findel interludio

Raymond Lemstra / Illustration

2011-12-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

Beautifully executed illustration work by Amsterdam based Dutch artist, Raymond Lemstra. [via Grain Edit]

Elizabeth Graeber / Illustration

2011-11-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

Some delightful illustration work by DC based illustrator, Elizabeth Graeber.

Ikkō Narahara / Photography

2011-11-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

Some beautiful b/w photography from the 50s to the 70s by self-taught Japanese photographer, Ikkō Narahara. [via ISO50]

Das Programm / Dieter Rams & Braun

2011-11-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

Das Programm is a unique, and beautifully designed, online resource offering some of the most desirable and important examples of twentieth century industrial design, featuring only Dieter Rams designs and Braun products issued between 1955 and 1995. Oh, so many covetables! [via ISO50]

Sean Pecknold / The Shrine/An Argument

2011-11-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Shrine/An Argument is a stunning, epic piece of multiplane animation for the Fleet Foxes by Sean Pecknold, with Britta Johnson, featuring beautiful illustration work by Stacey Rozich.

Christopher Hall / Photography

2011-11-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

Beautiful photography by San Francisco based photographer (& office drudge) Christopher Hall. [via my friend Laurie Cinotto]

Debbie Powell / Illustration

2011-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Some lovely hand-rendered illustration, lettering and pattern work by Debbie Powell.

Saul Bass / Art of the Title Montage

2011-11-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

A nice montage put together by Ian Albinson of Art of the Title in celebration of the release of the long-awaited book Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design. I just received my copy of the book in the mail yesterday and highly recommend it! [via my friend Rick Lorig]

kimber elements / Wearable Sculpture

2011-11-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

kimber elements is the online showcase of beautiful, wearable sculpture hand-crafted by Seattle artist, Kimber Leblicq. Each element is a unique design, replicated in numbered, limited editions of eleven.

Sonnenzimmer / Posters

2011-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

Refreshingly beautiful poster work by Sonnenzimmer, more than blurring the lines between art and design.

Daido Moriyama

2011-11-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

How have I missed the beautiful and compelling work of Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama all these years? [via Aperture]

Gregory Ferembach / Canal+ Posters

2011-11-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

A funny and informative flowchart poster series by Gregory Ferembach for a Canal+ network ad campaign.

Always With Honor

2011-11-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Some excellent graphic work by Always With Honor. [via Tiny Showcase]

Anne Bryant Creative / November Desktop Wallpaper

2011-11-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

November . . . already? Time to get cranking on those mitten knitting projects! This is the latest in the series of desktop wallpaper calendars illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 has seen the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an excellent set of 12 note cards (sans calendar dates, so they’re good for any year) with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop.

findel interludio

2011-10-28T09:09:00.001-07:00

hello welcome fellow friends from around the world

Jamie Gray / Día de los Modernist Screenprints

2011-10-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Día de los Modernist is a series of portraits by Kansas City-based designer/professor Jamie Gray that playfully pays tribute to modern design’s ancestry, taking a decidely Modernist approach to the skulls and floral motifs of Día de los Muertos, with iconic references to the featured designer’s work embedded into each respective background pattern. For sale here, just in time for Día de los Muertos!

Jesse LeDoux / Atmospheric Conditions

2011-10-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

Some sweet new work by Seattle artist/designer Jesse LeDoux, from his Atmospheric Conditions which he will be showing as part of the opening of LeDouxville Space—a 1500 square foot gallery and retail storefront space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Consisting of two adjoining rooms, the space will feature the work of Jesse LeDoux and his collaborators, creating a unique setting for art exhibitions, installations, performances, and limited edition releases. LeDouxville Space is scheduled to open tomorrow night (6pm-10pm) October 20, 2011 and run through January 2012. I’m looking forward to checking it out.

Robb Smigielski / Objectivist Advertising Poster Series

2011-10-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

Beautiful series of posters by Kansas City-based designer Robb Smigielski based on the fictional businesses featured in the classic Ayn Rand novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I want to own that cigarette one. By the way, Robb also puts together fantastically designed (both visually and aurally) music compilations via NEIMT.

Paul Rand / iPhone Wallpapers

2011-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

I recently found myself perusing the excellent Paul Rand website after reading this engaging Steven Heller post about Rand’s work on the NeXT identity for Steve Jobs, and came across these nice little iPhone wallpapers.

John Cage on New Ideas

2011-10-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

[Via Wall of Sound]

Division of Labor / New Rules  Of  Work & Grocery Signs

2011-10-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Some novel, well-executed projects from the Sausalito-based, Division of Labor’s online shop. Being a native Iowan, I’d love to have that truth in advertising genetically engineered corn grocery sign, but unfortunately it’s been sold.

Eric Cahan / Sky Series

2011-10-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, minimalist series of sky photos by artist/photographer Eric Cahan. [via It’s Nice That]

Charles Eames on Changing The World

2011-10-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Will Bryant / Illustration

2011-10-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Some nice work by the very prolific Will Bryant. [via his cover for the NY Times Magazine]

Sólo una puta

2011-10-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Catapultas sentimientos sinceros
Sin saber que no valen más que cero,
Inquietas deseos como un juego,
Te presentas ante todos como fuego.
No eres más que una puta
Estibando sentimientos como nunca.

