I'm Going to Blog Again...Again

I kinda don't care if anyone notices. I don't need the attention.

But I need to write.

I write for a living, but what I write is often watered down by the time it makes it out into the world, diluted by people who think they know what the market will respond to. So I spend a lot of time copying and pasting things that have already been watered down.

That's fine. Sometimes, it's not art.

I may migrate this blog over to Random Scratch, once the Google Blogger team fixes whatever is ailing my new template.

In the past, this place was advertising-industry-focused. There will probably be a lot of that again, as I both work in advertising and am a student of the....I can't say "craft," can I? In the sense that it is a dark art, maybe I can say "craft." After all, we're all about tricking, deception, sleight of hand, misdirection, and often lying with the help of an asterisk. Fine...craft.

I'm off to practice my craft.

 

The Gambler

Saturated Street Scene - Ireland

I'll call this one "Generations," found in Dublin. (The corner of First Ave and Seville Pl if you want to go find it.) Click for the extremely large version, print it on canvas, frame it and then send me 1200 €.

The entire Saturated Street Scenes series is here.

Supersaturated Street Scenes - Brotherly Love Edition

There are some "photographers" getting a lot of attention for their cropped Google Street View images. Honestly, it's not that hard to troll the virtual streets and find cool things. Here's my latest. And here are some more.

Back To School

Click for much bigger, art gallery hanging version

Philadelphia, PA (N. 15th ST, between W. York and W. Dauphin)

Living Color

I had a great aunt who lived in Rochester, New York, home of Kodak. I only visited her home once as a boy, and I remember being disappointed that she didn't take me to tour the great temple of the photography gods. Aunt Angeline is gone now. And so is Kodachrome.

All things must pass, and seldom do I lament their passing, but today is a little different as we mourn the crossing of Kodachrome to the great beyond. Cassette tapes? Yeah - goodbye, glad you're gone. VCRs? I cringe at your bulky antiquity. Same goes for most outdated technology (except reel-to-reel multi-track decks). But Kodachrome had no equal.

I long ago switched to digital and haven't shot on film in years, much less Kodachrome, but it WAS a magical film. (And any REAL photographer will tell you that digital cannot be held in the same class as film.) And how, WHY would we hang on to that technology in the face of the digital SLR?  It just didn't make sense anymore to PAY for film, PAY to have it developed, and then HOPE that half your images didn't suck when they finally arrived.

Kodachrome was to still images what Technicolor was to moving pictures. Why do you suppose we love the apps that turn our iPhone pictures into neo-retro relics of another era? Just do an image search for Kodachrome and see what all these old-timers are crying about. That little yellow box turned color photography into art.

And since so many people in marking its passing will quote Paul Simon's 1973 song of the same name, I will post an old ad for Kodachrome with the body copy replaced by the poetic highlights of Mr. Simon's lyrics that captured the magic of the product. (Click it, like a shutter button.)

I half expect a camera crew to accost Paul Simon soon as he leaves his New York apartment, begging for a comment on the death of his old friend and collaborator.   

(Original ad found here at THE technical source for what made Kodachrome great. Also, the original ad's copy will let you kids know what it was like to actually have to WAIT to see your pictures.)

Socialists Don't Believe in Royalties

The cool thing about Chinese propaganda posters is they were almost always painted by an artist listed as "unknown" and they're done for a foreign communist government, so you're free to abuse the often stunning artwork without fear of legal reprisal and those pesky Cease and Desist letters. As noted on the website where I lifted these fine images:

"The designers/artists of the posters were employees of the art academies, museums, or publishers. During the high tide of socialism, it was seen as counterrevolutionary to exercise personal claims to the copyrights over the works. It would be safe to consider the academies, etc., as the copyright holders. Now, in our experience, these institutions do not exercise their copyrights for materials published in the period 1949-mid-1980s. With the Chinese adoption of the ISBN-system, all this has changed, of course." 

Some of the original wording on these is great stuff, like "Resolutely cut off the bloody and criminal hand of the American aggressor that spreads germs!" from 1952. Or this gem from 1950: "Family members, relatives and friends of criminal secret agents, you must supervise and urge criminals to register and turn over a new leaf!" And apparently there was a campaign to murder all the sparrows, which they did, only to be plagued by bed bugs.

