Jessica Hische on Letterpress

Posted on | September 1, 2010 | No Comments

Jessica Hische is a constant source of typographic inspiration for me and about a million other people around the world. Here she is discussing the refreshing, tactile beauty of letterpress.

Category: Design, Drawing, Paper Art, Typography, Video, Wordage
Tags: alphabet > Jessica Hische > lettering > letterpress > type illustration > Typography

The Stop-Motion Mastery of PES

Posted on | August 30, 2010 | No Comments

If you’ve already seen the short films of PES, you know you’re in for something special when you see his name. If you haven’t, you’re about to meet one of your new favorite stop-motion artists.

Sit back and enjoy the outstanding creativity and production of the amazingly talented PES. Then go check out his other projects. You won’t be disappointed.

Category: Animation, Art, Culture, Design, Video
Tags: PES > Stop Motion > Western Spaghetti

Comic Book Nerds Take to the Streets

Posted on | August 27, 2010 | No Comments

I was recently alerted to the fact that tomorrow, August 28, is the first annual International Read Comics in Public Day. Apparently this exercise in visibility came about when one of the creators of the event said that he reads novels on trains because he is too embarrassed to read comics. A bit of brainstorming, and perhaps a friend-therapy session later, the international event was born.

It’s a pretty straightforward notion: take some time out of your day to go read a comic in public. Coffeeshops, parks, trains, the beach…the specifics are left up to you. But, if you do take part in the action/celebration, and happen to get a photo of you doing what you do, you can send it in to the Read Comics in Public people and (maybe?) get it published on their site, for all the nerds/activists/readers/appreciators to see.

I think that I’ll revisit some of my old Optic Nerves at the coffeeshop. Or maybe crack that new Wonder Woman book that I shelved without reading. Or maybe I’ll go hit the local shop and pick up something new…

See you there.

Category: Art, Culture, Design, Drawing
Tags: comic books > comics > graphic novels > International Read Comics in Public Day

Books and Their Covers

Posted on | August 25, 2010 | No Comments

Some of the people behind Abe Books—which appears to be a used/rare/out of print online megamarket—have come up with a gallery of 50 Iconic Book Covers that they believe would make you stop and stare if you saw them in a window. As they put it, “Most have been around for some decades, some are very famous, some were famous, and a few have been forgotten.”

Some of these I’ve read, some of them are on my to-read list, and some of them I’ve never heard of. I probably would have tossed Gone With the Wind into the mix, but that’s just me.

See the collection here: 50 Iconic Book Covers

Category: Culture, Design, Wordage
Tags: Abe Books > book covers > book jacket design > books

Vulture Crash #1

Posted on | August 23, 2010 | No Comments

Vulture Crash:Culture Out of Context
by Grip Grand (aka Gabe Winogrond)

I bought this chewing gum at one of my local shops. It’s made by Lotte, which I believe is a Korean company. I could look into it further, but as I’ve said before, what kind of blog would this be if I did research?

The gum is intriguing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its colorful packaging. Even though I’m at a total loss to read the wrapper or to determine its contents, my initial reaction is to fall back on the universal law of food packaging–namely, that the product will taste like whatever is pictured on the package (hence, a bottle of ketchup boasts a shiny tomato). By that logic, this gum should taste like one of three things: jingle bells, anthropomorphic cats, or gold anthropomorphic cats. I just had to try it.

Turning over the package, I see one more flavor possibility: wide-eyed little boys! Curiouser and curiouser. Cracking open the seal reveals five fruit-scented sticks, each in a uniquely illustrated sleeve.

I know it’s just a pack of gum, but since I can’t read a word of it, the whole thing unfolds for me like a tiny work of art. “When everyday objects are divorced from their major signifiers, they are rendered more mysterious, and the gap is narrowed between ordinary and extraordinary,” says the former Lit major in the back of my brain. “Shut up, nerd!” says the part that knows better. Sometimes it’s preferable to enjoy things for what they are and not to over-analyze them.

Each inner wrapper presents a new riddle. Is the cat not only a cannibal but also, judging from that pouch, a marsupial, too? Why can’t the puzzled little boy tell the difference between a gold ring and an inner tube? How did koala-cat fly his miniature spaceship into the cop’s tea-cup, while also flying a full-size version into the naked girl’s bathtub? And did I mention Go Go Dog?!? Clearly, this is some pretty inspired packaging. But the real question is, how does it taste?

Unwrapping a stick, I find that the gum itself is a pale shade of blue—robin’s egg blue, Tiffany-box blue. Otherwise, it looks (and tastes) a little like red Fruit Stripe. It has an odd combination of bubble-gum and floral notes, with a fructose sweetness I’m unable to place. Blue raspberry? Snozzberry? Most likely the latter.

The finish is more gum than flowers, and the flavor, much like Fruit Stripe’s, dissipates in record time. Just two minutes after it hits my teeth, the stick has gone from fresh to flat, totally devoid of taste. However, it still blows a pretty mean bubble.

In the final analysis, I don’t think I’ll be buying this gum again (unless it’s to collect the colorful inner sleeves). Sadly, it failed to deliver on its promise of golden, cat-like flavors. And what it did deliver disappointed my mouth. Like most products, it’s all looks and no substance. But at least, as looks go, it’s a perfect 10.

Reporting live from the field,
GG

This piece was first published on Grip Grand’s blog.

Category: Culture, Design, Paper Art, Vulture Crash: Culture out of Context
Tags: Gabe Winogrond > Grip Grand > gum > packaging > Vulture Crash

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The Stop-Motion Mastery of PES

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Vulture Crash #1

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