Friday, February 29, 2008
Appolgizes to YourHub.com
YourHub's system, although it initially wouldn't code links, has now nicely coded my two links in my post. I retract my initial rant about it posting sloppy html but stand by my complaints about finding my region and trying to post images. I'm still not going back...
Armory Location
This is where I go to school. But stay away! Anyone who shows up to find me after seeing my location on a blog is a creeeeper.
Dissapointing Experience at YourHub.com
My first experience with YourHub.com was very disappointing. I reformulated a post from this blog about the Obey Obama poster as it seemed the most newsworthy and probably the most interesting to the YourHub community. After beefing up the post in Microsoft Word to meet the 500 word requirement I ventured over to YourHub to register. The first problem came on the homepage when I was trying to get to the Boulder section of YourHub. I selected Colorado from the drop down and as soon I attempted to click away and go to the region selection drop down, I was greeted with a browser generated 'Syntax Error' message. This prohibited me from getting to the Boulder section of YourHub. Only after some tricky back door address shenanigans from our teacher, was the class able to get to the Boulder section. If I hadn't needed to make a post for class I would have left after this initial error and never come back.
Registering was pretty straight forward. Although discomforting for some, I think that the requirement to put in my entire address made sense as YourHub can be a site where controversial content must be traced and controlled. The next problem came when attempting to put image links into my news story. First, I simply copied the blogger image html and on preview noticed that it was not translating to an image. I went back and simplified using the standard 'img src' code. When this did not translate to an image in preview I became very frustrated. I used their recommended 'classic' image uploader that allowed me to write captions and give credit. This system worked alright but the inability to dictate where my images fall in relation to text seemed to be a huge restraint as I believe a key journalistic function of any website should be to carry readers on a textual and image based pathway of your choosing down the page.
The most disappointing problem with YourHub was its inability to translate basic 'a href' links. I wanted to point people to both the NY Times article and the Obey website but was instead greeted with HTML code translated visibly to my post. Whatever YourHub's reasoning is that they don't accommodate basic HTML links, it is unacceptable. The essence of the internet is the ability to link people away from your site to further info. Google sees links to and from sites as a pivotal criteria for a respectable website and hundreds of thousands of publishing systems including Blogger, Wikipedia and nearly all forums respect the ability to dictate linking. Even if YourHub doesn't want you directing people elsewhere they should at least have a system that sees alligator brackets and cancels them from the final posting. This was immensely frustrating, so frustrating that I left the link codes in my post and will never go back unless forced to.
Registering was pretty straight forward. Although discomforting for some, I think that the requirement to put in my entire address made sense as YourHub can be a site where controversial content must be traced and controlled. The next problem came when attempting to put image links into my news story. First, I simply copied the blogger image html and on preview noticed that it was not translating to an image. I went back and simplified using the standard 'img src' code. When this did not translate to an image in preview I became very frustrated. I used their recommended 'classic' image uploader that allowed me to write captions and give credit. This system worked alright but the inability to dictate where my images fall in relation to text seemed to be a huge restraint as I believe a key journalistic function of any website should be to carry readers on a textual and image based pathway of your choosing down the page.
The most disappointing problem with YourHub was its inability to translate basic 'a href' links. I wanted to point people to both the NY Times article and the Obey website but was instead greeted with HTML code translated visibly to my post. Whatever YourHub's reasoning is that they don't accommodate basic HTML links, it is unacceptable. The essence of the internet is the ability to link people away from your site to further info. Google sees links to and from sites as a pivotal criteria for a respectable website and hundreds of thousands of publishing systems including Blogger, Wikipedia and nearly all forums respect the ability to dictate linking. Even if YourHub doesn't want you directing people elsewhere they should at least have a system that sees alligator brackets and cancels them from the final posting. This was immensely frustrating, so frustrating that I left the link codes in my post and will never go back unless forced to.
Loveworn
New York artist and designer Mario Hugo has one of the most impressive and inspiring portfolios in the business. He mixes impressive typography work with a myriad of geometrical, animal and natural forms to create intricate yet balanced schemes.
My favorite of Mario's applications are his distressed dark colors placed on water stain canvases. Much of his work on these backdrops are reminiscent of the works of influential surrealist artist Rene Magritte. They both are technicians of realistic representations of human forms often experimenting with hyperbolic exaggerations of one or two anatomical elements or playing with attaching unrelated objects that bring new life and character to the subjects.
Hugo's for hire freelance skills have been courted by some of the world's most prestigious companies. His clients include Dolce&Gabanna, MTV, Uniqlo and Gas as Interface.
