Drawing Session 3

Figure Drawing Week 3

Videos worth watching.

On my way to work, I often switch my iphone to it's ipod function and get lost in the worlds of my eclectic (often inconsistently varied) music. This morning, I did something I usually don't do, which is take advantage of my video viewing capabilitie For the first time in a while, I was watching music videos. It was rare for reasons very obvious: The lack of Music Television *fuck you MTV*. The lack of creativity in most of the video world. And most importantly, the lack of respect for said videos that are made with creativity and beauty *fuck you mtv music video awards*.

In that experience, I thought i'd take advantage of the world wide web and share some music videos that have either inspired me visually, inspired me creatively, or inspired me emotionally. I may be updating this post throughout the day, as I may remember some that are essential. Please feel free to post your personal Favorites, as i'd love to see.. Also feel free to add some commentary and reasoning. I feel as though showing some love for video work is very important.

LAZ's Picks:

'Try' by Nelly Furtado
Directed by Gerald Eaton, Brian West



This Video was really one of the first time that a music video hit me so hard on every level (emotionally, visually, creatively) that it brought me to tears. The cinematography is so beautiful and the storyline compliments the song's folk sound and pacing. I truly love this video and it's worth a major look.


'Freetime' by Kenna



A really nicely done video, it's hilarious and works to really utilize the kinetic energy of the song.



'Not Ready to Make Nice' by Dixie Chicks



This video reminds me a lot of the stylistic choices of Nelly Furtado's 'Try'. The video has a simplistic edge and utilizes iconic and almost theatrical visuals and sets to bring the messages to the forefront without overshadowing the emotional aspects of the song. Another beautifully shot video.


'Unsent' by Alanis Morissette



I feel as though not many videos can successfully have a constant storyline with subtitled dialogue. This video works in ways that are even surprising to me. I can read the subtitles, listen to the song, and watch the stories and still get them all perfectly. The filmed story compliments the tone and heartaches amazingly and the last silent dialogue is heartwrenching and surprisingly effective.


'Fidelity' by Regina Spektor



Another visually stunning narrative that takes the flow of the song and really gives expressive quality. It's a song that can be both sad and fun, and the video takes that into consideration and runs with it. It's one video that makes me smile by the end of it everytime without fail. :)


'The Nobodies' by Marilyn Manson



I'm a huge fan of just about all of Marilyn Manson's work, both in video and in fine art. His videos have a very artistic approach and a very dark visual stimulation that I connect with very well. He's great at using iconography and peice mealed looks that come together very organically and emotionally. It hurts looking at some of his stuff but in the best way I can understand. He's a walking art and this video just about rocks on all levels.


'Doctor Blind' & 'Our Hell' by Emily Haines





Just watch them. You'll FEEL what I mean when they are done. Nuff Said.

COMA

As some of you already know, my next pet project will be a small graphic novel. I've been dying to dabble in the comic book world since I was 0 years old and really feel as though this coming year would be the best time to really tackle it as a side project.

Some of you might be adding to the book, if you think it's something within your liking and time. I'd love if you guys did, as my idea is to really incorporate a wild style fusion into this book.

The book in simplest terms is about a young girl, sabotaged by someone in her immediate circle, who finds herself in the grips of a coma. Not meant to survive the accident planned to put her into the coma, the girl must fight the clock and her way through the depths of her own mind to get back to the real world. Her ultimate mission? To find clues hidden in her past that may answer the mystery behind her impending doom. Along the way, the girl finds out many fascinating, and horrifying things about her past, present, and future. In the real world, the only thing that stands between continual attempts at laying the girl to rest is the aid of a struggling medical student who has a feeling that all may not be as it seems with his patient. In a race to survive, the girl, her unknowing hero, and the complex world inside her mind are moved to epic lengths.

Below are some test covers for the book that i thought i'd try out.

personal favorites

I ran into John Williamson on 23rd St btwn 8th & 9th Ave. I was heading home from a client meeting and he was selling his paintings under a street barricade between the scaffold legs. A table full of little paintings, some with superheroes, some were raunchy porn scenes, some were superheroes doing raunchy porn scenes (he covered a diverse array of topics). There were some that stood out to me so much that I had to get them, I couldn't resist the impulse. They were $15, $20, the most I paid for one was like $32. I lost touch with the guy, though each painting has his cell number behind it and I look at them everyday. I heard he's in the tunnel sometimes between the F,V & 1,2,3 lines on 14th st now. I'm gonna call him to check.

