Officers Beat Her Son

September 6, 2006

CORONADO, Calif. -- Carl Jones was a happy and proud little boy from the day he was born at Coronado Hospital.
Now, just days past his 22nd birthday, that pride is gone.
When 10News investigators arrived at his Coronado home, Jones hid behind his couches and would not come out.

The once proud 200-pound athlete is now a 140-pound recluse who rarely speaks or leaves his home.
Carl’s mother, Rolena, told 10News, “Every other week they were grabbing my son from age 11.”

Rolena Jones said Coronado police officers have regularly harassed -- and sometimes beat -- her son for 10 years. The worst incident, she said, came three years ago after a traffic stop.
"They maced him down. Opened his door, dragged him out of the door, slammed him down to the ground. I think they knocked his head, and began to beat him,” said Rolena Jones. That alleged assault happened on the corner of Pomona Avenue and Glorietta Boulevard, across the street from Carl Jones’ house and just a few hundred yards from the hospital where he was born. Rolena Jones added, “They wouldn't even take him to the hospital." Four days later, Rolena said officers outside a Wells Fargo in Coronado assaulted Carl again. Rolena Jones complained to the City Council about the Coronado Police Department. She even wrote her congressional delegates and the district attorney. Her pleas for help were dismissed and ignored, she said. A civil suit brought by her son was also recently dismissed.

A former Coronado officer said he has not witnessed the extent of the abuse Rolena and Carl Jones allege, but he said he has seen racial profiling at the Coronado Police Department. The former officer going by the name Jim told 10News, "I have no doubt in my mind that it occurs. I have seen it." Police Chief Paul Crook said the fact that the Jones case was dismissed speaks for itself, and he said his officers have never profiled anyone, including Carl Jones. "Absolutely, I can say that. None of the documentation, as far as I'm concerned, supports that. We have an extremely good reputation in our community,” said Crook. But Rolena Jones said she believed Coronado police stripped her son of his pride and his will to live. "They physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, emotionally...any kind of way you can be hurt, that boy was hurt,” said Rolena Jones.

RANDOM BIT OF PUBLIC ART : KARL'S HOUSE

2009-11-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

CORONADO, CA

Facebook quote from Christopher Matthew Tuttle:

"Well I know what it was about.... supposedly the paintings of the kid is the owners son... the son was arrested for drugs and the mother claimed the Coronado PD beat her son up and that it was a racial issue... bogus... so in anger and retaliation she posted a bunch of horrible things about the cops all over her walls and painted pictures of her kid... if you ask me, I think she's sick... but whatever..."

When I was in San Diego last week, I made a point of going over to Coronado Island to take some pictures. I lived on the island for almost 4 years and graduated from Coronado High School in 1999. The city is a seemingly charming place full of wealthy and upper middle class residents, as well as a large group of Navy employees who work or dock at the huge Navy base that occupies nearly half of the island. The place feels a bit like an illustrated storybook, and as a teen, (often without a car) it felt sort of like a tropical prison where we were stranded.

One thing I remember from later visits was this particular set of murals that are painted on 2 sides of a small residential house.

The quaint island home sits directly on the split point of the 2 busiest streets in Coronado. Every single person who comes to Coronado from Downtown takes the Bay Bridge, which becomes 3rd st. as you enter the island

and 4Th st. as you leave...

...this house is essentially the hood ornament for Coronado, CA.

On first glance, the painting on the home appears to be a tribute to the community or perhaps a daycare, with many different pictures of children doing assorted activities (hockey, swimming, soccer, graduation, etc.).

With a closer look, you can see that there are several layers (literally & figuratively) to the art. Surrounding the imagery are bits of hand written graffiti, some of it has been painted over with a thin coat of off white paint that is thin enough to still show some of the writing. In parts, someone has rewritten the scrawl in tyhe same spots creating ghost images and drop shadows out of the buffed over words.

There are also small accents added later that are done in a pencil or oil stick, they adorn some of the existing figures and add a bit of depth. One added sketch has a set of numbers and notches, essentially creating a mug shot background behind the young child wearing suspenders and a bow tie. Another sketched addition is the faint teddy-bear that is sitting in the baby crib.

In many areas paint has also dripped down over the art. There used to be writing along the top of the fence that has been painted over in a quick and messy fashion, causing long cream colored drips.

The only place where graffiti still remains, or has been redrawn heavily is on the garage and fron walkway of the house. The picture of the young boy in soccer gear, and the young man wearing the sweater are heavily ornamented by the dark heavy scratch letters that have faded away or been painted over.

The story presented at the beginning seems to be the unanimous word of Coronado residents. It was guy named Karl, who I remember vaguely if not only for the fact that he was one of only 15-20 black kids (mostly transfers) who were actually in the Coronado public school system. Karl used to skate too, and there were only 2-3 black kids who did that (Shane, the cool young kid with the huge afro, and Karl, who was taller and a few years older).

Perhaps a horrible way to classify and remember someone, but it was reality in the community of Coronado. Coronado is about as white as you get, so it isn't far fetched to me at all that racial profiling exists, I know that age based profiling was alive and well as I grew up. Sure, if you see a group of rowdy teens at 2 in the morning, you may have just cause to stop them , but in Coronado, it seemed there was a full on war between the cops and anyone under the age of 20. One unconfirmed detail I heard from a friend and Coronado native, was that Karl had stolen his neighbors porche, taken it joy riding while high on crack, then crashed the car and parked it in his own driveway, in view of the legal owners front window. He then fell asleep in the car, and when police arrived he resisted, until they broke a window and dragged him out.

As I said, this is just a rumor from one island resident. As I search for any details about a possible case or police report on the incident, I come up with nothing. Residents I've talked to shake their head at the story, as if it was a fly who got swatted and now they have to look at the smear on the window everyday. There is seemingly no sympathy for the residents of the house, and I have still not heard any confirmation about wether Karl is even alive or dead. It all has turned into a bit of an urban legend with the same purveying story line, bad kid acting dumb, cops didn't do anything.

If anyone has any information that is factual or relevant, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.

I'm curious about what actually happened and really can't justify walking up and knocking on the door. The thought crossed my mind, but who am I to disturb this woman and her home regarding such a sensitive subject.

VIDEO : More Revok...social networking???

2009-11-24T11:26:00.001-08:00

***VANDAL VACATION*** from WWW.REVOK1.COM on Vimeo.

So this is a few weeks old, but Revok was also nabbed in Australia. Just interesting to see the dominoes fall. I imagine this had something to do with him getting nabbed in LA.

I'm thinking this may be the start of a graffiti/fine art backlash, the reality is too many writers have dissolved the line between underground art form and mainstream recognition. We may see a reemergence of underground values in graffiti culture, or we may not... because graffiti is big business these days. Paint, clothing, music, culture, etc. all have been packaged and bottled with commercial spirit, but now things may have to change. Multi million dollar companies can't afford to keep endorsing "criminals"...can they?

The act of creating graffiti is illegal, but is truly an art of the people. As an art form of the people it isn't odd to see graffiti being marketed on social networking sites like twitter or facebook, people do some peculiar things in the name of self promotion. If graffiti artists are cocky enough to think that they can use social networking to publicize illegal activities for financial gain in front of the police, especially involving public property, that takes balls... or something. I'd like to think that artists could be free to operate in this way, but it just doesn't seem realistic.

I hope that people proceed with a bit more caution and awareness of just how open a social network can be. This all feels very high school kids sexting because they don't know any better or just don't care. I mean, this video was posted on Vimeo BY REVOK!!! clearly it was a policy of any publicity is good publicity at Revok1.com. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite him in the ass.

Here's a link to his twitter, not much activity lately except...
"Not guilty y'all got to feel me."
about 11 hours ago from TwitBird iPhone

SORTA BREAKING NEWS : REVOK ARRESTED!

2009-11-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, sting operations at art shows...

from the KTLA site:
LOS ANGELES -- A "prolific" tagger, who goes by the moniker "REVOK", was arrested Sunday at a graffiti art exhibit where he was a featured "artist."