Visit Mario Hugo's website to view more of his works.
My favorite of Mario's applications are his distressed dark colors placed on water stain canvases. Much of his work on these backdrops are reminiscent of the works of influential surrealist artist Rene Magritte. They both are technicians of realistic representations of human forms often experimenting with hyperbolic exaggerations of one or two anatomical elements or playing with attaching unrelated objects that bring new life and character to the subjects.
Hugo's for hire freelance skills have been courted by some of the world's most prestigious companies. His clients include Dolce&Gabanna, MTV, Uniqlo and Gas as Interface.
Visit Mario Hugo's website to view more of his works.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Obey Obama Poster
Influential urban artist, Shepard Fairey, creator of Obey has created a political poster for Barack Obama. Shepard has always been one to take opinionated and public stands on many political issues through his heavily travelled website, public speaking arrangements and to the greatest extent, his artwork. He juxtaposes commentaries on modern social issues with a style that heavily resembles communist propaganda from the middle of last century. This poster though, has probably received as much, or more publicity and attention than any of his other social stances. The 360 posters sold out in less than hour and since, the Obey team and Shepard have had to take legal action for people attempting to resell his prints on EBAY, even after they read a disclaimer explicitly stating that personal profiteering off the poster is prohibited.
The New York Times has profiled the poster and no doubt continued to add significance to what Shepard's poster project means. Some believe that his poster will increase Barack's appeal to young people, the demographic most influenced by Shepard's work. One woman on the NY times comment board expressed her dislike for the poster because it was, "Too reminiscent of the old Communist posters." She continues, "All that’s missing is a hammer and sickle or “Workers of the World, Unite!”
Obama deserves something fresher than this."
It is the cultivated hate for communist ideas and Shepards's style parallel to communist propaganda that makes his work so powerful. His style is one of clean vector representations of social movements, poltiical figures and global commentaries. He is best known for his wheatpaste applications in public places technically considered vandalism but with Shepard's rise in prestige has now been identified as a respectable art form. Shepard will continue to pour his heart and soul into his work, stirring controversy over a myriad of modern issues that face our nation and our globe.
The New York Times has profiled the poster and no doubt continued to add significance to what Shepard's poster project means. Some believe that his poster will increase Barack's appeal to young people, the demographic most influenced by Shepard's work. One woman on the NY times comment board expressed her dislike for the poster because it was, "Too reminiscent of the old Communist posters." She continues, "All that’s missing is a hammer and sickle or “Workers of the World, Unite!”
Obama deserves something fresher than this."
It is the cultivated hate for communist ideas and Shepards's style parallel to communist propaganda that makes his work so powerful. His style is one of clean vector representations of social movements, poltiical figures and global commentaries. He is best known for his wheatpaste applications in public places technically considered vandalism but with Shepard's rise in prestige has now been identified as a respectable art form. Shepard will continue to pour his heart and soul into his work, stirring controversy over a myriad of modern issues that face our nation and our globe.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Jason Thielke
Contemporary art guru and genuine front range bad ass, Jason Thielke, is one of the premiere up and coming modern artists. Like Shepard Fairy, Mark Paul Deren and Banksy, Thielke is on the war trail to produce personal work that stands the test of time and subjectivity to pull thousands upon thousands of dollars to hang on the walls of art enthusiasts.
Being able to make a living doing art is truly the essence of living the dream. Just about any developing artist would give the world to quit their day job and follow the passion of art, and many do. When that day job can be design and expression for the sake of design and expression, void of corporate input is even another level of freedom. As a graphic designer myself I can say that even if I am dressing up a garment, print advertisement or DVD cover for pay, I am proud to feel that everything but the benefactors logo or type is my creation. But Thielke has managed to take his skill to the next level and let his name and his creations stand for themselves.
Jason Thielke observes, documents, and designs urban landscapes and their inhabitants, providing commentary on modern life. Thielke has always been inspired by his surroundings, at times overwhelmed by them. Jason’s strong emotional connection to the built environment and its’ inevitable rise and fall provide the foundation for his growing body of work.
Thielke’s work is linear, layered, dynamic and multi-media in nature. It encompasses both contemporary and traditional techniques much like the architectural design of today. His process of drawing, composing, and eventually transferring images to wood is parallel to the planning, deconstruction and reconstruction phases of urban gentrification.
He works with gel transfers and much of his pieces begin in Illustrator and Photoshop. The gel transfer process is crude and finnicky that is mastered by hours of practice. The imperfections with the gel transfer process when it is applied on the large scale with the detailed intricacy of Thielke's work adds a unique grunge element to some of his final pieces.
