“Born and raised right outside the nation’s capitol, Ilana later moved to Brooklyn, NY where she attended Pratt Institute, graduating with a BFA in Communication Design/Illustration. Ilana currently remains in lovely Fort Greene Brooklyn where she works full time as an Illustrator alongside several chickens & a peach tree.”
Somewhere along the way I missed out that Mogollon had updated their site with a lot of new work. A lot of it is fashion related which is great but it is their graphic design work that I have always appreciated most.
Well, I was asked by readers via email and in comments for more detail about the Manifest Hope show here in Denver. In short, it was an amazing show but more so an amazing outpouring of individual talent and expression unified as a single voice around a central message. Every artist I spoke with felt the same. We see the error of the last 8 years and we know things have to change. We also know that it is going to take more than just one politician to do that. It is going to take all of us taking action and becoming more involved in our own system.
I spent a little time speaking with Ron English, and he said that this show wasn’t about making money or gaining recognition, it was about forwarding a cause that we all believe in. He said, and I agree, that he loves this country very much and that he takes it very personally to have had to watch our image be tarnished by some absolutely despicable decisions. We need to turn the page on this era and admit the error of our ways and usher in something that serves us all better. That is what the Manifest Hope show was about and that is why all of the artists, including myself have worked hard to promote someone we feel will begin doing that for us.
With that said, I will leave you with nearly 50 images of both the show and the private after party. It was one of the best times I have had in a long time and I was absolutely thrilled to be there. It’s not something I will ever forget. I did manage to sell the first signed, numbered and framed poster that was in the show along with several more in the Manifest Hope store. I am signing the remaining posters next week and then they will be shipped to Merchline in Florida so they will be available for purchase the second week of September.
Be sure to click ‘continue reading’ to continue on and see the nearly 50 photos of the rest of the art in the exhibit. The photos also include some of the street art around the exhibit.
I can’t really tell you a single thing about Numskull other than the fact that I love every single thing on their website. It’s all absolutely brilliant.
There is all kinds of great things happening in the fantastic illustration portfolio of Elisabeth Moch.
Paul Sahre has some interesting work including some interesting drawings in his portfolio.
H also has an equally interesting background as you can see:
“Graphic designer, illustrator, educator, lecturer, foosballer and author Paul Sahre established his own design company in New York, in 1997. Consciously maintaining a small office, he has nevertheless established a large presence in American graphic design. The balance he strikes, whether between commercial and personal projects or in his own design process, is evident in such things as the physical layout of his office: part design studio, part silkscreen lab, where he prints designs and prints posters for various off-off Broadway Theatres (some of which are in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum). While on the other side of the office, he is busy designing book covers for authors such as Rick Moody, Chuck Klosterman, Ben Marcus and Victor Pelevin. Sahre is also a frequent contributor to the New York Times op-ed page.
He is the co-author of Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio, a book based on a collection of QSL cards, which amateur radio enthusiasts exchange after communication with other operators around the world.
Paul received his BFA and MFA in graphic design from Kent State and teaches graphic design at the School of Visual Arts.
He is a member of Alliance Graphic International.”
It was everything it needed to be last night and more. It was tough, it was smart and it was dead on. It was exactly what needed to be said.
Surry Hills, Sydney-based design agency, Toko have updated their site with some brilliant new work. They never disappoint.
Well, try as I did, I was not able to get tickets to watch Obama speak tonight. I pulled out every stop but it just didn’t happen. I am planning on running by the Andenken Gallery one more time today for the Manifest Hope show and give away some posters I did for MoveOn.org this week along with what is left of the stickers I made a year or more back. So, if you are in the neighborhood today, stop by and pick up some free stuff.
I have been creating stickers and t-shirts for MoveOn all this month, and if you are at the speech tonight they will be selling the t-shirts afterwards. I don’t get anything from the sales, but I do believe some of the money goes towards the Obama campaign.
I think tonight will be a moment to remember in American history. I have zero doubt that Obama’s speech will be anything less than amazing. I just hope this pushes on through all the way. I really do. I will be downtown in Denver tonight with my wife and hopefully some friends to watch it happen wherever we can squeeze in and catch it on T.V. Then I will be out tonight downtown for a while. Even though I won’t be in the arena, it is still amazing to be living here in Denver while this is all happening. It really is history being made. It has been very surreal and I am so glad that even in a small way, I have been able to be an active part.
Hope may be a 4 letter word, but those are 4 very powerful letters that when combined can create a movement and make history.
The almighty Luca Ionescu sent me word of Like Minded Studio’s new website last night. I was pretty excited to even get an email from him, although all it contained was a link. I am a huge huge fan of his work and Like Minded’s portfolio does not disappoint. It was some of the best stuff I have surfed through in a while. I would love to be doing creative design like that for clients.
