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Posted by RL Tillman on October 21st, 2009 |  Christian Marclay’s untitled music box, $650
For twenty years, eager little boys & girls have waited restlessly on Christmas Eve, hoping for a visit from Jolly Ol’ Computer Entrepeneur Peter Norton. Since 1988, Norton has mailed commissioned art editions instead of Christmas cards. Previously, these gifts were only available to the lucky luminaries on Norton’s list. This year, the MoMA Store will sell leftovers selected editions donated by Norton. Proceeds will benefit P.S.1. Prices range from $50 to $6200 for the “Complete MoMA Set.”
Lorna Simpson’s III (Three Wishbones in a Wooden Box) ,$350
All the objects will be on view at MoMA Books, or you can click here for a catalogue. The sale starts October 28. So do your shopping early this year, or you may miss out. (via)
Posted by Jason Urban on June 5th, 2009 | 
Another gem from British artist/designer Daniel Eatock. He has an amazing ability to transform the utterly simple into the profound (and funny). You can read a list of his guiding principles here.
Posted by Jason Urban on February 15th, 2009 | This is something I’ve been meaning to add for a few weeks now. It’s somewhat tangential to printmaking but will likely have broader ramifications on the future definition of “print”. We’ve been talking about the death of the printing industry but I think there is a flip side to that as well… new technologies that offer new possibilities. Speaking of Darwin, we can look to him for the key: adaptation.
There have been a few posts at printeresting on the subject of 3-D printers (see here and here). RepRap is an open source 3-D printer project started by Dr. Adrian Bowyer and a team of engineers at the University of Bath in England. One of Bowyer’s ultimate goals with RepRap is to make a machine that can self-replicate. He named the first RepRap model Darwin and his reasoning is as follows…
Since childhood I have wanted to make a replicating machine, but the genesis of RepRap was my realisation that, in order to succeed, such a machine would have to live and to evolve symbiotically with people.
But which symbiosis to copy biomimetically? I decided upon the one between the flowers and the insects. I reasoned: why not make a machine that needs the help of people to reproduce, just as the clover needs the bee to carry its pollen? And why not have the machine make goods for the people to reward them for their help, just as the clover makes nectar to reward the bee? Such a machine should prosper with Darwinian stablity alongside its human collaborators.
This seems to be a kind of scientific “chicken or the egg” situation and has generated some seriously heated dialogue. Here’s an example of the strong case against the likelihood of machine self-replication. The debate is fascinating even if somewhat dizzying. Regardless of the potential for self-replication, this kind of technology really blows the lid off the potential for desktop publishing and could put another nail in the coffin of supply-side economic theory.
It seems very possible that in the future, artists will be “printing” more sculpture than two-dimensional works on paper.
Posted by Jason Urban on January 17th, 2009 | Who hasn’t spent a little money on kitschy souvenirs sold at tourist destinations? Is there a better reminder of your trip to the Eiffel Tower than a three-inch die cast Eiffel Tower pencil sharpener? There’s a need to remember and sometimes an object helps- even if it is a piece of junk.
Now that we’ve broached the previously untouchable subject of Obamagraphics fatigue, I’ll share this item that managed to break through the waves of bamakitsch* and catch my waning attention. Something that actually felt kind of refreshing. Boym Partners Inc are a husband and wife design team based in NYC and they been taking their cue from the kind of souvenir kitsch mentioned above. Their site offers a variety of design objects available for purchase and also has a blog that’s worth the occasional visit- Oh Boym!
In my opinion, the Boyms have made the best of the various Obama commemorative merchandise- a small blue resin White House in an edition of 1000. It’s billed as a presidential inauguration souvenir. It’s simple and powerful and the bright blue speaks to a hopeful, pop sensibility.
 The Obama White House, Blue Resin, 4″x3″1 1/2″, 2009.
This piece is a bit of a departure from the Boyms’ usual fare. Prior to The Obama White House, the Boyms were well-known for creating Buildings of Disaster- a series of iconic modern disaster keepsakes.