No cuesta mucho tenerte,
Como a esas rameras con mala suerte,
Llegas a la vista de quien quiere verte,
Con ropa o sin ella piensas perderte.
No veo más que una puta
Arrancando vidas que buscan ruta.

Lavas tu rostro podrido
Buscando lágrimas que se han perdido,
Intentas suprimir aquél frío
Ansiando encontrar un verdadero idilio,
En el espejo pretendes verte sonreír,
Pero sólo ves a una puta llorar y maldecir.

Perdida cuentas todo a tu marido
Quien te regala las flores del olvido,
No te escucha, no te mira, está perdido,
Pronto se irá de ese lugar, pronto habrá huido,
Susurrándote verdades al oído:
“Sólo eres una puta y yo ya me he ido”.

Anne Bryant Creative / October Desktop Calendar

2011-10-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Another one of my favorites (for obvious reasons) in the series of desktop wallpaper calendars illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an excellent set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Get hoppin’!

Karl Zahn / Animal Boxes

2011-09-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I recently came across these beautiful, yet functional, beech wood Animal Boxes by Karl Zahn at the Seattle store re-soul. Add them to the covetables list.

Cutting Edge / Qiao Xiaoguang & Rhyohei Tanaka

2011-09-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Cutting Edge is an excellent show at Seattle’s Cullom Gallery featuring the cut-paper work of artists Qiao Xiaoguang and Rhyohei Tanaka (who you may remember from this AI post from awhile back). The show runs through October 15th with a gallery talk this Saturday, October 1st at 2pm by Qiao’s Beijing Gallerist, Jan Leaming.

Drug Addiction / 1951 Encyclopedia Britannica Propaganda Film

2011-09-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

A nice little excerpt of anti-drug propaganda from the 50s. [via Brain Pickings]

Manna-Hata: How It May Begin....

2011-09-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm writing the script for our next large-scale promenade performance, Manna-Hata, and it's been very slow-going: 400 years of NYC history in one event that (I hope) will be less than 2 hours long ain't easy. I have lots of material written but nothing that's been jazzing me in terms of how to approach the story.... until now. I think I've got something that may work. There's a dialogue scene that follows this stage direction but I'm still working on that. I'm interested to hear what others think: intriguing, confusing, something else? Let me know....

As the audience enters, THE BAND is playing: perhaps something fast and percussive in a classic NY jazz style. As the music ends, the lights fade slowly out. Silence.

Lights up suddenly on a street corner in Manhattan. The ensemble are all frozen in place, as though they have been captured mid-stride by a photograph; in the middle of it all stands the SETTLER. At the same time, a musical cue suddenly sets the scene into motion and the ensemble begins to perform the Pedestrian Street Ballet (1): they travel along a grid pattern as though they are navigating sidewalks in an intricate, fast-paced dance. As they do, the SETTLER stands still in the middle of them while the Ballet takes place around her. Occasionally, she will watch an individual or an encounter between people but, for the most part, she is merely looking all around, blissfully trying to absorb the entire scene.

After the ballet has been going for a while, the NATIVE enters. She expertly navigates the Street Ballet until she reaches the spot where the SETTLER is standing. At this moment, however, the SETTLER decides to leave her spot and interrupts the flow of the Ballet directly in front of the NATIVE. She attempts to sidestep but moves in exactly the same direction as the NATIVE; she tries again and they continue to block each other. After a few back-and-forths, their movement modifies into a partner dance/movement. The SETTLER is awkward with the dance but the NATIVE is patient and guides her through the steps.

During their scene, the Street Ballet continues with various members of the ensemble occasionally tossing interjections into the dialogue.

The Street Ballet is a recurring theme I hope to use in the piece—something that can be modified to indicate time/place, if needed.
---
(1) "Under the seeming disorder of the old city, wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvelous order for maintaining the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city. It is a complex order. Its essence is intricacy of sidewalk use, bringing with it a constant succession of eyes. This order is all composed of movement and change, and although it is life, not art, we may fancifully call it the art form of the city and liken it to the dance — not to a simple-minded precision dance with everyone kicking up at the same time, twirling in unison and bowing off en masse, but to an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole. The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any once place is always replete with new improvisations." —Jane Jacobs

Schoolhouse Electric / Ion Lamp

2011-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Excellent vintage styled lamps (and bulbs) from Schoolhouse Electric.

Bye Bye Beardy

2011-09-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

After about a year and a half of cultivating my first full beard, the time came to tame the beast on May 18, 2011. It is believed that it will return again one day.

Jeff Scher & Shay Lynch / September Mourning

2011-09-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

A beautiful and contemplative requiem commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by filmmaker Jeff Scher with music by composer Shay Lynch. (via Nina Frenkel)

Alex Steinweiss / Stop Hate

2011-09-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

Stop Hate poster by the recently departed Alex Steinweiss. I guess the message hasn’t gotten through, yet. (via The Daily Heller)

Our Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe Weekend

2011-09-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

At some point during our Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia, Catherine and I tried to remember when we first came to the Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe. As best we can remember, it was in 2000 when the performance that blew us away was Mark Lord’s promenade performance through the Old City, Across. For me, that piece is indicative of all of our best experiences with this festival: it was epic, imaginative and remarkably daring. I haven’t loved everything I’ve ever seen here but I’ve never been completely disappointed, either, especially with the curated Live Arts events. And almost every festival has at least one production that particularly has inspired and invigorated me, artistically.