Jason Williams, 32, was taken into custody by LAPD detectives and officers from the California Highway Patrol at 4 p.m. at the 33rd Street Graffiti Art Store where a " Montana Paint" exhibit was underway, featuring Williams' work. Montana spray paint is a brand often used by taggers, according to Sgt. Augie Pando of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Williams was booked on suspicion of possession of vandalism tools and a counterfeit LAPD badge and receving stolen property, according to Lt. Erik Ruble of the sheriff's Transit Services Bureau. He was released Monday morning after posting $20,000 bail, Ruble said.

Quote of the day from a sheriffs spokesperson:

"He's being treated as a celebrity artist when in fact he's breaking the law," said Steve Whitmore, a sheriff's spokesman.

More info here
>link<

VIDEO : Pictorial Webster's Inspiration to Completion

2009-11-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

Posting videos is always odd to me because it seems lazy... but if it quacks like a duck. This video is 5 months old, so you may have seen it, maybe not. It is the story of a guy and his love of linotext.

Work like this seems fun to me, congratulations to Jon Carrera for making it happen...Time to find a grant.

Side note: @ 2:00 The sound of the linotype machine collecting letters and arranging them is sublime.

"From the discovery of the 1898 International Dictionary to linotyping the entries to printing the last print on the vandercook to cutting the fingertabs of the deluxe edition, this video gives a quick overview of the process of creating the Pictorial Webster's fine press edition."

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

PHOTOS : LORDS & KINGS SF

2009-11-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the premier of Lords & Kings up in SF. I spent the week prior in SD and after successfully avoiding 2 days worth of trains, it was apparent I wasn't going to make it up north. From what I hear the show was a huge success from the standpoint of artists, promoters and viewers alike.

Here are some pictures by Mehdi that were sent along, expect more to trickle in. You can also see a quick gallery tour on the:

>KOG Flickr Page<

I must say that I am a little surprised by the amount of variety that came across in the work. As was discussed in the interviews leading up to this show (Fishe & Korea), I anticipated seeing some interesting translations from the street to the gallery, but really couldn't have expected most of these efforts.

Countless types of mediums and processes, each used as these traditionally aerosol based artists saw fit. And while inevitably there is a strong influence form graffiti, there is a voice of sophistication and respect of fine art, that seems to speak more to a contemporary gallery crowd.

Cant wait to see more gallery efforts from these artists individually and collectively.

^ Meet the artists (lts.kog)

^ Korea

^ Jher

^ Mutes

^ Sloth

^ Yetie

^ Fishe

^ Fokis

^ Lokus

^ Mestizo

^ Tank

^ Arbe

^ Aybon

^ Dreye

^ Versus

^ Exile & Piston

^ SF gets some collateral damage.

VIDEO : Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden

2009-11-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

Just saw this one today, seems new. An illustrated short by James Blagden.

This is a classic MLB story that has made the rounds, but never in this form... and the illustration is phenomenal...I really can't express just how much I like this video. I grew up a fan of vintage baseball, and underground comix, so this is like both rolled into one.

Great storytelling in a simple ink form, a video with true personality.

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden

VIDEO : The Eyewriter by Evan Roth

2009-11-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Street Art 2.0 : Artistic outlet for the severely handicapped

Saw this video posted (thanks Nik) and had to share it. A phenomenal use of modern technology to empower artists who might otherwise have no outlet. Incredibly heartwarming and inspiring... The enabling of creativity.

The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

Historic San Diego Hotel Sign

2009-11-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

I have been in SD for the week, and offered to pick my friend Chris up from work because his bike got a flat (functional bike, not entirely hipster motivated). Chris does web design for a local firm called Green Bird Media that has their offices located in Point Loma (a waterfront neighborhood in SD where most boats are docked including this new Americas Cup beast!).

The quaint office is located in a new development project commercially known as 'Liberty Station', which is built in the skeleton of The Old SD Naval Training Center (NTC) (left empty after Clintons base cut backs in the 90's). The base is a HUGE space that seems to slowly coming around, and developing into a faux neighborhood, existing aesthetically somewhere between The Grove in Hollywood and the first forty minutes of Full Metal Jacket.

After I picked up Chris we headed for an exit on the huge plot of land, but as we left I noticed something that looked much like a set of metal bleachers, as we passed by, we both were floored by the flat side. The large metal structure was actually the old sign from The Hotel San Diego, a historic downtown building that was torn down in 2006.

{more historic info here} & {here}

I have very little personal memories of the building, but I do remember it as being among the seedy motels that were demolished during the last ten years of Gaslamp Quarter gentrification.

The sign is a behemoth of metal, that could be seen from afar, perched atop the 6 story building in the heart of Downtown. The old cloth wires that helped to illuminate it still exist, mounted to old porcelain fixtures which cling to rusty bolts inside the old sign.

The typeface is a plain geometric industrial design, a basic alphabet apparently modeled after Futura (my old friend) or others that were used by Engineers at the time.

The weight and arch of the 'O' & 'G' particularly feel like Gotham, the Contemporary typeface (made famous by the Obama campaign) designed by Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones. I found a great little video tid-bit from the movie 'Helvetica' where they do an amazing job describing some of the origins of these particular letterforms.

I'm curious how the sign got there, but more so, what is going to happen to it? Is it resting at Liberty Station with the intent of using it in a future faux facade, or is it just there to rust and fade away in the salty sea air? Too much alliteration on that one...

Much of the old neon tubing is still attached to the sign but it is broken into segments and shards that surround the sign. Hopefully no Tweekers are wandering through the area at night, the old glass would be as good as gone. The letters are all hand painted and from a distance, these letters appeared to have a vector like precision and line edge, but up close, you can see the draftsman's strokes and masking edges that appear to have been taped off.

San Diego seems to be littered with old signs, as indicated by a previous post I made. I'm sure there will be more that turn up, and someday, I'll be ready with a crane, a flatbed, and a dream.

{More photos on my Flickr}

-

Letterpress... My Dear Watson.

2009-11-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in life, we have moments where through our own nerdy behaviors, we realize that whatever path we have chosen to pursue is spot on.

One of those moments that is so refined to a specific practice or trade, that anyone outside of that particular bubble would look at you with disgust or possibly even fear at your overly excited reaction to a seemingly trivial incident... Last night I had one of those moments.

The new trailer for Sherlock Holmes is something that I partially ignore as I wait for the Laker game to come back from commercial, the movie looks cheesy, but Robert Downey Jr. is talent, so who knows. Last night as the scenes flashed on the screen, a quick few frames caught my eye, and I had to go online to see the trailer again.

I wasn't tripping! Letterpress titles!

While it may just be computer rendered, there is no mistaking the letterpress letters as they fly in from off screen and lock into place on the invisible composition stick background. As I said before, this is one of those moments where I am convinced that I am in the correct profession, based only on my giddy reaction to absolutely nothing.

The typeface looks like Craw Clarendon, or some softer digi variation of it (perhaps a re-trace for motion). The type in the title card seems a bit tighter and more like a traditional Craw Clarendon Letterpress form.

I owe my experience and limited knowledge of Letterpress to the:
Archtype Press @ Art Center

& the down to earth teacher I had:
Illustrator Seth Drenner.

Here is a link to some older photos I took of:
The Facility

Mexico City Textures

2009-11-03T18:47:00.001-08:00

Just going back through some of my mexico city pictures admiring the texture and colors of the city, and playing around a bit. I wonder if going to TJ for the day would cure my jones.

INTERVIEW : KOREA : LTS/KOG

2009-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

I've known Korea for several years under several different names. It's funny, because as this interview was in progress I couldn't help but think about the fact that this was the longest conversation that Korea and I had ever had. Normally a pretty reserved guy, it was a pleasure to hear that along with artistic talents, Korea has a strong set of opinions. Here is a quick interview with KOREA of LTS / KOG.