So until the Chinese are your overlords and they put all of us who work in "the arts" either to death or to work in the propaganda sweatshops*, feel free to use these in your campaigns. (See what some have done here.)



* You think your Creative Director is a dick? Wait'll they're telling you EXACTLY what to design and write.

"We're Comforted by the Vintage Look"

Came across the site of an excellent photographer whose shots make me jealous, so I downloaded the app she uses to create great iPhone images.

Testing this morning with "Fish Mug on a Fish Coaster" followed by "October Morning Fog."

Quote from Every Sandwich.

Super Saturated Street Scenes - Washington, DC

There are so many sights on Google Street Views; everyday and ordinary things, captured in a moment when a funny looking car drove by. Pump up the saturation level and the scenes take on a surreal and dreamlike quality. Or at least they do for me. I can find and frame scenes all day long.

Here a child is at play on the banks of the Anacostia River, apparently herding geese with a stick.

Anacostia Drive, SE, looking across to the District Yacht Club.  
(Click for the massive, full screen size)

This link will take you to more of my super saturated street scenes, and in cooperation with Google, all of my compositions will be brought together in a giant coffee table book available very soon*. When it's released it will be met with bookstore protests by privacy rights alarmists who think blurred faces and illegible license plates aren't enough to protect us from the evil Big Brother that is Google. "They drove by me! They took a picture of my house! We must stop this menacing intrusion!" Get over it. Your whole life is documented, right down to every item you ever purchased with your debit card. 

* Well, OK, not really, but I'm throwing the idea out there for Google to ponder.

Hope That Something Pure Can Last

This is what they will play for you on your deathbed, like the old man in Soylent Green watching the film of flowers before he's wheeled into the processor to become snack crackers. (Did I lose you, kids? Look it up.)

Indie band Arcade Fire, in cooperation with "some friends from Google," have showcased the capabilities of HTML5 with director Chris Milk through the website The Wilderness Downtown. Type in the address of a childhood home (or any address for that matter) and wait a bit. Provided you grew up in a suburb, the film will aptly reflect the title of the band's latest release, The Suburbs. (Is there something about Canadian bands and their obsession with subdivisions? "Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth," I suppose. Look it up.)

Having moved around quite a lot as a child, I watched it several times using different addresses. The birds cast shadows over your neighborhood and the running child can be seen from the birds' view on high, running down your old street. As he/she spins on the wet asphalt, the scene in front of your old house begins to spin. It's like a dream, honestly, up to the point where the film asks you to write a letter to your childhood self, which I found to be an overwrought stretch. I was enjoying a journey, not looking for a therapy session.

The video, as far as I can tell, is only viewable in Google's Chrome browser, and it's a little clunky. Even still, it's worth it. But believe the warning: "This film is processor intensive. Please shut down other programs and close unnecessary browser tabs. Doing this will enhance your viewing experience. Thanks."

Is it a clever promotion for Google's Chrome, still slow to be adopted after two years? Is it a smart publicity piece for Arcade Fire's new music? Is it a showcase for the capabilities of HTML5? Yes, yes and yes. What's more, it's a hauntingly beautiful piece of art, it's a good (and catchy, damnit) song, it's an unexpected trip into your childhood, and the lyrics recall an innocence that will make you nostalgic for the time before "the flashing lights settled deep in your brain."

Via

The Art Teacher

Click for large.

Original image from this brilliant collector of old stuff.

Google's Cutesy Logo Whimsy Extended to Subsidiaries

But they are apparently putting the junior designers on the project. Or the interns. Or some child. But art and design being entirely subjective, I fully expect someone to come along and say "I love it!" That's fine. I'll "agree to disagree" as long as you agree that your opinion is stupid.

Ripples of a Coming Storm

Backyard, Wekiva Springs, Florida, USA. 06/01/10, 8:15 PM.  (Click for the larger.)

Tea Party (with Red Peppers and Dom Perignon)

 

I am offering, for a short time, limited edition prints of my latest composition. (Click image for larger.) As I am terribly modest about my own work, I can't really explain it to you, so I'll share this review from Red State Art Digest:

At once haunting and timeless, Tea Party (with Red Peppers and Dom Perginon) is a masterwork of unparalleled import. The artist speaks in this kitchen scene to the passions, the fears, the freedoms and the dreams of the modern patriot. A brick of gold, a bong, a refrigerator bedecked with ageless truths, the artist blurs the boundaries between Libertarian and Libertine, offering us a glimpse of a new Age of Reason, where a man can dress as an 18th Century militia member and not be ridiculed for his patriotism.

