Jessica and Zara’s new shtudio in Lowertown Saint Paul opened for the semi-annual Saint Paul Art Crawl last weekend. Posters were sold. Cookies were munched. More on this as we reflect on the experience…and gather links to the people we want to thank.
Speaking of posters. Shepard Fairey (who has created a number of things including his recent and wildly successful poster for Obama) is at it again and in a way hasn’t strayed far from the hope and change theme. This poster celebrates the Dalai Lama who is a tireless champion for peace and human rights. Currently exiled from Tibet in the face of repression from the government of China (the energies of which might be better spent keeping lead out of toys and formaldehyde out of milk than keeping the Dalai Lama out of Tibet) the Dalai Lama has become a fascinating public figure and a worthy subject for a poster entitled Compassion. Obviously I’m not the only one who thinks so since the 500 prints Shepard made sold out in a matter of hours.
There’s something special about a great poster. It’s not exactly an illustration and yet it isn’t exactly a design either. Brilliant posters are a magical kind of hybrid that appeals to a wide swath of humanity. The truly brilliant ones communicate their intent even when the words on them are in a language that is foreign. So it is with a new series of posters that Simon Page designed for the simple pleasure of it. He chose the International Year of Astronomy (2009) as a foil for exploring his passion for geometric design and came up with eight posters reminiscent of the space race of the 60’s that none the less feel really fresh. My favorite part of the story is that response to his designs has been so overwhelmingly positive and so wide spread that representatives from the IYA2009 actually contacted him and the posters are in production now. Tell me that isn’t what you dream about happening to one of your side projects. Nice work Simon and kudos to the IYA2009 for recognizing a good thing and acting on it.
may sneak peek #3 (and an awfully handsome party)
that’s the poster i designed for our friends ben and jesse over at handsome cycles, purveyors of one of the loveliest bikes on the road, the handsome devil. friday was handsome’s official launch party, so bill and i designed posters to commemorate the occasion and those lovely bikes. (and yes, you are correct, it says “over the river and through the hoods.”)
you had a sneak peek of bill’s poster last week, but here it is again:
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it quotes oscar wilde: “one should either be a work of art of wear a work of art.” both posters will be for sale later this week or early next in the handsome shop, so we’ll be sure to post again when they’re available. we’ll also have better photos, so you can see all the details.
and do those handsome boys know how to throw a party… here we are, obviously having a very good time. and for the rest, check out their cotillion set on flickr.
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Droppin' David Lance Goines on Ya'll
As most of you know I’m not one to name drop. Not because I don’t want people to think I’m cool but because I have a tragic name forgetfulness handicap. However, one name I can’t forget to mention (especially since so many of us love posters as a creative medium) is my good friend David Lance Goines who lives in the center of the civilized world (aka Berkeley, Ca.) and has been creating fabulous posters for about as long as you might expect it would take him to become the erudite fellow he is. You may be familiar with his design for Ravens Wood Winery. The poster for Carducci and Herman Landscape Architects is a favorite of mine and one of my prized possessions. Check out his site, find your own favorites and click on poster thumbnails to see enlargements and lots of great background information. Some of them are even available for purchase.
On Wednesday four of the six of us got together to drink some beer, eat some pizza, and play with sharp objects. The result? A short run of linocut prints now available in our shop.
We made a big mess, got ink all over everything, and decided we should do this once a month or so – we’ll be doing short run prints in between our bigger prints.
There are some more pictures of our evening here.
Here’s a bonus one of an intently working Gordon and slightly less intense Jessica.
On the subject of screenprints
Since we’ve been discussing screenprinting our next batch of prints, I’ve been checking out all sorts of screen prints that are available. Lowercase just put out some new prints that combine screenprinting with one of a kind customization. They’re pretty sweet.