CH:
Hey Korea, For all the non graffiti artists out there, tell us a bit about yourself.

KOREA:
I'm originally from the Inland Empire of Los Angeles. I started taking graffiti seriously around 2001. At that time there was alot of really dope graffiti in LA. But the shit that Rask, Futur, Pysa, Zes, Koshen were doing just blew my mind. Those dude were doing the shit that i wanted to do. Eventually i linked up with them and got down w KOG and last year i started repping LTS as well. Ive been living in San Francisco for the past 6 years. Right now im working for the man and hustling freelance illustration/design jobs. The past 3 months I've been spending a lot of time trying to organize a group show featuring strictly LTS KOG crews. It's been a little more work than i had bargained for, but im glad its finally being done.

CH:
Damn, 6 years out of LA, time flys. How has the change of scenery affected your artistic perspective? Does the geographic detachment from LA and the roots of the crew offer you anything unexpected?

KOREA:
Yeah time flys dude!! I recently had a friend move out here from LA that i lost contact when i moved to SF and I've been thinking a lot about the past and how much time has gone by. I miss LA a lot. The change of scenery has definitely changed my artistic perspective. I studied design a little bit as well as illustration here in The Bay. Being exposed to all the awesome design, fine art and illustration work that is being done right now is so inspirational and overwhelming sometimes. There are so many people doing so much good art and the possibilities are really endless. I've recently been trying to focus more on personal fine art work which is a lot different than the design/illustration work I'm used to. When you don't have a client or a message you are being paid to visually communicate its a whole different thought process. It involves a lot more self reflection and a different kind of creativity.

Graffiti wise, I still look to my crews in LA for creative inspiration. I try to bring that KOG LTS graffiti to the bay. There's some dope stuff happening here in San Francisco, but over the past 3 years the city has really been trying to push graffiti out, gentrification's a motherfucker. I came here in 99 and the graffiti was INSANE. It was a completely different environment than the one I moved into in 2004, which was kind of a bummer. There was still shit load of graffiti, but graffiti definitely is not as accepted in San Francisco like it once was. The buff is getting harder and harder every year. I think its time for me to move. I have a neice now, so the thought of moving back to LA has been rattling around quite a bit upstairs.

CH:
Well LA would be lucky to have you back, but your new home location has helped with this new show actually coming to fruition. Tell me a bit about the process of transferring the crews art from the street to the gallery. I'm sure you have put in a ton of time making this all happen as the sole Nor Cal curator.

KOREA:
LTS KOG has a very unique style that i don't really feel has to transform much to be accepted as fine art. The crews style is very organic and abstract. It's definitely not you're run of the mill, cookie cutter, hip hop, marketable type of graffiti. Its all very organic and abstracted yet still has the underlying skeleton of letter form. When you look at a Siner piece, it IS fine art. There is letter structure and graffiti in there, but the line, form and color resembles more fine art painting than graffiti. We have dudes like Siner, Zes, Brail, and Ayer (r.i.p.) that have done the most innovative graffiti Los Angeles has seen, brilliant pieces of fine art on the street. Retna was a huge contributor to the style as well. The mentality of the crew is not stuck on traditional spray graffiti. Were all about using any medium accessible to get up. Bucket paint and stock tips give a piece alot of character. So there isn't much transformation necessary. The crew has the style, and talent to be presented in a traditional gallery setting o that's what I'm trying to do. Of course there will be some graffiti involved w the show, but i really wanted to present more of the crews fine art side. I've spent a fair amount of time building the panels, talking to the venue owners, promoting and getting sponsors. IRONLAK was %100 willing to support the cause which was really awesome. I've definitely done my share of the footwork. The rest is up to each individual artist. I have no doubt that the show is going to be dope and hopefully open a few new doors to showcase the crews talent. I think its the beginning of something that has a lot of potential. I guess im the dude thats shaking the giant around trying to wake that fucker up AKA: the annoying motherfucker calling everyone every day bugging them about their panels/flier designs/money for more fliers/rides to the hardware store etc. I think people are starting to avoid my phone calls. The other day Yetie told me i was like a mosquito.

CH:
The thankless job of art mosquito, I agree with you that LTS & KOG have a definitive style that draw parallels to fine art, the classic organic style has a truly expressionistic presence regardless of the surface. I'm really looking forward to seeing what all the individual artists bring to collective exhibition. Thanks taking some time to talk with me, it's good to hear about what's going on in your world. Is there anyone else you want to mention, or anything else we need to know for the November 14th opening?

KOREA:
I'm glad you agree. I hope you can make it out to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Check out DJ Exiles new album on
>Exile radio<

Big thanks to Irlonak for the support.
you can find all the show info
>on their blog<

Last To Survive
Killers Of Giants

It's called Halloween!

2009-11-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

Good thing it wasn't shabbat.

Meet Wayne: Out of Work Artist

2009-10-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

I met Wayne today while going to the grocery store in Eagle Rock.

He was standing at the parking lot enterance with his "Thriller" sign, so I guess it was a bit of fate considering my earlier post. Wayne didn't have to much to say other than that he was from Eagle Rock, born and raised, and that he was a regular around the neighborhood. I had $5 in my pocket so I offered it up for a sketch, expecting something small from his notebook. Instead of a simple sketch, Wayne produced a Garfield sign from his small utility bag. The sign was folded in half and he handed it to me saying,

"You can have this one, It's old and I don't use it anymore".

I hope to see Wayne around Eagle Rock, apparently Luanna has seen him Target with his sign (she talked about a Yosemite Sam sign which I didn't see) on more than one occasion. Thank you to Wayne for the bit of art, I got it at a great price and he was happy to sell it.

I really dig the idea that art can be something that we all participate in. Wether it be as an artist or collector, regardless of your disposable income. This is an entry that documents a little dot of the city and its people, go find one of the million Wayne's or Conor's out there and support your local artists.

Happy Halloween from EXILE & DJ DAY : Thriller

2009-10-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Call it promo, call it synergy, I call it a magical Halloween accident because I had no intent to make this post. Just for Halloween, Exile (who will be appearing at Lords & Kings in SF) and DJ Day go Leatherface on MJ's Thriller.

Personally I am sick of MJ, enough tributes, enough bios, enough of it all... until this (I guess we can juice the corpse in the name of Halloween). Just in time for Halloween, 2 of LA's premier beat beaters create a live mix that would have me shaking my ass, despite being a tribute to the plastic faced movie monster who made the original.

For those of you who don't always see the parallels between audio design and visual design, this video may help...2 designers using classic foundations and an appreciation of established practices to piece together a cohesive design in a new and contemporary way. I know that is incredibly playskool of me, but the relationship works.

I think that is a new level to hold myself to, only design things that make you shake your ass. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Thank you To Jeff @ atlargemedia for the video link, you can check out his site here.

LORDS & KINGS : Opening Nov. 14th SF,CA : Interview w/ FISHE

2009-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Fishe is the homie and an incredibly talented graffiti artist, he and his brothers from legendary crews LTS & KOG have a new show opening in SF on November 14th. I caught up with him about the show, art, crew and the state of Graffiti...

CH:
I have the benefit of seeing your art on a near daily basis (as do many people who are unaware of it), but for those who are unfamiliar, can you tell everyone a bit about yourself?

FISHE:
Well I have been active in the graffiti world since the mid 1990's however around 2001 me, Pysa and Sloth all decided to change the graffiti name we had been working on until then and restart our graffiti careers with all the knowledge we had acquired to that point. Now that we have gotten older we are all finding ways to stay active in the art world and our attentions are shifting toward many new medium.

CH:
Many people think exclusively of aerosol art when the word graffiti enters the conversation. Obviously aerosol is the practical medium for street art, but what new mediums are you experimenting with in the studio?

FISHE:
I suppose some are the classical mediums like oil on panels or acrylic painting, collage, assemblage, photo, etc. But I am also delving into the digital world, illustrator, photo shop, and more recently I have been working in video and final cut pro. I have basically been dedicating myself to at least have some understanding of as many medium as I can. Part of the graffiti ethos is the ability to work in any environment and if needed improvise with materials. I am taking a similar approach of not limiting the work to any one medium at a time.