This year, all nine of the shows we saw are remarkably strong and several of them are absolutely fantastic. Four in particular are among the best work I’ve seen this year: Method Gun, Twelfth Night, Elephant Room and WHaLE OPTICS. All four productions feature outstanding performances and are imaginatively directed and designed. They are all challenging works: physically demanding of the actors and intellectually stimulating for the audience. With the exception of the Pig Iron show, they all employed modern technology to some degree but their most effective elements are actually fairly low- or old-tech: an overhead projector, the fly system of a theater, traditional sleight of hand, repurposing fabric to create the continent of Antarctica (complete with the Transantarctic mountain range). These productions that remind you of what live performance offers that television and film can't: the incredible energy and emotional impact of being present in the moment with artists at work. Of these, no piece embodies it better than the Rude Mechs' Method Gun (pictured, right): what might easily have been a simple satire about a theatrical guru transforms in the end into an astonishing illustration of the power of actors onstage and the potential danger into which they continually put themselves.

Other highlights this year:

• Mary Tuomanen and Genevieve Perrier, who give delightful (and vocally strong) performances in A Paper Garden. It's a charming, cleverly-constructed little production in a lovely garden. I especially admired their cross-gender casting choice—it's a tricky thing to make work and Ms. Tuomanen and director Aaron Cromie succeeded very well.
• James Sugg in Twelfth Night (pictured, left). Fantastic: I don't need to see anyone else play Sir Toby Belch for a long time. As far as I'm concerned, we can put this play on a shelf and leave it there a while.
• Rosie Langabeer's music for Twelfth Night: it creates the perfect mood for Pig Iron's show. Plus, since she and her musicians perform it all live and take on several roles, they are a big part of the metatheatrical success of the production.
• David Disbrown and Christina Zani in Headlong Dance Theater's Red Rovers. It's a clever piece but uneven structurally: it works because both performers are engaging and do a great job with the occasionally unusual choreography.
• The pumping station space where Zon-Mai (pictured, right) is presented. The installation, videos and choreography in the piece are all excellent but it was hard to walk into that space and not imagine how it will look once it becomes the new festival headquarters.
• Brian Osborne's channeling of Carl Sagan in WHaLE OPTICS. Not an impersonation, really: just the distilling of the essence of him into his own character. Most memorable.

• Trey Lyford's carefully-crafted performance in Elephant Room. The whole piece is over the top from the beginning but it also has several exceptional moments where the three magicians demonstrate their skills as actors (and all three are very skilled). We're a little prejudiced, of course, but Catherine and I thought Trey's revelatory speech was absolutely beautiful.

By going the first weekend, there are shows that weren't playing yet that we would have liked to see. In particular, Improbable Theatre's The Devil and Mister Punch, New Paradise Laboratory's Extremely Public Displays of Privacy (although we have been seeing the preliminary parts of it on their website) and John Jasperse's Canyon (we have the option to see it at BAM, fortunately) and Play by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Shantala Shivalingappa. But that's always the problem with having only one weekend for this festival—you kind of have to be a resident of Philadelphia to really get everything it has to offer.

Photos (top to bottom): Kathi Kacinski (Method Gun), Jason Frank Rothenberg (Twelfth Night), Awatef Chengal (Zon-Mai).

Anne Bryant Creative / September Desktop Wallpaper

2011-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

The latest, and quite possibly my favorite, in the series of desktop wallpaper calendars illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an excellent set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival: Day 3

2011-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

A full day yesterday and not a bad show in the bunch—I'm almost afraid that the other shoe might drop today. That seems highly unlikely, however, given the two productions we've saved for our last day.

Sunday, September 4

WHaLE OPTICS: Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, 1pm. An enormous production (and long—almost 3 hours) but when your set is the ocean and your piece is about a composer collecting whale songs from around the world, it would be a lot harder to create in a little black box (but if he wanted to do it that way, I think director Thaddeus Phillips is just the guy to make that tiny production work). I expect magic and I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

Elephant Room: Dennis Diamond, Louie Magic and Daryl Hannah, 6pm. We saw a workshop of this show at HERE arts center a few years ago—at that point, it was little more than sketches of the characters and their magic tricks, really. Now it’s finished and I can't wait to see where they've gone—it should be the perfect way for us to end the festival this year!

Hope to get down all of my thoughts on everything we saw on the train back home tonight.... assuming SEPTA has the tracks cleared outside of Trenton from the post-Irene flooding. If they haven't, we're taking Amtrak and that's only a 90-minute ride: not enough time to finish before we hit Penn Station.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival: Day 2

2011-09-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to writing about the shows we saw last night but there's no time: we have four to see today. I'll just say for now that they were both every bit as excellent as I expected.