The subjects range from Chernobyl and Three Mile Island (pictured above) to the Oklahoma City Federal Building and Ford’s Theatre and all are cast in gray resin. Not too surprisingly, these objects have been met with some controversy. Though the statues themselves are quite minimal and (I think) tasteful, the question of appropriateness lingers. Perhaps because tragic locations like the New Orleans Superdome get the same treatment as the obviously less tragic Neverland Ranch? Watch the video for some response to the series…
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.771424&w=425&h=350&fv=]
“BUILDINGS OF DISASTER”, posted with vodpod
* Bamakitsch- I’d like to introduce this new term into the conversation.
Posted by Jason Urban on December 8th, 2008 | The Thing Quarterly received some NY Times love this weekend…
Amze mentioned The Thing in his Print Week post awhile back (in fact, it tied for Best of Show). This past weekend, Jamie Gross at The Times Style Magazine gives our favorite quarterly, periodical-ish object the spotlight in the Holiday 2008 issue. At $140 for a one-year subscription, it’s a real bargain for that extra-special, limited-edition-art-multiple-lover on your x-mas shopping list.
THE THING is a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers are invited by the editors (Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan) to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. This object will be reproduced and hand wrapped at a wrapping party and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service.
 Collating The Thing
Here’s another link to a story from the LA Times. Press, sweet Press.
Please thank Adele Henderson for bringing this to our attention by visiting her website!
Posted by Jason Urban on October 28th, 2008 | 
If someone had told me at the beginning of last week that I’d be doing three consecutive, breakfast-related posts, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I guess stranger things have happend. So here’s my third and (I think) best breakfast post…
Cerealart has been on the scene for quite a few years now producing high-quality artist multiples. Whether or not the name rings a bell, you’re probably familiar with some of their projects- maybe the Marcel Dzama action figures or the Allan McCollum “Thanks” bars. Cerealart has been a pioneer in terms of rethinking the relationship of art and commerce… taking artists whose work would normally be priced beyond the average person’s means and finding ways to create interesting (and often affordable) objects that exist in a limited edition.
Located in Philadelphia’s Old City, their gallery/office on Third Street is really worth a visit. The staff is extremely friendly and willing to take a break from business to share info about their artists and projects. The space is mixed use which adds to the overall experience. Rather than a cold, white-walled gallery, evidence of working and planning mingles freely with the finished products.
There are no shortage of noteworthy pieces to spotlight at Cerealart but since Taylor McKimens’ plant sculptures were in the front window, they get the nod. Each sculpture consists of handcut inkjet prints that are assembled with wire, wood, and glue. McKimens’ striking visual style and the strange relationship of two and three dimensions is reminiscent of Red Grooms. My first encounter with McKimens was in the book Hidden Track: How Visual Culture is Going Places but I’ve been seeing his name regularly since then. Looking at these wierd and engaging plant sculpture/multiples, it’s no surprise why.
Oh. And in case you’re wondering about the name “cerealart,” here’s a quick explanation from thier site…
We wanted to find a name that symbolized art multiples and ran across the term ‘serial art’in a Warhol catalog. It sounded a little sinister, like a serial killer so to lighten it up my son Max threw the homonym at us. Also, the cerealart.com domain was available which is so important to business today.
Posted by RL Tillman on August 19th, 2008 | I like to think of Allan McCollum as the Bizarro-Printmaker. Now, this isn’t just flimsy chatter about comic books (although I love flimsy chatter about comic books). Rather, it’s a carefully reasoned assessment of the artist’s work. Heck, the case is made by the work itself:
(images and text from the artist’s website)
Over Ten Thousand Individual Works, 1987/88.
Enamel on cast Hydrocal, each unique.
Drawings, 1989-93.
Pencil on museum board, each unique.
The Shapes Project, 2005-present.
A large quantity of unique shapes, one for every person on the planet.
This last project has deservedly received a lot of attention. McCollum has created a system for the producing “a large quantity of unique shapes, one for every person on the planet when the world population peaks in the middle of the twenty-first century.” He pointedly explains that this is not a ‘generative’ system accomplished by programming or scripting; it is a system by which he can individually create unique forms (in Illustrator), and monitor these forms in order to prevent repetition. The system has been designed so that a successor can complete the work, since McCollum will inevitably die before the project is finished.
