Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The Art of Appropriation Is A Must Read



The Art of Appropriation is an essential artist for any artist or graphic designer to read.

From the article:

The way Vallen tells it, Shepard has based his 20-year art career solely around cashing in on the work of other people. Yet the images that Vallen uses to support this claim are almost all examples of Shepard’s street art from the formative stages of his career (1990s and early 2000s), and were sold only in editions of 100 or 200 at $20 or $25 a pop at the time. Considering that hundreds, maybe thousands of those same posters were pasted up on the street at Fairey’s personal expense, it’s certain the artist never saw a dime of profit from all that printing and in most cases probably failed to even recoup costs. Furthermore, none of Vallen’s reference points come from the art that Shepard has sold in recent years for substantial profit. It can’t be said whether Vallen tried but couldn’t find any clearly plagiarized imagery in that work, or simply didn’t bother to look, but his claims about cash cows simply do not add up, especially since Shepard didn’t have a single solo gallery show for the first 10 years of his career.

Go here. Read this. Now.

That is all.

Oh The Futura Times, They Are A Changin'


Apparently, back in 1992, designers really hated Futura Extra Bold. I guess they couldn't have predicted the rise of David Carson and Grunge, which would bury typefaces like Futura for the better part of the following decade. Now of course, Futura is back, and the design world is better for it.

From back in 1992:

“It’s time for Art Directors the world over to boycott the use of Futura Extra Bold Condensed - the most over-used typeface in advertising history. Destroy the Great Satan of clichés and the Little Satan of convenience, and rally to the cause of a better type selection.

Please fill out the enclosed petition and mail it to our headquarters. It will be used to sway the opinion-makers of our industry toward our just and worthy cause.
Together, we can whip this mother.”

Funny stuff. More here.

Rubik Font Generator Is Super Clever


Wow, this is clever. A Rubik Font Generator - it's like a Rubik's Cube, but for type. So cool.

From Creative Review:

The Font Generator has rubber stamps attached to four faces of the cube, with two faces blank. The modular elements of the stamps can be combined to form characters which can then be printed.


So, so cool.

Music Video of the Week: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds



Nick Cave
is one of the greatest songwriters in the world. He is a rarity, in that he becomes more original, more refined with every release, rather than settling in to a mid-career malaise. His last couple of releases have been phenomenal, and the Music Video of the Week is from his latest, the superb Dig Lazarus Dig!!!

Enjoy.

Dumas' Measuring Your Own Grave Is Significant



Marlene Dumas
is one of my very favorite contemporary painters. Her work is so visceral and moving - it just tears me apart. Seriously, her work always impacts me, just knocks me out. Watch this film about her big exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City below.

Really, check it out, she's the best.


Mark Wagner's Dollar Bill Deconstructions Are Brilliant


Mark Wagner deconstructs dollar bills to create new and interesting pieces.

Tons of great stuff in his portfolio - take a look here.

Dave Anderson's Roadside Ghosts Are Haunting


Dave Anderson's Roadside Ghosts are haunting and oddly moving.

From his website:

Roadside Ghosts explores the twin themes of hope and loss using familiar and unusual objects from the American Landscape. Ghosts linger on the margins while the images hint at stories partially told. The series began in 2003 and is taken from travels in through over twenty states.

Check out the entire series here.