I’m really impressed with the portfolio of freelance comic & entertainment industry illustrator Nic Klein. The German artist has great feel for color, form and composition; and the work seems to carry a visual and conceptual depth that is often absent in many contemporary illustrations.
Agency Fusion has created an infomercial style video for the fictitious Make My Logo Bigger Cream.
While the idea of designers poking fun at clients for wanting a huge logo is not new, the video still tends to be more clever than not — albeit overly repetitive and borderline annoying with the multiple product variations at the middle and end of the piece.
On one hand, I think the intent and concept of these recycled bags is fantastic, and that TerraCycle should be applauded in their decision to reduce and reuse what would become landfill waste.
On the other hand, I’m just not into the bag aesthetics. It seems like the overall design, patterning and style could be so much more complex, sophisticated and interesting. What do you think?
It’s Skittles day on the blog, so in honor of the tasty treat, I have selected two print ads, two commercials, and as an after-work bonus, the recipe for a Skittles-infused adult beverage.
(Agency: TBWAChiatDay, New York, USA Art Directors: Hans Seeger, Craig Allen Creative Directors: Scott Vitrone, Ian Reichenthal, Gerry Graf Copywriter: Ashley Davis)
bitforms gallery in NYC has put together an impressive group of represented artists that have a nice range of complimentary styles.
The gallery “is devoted to emerging and established artists who embrace new media and contemporary art practice - resulting in new languages and artistic experiences”.
This clip is probably 250 seconds longer than it needs to be, but I can forgive the length because this may be the most fantastic flying sequence ever committed to celluloid.
Inadequate special effects are typically susceptible to harsh criticism and disbelief, but this video actually hits that sweet spot between terrible, high comedy and camp.
The shadows from where the actors are standing on the floor are a fabulous touch. Well done.
Behold this set of super-cool paper sculptures by artist Richard Sweeney.
I would love to get a closer look at this series in person, as his compositions and craftsmanship seem pretty remarkable — the photo-documentation of the work is pretty impressive as well.
I received a special request asking me to post a link to Brooklyn-based artist KAWS — and by special request I mean, “Dude, you should do a post about that guy who does those sweet Sponge Bob paintings.”
Ask and ye shall receive.
Here is a link to 24 of his works via Gering & Lopez Gallery in NYC.
Eighty year-old graphic designer and design educator Maryellen McFadden has assembled an enormous and genuinely impressive collection of contemporary and historical graphic design work.
She has categorized the work in an easy-to-find manner by designer, country of origin and historical style. This is as close to an online design encyclopedia as I’ve ever encountered.
If you are a graphic designer, design student or design educator, this is a bookmark you will want to have.
“A picture of an armed sheriff moving through an American home after an eviction due to a mortgage foreclosure was named World Press Photo of 2008 on Friday.
Jury members said the strength of the photo by American Anthony Suau for Time magazine was in its opposites -- it looks like a classic war photograph, but is simply the eviction of people from a house.
“Now war in its classic sense is coming into people’s houses because they can’t pay their mortgages,” jury chair MaryAnne Golon said.”
So the primary reason this image was selected World Press Photo of 2008 was the context that it occurred in an American home, as opposed to some other country — or that the mortgage crisis has become so bad that it can require the assistance of armed police officers? Hmmm…
Swedish artist Thomas Broomé has an eclectically impressive body of work, and I find his ModernMantra series of paintings and drawings particularly interesting.
Who would have thought that simple, one-dimensional descriptors could be used to create environments with perspective and depth so effectively?
Title: Replenish the Earth Medium: Graphite on 104lb. translucent vellum Artist: Tom Davie Size: 9 x 7 inches Date: 2009
In an effort to attract new readers and to encourage the participation of current ones, this original graphite drawing is in search of a new home.
The rules are simple, beginning now, I will keep track of reader comments and whoever has the most as of Friday, March 06, 2009, will find themselves the proud owner of this work — I will even cover the shipping costs.