CH:
For so long the graffiti mentality seemed to be anti traditional fine art, or perhaps more appropriately, it really embraced it's role as a strict counter culture. How do you see graffiti artists collectively moving into a more mainstream presence with the emergence of new mediums and opportunities.

FISHE:
Well I think that graffiti writers still have a very traditional outlook on what graffiti is. For the most part we all agree it should be in its proper context which is the street or some illegal setting second the foundations of style are for ever the priority, form, symmetry, color, proportion etc. But this medium does have its limits. I piece will always be a fill in with an outline. I have been doing that most of my life now and there s a point where you wonder if that is the limit of your potential as an artist. Once you get older you have a broader perspective on art and what is possible. I keep my graffiti on the street where it belongs but that doesn't mean that I am only a graffiti writer I have a broad vision of reality and art so I experiment outside my graffiti bubble on order to express my more complex thought on art and visual expression.

CH:
Well, that seems like a perfect segue to discuss your upcoming gallery show, in which the entire LTS & KOG crews will be collectively pooling their talents for an exhibition entitled LORDS & KINGS how did this opportunity come to be, and how do you see this as a way of expressing a more complex thought?

FISHE:
Well it isn't the whole crew, it was actually quite difficult to pick who would be participating as the scale of the panels for the show and limited wall space didn't give us enough to have everyone be in it , but over all it was based on seniority and willingness to participate obviously not everyone is interest in showcasing there work in such a traditional format in a "white cube" type space. We have been discussing the fact that many of us have been working in non spray medium and were looking for a way to show some of the work but we didn't feel it was right to leave it in other peoples hands. Korea made the big push and arranged to have this space host our work without any hassles. So although many of us have showed all over the US individually San Francisco will be the first city to get an exclusive LTS and KOG show. I am pretty excited about it as the bay has such a rich and thriving art community.

CH:
It's nice to hear that you guys retained curator control, that will help with authenticity. Who can we expect to see in this exhibition, remembering of course, that not all of us are encyclopedias on graffiti culture.

FISHE:
The flyer shows all of the artists involved, but I am most interested in seeing the work of Siner, Zeser, Yetie, Mutes and Jher 451. Siner is the most senior member he was in LTS when it was created back in 1986 so he has the most experience. Zeser is a brilliant graffiti artist who's graffiti work already has many of the attributes of fine art painting so I am eager to she how he transitions into a more formal setting and I think yetie may be the newest member out of the participating artist but he has a very unique style that I feel will also translate nicely to a more formal setting. Mutes has been the fine artist in the group for a minute working in sculpture and oils long before the rest of us so I know he will display serious skill as will jher 451 he is one of Denver's most prolific and sought after tattoo artist and also has a very long history painting in more formal mediums.

CH:
It's a heavyweight lineup for sure, glad the group was able to get the whole show together. I'm really curious to see the work as well as the space. Thanks for your time Fisher, we will definitely have to do a longer conversation about art and counter culture in the near future. Is there anything else people should know about this show? Consider this your opportunity to give props to everyone, as I know how drama can pop up if everyone in the crew doesn't get proper credit...Go sick.

I am actually just hoping that a fair amount of non graffiti people come, "civilians" and art lovers of all kinds if you are in town please take a minute to stop by and peep the show. It will be up for a month so you do have time to see the work. I thank you for taking a minute to talk to me. Also big shouts to Korea again for putting in most of the footwork for this one. We owe you one. I also hope this is just the beginning and this will open some doors for more exposure outside the graffiti world as we are attempting to expand what it is that we are known for. Peace

LORDS & KINGS
Opens November 18th, 2009
@ Goforaloop Gallery 1458 San Bruno Ave. SF, CA 94110

Reception 7:00PM-10:00PM
Live music w/
DJ EXILE
PISTON
MARK 7

SEE YOU IN THE BAY!

Thank you to Media Contender for use of images.

I LOVE LA - Halloween print available now!

2009-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Time to start feeding the hype beast!!!!

I LOVE LA - HALLOWEEN 2009 - 1ST EDITION

18" x 24"

ONE COLOR (Black heavyweight semi gloss)

SIGNED & NUMBERED

$15.00 + shipping

This is a limited edition (50) serigraph art print by myself, Conor Hunter AKA 'Aero'. The art was created specifically for the Halloween Masquerade and will be available at the show on the 25th for purchase. You can also contact me for any prints you would like to purchase online to have shipped.

Printed on 100% Archival/Acid free, French Heavyweight edition papers.

MOST EDITION NUMBERS (#14-#45) are still Available by request.
If you have a favorite # or edition preference please let me know and I will hold it for you!

Movie villains print series : Anton Chigurh

2009-10-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

Since graduation, I have been trying to do one print every 2 weeks. It's shouldn't be as ambitious as it has turned out to be, but those are the breaks when time is more scarce.

The subject matter for my next few prints is movie villains, and the first one is one of my favorites. Anton Chigurh from the Coen brothers "No Country For Old Men" has to be one of the darkest and most iconic movie villains in recent memory. Any hitman who uses a compressed air cattle gun is an original in my book.

I can't wait to see what comes of this style exploration. I'm essentially using a modern illustrative style to build scene compositions like they used to when movie posters were good.

This new one is going to be either 2 or possibly 3 colors (one is a clear UV highlight layer).

W.W.O.D.B.D?

2009-10-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

I try not to hock to much product to you (except for my own) on the blog, but I just saw this one and had to share it with everyone. This is a new shirt by artist David Jien, who I have written about in the past.

David is a fellow Art Center Alum, and does some amazing pencil work, but clearly is doing things big in other mediums as well. There are some process documentation photos of how the shirts were finalized and made on his blog, be sure to check that out if you enjoy seeing some factory screen printing.

The art for the shirt has a great mix of humor and blasphemy, plus that dose of afrocentric pop culture vibe that so many suburban raised kids like myself love. Graduating from that Wu-Wear t-shirt I bought in the 8th grade has never been so easy.

Just one of the million reasons I truly love LA.

2009-10-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Bobby Lee of MAD TV holding the I LOVE LA flyer. The moment is just one fraction of a percent of the Los Angeles experience, but undeniably EL AY. Worthy of Twitter, a self indulgent blog entry, a message board post, perhaps a publicist. Whatever the device, it's an obscure American TV comic caught shopping on Melrose, probably forced to take a picture by someone passing out flyers. That's some of LA for you.

Caddy Grillz : New Exploration

2009-09-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here is something new I'm working on, still not sure where it will exist in the end. It feels nice as a print, but could also become a full series. This particular installation is

a. '60,'61,'62
&
b. '64,'65, '66.

I can thank Luda and my love of vintage manuals.

New Screenprint : I Love LA Halloween Edition

2009-09-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is a new screenprint that will be available in a couple weeks.

18 x 24
(Edition of 50)

...More details to come.

The art is from a recent flyer I did for the 'I LOVE LA' Party series. This is for the Halloween Edition party on the 25th of October.

Alameda Park : Wanted Posters

2009-09-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another one of the many Mexico City posts that are slowly trickling out. After setting up the Vato Verde Premier in Alameda park, I walked around attempting to buy food from street vendors and just generally kill time.

The entire park is a series of paths that weave through fenced off areas of grass and trees, at no point are you able to sit on grass or come within 2 feet of a tree. I would assume the barriers exist to keep people from sleeping in the park, but it is an interesting way to take what is a beautiful green area and turn it into a pedestrian freeway, detached from any physical connection with the growth.