Smith and Nephew
A spot by PSYOP
Directed by Eben Mears and Mate Steinforth
3D by Florian Witzel (Lead), Alvin Bae, Jan Bitzer, Jae Ham, Miguel Salek, Jeff Dates, Rich Magan,
Jacob Slutsky, Jason Vega, Goo-Shun Wang, Lee Wolland, Andreas Gebhardt (R&D)
After Effects by Doug Purver, Jason Conradt, Elliot Blanchard
Produced by Michael Neithardt, Tarun Cahraipotra (assistant) Lucia Grillo (EP)
Designed by Mate Steinforth
Storyboard by Ben Chan
Music by Prison Diet
via Ogilvy, New York with Jonahtan Isaacs (CD), Tracy McFarlane (CD), Lisa Savage (CD), Melanie Baublis (EP), Chris Beeby, Keith Higbee
Crush sent me word of their new website this morning. Good stuff in their portfolio.
About Crush:
“Formed in 1998 we are a creative agency working with a diverse range of clients from international names to niche markets, creating bespoke solutions rather than using one house style. We are passionate about design and ready for our next challenge confident our next piece of work will be our best! “
Alright, it is almost 3am and I still have to go to work tomorrow because I am a regular person and not quite famous enough to call my own shots. But, I have to write briefly about the single most surreal night of my life so far. This week I have met and spoke with Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Date Farmers, a producer for the Charlie Rose show and several other people that I guess are important and I didn’t even know who they were when I was talking to them. I was invited into the VIP section of the Manifest Hope show tonight since I was a contributing artist and it really just blew my mind. Ron English knew who I was, so that was fucking awesome. The reason he knew me though was because of my rant about Upper Playground and his poster. He said this blog was the only blog he has ever left a comment on. That was kind of awesome. Shepard Fairey talked to me and a coworker about having a family while doing the crazy shit we all do. That was a hot topic since my wife is ready to start a family of our own. It was the last thing I ever thought I would talk to Shepard Fairey about. Pretty weird.
I saw Moby tonight at the show. The VIP show also had Sarah Silverman speaking, she was hilarious, along with the mayor of San Francisco. He is one good looking politician. I was then treated to a private show by Ben Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie along with the members of The Postal Service and Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley admitted it was the first time she had ever played guitar for a live audience. That was cool. Sam Flores, David Choe and I have no idea who else were all walking around.
A friend and local artist who was in the show went out wheat pasting with Shepard Fairey this week and will be featured in his documentary about the entire Manifest Hope show. His artwork in the show was all purchased by Morgan Spurlock, the guy who starred in the Supersize me documentary.
In a nutshell, it was wild. Just wild. I was so excited to be there. It felt like the culmination of a long hard road we have all fought to take as artists and designers who have thrown our full weight behind the Obama campaign. It was fantastic to be around all of these people and know we were all there together for something we really believed in.
Ron English is awesome by the way. He knows a lot about politics and I was lucky enough to get to talk to him for a while. I watched him work his way into a potential interview with Charlie Rose as well. Damn would I like to get to do something like that someday.
Oh and I also sold my poster featured in the show and apparently I had sold a bunch of posters at the Manifest Hope official store. That was good news but I decided to donate my sales back to the Obama campaign and back to benefit the cost of putting on the show. I will be selling the remainder of the posters, signed and numbered on the site soon though for about 75% less than what they are selling them for at Manifest Hope.
I will do a full image posting about the show later this week.
Life is crazy.
Alright, I don’t like a lot of what I write on this site to come off like advertising, especially since I don’t even have any advertising or make any money off of this blog. So, with that said, I do in all sincerity want to mention the newest seasonal line of clothing from 55 DSL. I am a big Diesel nerd and have been rocking their wares for a long time now. Unfortunately I am kind of a poor artist type, and that stuff ain’t cheap so I usually have to figure out how to pick it up on sale. So, when I can, I do. What I like about 55 DSL is that it originally spawned from Diesel and has since become it’s own thing. However, that attention to detail, sentiment, attitude and personality that I love about Diesel remained intact and strong. Recently on a trip to NY, I was in the SoHo area and saw a lot of people wearing 55 DSL clothing. I love detail in clothing and detail in the construction of clothing and I was struck by how much of that I saw in 55 DSL clothing. The brand is a little young for me but there is stuff in there I can pull off. I really like their pants and jeans. They also have some really cool jackets.
The best part is, that 55 DSL usually costs less than Diesel’s clothing.
You can see their most recent collection at their website here.
Their flagship store is actually in SoHo, so if you are nearby, drop in and see what you think. If you really want to pick up some of their cooler gear, you almost have to go somewhere that sells their wares. You can find a list here.
Also, here are a couple places you can buy online: BNYConline, DrJays and Yoox is always a good bet.
A little food for thought here from one aisle of the business across to the other.
I don’t know how else to put it other than that I just really really like how Jam 3 Media’s website works. It’s awesome.
Strange but utterly fascinating art from Liu Bolin.
Here is a bit of his explanation for the work:
” Are human beings animals?
Chameleon has the unique property of changing hues to match the color of the surroundings for self-protection. Rattlesnake can bury most of the body in sand soil. This can not only protect itself but also have a better access to food. There are also many animals, such as gecko, beetle etc., which have learnt to deal with the environment and the enemy in the longtime fight of life and death. In order to survive, good concealment has become the most critical factor.”
Read the rest and see more amazing images of his work here.
