Tellason

The guys at Tellason in San Francisco sent me a pair of these back in 2010; the John Graham Mellor Slim Straight 12.5 ounce denim jeans. I vowed to wear them during all of my miscellaneous art making activities- collaging, screenprinting, wheatpasting, mural painting, etc- and periodically send in some photos of the 'progress'.

The above photos are representative of what raw denim looks like after three years of unwashed service, complete with a patina of paste, aerosol and dust. The right front pocket blew out from carrying a pocket knife, which I patched up myself. The left knee is torn from habitually working on the floor and both cuffs are frayed, thanks to the chafing action of my boots.

A heartfelt thank you to Tellason for a great product which is proudly made in the USA.

By Way of the South, Going Home

Opening tomorrow night, Saturday, January 12, 2013 at the Guerrero Gallery in San Francisco. The last show assembled by the late Justin Van Hoy.

JRF for Poster Child Prints 2013

The fine folks at Poster Child Prints recently invited me to concept and design another print edition for 2013. As usual, the subject matter, format and color palette was completely open and I chose to create a follow up the graphic theme of my 2009 release, Untitled (Borders Series). In extreme contrast to that four color print, which were precisely mixed by hand, the 2013 edition, Mono (Borders Series) is a simple one color print; black on white.

Whereas the film for the Untitled (Borders Series) was actually rubylith, hand-cut at 100% scale, the film for Mono (Border Series) was created digitally, using a coarse halftone screen to achieve the illusion of multiple densities.

The edition is limited to fifty pieces, each 18" x 24", and individually chopped, numbered and signed and will be released exclusively through Poster Child Prints on January 9, 2013.

My friend, director Mark Ford, recently completed this fantastic documentary that examines the connections between music and the LA Riots. Entitled Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots, the film features compelling rare footage and interviews.

Vinyl Revisioned: Gang of Four/Entertainment!

Gang of Four's debut 1979 release, Entertainment! is an underground classic that I never tire of hearing. Oddly enough, I only just discovered it a few years ago and for someone that is a huge fanatic for just about every other UK punk, post-punk and new wave band from the same era, I am still shocked that I was not exposed to it much sooner.

Perhaps it was the fact that the Gang of Four lacked a particularly, dynamic or iconic visual element associated with it, compared to a band like the Buzzcocks or the Sex Pistols. Those albums are so ingrained in my mind as the pure forces of that musical era. With that in mind, I set out to tackle a redesign of an underground classic, that was new to me.

Appropriating a contextual cue from the original album artwork, I incorporated both stereotypical imagery of "Cowboys and Indians" and topical information such as newspaper headlines. I have designed a visually dissonant work that echoes with themes of disillusionment and alienation found amongst the content of the lyrics.

Vinyl Revisionists

I'm proud to be one of the exhibiting artists in Vinyl Revisionists. Opens Friday, March 30, 2012 at Warner Brothers Records in Burbank, CA.

Gang Of Four - Entertainment!

Ether, the opening track from the debut LP, Entertainment!, by Gang Of Four. Released in 1979 by Warner Brothers Records in the US and EMI in the UK.

This LP is also my selection for an upcoming exhibition at Warner Brothers Records, where my redesign/reinterpretation for this post-punk classic will be displayed. The show opens March 24, 2012. More info soon...