Gunshow Retooled

No one liked the typography on this, all for different reasons. I can understand all arguments but for some reason it feels right to me, and I've grown attached to it because I actually have reasoning for making it the way it is, which I barely ever do. BTW. this is an old illustration that I retooled a bit for my brothers band.

Alumnus Caberetus

I just took a gig for my old high school to do a poster ad for their upcoming, first Alumni Cabaret Benefit show which will later (upon the selection of a direction) become other executions such as playbills, flyers, etc. I had to come up with three concepts, and although it was a really difficult process, I think I got through it and came out with some decent concepts. I ended up with 4 which is 1 less than I assumed.

Any feedback on your personal favorite would be fantastic, just to get an idea from some fresh eyes which is resonating most.

Swoon

Looking through wooster, i found a link to an interview of one my favorite street artists, Swoon. I am not even finished reading the interview and its already inspired the pants off me.

Here is an excerpt.

On Becoming SWOON
My boyfriend at the time was very influential in my work. He was born and raised in Manhattan and we were both in love with the city. He woke up one morning and said to me, “I had this dream last night that you were a tagger and you wrote the name SWOON. We were running from the police and all I could think about was how beautiful your name was.”

Later, when I started doing a lot of work on the street, I remembered the name SWOON from his story. I had also read about a time when a woman would wear corsets so tight that she would pass out. They romanticized it and called it a swoon. It was as if the moment overtook her. But in reality she passed out because she was wearing restrictive fashion. And I thought that it was good that women have evolved to a place where we’re not doing this to ourselves anymore. I look at the word SWOON as a body of work, not as my name. SWOON is not me. I’m not Swoon. SWOON is like a way of thinking. It’s a body of work. It’s a series of interrelating thoughts.

The rest of the interview here
http://swindlemagazine.com/issue04/swoon/

Potato

Kitchen Irish

It ain't easy bein' Italian when ya gotta fight porkja all day.



I think the bloke's got a name now.
He's gonna be called Max Vermillion.

Why?

I like the name.


syndication one day...

Green Tree Frog

I told you to use a nice typeface

In Mother Russia

Bringing back an old dusty photo.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Bored at work, so I drew the madness below.

Step 1

Figure Drawings Week 2

Walls

An amazing exhibition created by agency Nendo

Hold

New Member

Let us all clap and stuff for our newest Partner In Design, Juan Pablo, Aka; Cheto.

Beacon, NY

A pic of Lucía and my mom at a Cafe in Beacon, NY.
Pretty nice little town.

Nude Studies

Napkin Doodle

Doodles while Shal and I were awaiting our food at the Comfort Dinner.

Oh Mummy.

Drawings

Inside

Our Hell

I've been a huge fan of Emily Haines (Best known as the lead of the band Metric) for quite some time, and once I heard she was going for a moodier, simpler album for her first solo release, I was ecstatic. Her first video was amazingly directed and fit the song perfectly. It was graceful, haunting, and lonley. I was very much happy about it, and wondered how, if at all, she was going to follow it up. Today, i recieved my answer. I finally caught the video for her second single release, 'Our Hell'. The video is just jaw droppingly intriguing and i couldn't take my eyes off it once it began. I'd rather see what you guys think. So please comment on your thoughts!

MQC CD Art

Digital, digital, digital. Everything is going digital. As a reaction and an embrace, my band is releasing it's debut EP digitally through all of the various music services, but we are creating a limited physical edition.

My band mate is an excellent draftsman and crafts these intricate line drawings. So for our packaging, we are cutting them up, collaging them and stamping them with a custom stamp of our logo in a burgundy color. It will be labor intensive but we are limiting the edition to 300 and we are going to sell some on CD Baby and we through our forthcoming website. Most of them will be made to order.

Above is my third attempt to translate the collage effect to the black and white printing that will be on the CD itself. This is the reason that I have been missing from the blog lately. Mixing is a serious task and this is the fun stuff at the end of a long dark tunnel of bass.

We get the master Monday or Tuesday. We plan to release The Chinatown EP in late November or early December. Then we get to have a party!

I would love some input on this idea.

Art Symposium @ Parsons 11/10

Sounds interesting. Camille Rose Garcia is going to be there, and I am a big fan of her work. As I am half-convinced, let me know if anyone desires to go.

In any case, this is a very cool poster.

Swimming With Squids

Doodles from while at work.