Saturday, September 3:

A Paper Garden: Aaron Cromie, Mary Tuomanen, and Genevieve Perrier, 1pm. It appears to be a site-specific performance in a garden. And it's only 33 minutes long. We're there.

Zon-Mai: A performed installation, 2pm. This is an enormous multimedia installation by choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkauoi and filmmaker Gilles Delmas in which they have recorded dancers from around the world performing in their own homes. It’s being presented in a former pumping station near the new Race Street Pier park (which is also the space that will be the future home of the Live Arts Festival).

Red Rovers: Headlong Dance Theater and Chris Doyle, 4pm. Another artistic hybrid of dance and installation, this one was inspired by the Mars rovers, silent films and vintage Donkey Kong. Wouldn’t miss it for this or any other world!

Max Frisch’s The Arsonist (The Firebugs): The Idopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, 7:30pm. If I’m reading this right, it’s a play performed as a silent movie based on a 1958 animated film. It might be brilliant, it might just be a good idea… Only one way to find out….

And then: we have 35 minutes to cover 14 blocks. We should be able to walk it… assuming that the 7:30 show starts on time and is 80 minutes long, as it is advertised. Otherwise, we’re taking a cab…

The Speed of Surprise: The Groundswell Players, 9:30pm. The main attraction of this play for us is that it is directed by Charlotte Ford—an artist whose work we’ve long been interested in seeing but always seem to miss (the problem with having to do the entire festival in one weekend—not everything we want to see is playing). The description of this piece begins, "Four intergalactic assassins zoom through the void." If the rest of the evening lives up to that sentence, I think we'll have a good time.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival 2011

2011-09-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

We're back in Philadelphia for the Live Arts Festival. This year, we're here for the first weekend of the festival: today through Sunday, September 4. As we did in 2009, we've crammed as many shows as we possibly can into our three days; we originally bought tickets for 10 shows but the last one we were planning to see on Sunday has since been canceled and we haven't decided if we're going to try to replace it or just head back to NYC a little earlier. I think we've chosen a pretty nice mix of theater, performance, dance and installation and I'm really looking forward to the weekend.

TONIGHT: Friday, September 2:

Twelfth Night: Pig Iron Theatre, 7pm. I don't think we've ever missed Pig Iron in the Live Arts Festival—the performances are always amazing and the production is usually one of our favorites. While I wasn't wild about their take on Measure for Measure in 2007, I have high expectations for this show... and, frankly, only Pig Iron could get me to break my moratorium on productions of Twelfth Night!

The Method Gun: Rude Mechanicals, 10pm. Another company whose work we've enjoyed many times in the past—their Lipstick Traces is still among the best shows I've seen. This purports to be another "non-fiction" work based on the disappearance of a 1960s era acting guru and her dangerous Approach method of acting. I don't care whether a word of it is true or not—I missed it when it was here in NYC and I get to see it now!

I had intended to put forward our entire agenda but after a miserable trip down on the train (the first less than stellar time in over a dozen years of taking the regional rails down here—and all Hurricane Irene-related), I ran out of time. Will post the rest of the weekend tomorrow or later tonight and my impressions of the shows when I get back to NYC (unless I get a wild hair....).

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter Record Release Poster

2011-08-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

My screenprinted poster for the release of the Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter record, Marble Son, featuring an antlered image of Jesse with the luster of champagne gold metallic ink on a rich black paper. Available for sale on the band’s U.S. tour, and through the Ohiowa Goods shop.

Milton Glaser / Dylan Poster

2011-08-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

One of the cool clerks down at Portland’s Everyday Music made my day a couple weekends ago when he gave me this sweet Milton Glaser poster, that originally came packaged with Bob Dylan’s 1967 Greatest Hits LP. Which reminds me, I need to add the film Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight to my viewing queue.

Micah Lexier / A to B

2011-08-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

I’m a bit of an odds-and-ends collector myself, so I have a distinct appreciation for the sort of deliberate curation of curiosities (and themed art) by Micah Lexier in his A to B exhibit at Toronto’s MKG127 gallery from last year. [via Sight Unseen]

Sarah Illenberger / 3D Illustration

2011-08-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Some brilliant work by artist/illustrator Sarah Illenberger. Look for her first monograph coming soon from Gestalten. [via Sight Unseen]

Urubbu Cards & Prints

2011-08-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

I recently came across some Urubbu cards at Seattle’s Frye Art Museum gift shop. I’m not sure who is behind them, but I love their stylized graphic simplicity.

The Best Part / Summer Nostalgia Screenprints

2011-07-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Jason Dean of The Best Part has a sweet new series of perfectly simple, summer nostalgia screenprints for sale. One look at my own set of self-produced screenprints and you know I’m a sucker for this sort of colorful, pop-art minimalism, especially as it relates to the ubiquitous.

Anne Bryant Creative / July Desktop Wallpaper

2011-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Better late, than never! I’ve been so busy lately, that I just realized I never posted the latest in the series of desktop wallpaper calendars illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop.

Amy Ruppel / State Prints

2011-07-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Nice affordable state prints of Washington and Oregon by Portland artist Amy Ruppel. Available via her Etsy shop.

