WHIMSICAL WEIDMAN

I am sure some of you illustration fanatics out there are already familiar with David Weidman...even if you're not familiar, you'll want to check out a new book that Ginko is publishing. I just received an early copy of The Whimsical Works of David Weidman, which covers more than 30 years of his fantastic work.  Here's the an excerpt from the 'official' press release...

The Whimsical Works of David Weidman (And Also Some Serious Ones) gives an overview of the iconic, witty, colorful style of this octogenarian artist. His graphic sensibility and expert use of saturated color palettes evoke the vintage modern look while remaining completely relevant to contemporary designers. This collection is a long overdue career retrospective of a true originator, who created the look of an era.

The book is due to hit the shelves in mid February. (And you have to dig his color seps. Nobody does 'em like that anymore!)

REFERENCE LIBRARY PT.3

"A designer is only as good as his/her references."

You must take that with a grain of salt, but I very much believe that to be true. One of my favorite activities is searching out and purchasing new additions for my reference library. I do frequent all the expected spots (Wacko, Hennessey & Ingalls, etc) but I also try to find unusual books and ephemera from all sorts of places (junk stores, antique malls, EBay, etc).

I recently found these on a bookshelf of a local retailer and had to add them to my collection. Thanks (or, curses, depending on your point of view) to our digital era, traditional hand lettering is DEFINITELY a dead craft. With that being said, a computer is NO SUBSTITUTE for traditional draftsmanship, especially when it comes to typography. I almost always start every commercial assignment with my pens, pencils and paper before I ever sit down at the computer. Why? Well, for one, you can work out 50 rough thumbnail sketches in the same time it takes for a computer to boot up. And another reason is that the digital era and infinite stacks of font software have made it possible for everybody everywhere to churn out poor design faster than ever...hence the need to keep a strong element of the analog integrated within my own process.

(Now, if I can just find a way to incorporate a KICK ASS monster truck into my next assignment....)

BAD BRAINS DOC!?

I have to confess, this makes me a little anxious....apparently, someone is working on a documentary of the Bad Brains, one of my favorite bands (fanatic since '86). The thing that makes me anxious is that the Bad Brains have always been a band shrouded in a kind of magical mystery and turmoil...I am not so sure I want to see what's behind the curtain.

Regardless, I will see it whenever it's released...

WALLFLOUR/YEAR OF THE OX

I am not the foodie in the house, but, 'when in Rome'...

Wait. Maybe that should be, 'when in Beijing' ?

Chinese New Year....CC and I ushered in the Year of the Ox by hosting our friends to a somewhat traditional celebration. She (and friends) prepared some amazing dishes and check it out here...

(I was assigned documentation and food photography duties for the night...)

WHO KILLED BAMBI?

I guess someone is putting out a new film on the infamous life and death of Sid and Nancy...gonna be tough to top Gary Oldman, in my mind at least. Regardless, the trailer is fairly well-done and it's always great to see interviews with the legendary Don Letts.

SHEPARD GETS INSTITUTIONALIZED

Congratulations to my old friend, Shepard Fairey, on an amazing 2008. And never one to rest, he's kicked off the new year with the same manic momentum. Last week, a stenciled and collaged version of his Obama image was inducted into the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. And opening next month in Boston at the ICA, is a 20 year retrospective of his work. Wow.

Not too shabby for a one-time student of Wilma Williams and the South Carolina Public School System.

 (Photo used without permission from Supertouch, where there's a more in depth article.)

And it looks like he finally secured a 'proper' studio.....ehehehe.

CUT/PASTE

Excerpts from a recent commercial job....graphics ala crude, mechanical paste-ups, always a personal fave. Application? Fictitious 12" records to be used as props within Hollywoods' machine....

CUT/COPY

I am busy finishing new works for 'Cut/Copy' show at T&P Fine Art in Philly (flyer above; image by Mimi the Clown). It opens on February 6, 2009 and features a group of artists who primarily operate with aerosol and stencils. I am participating and showing another small suite of Drip Paintings. My work will be available for purchase, so please contact Jon Halperin (jon@tandpfineart.com) with sales inquiries/pricing.