One of the really interesting things that I noticed in the park was this collection of signs which seemed to be on every 8th or 9th tree. visually they are easy to identify without any reading necessary, clearly they are wanted posters. The interesting thing to me was the volume of posters within the park, as well as the almost illustrative quality of the visuals. The type is heavy and crude, but the images are incredibly soft and seemingly vintage in staging and production quality. The guys are wearing outfits that feel anywhere between present day and 1960, including pencil mustaches, Harry Caray glasses and even a butterfly collar. The posters have older dates (60's, 70's, 80's), but it is odd that they would choose this as the forum for finding old men based on their mug shots from 40 years prior.

The posters have a wonderful aged quality, and since it had been raining off and on, they had an extra worn down look. Once again another moment in life where I would benefit tremendously from being able to read spanish, maybe it will sink in at some point. I asked the kids from CENTRO if there was any traditional significance to the posters, but they weren't aware of any off the top of their head. Regardless of the true intent, the pieces of paper tied to the trees create a visually compelling collage on the natural terrain.

RANDOM BIT OF PUBLIC ART : Mexico City

2009-09-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Mexico City is covered in public art, many pieces sponsored by the city and of course others are guerilla style. Every single corner seems to have at least one sticker or ad on a sign post or light fixture, it would take you weeks to document a neighborhood. Here are just a few that I saw while walking around on my final day.

Mexico City Pictures...finally

2009-09-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to uploading and sorting my photos from Mexico City, here are a few for sampling, more to come later.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saw the little girl after I took the picture, great accident. She is rocking the Mexican flag bandana in preparation for Independence day.

There were on and off thunderstorms for the entire time I was there, this cop was prepared, the horse was screwed.

There are many street performers who spend their days collecting change from people, apparently many of these people are continuing a dying old world profession. There used to be an abundance of organ grinders and other street performers, but now they are far more rare.

A beautiful street existing somewhere between Madrid and San francisco.

Bad boys, bad boys...

Local Vendors In Alameda Park

I had a constant diet of street tacos. These stands are everywhere but many have different items, this particular one has the big fat hand made tortillas for tacos.

Hand made signs for street vendors setting up.

Segmented billboards.

3 AM Tacos and Indio Beer. A pile of meat on top of your selected amount of tortillas, plenty of hot sauce and lime to top off the mystery meat.

Shining the shoes with the sock protectors.

Used book/newsstand. It was amazing how many street vendors sold used paperback books.

GOING TO MEXICO CITY...

2009-09-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

...be back Saturday, with pictures and stories.

More grime

2009-09-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

This billboard was recently peeled and replaced, I had been admiring it for several months and I'm glad I got these pics before it was completely buffed.

The layers are pretty deep, there are at least 4 different bits of leftover signs, so this has been festering for a while now. The paper slowly sags and tears as the sign glue erodes under pressure from the elements. It's almost as if the paper is hanging on for dear life while being completely at peace in a natural state of rest.

I think I see Barry Goldwater?!??!

This particular billboard had some really intricate details hidden in the clods of paper. I don't know what the original ad was, but there is a large clustering of small images featuring people and textures, I would assume making up a larger composite image that dominated the poster.

I hadn't even really noticed these smaller bits of detail until later when I was zooming in to the photos on screen, it was nice find after the fact.

The old wooden scaffolding is still up acting as a gamblers catwalk.

Even more of the tiny photographic details that reveal themselves. If anyone has an inkling of what the original ad was, please let me know.

Decollage is one of my favorite techniques, its amazing what the elements and a bit of human intervention can do to layers of paper. I can't help but be reminded of the work of Mimmo Rotella or Jacques Villeglé, their ability to mimick the elements/human behavior was uncanny.

My new purchase...

2009-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

my new baby...

Only Colored Men Shall Enter the Colored Church , 2009
Gouache, acrylic, cel vinyl, and silkscreen on paper
18.75" x 14.75"
47.6cm x 37.5cm

Bought this from illustrator Devin Troy Strother, I'm a huge fan of his recent work and had to have a piece. I couldn't be happier about it. You can see more of Devins work on his site. You can also read about his work in a recent profile from Beautiful Decay.

just because it's advertising, doesn't mean it isn't interesting.

2009-08-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

After writing about the utility box the other day, I came across this video from 2008 by public artist 'Moose'. I like the fact that he has found a way to strip the layers of dirt off of objects while amplifying the remaining grime.

I haven't viewed any of this work in person, but I feel like the best part of the project would be watching others come to the revelation of how this environmental design piece was created. The opportunity for social commentary is inherent while not being too preachy, the company who snatched up the artist for this campaign seized a perfect match.. .

You may have already seen it but it is certainly worth another look. Bravo for another approach at Decollage.

Artist "Moose"

GARY WINS!!! TOMMY LASORDA IT IS!!! *My first blog contest : Win a 'Logo' Print.

2009-08-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

Gary got it with a bit of help. Thanks to everyone who guessed. More free prints and goodies to come.

Tommy Lasorda circa 1960's

Cliche marketing technique?

Self promotional mumbo jumbo?

Nah, just some free stuff.

For the first time in the brief history of my blog, I will be conducting a simple contest to give away 1 16"x20" 'Logo' screen print.

The print is the same one that I used for my limited edition business cards (intact of course), and is printed on a heavyweight brown/gray Chipboard. Each print is different, with one of a kind white roller embellishments, this particular one was used in my grad show.

To win the print, all you have to do is answer a simple question.

Who is the faceless person who graces my personal logo?

There are some of you who I have already told, so please observe good sportsmanship...
Also, this isn't limited to reality, if you want to write a 20 page short story about a faceless race of cloud people, feel free. You will probably win.

Clue #1 - This person is a Los Angeles resident.

RANDOM BIT OF PUBLIC ART : Ave.50 & York

2009-08-26T00:54:00.001-07:00

Stencil on cardboard, I don't recognize the artist and there were no names on the front or back.

Dirty Box

2009-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

I was driving down York Blvd. in South Pasadena and saw this box, I had to stop to take pictures. As a former wheat paster, and lover of all urban architecture layered by time, I have NEVER seen a more beautiful utility box.

Many of these boxes become magnets for graffiti and the elements, but they are often stripped down by city workers before being repainted.

This particular box has clearly been layered for decades, never once scrubbed, I can only imagine some of the gems that are hidden beneath the bits of skin.

The chain handle has become a paint dreadlock

Grimey!

Mexico City / Designmatters

2009-08-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

In spite of the fact that I am technically a graduate of Art Center, I still have one last project to finish. I am currently in the midst of finalizing files for a TDS (trans-disciplinary studio for those who were wondering, basically a multi major project for real world application) class I was taking this last term. The class has had it's ups and downs but in the end I was selected along with 2 other students to attend the UNITED NATIONS (U.N.) SIXTY-SECOND ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE, where we will be attending and unveiling the campaign we have designed.

The topic of our project is "Disarmament in Mexico City", and our charge was to create a campaign directed at youth in the hopes that they will never pick up a gun. "VATO VERDE", is a amorphous green claymation blob who learns about the dangers of guns in a series of stop motion animations. It's low brow meets high morals, with a whole bunch of absurd.

Here is a bit of copy that I wrote better describing our mission, which will be used for info cards at the event. It's pretty much some bullet points.

Vato Verde is a design project envisioned by a collective group
of Graphic Design students at Art Center College of Design in
Pasadena, California.

The goal of this International multi media environmental project
is to educate children in Mexico City about the dangers of gun
violence and the ideals of dissarmament.

Its our belief that the message of disarmament must reach
children before they ever pick up a gun.

We target this moment in a childs life, in the hopes that the
future decisions, while inherantly difficult, are more
educated and informed.

Children control their own decisions in life, so it is our
belief that this campaign can be a positive influence while
making those decisions.

The project is also in conjunction with a design school in Mexico City, CENTRO. They have an amazing group of young designers who are passionate about their city and really want to make a difference. The group has been an amazing resource, and I wish that more could have been done to unify our two projects. In the end we will be presenting 2 separate ideas that fall under the banner of their campaign title.

I will be sure to post links and info about the campaign once everything goes live, right now everything is being hidden away until it can be launched cohesively in Mexico City.