The Ancient Book of Sex & Science

2011-07-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Love the illustrations I’ve seen from this racy side-project, The Ancient Book of Sex & Science, by Pixar animators/illustrators— Scott Morse, Nate Wragg, Lou Romano, and Don Shank (be forewarned about getting sucked into each of these guy’s sites). Looks like the book came out a couple years ago, but I may just have to try and snag a used copy before they’re gone! [via Brain Pickings]

Ian Johnson / Herbie Hancock

2011-07-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

I dig this portrait of Herbie Hancock by the artist Ian Johnson from a two-person show, Last Time It Was Gray, featuring the work of  Ian and Sadie Barnette that opened recently at the Park Life Gallery in San Francisco and runs thru August 14th.

IBKC / Humane Society Fundraiser & Art Auction

2011-07-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked by my good friend Laurie, who runs the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee, if I’d be willing to contribute a couple of prints to the IBKC Fundraiser for the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County. As usual I’m a bit behind the curve, but the bidding began yesterday on the two prints (pictured here) featuring the dearly departed Drewey, and our own two four-legged, fuzzy children, Otis and Ella. You can bid on the prints here and here, and read more about the fundraiser, as well as get an overdose of cuteness, at The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. There’s lots more great kitty related art to bid on, too, so check it out, and it’s all for a great cause!

Purpose & Co. / 2011 Georgetown Garden Walk Poster

2011-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

The recently completed poster by Purpose & Co. (yours truly) for the annual Georgetown Garden Walk, which is coming up this Sunday, July 10th from 10am to 5pm. It’s free, always a lot of fun, and very inspiring! You can read more about the event and organizer, my good friend and former neighbor, Jon Dove in this great little article by The Seattle Times.

Brock Davis / Clever Idea Hoarder

2011-06-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Brock Davis is one of those guys that seems to have hoarded all the good, clever ideas, . . . not leaving a whole heck of a lot for the rest of us. Also be sure to check out his Flickr stream and also his kid’s tees. [via my friend Laurie]

Bianca Chang / Paper Artist

2011-06-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

Some excellent cut paper design work by Australia based paper artist, Bianca Chang.

Inaluxe / Paintings, Prints & Textiles

2011-06-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

I recently came across these beautiful pieces by Australia based Inaluxe (artists Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd) available as prints via their Big Cartel online shop.

Paul Rand: A Designer’s Words by Steven Heller

2011-06-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

Paul Rand: A Designer’s Words, the iconic 1998 book by Steven Heller, now available as a free PDF. [via @suttonhoo & @brainpicker]

Joon&Jung / The Natural Speaker

2011-06-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Love these beautiful and unique, limited edition hand-crafted porcelain speakers from Netherlands based design studio, Joon&Jung. My birthday is coming up! [via @Proton22]

Paul Rogers / USPS Jazz Stamp

2011-06-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife just brought home a sheet of these awesome jazz stamps by Pasadena based illustrator, Paul Rogers. Check out the excellent post about his design process here.

Jillian Tamaki / Illustration

2011-06-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

Stunning illustration (& embroidery) work by Brooklyn based illustrator, Jillian Tamaki. [via nestify]

Ryan Todd / Circle, Triangle, Square  Screenprint

2011-06-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

I dig this limited edition screen print by London based artist and designer, Ryan Todd. [via Grain Edit]

Maya Lin on Making

2011-06-03T03:33:00.000-07:00

Anne Bryant Creative / June Desktop Wallpaper

2011-05-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites in the series of desktop wallpaper calendars illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Be a good egg and buy a set for your chick!

Kim Hiorthøy on Titles

2011-05-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

Peter P. Plasencia / Jules Verne Book Illustrations

2011-05-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

Beautifully executed gouache illustrations by Peter P. Plasencia for the 1964 book, Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future by Franz Born. I recently came across these images posted on the vast Flickr archive of a fine illustrator in his own right, Ward Jenkins. So much to see!

Poolga / Art for Mobile Devices

2011-05-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Love this Nick Cave portrait by illustrator & designer, Carla Fuentes of Little is Drawing. Just one of the many new excellent wallpapers for your mobile devices, created by a broad range of artists and illustrators and available for free through Poolga.

Valero Doval / Collage

2011-05-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

Beautiful collage work by Spanish artist Valero Doval. [via Grain Edit]

Ishac Bertran / Generative Photography

2011-05-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Some excellent experimental photography work by Ishac Bertran, in which digital drawings are sequentially projected on a screen in a dark room and photographed using long exposure times. [via The Strange Attractor]

Tim Gough / Uncontrollable Urge

2011-05-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Excellent gouache and ink work by Philadelphia based illustrator Tim Gough from his solo show, Uncontrollable Urge. Also be sure to check out the rest of his inspiring archive of work, including screenprints and t-shirts. [via The Strange Attractor]

Michelle Muldrow / Cathedrals of Desire

2011-05-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Cathedrals of Desire is a series of beautifully executed paintings of big-box store interiors by artist Michelle Muldrow, addressing the vast American consumer landscape in much the same way as a traditional landscape artist would approach a wildflower meadow. [via 20x200]

Anne Bryant Creative / May Desktop Wallpaper

2011-05-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

The latest desktop wallpaper calendar illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Buy a set for yourself and get your goat!

