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Posted by Jason Urban on January 30th, 2009 | Friend of Printeresting KVH added a link in the comments section of Back to School that justifies its own post. It’s a creative commons printing video from 1947 that is available through the Prelinger Archives. It’s an impressive ten minutes and forty-one seconds of history.
Looking back at this printing occupational film puts the industry’s current condition into perspective. The narrator ends by saying, “perhaps you will find a place for your tastes and talents in printing, a vocation offering splendid possibilities for your life’s work.” It sounds pretty naive from today’s vantage point. It’s amazing to see what a powerful force the industry once was and the degree to which it’s been diminished.
Posted by RL Tillman on January 29th, 2009 | Beauvais Lyons has collected a Flickr set of litho graining sinks. It is extraordinarily odd and deeply satisfying, even for the non-lithographer. Please enjoy this pirate-themed iteration from Macalaster College:
I’m sure Professor Lyons would appreciate any fresh examples you sent his way.
Posted by RL Tillman on January 28th, 2009 | I don’t know what they’re up to over at Accidental Mysteries. But Printeresting has to give some love to any one who writes:
HOW MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE have I been drawn to the power and beauty of multiples? Too many times—with too few display areas, that’s how many. I have always looked at it this way. If one is wonderful, then two is better and three is awesome so four must be fantastic and five is….well, you get the picture. Only with multiples can you begin to see and appreciate the differences, the similarities and the sublime changes in design.
Alas, Accidental Mysteries thinks of ‘multiples’ a bit differently than we do. But at least we get to see this rad picture of “18 lithographed toy ray guns, 1920s to 1950s.”
And while you’re over there, you might enjoy these antique classroom posters.
Posted by Jason Urban on January 27th, 2009 |
A college where students learn printing?! I’m shocked.
Posted by Jason Urban on January 25th, 2009 | The Future of Law Enforcement.
Some of you may remember that tagline from the sci-fi classic Robocop. Released in 1987 to less than enthusiastic reviews from film critics, Robocop earned itself a diehard cult following among lovers of over the top violence. Though over twenty years old, the film can still pack a theater. Well, specifically, it can pack Texas’ Alamo Cinema Drafthouse. Every month, in addition to showing major studio and indy new releases, the Drafthouse dusts off films from the past to be seen as intended- on the big screen. “So what?,” you say. “Why is this relevant on website dedicated to printmaking?”
Well, in conjunction with these re-releases, the Alamo regularly issues new, hand-screenprinted posters by contemporary illustrators. Here’s an example…
Tyler Stout is the artist behind Alamo’s Robocop poster as well as some other great posters including The Thing (a la John Carpenter), The Lost Boys, Blade Runner, The Road Warrior, and Big Trouble in Little China. On January 22nd Stout put up about 60 of these for sale on his site (I’m not sure on all the details but I know the Alamo also sells some) and they’re already gone! I already spent my January print budget or I would have picked up his Robocop.
While they may not fit the strict description of a “fine art” print (whatever that is), they certainly emphasize the value of the hand-made object. From an aesthetic (not to mention business) point of view, these hand-printed interpretations of old movies are a great idea. They’re like the visual arts equivalent of a well-done cover song… familiar and new at the same time.
Posted by amze on January 22nd, 2009 | 
Recently a friend showed me a collection of handmade books that she had collected in Argentina. The books have a distinctly low-fi feel with cardboard covers, hand-painted titles, photocopied texts and staple bindings. The raw beauty and conservation of materials immediately seduces.
The books are produced by Eloisa Cartonera. This organization seems to be a community oriented, non-profit art collective/recycle center whose mission is to employ the urban cardboard gleaners and publish work by experimental or under-published South and Central American writers. The gleaners, who are often homeless, unemployed families,are paid well-above the going rate for scrap cardboard; their children are paid to paint the covers. And the sale of the books helps to support the project.
Hernando Gómez Salinas goes into great detail (in english and spanish) explaining the history and mission of the organization on his blog, Buenos Aires Spotting (he is also a contributor and copywriter for this interesting site The uncool hunter, “a vanguard in the anti-global no trends”).
Posted by Jason Urban on January 22nd, 2009 | Change is in the air, right? And the streets of San Francisco are experiencing that change already. Well… one street in particular. Laughing Squid reports this tale of inaugural street signage hijinks. Apparently in the early hours of January 20th, a group of concerned citizens took it upon themselves to help the city update their street signs… Bush Street was changed to Obama Street from Presidio to Battery! This is a great example of the creative exuberance that accompanied the day.
 Plenty of pics to see on Flickr.
(Thanks to Matt Rebholz for letting us know about this story.)
Posted by RL Tillman on January 21st, 2009 | 
Seemingly an homage to Fischli & Weiss, this is really just a promotional video for Clustarack. Behind the scenes video here.
Posted by Jason Urban on January 20th, 2009 | 
Spreading the Hope: Terry Gross will be interviewing Shepard Fairey today on Fresh Air from WHYY in Philadelphia. Their site says:
The iconic poster differed from Fairey’s previous work. The image was unusual, Fairey says, because his political art is usually negative.
“I felt that Barack Obama was an unusual candidate, a special candidate, and that it was worth putting my efforts into making something positive,” he told NPR in a Jan. 2009 interview.
Now Fairey is spreading the message of hope again, this time as the official designer of the Obama inauguration poster.
UPDATE: Note that Fairey corrects T.G.- “Get with the times, Terry.”
UPDATE: Did Terry just use the term “shout out”?
UPDATE: Terry strikes back about 17 minutes into the interview. She’s quick to correct Fairey that he isn’t as much an outsider as he would like people to believe. Funny.
Posted by Jason Urban on January 20th, 2009 | …Bamakitsch.
In the spirit of the day, RL, I think there’s enough room for both terms: “Obamaphemera” and “Bamakitsch.” If you think about it, all bamakitsch may be obamaphemera but not all obamaphemera is necessarily bamakitsch, right? Not that anyone should really care either way on a momentous occasion like this one.
Here’s another t-shirt pic from Flickr. It’s no Run DC but it is someone having fun with multiples.
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