I am excited about a lot of things for this one, but I think most of all I'm excited to go to Mexico City for the first time. It isn't your typical vacation, but I will be doing everything I can to enjoy the brief time I am there. I can't think of a better farewell gift from Art Center than an all expenses paid trip to anywhere, unless of course Nik Haffermas dressed up like Bob Barker (skinny mic and all) to award it.

Now to finalize all print files and get the spanish translations done. Long day, but it will be worth it. Viva Mexico.

Gradshow ... Done?

2009-08-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm done...

here are a few pics of my Grad Show wall, I will post more as they trickle in from the various folks who were kind enough to take photos. These particular pictures are courtesy of Petrula Vrontikis and Christy Ball, thank you for sending these my way.

I have so many thoughts and so many feelings to express, but time is short on this particular post. I need to get to sleep because early tomorrow morning I am headed to Catalina for a few days of much needed relaxation.

I wanted to get these pictures up before leaving, and I will take some time to write more while I stare at the water.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive these last few weeks, months and years.

-Conor

Birthday / Graduation Party

2009-08-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

I am not intentionally neglecting my blog, school is just taking it out of me right now. Here is a flyer I made for my Birthday Party on the 15th. Speak with everyone soon. My birthday is Monday, huge sums of money and foam core gladly accepted.

Logo Prints

2009-08-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick peek at my new print. Did a quick 2 color print of my logo on a heavy weight chipboard. Each one is completely different with hand painted details (white layer). Edition of 25.

These are also going to be my business cards, by cutting each 16x20 print into 48 sections. Each card will be a unique piece of the larger print, and will be contained in the small manilla envelopes (see below entry for more images of the card envelopes).

Revisiting Skid Row : 7TH ST.

2009-07-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for my Senior show has been a big drain in energy (boo efing hoo art school boy, your posts are getting redundant!). If you can't tell it weighs heavily on my mind these days... In fact I'm writing this in the parking lot of the South Campus in Pasadena, while waiting to pull an all night silkscreening mission.

So in the meantime I'm taking a second to post another piece of work that was uncovered for the show and my portfolio. This poster is a detailed inventory of every piece of type on 7TH St. in the Skid Row section of Downtown LA. I spent several weeks walking around photographing and collecting these bits of letters in an attempt at observing an environment that seems so foreign to many.

Most of the motivation came from my work with The Skid Row Photography Club a group of Skid Row residents who were given the gift of cameras to document their surroundings and every day life experiences. I would go out, with them and by myself, in an attempt to take pictures... yet my pictures felt soulless and mechanical to me.

The members of the group had roots in this place and it was their home, I was just a giant suburb dweller who had a camera. The only way I felt that I could really examine the area while not being exploitive, was to photograph the typography. Typography is visual language, and in so many ways just as much of an anthropological study as taking pictures of the people.

This source imagery has been a phenomenal tool to use and in mass it is pretty overwhelming. The organization is dada in nature (as dada as a computer can get), but has a nice balance in the simple grid. blah blah blah i need sleep...

2 WEEKS TO GO!

New business card : Stamps

2009-07-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am graduating from Art Center in just a couple weeks. Amid the graduation panic, there is actually some productivity happening. Today I got my stamps in the mail, and now all I need to do is figure out all of the material details of the actual card. I was somewhat suprised at just how intricate the detail is on the image, the smallest type is a 10 pt Trade Gothic narrow, and it is coming out clear!

So far, the plan is to use chipboard that is cut up from a larger screenprint, thus creating a bunch of one of a kind prints to number. Then I am placing that card into a small manilla envelope that is stamped, it's alot, but it feels like me. Plus it gives an incentive for people to visit the website ( ou can see the larger print and find where your piece is). An attempt at conveying myself to a stranger in 3" x 2". We shall see how that evolves in the coming weeks.

Playing with the variations will be fun and I really enjoy the tactile stamping motion. It's a poor mans letterpress with some lovely bleeding and flaws.

Props to the person who can ID the image, it has a significant LA connection. Guess the anonymous 1960's skinny tie guy who likes to eat!

Beautiful Decay : Book 1 party

2009-07-27T21:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos that I took at the Beautiful Decay Relaunch party. It was a good group of people who turned out to Gallery Nucleus on Saturday for a night, and the featured artists didn't disappoint.

Live art by several of the guys, as well as music and drinks, it was a casual atmosphere of friends and art fans alike.

After getting one cover done by Kyle, I succumbed in spite of a tight budget and bought a second copy for Ben Tegel to do a sketch on. I hadn't seen his work before, but I really liked the pieces he had submitted for the show. Apparently Ben has payed his illustrator dues, including a stint doing portraits at Six Flags in his younger days, now thats art school.

Artist David Jien had some insane pencil work that I have seen before in the student gallery at Art Center. He is actually graduating this term as well (good luck man) and so I'm sure we will be seeing even more from this young talent in the coming months.

There were also some really intriguing collages done by Seth Curcio. They were layers of surreal imagery that blended into larger dynamic futuristic landscapes of industry, nature and technology. I blame my photography skills or lack there of, sorry I didn't get any good flicks of the work by Seth.

David Jien
Seth Curcio
Ben Tegel
Kyle Thomas

Beautiful Decay Relaunch : Cover by Kyle Thomas

2009-07-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

I always dug Beautiful Decay Magazine. Aside from featuring up and coming artists and designers, the corners were rounded like an old composition book or moleskin. Call me superficial but something about having rounded corners on a magazine makes it even easier to flip through. It was a cool design choice that added a dynamic quality on the stand.

Form talk aside, I am excited about the re-release party that is coming up tonight at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra. The magazine has gathered itself over the last couple of months in this anti-print economy, and is exploding back onto the art periodical scene with a unique and fresh approach.

Artist Kyle Thomas is taking the theme of "Supernaturalism" and HAND DRAWING the covers!!!! Thats right, each copy of the newly formated publication is a one of a kind art piece, destined to be a collectors item (and not in the way that people always promise "collector items" in order to sell worthless shit, this is actually a piece of art!)

The volume is staggering to think of, I can only imagine how much it takes out of an artist to become an assembly line. Luckily we don't have to imagine, there is a great blog documenting the process called Diary of a Madman!!!.

This is only the first issue of the new magazine, so I'm curious to see how they progress. This hand-drawn idea is going to be hard to top, but I'm sure BD has some ideas up their sleeves. I'm just glad to see that print isn't dead quite yet, and we have the opportunity for tactile interaction with paper and art. Web is great, but I want my rounded corners.

District 9 is rated R?

2009-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles (and other major cities I would assume) is blanketed in a new promotional campaign for the film D-9/District 9. As an observer, I started to notice the trickle of bus stop posters and signs going up nearly 2 months ago, but in the last month it has become a multi million dollar deluge of environmental promotion.

The bright 2 color signs are bold and iconic (makes sense, they are creating icons) catching your eyes from far away with stark contrast. The red and black are representative of typical bureaucratic governmental info design (unless you work for John Boehner, yowza!) except for the fact that the figures are not your typical cigarette or u-turn illustrations.

The aliens look intriguing yet not menacing to me, perhaps another subtle nod to governmental design that often is as clear as it is soulful. In any case my impression was that this film would be something for the family, perhaps a new Pixar or Warner Brothers summer release that would rake in box office AND merchandise...

I guess my instincts were a bit off...

Now the trailers have finally been airing on TV, and it turns out the flick is an all out live action feast of violence, special effects, and racial commentary. IMDB has the "brief synopsis" of An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

The pitch meeting scenario might have been, 'Irobot' meets 'Transformers', meets 'Mississippi Burning', and to top it all off its backed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the rings director who has recently lost 80lbs, way to go Pete, sorry for the TMZ moment).

So I know I'm not always the sharpest crayon in the box, but how did I miss this one by so much? (I wasn't the only one in my household preparing for another 3D animated movie)

Perhaps the neutrality of the campaign is nice, because once you see the preview it all clicks, but prior to that it felt like a big miss to me from the standpoint of communication. However vague, it was a pretty good tease that now has at least one designer promoting it. Maybe searching for explicit meaning in everything is silly, especially when dealing with Hollywood.