More of Thielke's work can be found at his website and a limited series of garments can be found at ABSTRACTmall.com
Being able to make a living doing art is truly the essence of living the dream. Just about any developing artist would give the world to quit their day job and follow the passion of art, and many do. When that day job can be design and expression for the sake of design and expression, void of corporate input is even another level of freedom. As a graphic designer myself I can say that even if I am dressing up a garment, print advertisement or DVD cover for pay, I am proud to feel that everything but the benefactors logo or type is my creation. But Thielke has managed to take his skill to the next level and let his name and his creations stand for themselves.
Jason Thielke observes, documents, and designs urban landscapes and their inhabitants, providing commentary on modern life. Thielke has always been inspired by his surroundings, at times overwhelmed by them. Jason’s strong emotional connection to the built environment and its’ inevitable rise and fall provide the foundation for his growing body of work.
Thielke’s work is linear, layered, dynamic and multi-media in nature. It encompasses both contemporary and traditional techniques much like the architectural design of today. His process of drawing, composing, and eventually transferring images to wood is parallel to the planning, deconstruction and reconstruction phases of urban gentrification.
He works with gel transfers and much of his pieces begin in Illustrator and Photoshop. The gel transfer process is crude and finnicky that is mastered by hours of practice. The imperfections with the gel transfer process when it is applied on the large scale with the detailed intricacy of Thielke's work adds a unique grunge element to some of his final pieces.
More of Thielke's work can be found at his website and a limited series of garments can be found at ABSTRACTmall.com
Friday, February 8, 2008
Behance
A new website called Behance.net is quickly establishing itself as a community for creative professionals. In the sprawling internet landscape social networking sites are everywhere. With MySpace being dragged down by smut cam profiles bombarding the healthy enjoyment of its online neighborhood and Facebook applications cluttering the functional simplicty of its common space sleek networking sites are a breath of fresh air whenever they pop up. Behance is precisely that. Its low impact interface and powerful formatting engine gives users the power to create beautiful and professional portfolios
Behance is currently on an invite only system for contributors which keeps the site free of mediocre content. Visitors are welcome to browse all areas of the site and use the trademark appreciation rating. The genius of Behance is that the invite only system coupled with the legitmacy of behance.com a showcase for activity on the behance.net network has created an exclusive community that the best designers and photographers want to be a part of.
Advertising projects, web page design and product development for the best companies and firms in the world grace Behance.
Behance is currently on an invite only system for contributors which keeps the site free of mediocre content. Visitors are welcome to browse all areas of the site and use the trademark appreciation rating. The genius of Behance is that the invite only system coupled with the legitmacy of behance.com a showcase for activity on the behance.net network has created an exclusive community that the best designers and photographers want to be a part of.
Advertising projects, web page design and product development for the best companies and firms in the world grace Behance.
Friday, February 1, 2008
On The Verge Video Blog
Chapman Film student Sassy Mohen, is taking on an ambitious new video series project based on aspiring females in the entertainment industry. The documentary series will be titled "On The Verge" and will be an experiment in internet video distribution. The "On The Verge" team has joined with aMCinema a subsidiary of Colorado based Art website ABSTRACTmall. ABSTRACTmall will use flash based video blogs to display the multi episode "On The Verge" series.
The series will be a new chapter in ABSTRACTmall's experimentation with internet technologies enhancing the shopping experience of the website as a whole. As a clothing distributor first, ABSTRACTmall is excited to pounce on any opportunity that broadens unique content available on their system. In the fall of 2007, ABSTRACTmall distributed a skiing project, theSPOTL!GHTproject for $.99 a download through their download gateway. "On The Verge" will be free for all visitors but, "this exciting new opportunity to experiment with a periodical video cast series leaves opportunities for us to monetize projects like this so better and better content can become available through this unique service" says Court Rye of ABSTRACTmall. Shooting begins at the end of February and the first episode should be available about a month after that.
The series will be a new chapter in ABSTRACTmall's experimentation with internet technologies enhancing the shopping experience of the website as a whole. As a clothing distributor first, ABSTRACTmall is excited to pounce on any opportunity that broadens unique content available on their system. In the fall of 2007, ABSTRACTmall distributed a skiing project, theSPOTL!GHTproject for $.99 a download through their download gateway. "On The Verge" will be free for all visitors but, "this exciting new opportunity to experiment with a periodical video cast series leaves opportunities for us to monetize projects like this so better and better content can become available through this unique service" says Court Rye of ABSTRACTmall. Shooting begins at the end of February and the first episode should be available about a month after that.
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