In order to be eligible, you must: 1. Have access to a computer, carrier pigeon messages sent to my home will not be counted 2. Have a porch, mailbox, or P.O. Box so I can send you the drawing 3. Be at least 14. I’m not fond of sending small children random packages, plus I don’t want calls from any irate parents
How comments will be counted: 1. I will moderate all comments, this will allow me to keep track of who posted what, when 2. Use one consistent comment ID, if you comment under three different names I can’t keep track of you 3. Anonymous posts will not be counted 4. Irrelevant one word or spam comments will be discarded 5. If you view a comment on the site, it means that it has been moderated and counts toward your total
How will I know where I stand? 1. Each Friday, the top five commenters will be identified with their totals
When does the commenting period for this drawing close? 1. Friday, March 06, 2009. 12:00 EST 2. Any comments made after 12:00 will not count toward your total
I have the most comments, now what: 1. Sit back and relax, but first give me an address so I can send you the well-earned drawing.
For a closer inspection, here are two detail shots of the drawing:
Here’s a treat for all you fans of The Beatles and their animated film Yellow Submarine.
While the art and animation for Yellow Submarine has often been attributed to pop artist Peter Max, the film was actually art directed by Heinz Edelmann, and the animators include: Paul Driessen, Cam Ford, Anne Jolliffe, Tony Cuthbert, Geoff Collins, Jim Hiltz, Ron Campbell and Hester Coblenz.
There’s a whole mess-of-good happening at Australian-based Swear Words.
Site design...good. Portfolio...good. Site photography...good. Secret bottom navigation area...good.
Things that I’m good at: making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, doing seven push-ups in a row and calling my Mom on her birthday — what can I say, I’m a well rounded individual.
In an effort to experiment without hesitation and explore variations in composition, abstraction and letterforms, I have decided to pursue a month-long project entitled 30 Drawings in 30 Days.
Beginning today, and continuing through March 12, I will create and post 30 new works that will be used as inspiration for a future set of larger paintings and drawings.
Each of the 30 drawings will be available for purchase through the 30 Drawings in 30 Days site, or by contacting me directly.
Bonus Goodness: As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I want to encourage reader comments and participation. As incentive, I will be giving one of my readers a drawing from this project — more details later in the week.
(Note: I will not be posting the 30 drawings here on the studiotwentysix2 blog. To view a new drawing each day, please bookmark and visit the 30 Drawings in 30 Days site.)
I wanted to point out one additional commercial that aired during the 2009 Super Bowl — Denny’s Nanner Puss.
Rarely do I wish that commercials were longer, but so is the case with Nanner Puss. It has just the right mix of unexpected oddity and cult-potential that 15-seconds is just not enough.
I was reading an article in the current edition of the College Art Association’s Art Journal, and came across the work of Lorna Simpson. It seems like I should have known of her work before now — but I guess later is better than never.
Simpson is an African American artist and photographer based in Brooklyn. Her work has been included in the Venice Biennale and in 2007 she had a 20-year retrospective at the Whitney in New York City.
“The Associated Press has determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission,” the AP’s director of media relations, Paul Colford, said in a statement.
“We believe fair use protects Shepard’s right to do what he did here,” says Fairey’s attorney, Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University and a lecturer at the Stanford Law School.
As a fella with many artistic interests, I couldn’t help but be attracted to the work of Jeff Canham. Jeff creates as a fine artist, designer, illustrator, and sign painter — and no matter his medium, the work seems to consistently have a good sense of color, craft and typographic sensitivity.
After viewing the impressive work of Johnny Swing, I’m not entirely sure how to categorize him. He appears to be part industrial designer, part architect, part furniture designer, part electrician and part fine artist.
His site features an interesting collection of unique work. The pieces have been carefully photographed from a variety of angles, and most include nice-sized detail shots. Pictured above is his Half Dollar / Butterfly Chair, which is made with 1,500 half dollars.
Russian-born illustrator and designer Yulia Brodskaya has created some really interesting typographic illustrations, known as “PAPERgraphics”.
I dig not only the dimensional quality and shadows created by the work, but the style and craftsmanship makes this series impressive and inspiring. Additional PAPERgraphic samples can be viewed on Yulia’s site — they are definitely worth checking out.
As a whole, I thought the super-expensive Super Bowl ads lacked the memorability and humor of the past several years — I honestly can’t remember laughing once.
Choosing from the small group of standout commercials, my pick for best ad of the 2009 Super Bowl — the wonderfully animated spot for Coca-Cola, titled Heist.
Note to Budweiser: drinkability + drinkability + drinkability + Clydesdale + drinkability + Clydesdale + Clydesdale + Clydesdale + drinkability = me not buying your products out of repetitive annoyance.
