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Posted by RL Tillman on September 2nd, 2010 |  This September Mixed Greens presents a window installation by Scott Kiernan, “CMIKB,” which apparently is structured around Yves Klein’s International Klein Blue and Leap into the Void projects.
Kiernan discovered that [International Klein Blue] is impossible to reproduce digitally. However, the internet provided a wealth of approximations and as a result, Kiernan set out to create IKB in CMYK. He estimated what percentage cyan, magenta, yellow and black actually make up IKB. The result is the three identical images that comprise the window installation—one printed only in cyan, one in magenta, and the other in yellow (there is no black in IKB). Each print uses only the percentage of pigment that IKB would use.
(source)
Posted by RL Tillman on August 31st, 2010 | The Times‘ Arts Section shares a heartwarming tale about Jack Schwartz, President of the Nature Printing Society, who has dedicated himself to the art of gyotaku.
Last year, one fish print even served a humanitarian purpose. Mr. Schwartz was asked by a fourth-grade teacher in Shoreham to memorialize an angel fish, a class pet that died after what Mr. Schwartz called “an overzealous cleaning of the tank.” The children were bereft.
So he made the print and brought it to class. “They were so happy; they gathered around and looked at it and talked about how it looked like the fish,” Mr. Schwartz said. “And that now, they didn’t have to take care of it.”
Posted by RL Tillman on August 30th, 2010 | Two clips from the old Adam West Batman show prove that printing is only good for one thing: CRIME.
In this clip, Bruce Wayne sets up a sting operation, convincing The Joker to print some fake money on his old letterpress. The Joker is posing as a comic book publisher. Bruce says “I chanced to be thumbing through one of the comic books you publish and it struck my eye that the inks you use are identical to the inks used by the United States Treasury.” (what?) The dynamic printing action starts at 3:25.
This next clip features a second-rate villain called “Colonel Gumm” who counterfeits stamps. Just watch the first two minutes:
His henchman’s name is “Reprint”!
Posted by Jason Urban on August 28th, 2010 | 
Some sad news… Stephen Kinsella, the St. Louis-based paper company, will be closing their operation down this September. Their closure is a real loss to the print community and they will be sorely missed by many of us. They are in the process of liquidating their inventory so you may want to get in touch and see if they have anything you need. Here’s a statement they sent…
Stephen Kinsella Paper Company has been providing fine art papers to artists for over 30 years. Regrettably with the economy and competition as they are, we will be closing. Our final day in business is not set, but hope to close mid to late September. We have priced our current inventory of papers for liquidation. For those in or near St. Louis, there will be a warehouse sale on Friday September 3rd from 9am to 4pm.
We would like to let everyone know how much we have appreciated you support. Artists are wonderful customers and people to deal with. All of us at Kinsella have enjoyed sharing our enthusiasm for paper and will miss each and every one of you.
With warmest regards,
SKinc Emeritus
1-800-445-8865
Having bought paper from Kinsella many times in the last ten plus years, I’ve always found them to be a great company to deal with. More than once, they helped me meet a looming deadline by shipping paper out the same day that I placed the order. Hopefully the whole crew at Kinsella will be going on to other rewarding ventures- thanks for thirty years, Stephen Kinsella.
 Continue reading Stephen Kinsella Paper Closing
Posted by amze on August 27th, 2010 |
In a nod to the political posters as a form of public discourse Rome is full of many official and seemingly unsupervised locations to hang them. These poster spots often have a layers and layers of posters in various stages of decay. All of the posters I had a chance to see looked to be slickly produced numbers, probably designed by a particular campaign, candidate or party.
Continue reading Dispatches from Rome: Public Display of Graphics
Posted by Jason Urban on August 26th, 2010 | For those who need a healthy dose of counter culture with their prints, check out the Blotter Barn. Mark McCloud, acid blotter art historian and 60s archivist, has been collecting LSD blotter art for more than thirty-five years. He shares some of his collection on the site and offers prints of the designs for purchase (minus the hallucinogenic effects, of course).
 Gorby, this print depicts a four-way hit that was originally issued circa 1988.
 Black Cats, this print depicts a four-way hit that was originally issued circa 1981.
 The Mighty Quinn, this print depicts a single hit that was originally issued circa 1978
I think this one above is my favorite. So simple but so full of drama and implied narrative. A lone figure stares out into the distance at a boat. Someone could write a novel based on this scene. The design is inspired by the Bob Dylan song but looks like it’s pulled from an issue of Tintin to me.
Oh, and check out the Blotter Barn annex for some interesting images of the pre-press sheets…
 Detail of image.
(Thanks, Luther.)
Posted by amze on August 25th, 2010 | 
A short visual essay on some of the more interesting street graphics seen while wandering through Rome this summer.
Continue reading Dispatches from Rome: Word on the Street(Graphics)
Posted by amze on August 25th, 2010 | 
(Image: Richter and Lipson)
Researchers Hod Lipson and Charlie Richter at Cornell University have developed a tiny flying robot using the principals of insect flight and a 3-d printer. The Pentagon’s Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is no doubt salivating, at this exciting new development. According to the New Scientist, DARPA, “has said it wants a 10-gram aircraft with a 7.5-centimetre wingspan that can explore caves and other hiding places, relaying GPS data and images to base.” That’s right, the next war won’t be televised, it will be printed. More from the New Scientist post:
What’s so special about 3D printers? They make it possible to create complex strutures, such as wings that are warped to improve performance, like the manually curved wings of a paper aeroplane, says Richter. Their printer is capable of producing features just 40 micrometres wide, and thin films just 16 micrometres thick.
The other advantage of printing is speed, says Lipson. Once they have arrived at a new wing design, printing a set takes under an hour.
With the exception of its motor and battery, their latest four-winged creation is almost entirely printed from polyester films stretched over carbon fibre rods, and weighs in at just 3.89 grams – a six-fold weight reduction on their previous version – and capable of hovering untethered for up to 85 seconds.
Via via
Posted by RL Tillman on August 25th, 2010 | A little bird just told me that the Baltimore Museum of Art is hiring a street team of ten “enthusiastic individuals” to “make appearances as Andy Warhol in his iconic fright wig and sunglasses at events throughout the Baltimore area.” PDF of the hiring description here.
Before you audition, you may wish to review some of the great film portrayals of Warhol. For my money, you can’t beat Bowie in Basquiat.
Unless, of course, you count the time Warhol played himself on The Love Boat.
Posted by RL Tillman on August 23rd, 2010 | A UK-based retailer partnered with an artist named Faith Pearson to create a series of dioramas using recycled ink cartridges. You can see more (including Godzilla) here, but this Starship Enterprise is really the best one:
 (via)
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This September Mixed Greens presents a window installation by Scott Kiernan, “CMIKB,” which apparently is structured around Yves Klein’s International Klein Blue and Leap into the Void projects.