>Here is the trailer<

Spray Can(dles) by Benjiman Escobar

2009-07-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Benjiman Escobar is an LA based artist who works for The Hundreds and is doing some awesome work... Thought you knew!?!?!

Benji, (illustrator/designer/jack of all traits) is now taking on crafts...crafts that light on fire!!!!

So for all you aging graffiti artists out there that are living somewhere between the paint yard and the house, this is perfect blend of both.

A lovely smelling home and instant street cred!

Limited supplies of these colors/scents are available at his blog.

EDIT: The kerning between the "U" and the "E" in "BLUE" is really bugging me. Anal retentive type guy...

A visual representation of our political subtlety.

2009-07-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

I cherry picked this from Charles Apple's blog, I'm sure it is going to make the rounds.

This is an info graphic from House Minority Leader John Boehner, and it is amazing.

I'm new to the whole blog thing, so I don't know if it is bad form or just lazy to let others speak for you, but Mr. Apple did a phenomenal job of articulating this one... Realistically, words aren't necessary.

Maybe we can make a game out of this one, name at least one of the type faces used...I see 4 already.

Orb Webs

2009-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

I guess it's spider season...

Right now the ivy on the side of our house looks like a little kids face after eating cotton candy. Tufts of ultra-fine fibers stick sporadically to any surface that will accept adhesive, while other puffs float on the wind, tethered by a single bit of thread.

I'm not a bug lover, (when I was a kid I liked frogs over spiders) but I always try to scoop up the spiders in my house with a magazine and toss them outside. I guess we are getting rewarded for that because our garden is looking great and I have some geometric grids to take pictures of.

As a person who draws so much from the man made texture of our city, it is nice to have a reminder of rural Los Angeles. A bit of intuitive design and construction that exceeds the dysfunctional standards of our urban planners.

Comments enabled!!

2009-07-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

I swear I changed the settings several times to public, but who knows. It's on now.

Tell me what you think!

All 4 of you...

smile!

Baby Killers

2009-07-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

LOOK FAMILIAR????????

Anyone else got comments for this one?
As of this moment I'm pretty much speechless.

*EDIT*

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this type of advertising can be applied to other products...What you can't say with words, say with satire.

Happy Birthday Anastasia // My mother in law the cougar.

2009-07-12T10:28:00.001-07:00

My girlfriends mom is in town for her birthday, and just like when I was a kid I used my artistic powers to completely avoid spending more than about 10 bucks.

It was a running theme throughout my younger life to almost forget a friends birthday, only to come back like gangbusters with about 48 hours until the party. Between the ages of 1-10 it was water colors and markers, and of course the staple macaroni necklaces and popsicle stick boxes. Christmas was often more of the same.

In middle school I graduated to acrylics and aerosol, creating good and bad paintings in a practice of dada like splatters and comic book graphics. By high school I was creating collages and mixed media pieces. All of them created in a matter of hours/days and without any extended time or process. When it comes to dada style personal art there is nothing that says time=quality, but there are always things that you can miss when in a rush.

In retrospect I'm torn about wether I was an pseudo asshole or a pseudo artist. The people seemed to love it, or where just really kind.

So now I've entered a new stage of gift giving, my Photo-chop period. For mothers day I superimposed my moms face onto the classic "WE CAN DO IT" Rosy the Riviter poster (gotta find a picture of that one). It made her "80's feminist with 2 last names mother" 's day.

For my mother in laws birthday my Girlfriend decided to get a picture cake with one of my quick creations. Since Lu's mom is self proclaimed "cougar" (god I hate that expression), we decided to make her societies ultimate cougar and paired her up with Ashton.

The kicker was that when we took the image to the chain grocery store, they told us that there was a prohibiting the printing of copy-written images. The cake lady then asked "who is that woman in the picture?". We told her that the woman was our mom and that seemed to be enough. She was thrilled to be doing a cake for someone who knew Ashton Kutcher.

Who knew Art Center would already be paying off to this degree. Happy Birthday Anastasia!

Typotexture // Health-Y

2009-07-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

South Pasadena is a beautiful little section of the city, I try to go there as often as possible. It has a great blend of people and aesthetics. You have the classic stone architecture of Old Pasadena merging with new plywood and stucco facades, and of course... the ever present taco trucks.

The people are working class for the most part, and while there are small signs of gentrification (a coffee shop here, gallery there), the place seems to be pretty much standing still. A certain amount of economic depression may contribute to the the retail scene, but overall there is a feeling of small business and community. People doing jobs to support their children, who are attending a school that is 3 blocks away, and then going home to a house that is only one block further.

One building I notice when driving down York Blvd. is a small run down shack located in the 4900 block. The place appears to have been an Ice Cream shop at some point in its history (the silhouette of a soft swirl sits on top tilted towards the road), but the only writing that is left seems to indicate that it was a Pentecostal Christian clinic (Clinica De Alma / Clinic of the soul) before becoming abandoned.

I looked for some sort of history on the web, but wasn't able to find much based on the small info I have, we'll treat this one like a missing persons... Anyone with information, please help.

4933 York Blvd.
Healthy.

NEW FEATURE : Overheard in an Art Directors office (ep.1 Gravity Potter)

2009-07-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

(Somewhere between final comp and going to press)

Designer: Here you go boss, the new Harry Potter poster is all done, check it out, pretty awesome huh?

AD: Ehhhh

Designer: What boss, what's wrong? I did it just how you asked. A straight up scene of the characters and title, go heavy on the twilight.

AD: Yeaaa, but... it doesn't feel hip enough, you know kids today are really hip. My neighbors 9 year old kid has 273 followers on Twitter.

Designer: ...

AD: WAIT, I'VE GOT IT.

(AD Puts hand on comp, makes a hand gesture similar to palming an orange, puts fingertips to paper and slowly turns it 13 degrees clockwise)

AD: THERE!!! CROP IT! SEND IT ... we ... are done.

(Designer walks back to office to rotate and check Facebook)

The logos of summer

2009-07-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few old baseball logos that I really dig. There is something pure about that old commercial illustration style that defined sports logos until the bad vector graphics of the expansion 90's.

Today many teams have upwards of 3 jerseys and 3 official hats, and for some reason most of them are heartless vector and gradient compositions that are cliche and devoid of any possible local personality. Shit, I came on to post a few possibly inspirational images, and now I'm ranting, I'll save the 'State of sports logos' speech for later.

There is a certain midwest leaning in these, it isn't intentional, perhaps a subliminal homage to half of the family tree.

Socked in the eye.

2009-06-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

One of the places I love to go when I go home to San Diego is Kobeys Swap Meet it reminds me of the swap meet I used to go to at the Fair grounds in Albuquerque... scratch that... it reminds me of every swap meet in the world. One of those places where you visit with the intent of buying a few new t-shirts (AAAlstyle shirts with the nice thick collar, only 2-3 bucks apiece after negotiating a bit), and leave with a new belt, a blank skateboard deck, some scratched vinyl and baby turtle.

The place is stacked with potentially stolen/bootlegged goods and not the NY/Canal ST. "that could pass for the real thing" bootlegs, but the kind of bootlegs that are so bad, the cops don't even care. 'Hey Ban' sunglasses and 'Kablooie Futon' handbags are sold proudly with no illusion or deception, you want shit... we got shit. But I don't want to give the impression that the place is some sort of shady bazar, its just your average run of the mill swap meet, with not too many frills and a few hidden deals. Well worth the 1$ price of admission.

_________________________
_________________________

One of my favorite parts about the swap meet is the giant old San Diego Sockers sign that sits in the parking lot collecting dust, it is a great throwback and has a likable campy aesthetic. The Sockers were an indoor soccer team that were the biggest thing in SD sports in the early/mid 80's. I can only imagine what it must have been like to tailgate for an indoor soccer team in the parking lot of the sports arena, I picture a shitload of coked up blonde people wearing dolphin shorts, and drinking pull tab beers (those sweet old ones that look like oil cans).