Repetition, Originality, Exchange, Commodity: McCollum explores many issues that are of interest to contemporary printmakers, but through a cracked mirror. Does this explain why the artist’s actual multiples somehow fail to satisfy?
Check out Visible Markers (1997) and More Visible Markers in Twelve Exciting Colors (2000), each produced by I.C. Editions. The former piece involves the word “THANKS” embossed into a simple form, cast in concrete in an array of vivid colors; the latter is similar. Despite the hefty materiality of these objects, McCollum considers the work to be an art action of sorts, in the sense of “exchanging thanks,” or even “giving thanks.” The forms are produced in unlimited editions (although availability of Visible Markers is “limited,” and the newer edition is “sold out”).
Despite the quantities involved, and despite the beauty of the objects, neither edition packs the punch of McCollum’s other work. Formally, his art often impresses because the labors involved are self-evidently enormous, yet the presentation is breezy; he makes the whole thing seem easy. To be fair, the multiples explore exchange more than originality. If his overall creative objectives are not precisely the same, perhaps these pieces shouldn’t be judged by the same formal criteria. Still, somehow McCollum’s usual sense of scale is lost, to the detriment of the work.
…Having said that, my birthday’s comin’ up and Visible Markers would look great on my mantle.
Posted by Jason Urban on July 12th, 2008 |  Photo credit: Andrea Sohler or John Marburg photography Berlin
While doing some research on potential printeresting mascots, I stumbled across this phenomenal piece by German artist Ottmar Hörl. Using the power of the multiple, Hörl’s sculpture/installations are expansive. This particular work, The Large Piece of Rabbit, replicates in three dimensions Dürer’s famous watercolor/gouache drawing, A Young Hare. Hörl installed the piece in Nuremburg’s Old Town in 2003 to celebrate the Dürer drawing’s 500th anniversary. In case you’re wondering, there was no explanation for the color choice.
Below is a Google-translated (yikes!) excerpt from the press release:
That “classic” in the art is not necessarily an equally dusty as elitist matter for experts, but also inspiration and vitality in the here and now mean – that has the Nuremberg rabbit birthday last year proved. On the occasion of the anniversary 500ten by Albrecht Dürer’s famous painting “A young hare” had Sebalder in the Old Town and an art festival celebrated for the nationwide uproar in the sketches provided. Of course, Nuremberg’s most famous son again this year 500 years ago a genius String delivered. And because the celebrations must, as they fall, committing Nuremberg in the coming August anniversary of Dürer’s “great lawn”.
And a little more:
The idea of the serial also has a major strategic advantage: “The original rabbit hangs in the Albertina in Vienna,” says Hörl, “once again be the Nuremberg her rabbit not stolen. If one or other of my rabbits to Tokyo or San Francisco Go this makes nothing. There are still plenty of rabbits in Nuremberg. “ Excellent idea: Rabbit and Hedgehog exchange roles. Whoever in the future the Nuremberg her favorite animal but does not, will the wundlaufen hoes, and where he also nachschaut just that: the hare is always already there.
I think we can all agree with that sentiment- the hare is always already there.
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 27th, 2008 | 
After a multi-week hiatus, DIY FRIDAY is back. This week we’re highlighting the Latte-Printer (pictured in action above).
For those who don’t know, not only does such a thing as latte art exist, apparently it is thriving. While there aren’t any solid numbers of exactly how many “artists” focus on the medium of coffee, with estimates for the total number of coffeehouses in the United States alone being 1 for every 14,000 Americans, it’s safe to say there are probably quite a few. Think of latte art as the coffee equivalent to “plating”- points for presentation. Baristas create designs in one of two ways: free-pouring which is like freehand drawing with milk or etching where the design is drawn after the milk has been poured.
Noticing the growing popularity in latte art, inventor Oleksiy Pikalo saw a different solution to the problem. On his website, Pikalo offers up how-to directions for his Latte-Printer. It utilizes an old plotter and edible ink. His directions are pretty vague and seem way beyond the novice level but a motivated printmaker can figure out the details, right? Finally, editionable coffee. The latte-printer would definitely make a great addition to any printshop.
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