The review went on with endless embarrassing flattery, but my modesty prohibits me sharing much more. OK, just a little more:

The spicy scent of the peppers nearly wafts from the canvas, reds so brilliant and succulent, while framed in the dual and subtle yellows of melted butter and solid gold, over which the patriot stands guard. Or does he guard his lady, she of the alluring eye and come-hither stance, suggesting a Fox News weekend anchorwoman? She represents truth, and the patriot will protect her.

Colour prints

20" x 16" £6000
16" x 12" £4300
12" x 10" £2800


Lith Prints

20" x 16" £5500
16" x 12" £3800
12" x 10" £2300

(In truth: I saw this old kitchen at the always awesome Plan 59, and it begged to be messed with.)

Art Works

That's the mission that the new National Endowment for the Arts chairman chose. And now he wants a logo that "represents the three meanings of the phrase: the creations of artists, the effect of art on audiences and the contribution of artists to the economy." So, as usual, the client wants a logo that says way too much. To help get you started, I've created a sure contender in Microsoft Word.

But that might be a little too sophisticated. Maybe you can create some sort of figure that represents a sculptor, and the sculptor is making an appreciative audience. Out of money.

Proposals for the design must be submitted by e-mail to the endowment by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Feb. 26. Find all the guidelines at the Endowment's site. Winner gets a $25,000 grant.

¿Cómo te Llamas?

I was pleased to find this Flickr set of Bernie Fuchs illustrations. I have learned that Mr. Fuchs was a big deal in the golden era of advertising, when "graphic artist" actually meant "artist." His paintings always evoke the good life that advertising of the 50s and 60s promised, when the swarthy folks were either musicians serenading vacationers or bartenders mixing the classy people another round of drinks.

I don't suppose Bernie was mad at the world because he wasn't being shown in galleries, and was instead on the pages of every magazine in his day. This one was for Gallo Sherry. (Yes, I know, weird. People used to drink sherry.) I have "repurposed" it for my own amusement.

Blow it up

Where's the Glass and Stainless Steel?

Huge image (click for the large) of a graphic design business in Rosslyn, Virginia in 1926, from Shorpy.

Witness your roots, Creatives. Note that there are no fire poles, no canoes, no Eames chairs, no Macs, so Starbucks, no cupcakes, no social media strategists, no glass desks, no cubicles full of ironic juxtapositions, no emo glasses, no tattoos and no fauxhawks. All of the trappings of the modern design/advertising/marketing agency are missing. Probably because the concept of the "EVP of Global Creative" was still decades away.

It's just a bunch of people in smocks getting dirty doing manual labor. They had no delusions that they were making art, and they weren't making fake ads to submit to awards shows. If "Mad Men" was based in this era, it'd be a blue-collar dark comedy.

Super Saturated Street Scenes - European Tour

In association with Google Street Views, Where's My Jetpack? presents the fourth in a series of one-of-a-kind, super-rare-find artistic compositions.

Suitable for framing, (and you'd be a fool not to) a guy fixes a traffic light on Via Francesco Martinengo in Milan, Italy. Remind me someday to tell you what happened in Milan.

This print is titled "Don't Walk" and is available for purchase through select brokers. By appointment only. Prices upon request.

Big Picture

Jack-O-Lantern^TM, Threatening Sky^TM and Major Mike Adams^TM sold separately.

Yeah, I'm kinda obsessed with Google Street Views.

Super Saturated Street Scenes, Volume I, Number 3

Google Street Views takes us today to the Pacific Beach area of San Diego. Moon, flasher and Major Mike Adams sold separately.

Supersize Me

Super Saturated Street Scenes - Volume I, Number 2

A new (and if I know me, fleeting) hobby courtesy of Google Street Views. (Here's the first one.) Half the fun is in finding a nice scene with the right light. This one is South Beach, Miami. Major Mike Adams was brought in just for fun.

big

A Nation of Immigrants

Hey, Hannity! They barely speak English, but they love their country.

Patriotism is alive in one of the most neglected yet colorful areas of Miami. This in-progress American mural graces a wall in Little Haiti.

mas grande

I'm hoping the artist eventually puts some lapels on that Mister Rogers sweater Obama's wearing, turning it into a proper jacket.