Asger Carlsen

2011-04-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

Interesting work by artist Asger Carlsen, as he takes on the classic theme of the female nude in the series, Hester, and questions truth, authenticity and gullibility in the series, Wrong. [via my friend Sean Miller]

Walter Potter Anthropomorphic Dioramas

2011-04-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Fascinating (& creepy) Victorian era dioramas featuring stuffed animals mimicking human life of the time, by English taxidermist Walter Potter. [via David Byrne’s Journal]

Was it Worth It?

2011-04-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

I received a comment on my previous post that Sleep No More is worth every penny and I have to agree—it was every bit as excellent as the show in Boston. It's well-performed and beautifully designed and directed. As I'd hoped I would, I even managed to find some scenes I'd missed the first time.

While Catherine and I were able to stay together throughout the Boston event, we were immediately separated here: we were split up into different groups by playing cards that we drew at the beginning of the evening and my group entered before hers. As in Boston, we were given masks that we had to wear throughout the event. By accident, the elevator dropped me off very near to the Ball Room—a central location for the big scenes in the production—so I was able to associate the other spaces on that floor in relation to it; as anyone who has seen the show will tell you, that information is incredibly useful. The first scene that I saw was Duncan in his chamber, preparing for bed—a scene I'd thoroughly enjoyed in Boston. I didn't experience the incredible tension in the scene that I had before—and not just because I knew what was coming: I'd known that then, of course. More likely, I think it took me a little while to stop comparing this production to the previous one and allow myself to be immersed in what was happening around me.

The installations on the upper floors of the space (there are five) are amazingly well-designed and the more labyrinthine space in Chelsea makes the exploration of the rooms more complicated which actually makes it more enjoyable (the architecture of the Boston school building defined that event as each floor was, essentially, a series of rooms off a central hallway). The audience on the night we attended were incredibly bold—I saw many more people rummaging through drawers and closests and leafing through the documents left on desktops. The performers all do an excellent job—I was especially glad I got to be in the room with the witches as they prophesied to Macbeth his coming triumphs and his ultimate fate: it was a frenzy of strobe lighting, athletic dancing and terrifyingly erotic imagery. I'm pretty sure it was in this place that I got hit with the drop of blood I found on my mask at the end of the evening.

We had gone to see the show with a group of our theater friends, none of whom had the seen the show before. The discussions in the restaurant afterward were among the more enthusiastic and excited that I've had in a long time. We'd all seen the same show and yet so many of our descriptions were interrupted by a disappointed cry of, "Oh, I missed that!" from one of the others.

The show has been extended through June 25 so if you have the opportunity (and the scratch), I'd definitely recommend seeing it.

Photo: Yaniv Schulman

Robert Montgomery

2011-04-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Inspiring work by artist Robert Montgomery, in which he hi-jacks advertising space for his thought provoking, poetic installations. [via Things Collection]

You can also read an interesting interview with him here.

David Weeks / Wooden Animals

2011-04-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Excellent and affordable, sustainable wooden animals from New York-based David Weeks Studio.

Gidon Bing / The Selby Studio Visit

2011-04-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

An inspiring look at the studio of Auckland, New Zealand based painter and sculptor Gidon Bing via The Selby.

Marius Roosendaal

2011-04-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Some beautiful eye candy from Netherlands based designer Marius Roosendaal. [via Grain Edit]

Anne Bryant Creative / April Desktop Wallpaper

2011-04-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

April has definitely got the jump on me. Here we are nearly half way through the month and I’m just posting the April desktop wallpaper calendar illustrated by my lovely wife Anne. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Buy a set for yourself or your honey!

Di Liu / Animal Regulation Series

2011-04-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

Interesting photo series by Chinese photographer, Di Liu. [via DesignBoom]

Anthony Burrill / You Know More Than You Think You Do

2011-03-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

Another fine letterpress poster by UK based designer Anthony Burrill, printed on 100% recycled paper using traditional woodblock printing techniques. You may remember his excellent work from this previous post.

Sleep No More NYC: April 8 at 7pm

2011-03-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

I was flattered to see that the press page for Sleep No More has a link to the Interlude. I don't think they're going to link to this post, however, because I'm going to complain a little bit: I had a hard time biting the bullet and spending $75 each for our tickets. Obviously, Catherine and I decided that it's ultimately worth the price because we ponied up to see a show that, in essence, we've already seen. Now, this is a commercial production—unlike the one in Boston, presented by American Repertory Theater—and I recognize that the producers, Emursive Productions, are not in business to lose money. They clearly believe this to be a reasonable price because, unlike many Broadway and commercial Off Broadway shows, I have yet to see any offer for discounted tickets; and based on the number of sold out shows on their ticketing page, they aren't wrong.

To be fair, I have no idea what the costs for the show are—I know they're enormous because it's a huge production and nothing comes cheap in Manhattan. Even with donated materials for some of the installation, the producers said in this New York Times article that their expenses are "in the millions of dollars." However, a lot of my friends in the theater and performance community, who would gladly have paid $30-$50 for tickets, ultimately decided that $75 was just too rich for them. That's a shame because a company as innovative and adventurous as Punchdrunk shouldn't be financially inaccessible to New York's artists. I hope that success with this production will entice one of the larger non-profits to bring the company back with something a little more affordable to more people.