I feel like somewhere, someone would love to own this sign, but the reality is that there isn't a huge fan base left for obscure 80's indoor soccer teams. I wish that I could just take a letter or two. The 'C' would make sense (first initial of my name) but I think that my favorite letter from out of the bunch is the 'S'.

Heres a link to America Is F*cked.......(Graphically at least) a design rant by Aaron Draplin about signage, old and new. This video has made the rounds for a while but I couldn't help but be reminded of it, and it would do us all good to watch it again any way.

because it was easy.

2009-06-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Heres a couple of old billboard pics, got them after the rain, perfect time for peel. natures decollage.

A New Screenprint perhaps.

2009-06-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm currently involved in a UN sponsored project that is addressing the issue of gun violence in Mexico City.

A new study released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that "Over 90 percent of the firearms seized in Mexico and traced over the last 3 years have come from the United States" and that "the firearms seized in Mexico have been increasingly more powerful and lethal in recent years."

excerpt from an article by Josh Sugarmann

We love it!

2009-06-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

This is a flyer I did for an event this past weekend. 'I love LA' is an event that happens at various times during the summer at the Airliner Club on Broadway. 'Tonz of Drums' (the promoters) allowed me to use this billboard motif for most of the summer, and the Laker colors/theme were embraced as well. The places that are photo collaged in, are the Figueroa corridor and the Inglewood Forum, two places synonymous with the Lakers.

These flyers are fun to make, because they let me create some original imagery based around the city. When I think about iconic cityscapes, Los Angeles doesn't always automatically come to mind. Cities like New York, Chicago and even San Francisco have large metro areas that have dense clusters of iconic architecture and views. These particular cities skylines are easily identifiable by non residents even in silhouette form.

L.A. is a city that is spread out over such a large space that there are not many single views that truly embody L.A. as a whole. Sure we've got the Hollywood sign, or the Watts Towers, but these objects represent very specific neighborhoods, which melt together to form this city. It is one of the things that I really love about Los Angeles, the ability to shift from block to block while still being uniquely L.A.

The billboards are another thing that I can't help but associate with the skyline here. They are everywhere and as person who loves urban decay and advertising, the most ugly and obtrusive billboards can be beautiful under the right circumstances. After a rainy week, all the billboards will begin to peel, and the skies become galleries of rust, torn paper, and distorted messaging. Nature creating a Decollage and exacting a bit of revenge on the man made world. It's a theoretical project I have been trying to figure out for a while, in the meantime I'm sure you'll find billboards in lots of my work.

I hope there are more of these parties this summer, the flyers are a blast to make and the response I get makes it even more worthwhile.

X-Ray He-Man

2009-06-23T08:19:00.001-07:00

I love these old ads from comic books. Modular layouts filled with products that are so fantastical you can't possibly resist. I also love the fact that there is almost no way to date these ads, they could have been made in 1954 or 1984, there is really no telling. These particular ads came from a 1972 'Monsters on the Prowl' from Marvel Comics. They don't make 'em like the used to.

Farewell San Diego Chicken.

2009-06-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

My last post reminded me of something I had read so I will stray from the path of design and take a moment to pay homage to an early influence.

Farewell San Diego chicken... The man in the chicken suit will be retiring soon and the world will loose a six foot chicken and one of our countries last modern vaudevillians. I remember going to Albuquerque Dukes baseball games as a kid for the sole purpose of seeing the chicken. The stadium would sell out for these featured nights as the chicken went on a Bob Dylanesque tour of minor leauge ball parks throughout the summer.

When looking for information I found a great excerpt that I'll leave you with, it's from a 2005 interview by journalist Sam Mellinger. Mellinger asked the chicken aka 55 year old Ted Giannoulas if he was training anyone to take over the chicken suit after his retirement... Giannoulas clearly knows his place in history.

"Can't train anybody," he began. "Can't train anybody, the same way Michael Jordan couldn't coach anybody to play like him. Is he down on the floor trying to coach those guys to be the next Michael Jordan?

"If I could train people, I'd train 50 of them and send one to every state and collect royalty checks. But it's not a trainable thing. How many guys like Roger Clemens come along? Guys like that? Maybe one in a generation.

"I look at the Rolling Stones, for example. They're playing into their 60s. There'll be another million bands that pass through the music industry. There will never be another Rolling Stones. Those guys are amazing. Who could play like that?"

World of the 1984 Olympic Games by Thomas Bros.

2009-06-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

I found this cool little map in one of my many thrift spots. It is an interactive map that allows the user to

-Select an event
-Find the venue
-Find the distance to other venues in both Miles & KM

I have to give it up to Thomas Bros. who designed this great little object that could also live on as a collectors item.

The more I think about it this little device is essentially an analog precursor to Mapquest and other mapping sites that are nearly essential these days. This was a quick and iconic way for people of many different nationalities to loosely navigate around Los Angeles.. too bad it didn't have a traffic delay function. I can only imagine how nasty the freeways were when the world converged on our fair city. Another bit of international flair on this one, the soccer stadium at the Rose Bowl, is titled "football". Clearly a nod to the overwhelming foreign audience.

* bonus - Sam the Eagle makes an appearance, one of my favorite mascots of all time. I blame it on being 4 years old and the San Diego Chicken.

THAT AIN'T LA!!!

2009-03-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

This is just a quick design based rant. I seem to have them daily so I need to work on getting them down onto "paper".

Some of you may have seen the new LA tourism campaign for Los Angeles that is prominently featured at LAX and many tourism-centric spots. The campaign was done by LA INC.., which seems to be a creative marketing front for city based projects.

This new campaign feels like a bubbly hollywood marketing strategy that is a charicature of the city. Hollywood, despite global misconceptions, is only a very small part of Los Angeles, and an even smaller part of the neighborhood cultures that make Los Angeles unique.

Tour the Archetype press : Art Center College of Design

2009-03-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

So I made a huge mistake in my education... I waited this long to take a letterpress class ath the historic archetype press at art centers south campus. My teacher Seth Drenner, is an awesome illustrator/designer, who is really letting us take advantage of the amazing shop.

I've always really dug the quality of letterpress, embossed/debossed lettering and ornamentation creates some rich textures that just cant be replicated in digital trickery. Plus anyone who loves the 3 dimensional experience of print (holding a book, ripping a page, folding a corner), this is really a great way to create a sculptural piece with type and paper.

Here is the mission statement/overview, on the webpage.

At Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, students study the finer points of composition, typographic design, and presswork on the hand-operated flatbed cylinder printing press. The Press has 2400+ cases of American and European metal and wood type and nine presses (Heidelberg, C&P, Vandercook). Students explore handset metal-type composition techniques and standards (and their relation to computer-set digital type), as well as the integration of text and image. While producing several supervised projects, students are exposed to printing from metal type and photopolymer plates. As part of the process editioned books are produced in which each student contributes one page on a general theme.

It's a shame to only have access to these toys for such a short time, but I know I'll be in the lab as often as possible untill I graduate. Rarely is there a graphic tool that allows you to blend a few elements of composition with a bit of type to create a dada-esque artifact, why not take advantage.

I've got Underwood.

2008-09-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

the old catalina underwood.

Luanna gives the best gifts, so this anniversary was no different than others. When we were in Catalina a few weeks ago, I saw an old typerwriter that was being used as lawn art along with a million other little trinkets. i ws facinated by the old buttons and overall construction. I checked on ebay and was unable to find anything in my price range (that didn't also have a ton of shipping). Once again Luanna used her powers of purchasing, and found this beautiful Underwood No.5 Circa 1930 (checked the serial # and it was born in 1930). There is a bit of rust that prevents the keys from working but overall it is in great condition. I'm glad i have this piece of history for my collection, now I gotta figure out where the hell I'm gonna put this thing.