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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 Jason Urban on January 5th, 2009 | This may be the world’s smallest printing press. In the very least, it must be the smallest wearable printing press.
From Ring Leader.
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Posted by Jason Urban on December 15th, 2008 | 
We’ve all watched the graphic arts play an important role in this election. Starting with Shepard Fairey’s first Progress poster, there’s been more creative print energy dedicated to this campaign than probably any other in history. It’s only natural that as Obama shifted from candidate to victor, his image would evolve.
Which brings me to this post’s subject: The Obama Store. It’s not officially a franchise though there may be more than one of them. Located on 11th Street in Austin, TX, my local Obama Store (which is dedicated exclusively to Obama paraphernalia) feels like the culmination of the Barack Obama Graphic Phenomenon as evidenced by pure volume of merchandise. Printed matter holds a special place amongst the average person as commemorative objects and this election has generated an astounding quantity of “relics.”
We could dissect the motivations and implications of this commercial venture but I think I’d rather just share some images. Some of this stuff gets a little tangential to print but it’s worth seeing as part of the larger phenomenon. Follow the page break for a photo-tour. You can also read a little more here.
Posted by Jason Urban on November 10th, 2008 |
Posted by Jason Urban on August 25th, 2008 | As anyone who’s been to a printmaking conference knows, it’s not a scene that would be easily confused with New York Fashion Week. But there are moments when the worlds of fashion and print collide. Case in point, French fashion powerhouse Hermès is paying tribute to Josef Albers in a series of limited edition scarves. Using Albers Homage to the Square series as inspiration, Hermès has created six carrès (silk scarves) in editions of 200. The scarves will be for sale at select Hermès stores for the bargain price of €2,000!
Info regarding the edition came by way of Wallpaper magazine. Surprisingly, the article discusses in some detail the printing process and a new ‘edge to edge’ technique developed especially for the Albers-inspired pieces. Beyond the Wallpaper article itself, neither the Hermes or Albers Foundation websites appear to have additional info.
I’ve heard that Calder’s estate is releasing limited edition jewelry based on his mobiles. And one trip to the MoMA store will show the limitless commercial potential in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. I’m all for blurring the lines between the gallery and the marketplace but isn’t it funny to think that modernism’s greatest legacy might be in the luxury accessory industry?
 MoMA’s three-ply paper cocktail napkins featuring imagery adapted from the art glass windows of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Coonley Playhouse.
Posted by Jason Urban on June 27th, 2008 | 
FLOWmarket is the brainchild of Danish designer Mads Hagstroem.
FLOWmarket is a shop designed to inspire consumers to think, live and consume more holistic. The core of FLOWmarket is the scarcity goods collection where present imbalances from the 3 FLOW dimensions (individual, collective and environmental flow) have been adressed and transformed into physical products. Scarcity goods products in the shape of aesthetically designed (empty) packings with humorous and thought awakening prints that consumers can buy in the venueshops or via the online shop. Further on FLOWmarket collaborate with designers and artists around the globe that fits with our mindset, humour and aestetichs.
Having seen FLOWmarket installed at the 2006 ICFF in NYC, I can say it creates quite an impact. There’s a nice overlap of art and product design. Minimal and whimsical at the same time.
Posted by Jason Urban on June 11th, 2008 | 
Mass-customization is a term/concept that has been in use for a few years now and one that deserves some attention from the print community. Mass-customization put simply “is the large scale production of custom things.” Puma, Nike, Timbuk2 are examples of established brands allowing consumers design input (within a template). CafePress, Zapfab, and Lulu are newer internet companies that allow consumers to custom design products again within a template.
The Zapfab website has two main areas: the Design Catalog and the 3D Customizer. The Design Catalog contains all the designs on the site and is a repository like Google’s 3D warehouse. The 3D Customizer is where the customizing takes place: Each design can be customized in different ways: color, size, pattern, etc. and the 3D Customizer contains simple controls for each of the options. So, once a user has customized a design, she can save it back into the catalog for other people to see. And then they in turn can customize and build on her design.
One could argue that classifying hand-printing processes under “large scale production” is a stretch. That is true to a point but there is potential overlap in terms of approach. Mass-customization provides a different framework for thinking about printing. To put this in a printmaking context, Seattle-based artist Laura Zeck makes customized etchings under the project title Short Stories. Zeck offers a visual lexicon of images that viewer/customers can pick through to create a more personal print. The artist has a series of approximately three-hundred matrixes that can be combined in a nearly infinite number of combinations. The system is the artwork.
This model wouldn’t work for all artists, or even a majority of them, but it opens up interesting possibilities for some. Many of us have made what we consider to be a good print only to edition it and have that edition gather dust. Redefining our notion of “edition” through the filter of mass-customization may provide a more productive alternative.
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