Photo by Thom Kaine

Laurie Cinotto / Making Paper Flowers

2011-03-25T03:33:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! So happy for my very talented friend Laurie as her awesome craft book Making Paper Flowers lands on the shelves of Barnes & Noble stores across the US today! The book comes complete with all the materials you need to make nine sensational blossoms. Check out the great little stop-motion film she made above for a taste of how brilliant it/she is. By the way, she can make them that quick in real time!

You can order signed copies from Laurie herself via her excellent art & craft blog or pick up unsigned copies online or in person at your local Barnes & Noble store. They’ll make a great gift for Easter or Mother’s Day!

Mugi Takei / I Waited A Long Time For You

2011-03-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

I Waited A Long Time For You is an exhibit featuring over one hundred beautiful, engaging (as well as very affordable) drawings by Seattle based artist Mugi Takei showing at Seattle’s Cullom Gallery. Also, not to be missed, is a small space screening some of Mugi’s poetic hand drawn animation pieces. The show has been extended through Saturday, April 30, 2011 and the gallery will also host a closing party with the artist, Saturday, April 30, from 6 to 8 pm.

Tonight (Thursday, March 24, at 7 pm) in partnership with Seattle’s 2nd Annual Small Press Festival, Cullom Gallery hosts a reading, Natural Verges: Poets on Visual Art, which will feature poetry and prose by Mugi Takei, Meredith Clark (known for her Ballard Farmer’s Market Poem Store), Debra di Blasi (Publisher-in-Chief of Seattle’s Jaded Ibis), and Lisa Radon (whose writings and reviews on the nexus of visual art and writing appear at lisaradon.com). This event is one of several in the month-long, 2nd Annual Small Press Festival, organized by Seattle’s Pilot Books owner, Summer Robinson. Readings are hosted by nine Seattle venues throughout the month including Elliott Bay Books and Richard Hugo House. Complete details of the festival can be found here.

Ian Albinson / A Brief History of Title Design

2011-03-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

A Brief History of Title Design is a nice run through of some of the best film (and television) title sequences in the history of the medium, edited by Ian Albinson, editor-in-chief of the The Art of the Title Sequence, an excellent blog that analyzes video clips of notable title sequences from film and television.

Christopher Gray / Pyramid of Skulls

2011-03-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Love this graphic poster by the multi-talented, UK based Christopher Gray. You can see more of his poster work here. [via Grain Edit]

Scenes From The Tsunami

2011-03-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

Work by Japanese illustrator Tatsuro Kiuchi, from the NY Times Op-Art feature Scenes From the Tsunami. Visit his site for more information about his fundraiser for the Red Cross.

Head Light Hotel / Zoo Animal Screen Prints

2011-03-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

A collection of four excellent, and very reasonable priced, screen prints based on mid-century Eastern European matchboxes, redrawn and printed by Providence’s Head Light Hotel and available via Tiny Showcase. These would look great in a kid’s room! Interested in seeing more beautiful Eastern European matchbox label artwork, check out this previous AI post from 2009.

PressPausePlay

2011-03-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

PressPausePlay looks to be an interesting film, which premiered last week at SXSW in Austin.
From the film’s website: “The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunities. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity?
This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.” [via @nickvegas of GreyScaleGorilla]

Dan Mountford / Double Exposures

2011-03-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Some beautiful double exposure images captured in camera by Brighton University Graphic Design student, Dan Mountford, only using Photoshop for color correction. [via Grain Edit]

The Best Part / Moon Diamond Print

2011-03-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

A cool new Moon Diamond Print available for purchase from Florida based Jason Dean/The Best Part.

Anne Bryant Creative / March Desktop Wallpaper

2011-03-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

I’m proud to present the latest desktop wallpaper calendar beautifully illustrated by my lovely wife Anne for the month of March. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Buy a set for yourself or the modern homesteader in your life!

Martin Wilson / Photo Sequences

2011-02-28T03:33:00.000-08:00

Some playful photo sequences, created frame by frame, in sequence, and in camera using 35mm film, by UK based photographer, Martin Wilson. As he states on his website, “Each work usually takes months to complete, as each frame is obsessively taken in sequence. No pasting together after the event, no cheating in Photoshop! If I make a mistake or take a frame out of place I start the film again from the beginning.”