RETRACTIONS/SAN FRANCISCO

"Root Division presents an exhibition of 30 artists exploring notions of vacated information. Highlighting the content of absence, these artists work with themes of censorship, value, memory, and loss.

Using techniques of erasure, displacement, cancellation and extraction, the act of taking out information often gives new meaning to what is left. Simplifying or abandoning material can highlight essential content, provide codification, or stand as a subversive gesture."

The exhibition, curated by Whitney Lynn, explores notions of vacated information. The opening reception is tonight, Saturday, January 10 from 7-10 pm. The exhibit runs until January 24th, 2009. Above is my contribution to the show, titled Ex Mero Motu. It is a nonrepresentational photograph measuring 60" x 60" and marks the first time I have shown any of these works on the west coast.

DRIP PAINTINGS IN THE CMA

This is the other portion of my contribution to the Skate and Create exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Art; sixteen, site-specific Drip Paintings. I posted briefly about these a few weeks ago, when they had just been completed. I didn't go into detail about the nature of the color references, hoping instead that one of you readers would pick up on it. Nobody nailed it, but someone was close (Courtney!). (This also means my gift certificate for a bucket of spicy wings at Hooters will remain unclaimed).

The Drip Paintings for the CMA are a bit of a conceptual coup d'etat for me. I have never been interested in making this work reference anything other than itself, so when I made a conscious decision to change that intent, to make deliberate color choices, it was difficult. As a result, I became fascinated with the paradox of something appearing to be about one thing, but actually be about something totally different. Plus, I wanted the work to speak in a language vernacular to (my own projected stereotype of) a SC museum goer.

...so, starting with the uppermost left hand panel, SEC and ACC College Football teams, as ranked by the NCAA on the week of 12/09/08; Gators, Bama, UGA, GA Tech, Ole Miss, FSU, UNC, LSU, Clemson, USC, Wake Forest, Miami, VA Tech, Volunteers, UVA and Duke. (Go put that into your Fantasy Football pipe and smoke it!)

Do paintings that reference the fanaticism of southern college football make them any 'lesser' as works of art?

SKATE AND CREATE OPENS

I think I am still in a state of disbelief. 

Skateboard magazines that I created from scratch more than 20 years ago are now sitting on display in a museum. I never would have imagined that. Could it be that the general public is 20 years behind the proverbial 'curve'?

The 'Zine Wall of Skate and Create, complete with a 'used' SK843 skateboard at the top, at the Columbia Museum of Art. Thanks to Sara Kennedy and the rest of the CMA staff for doing a fantastic job on the installation, it looks exactly as it should (detail views here). The show is up and running (until March 4, 2009) and there is an opening reception tomorrow night. 

SABLE/SHOWCARD

I know I have already blogged out the Blue Rooster window display that I designed and fabricated last month, but just in case you missed it...I'm geeked to be validated by the Show & Tell section of the House site. And BTW, the Blue Rooster Screenprinting class IS open for enrollment, contact them to inquire.

(It's thanks to real designers, like my buddies at House Industries, that amateurs like myself can occasionally create the illusion of someone who is actually competent.)

NATAS

Like most skateboarders that came of age in the 80's, Natas was a huge influence on me. This footy  from Santa Cruz's classic 'Streets of Fire' makes it pretty apparent as to why....

And if that footage didn't convince you, maybe this clip from another Santa Cruz classic, Speed Freaks, will:

Good stuff. Thanks, Natas!

PRESS/THE STATE

The State paper in South Carolina has released it's brief story regarding the upcoming 'Skate and Create' exhibit that opens this Friday at the Columbia Museum of Art. Kevin Earl Taylor and myself are the two artists featured and the show has been extended an additional 30 days (now running from January 9th- March 8th, 2009.)

MARK IT ZERO

Even though it was Shabbat yesterday, I picked up the phone, hopped into a car and headed over to All Star Lanes, where I promptly handled money to get shoes and a lane. What a fun way to officially close the 2008-2009 Holiday season, with some friends, a few a laughs and a few beers.

"Our f*cking troubles are over, Dude."