Adam Voorhes / Photography

2011-02-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

Some beautiful still life photography from Austin based, commercial photographer Adam Voorhes. It was his exploded view photography that originally caught my eye. [via Sight Unseen]

Tim Lahan / Trademark™

2011-02-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

Trademark™ is the studio of the creatively prolific New York based artist and designer Tim Lahan, who seems to be up for pretty much anything, experimenting with a range of styles, materials and formats, all with a good sense of humor. Love those gif animations! [via Grain Edit]

Peter Mendelsund / Kafka Book Covers

2011-02-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

I love this set of book jackets for the works of Franz Kafka designed by Peter Mendelsund and scheduled for release through Alfred A. Knopf this summer. [via FontShop News]

Fifty and Fifty

2011-02-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Some excellent design and illustration work from the curated project, Fifty and Fifty, in which fifty designers (one from each state) illustrate their state motto, “creating something steeped in history but completely modern and unique: a kind of designer’s atlas.” A new piece will be posted every weekday until all fifty states are represented. [via Grain Edit]

George Bernard Shaw on Art

2011-02-09T03:33:00.000-08:00

[via Wall of Sound]

Frater / Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

Year of the Rabbit is a beautifully illustrated animated short by London-based Frater (Benji Davies and Jim Field). So nice. [via this isn’t happiness]

Anne Bryant Creative / February Desktop Wallpaper

2011-02-04T03:33:00.000-08:00

I’m a few days late with this, but I’m proud to present the latest desktop wallpaper calendar beautifully illustrated by my lovely wife Anne for the month of February. Created in partnership with blogger Willi Galloway for her excellent gardening/cooking blog DigginFood, each month of 2011 will see the release of a new illustration from the series based around the theme of modern homesteading. You can download them beginning the 25th of each month from DigginFood or the Anne Bryant Creative blog. While there you can also download some free cupcake toppers for your sweetheart. Anne also turned the images from the calendars into an exquisite set of 12 note cards with matching stickers, packaged in a drawstring cotton bag and available through her Etsy shop. Buy a set for yourself or your sweetheart and have a lovely February!

Matthias Hoegg / Thursday

2011-02-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Thursday is a nice little existential animated short film by Matthias Hoegg, recently nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award. Note, you will have to sign in to view it, but it’s worth the effort. [via FILE Magazine]

Tim Navis / Photography

2011-01-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of the beautiful photos by LA based photographer Tim Navis available as very reasonably priced giclée prints from his online shop. [via ISO50]

findel interludio

Raymond Lemstra / Illustration

Elizabeth Graeber / Illustration

Ikkō Narahara / Photography

Das Programm / Dieter Rams & Braun

Sean Pecknold / The Shrine/An Argument

Christopher Hall / Photography

Debbie Powell / Illustration

Saul Bass / Art of the Title Montage

kimber elements / Wearable Sculpture

Sonnenzimmer / Posters

Daido Moriyama

Gregory Ferembach / Canal+ Posters

Always With Honor

Anne Bryant Creative / November Desktop Wallpaper

findel interludio

Jamie Gray / Día de los Modernist Screenprints

Jesse LeDoux / Atmospheric Conditions

Robb Smigielski / Objectivist Advertising Poster Series

Paul Rand / iPhone Wallpapers

John Cage on New Ideas

Division of Labor / New Rules Of Work & Grocery Signs

Eric Cahan / Sky Series

Charles Eames on Changing The World

Will Bryant / Illustration

Sólo una puta

Anne Bryant Creative / October Desktop Calendar

Karl Zahn / Animal Boxes

Cutting Edge / Qiao Xiaoguang & Rhyohei Tanaka

Drug Addiction / 1951 Encyclopedia Britannica Propaganda Film

Manna-Hata: How It May Begin....

Schoolhouse Electric / Ion Lamp

Bye Bye Beardy

Jeff Scher & Shay Lynch / September Mourning

Alex Steinweiss / Stop Hate

Our Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe Weekend

Anne Bryant Creative / September Desktop Wallpaper

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival: Day 3

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival: Day 2

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival 2011

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter Record Release Poster

Milton Glaser / Dylan Poster

Micah Lexier / A to B

Sarah Illenberger / 3D Illustration

Urubbu Cards & Prints

The Best Part / Summer Nostalgia Screenprints

Anne Bryant Creative / July Desktop Wallpaper

Amy Ruppel / State Prints

The Ancient Book of Sex & Science

Ian Johnson / Herbie Hancock

IBKC / Humane Society Fundraiser & Art Auction

Purpose & Co. / 2011 Georgetown Garden Walk Poster

Brock Davis / Clever Idea Hoarder

Bianca Chang / Paper Artist

Inaluxe / Paintings, Prints & Textiles

Paul Rand: A Designer’s Words by Steven Heller

Joon&Jung / The Natural Speaker

Paul Rogers / USPS Jazz Stamp

Jillian Tamaki / Illustration

Ryan Todd / Circle, Triangle, Square Screenprint

Maya Lin on Making

Anne Bryant Creative / June Desktop Wallpaper

Kim Hiorthøy on Titles

Peter P. Plasencia / Jules Verne Book Illustrations

Poolga / Art for Mobile Devices

Valero Doval / Collage

Ishac Bertran / Generative Photography

Tim Gough / Uncontrollable Urge

Michelle Muldrow / Cathedrals of Desire

Anne Bryant Creative / May Desktop Wallpaper

Asger Carlsen

Walter Potter Anthropomorphic Dioramas

Was it Worth It?

Robert Montgomery

David Weeks / Wooden Animals

Gidon Bing / The Selby Studio Visit

Marius Roosendaal

Anne Bryant Creative / April Desktop Wallpaper

Di Liu / Animal Regulation Series

Anthony Burrill / You Know More Than You Think You Do

Division of Labor / New Rules  Of  Work & Grocery Signs

Ryan Todd / Circle, Triangle, Square  Screenprint