Category Archives: Illustration Industry

Uglycon 3 at Giant Robot New York tomorrow!

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uglycon!

Giant Robot is proud to host the third annual Uglydoll convention at GRNY.

In 2001, Sun-Min Kim (Parsons Illustration Alum) turned a drawing on the bottom of letters from David Horvath (Parsons Illustration Alum) into a hand-sewn doll. It was Wage, the first Uglydoll ever. After David brought the piece to the newly opened Giant Robot store, it evolved into a toy with a rabid following – selling out at shops around the world, appearing in movies, creating spin-offs, spawning bootlegs, and inspiring a new wave of stuffed plushes.

This year’s art show offerings will include original paintings by Sun-Min, black-and-white drawings by David, and print-and-drawing sets from Uglycon Tokyo. Also available for purchase will be rare toys such as test samples from past lines, signed prototypes, and “test shots” of kaiju figures.

In the tradition of the first two Uglycons, there will be costume contest in which fans are asked to dress up as their favorite Uglydoll. Winners chosen by David and Sun-Min will receive a bounty of prizes.

And there will be even more, including a sneak peek at a never-before-seen Uglydoll for 2009.

The first two Uglycons caused an online buzz and attracted fans from around the country and overseas. We expect the New York occasion to be even bigger. To facilitate demand and eliminate uncomfortable lineups, raffle tickets for making purchases will be handed out beginning at 12:00 noon. Starting at 3:00, these tickets will be drawn to determine the order of sales.

The opening reception will begin tomorrow at 12:00 noon on Saturday, December 6.

December 6 – January 7, 2008
Reception: Saturday, December 6, 12:00 noon
Giant Robot Gallery
437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A
in the East Village
New York, New York 10009
(212) 674-GRNY (4769) | grny.net

Job Posting: Assistant Professor in Illustration

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The School of Art, Media and Technology (AMT) at Parsons The New School for Design is seeking applicants for a full-time renewable term appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in Illustration starting Fall 2009. Successful applicants must hold terminal degrees in their respective fields and/or equivalent professional standing, and must demonstrate a strong record of excellence in teaching and scholarship/creative work. This position is dependent on budget approval from the Office of the Provost.

The successful candidate for this position will be an illustrator who has a deep knowledge and interest in the history of the field, as well as its present manifestations, and who has a demonstrable background in teaching visual thinking and technique and has experience in a variety of areas in the illustration field. This individual will teach independently and as a member of teams in core illustration seminars and studios; will be an instructor and/or coordinator of special collaborative projects with the for-profit and non-profit sectors; will work closely with the School’s leadership to define and implement the illustration department¹s mission across its curriculum; will develop and assist in the implementation of new curriculum; will facilitate and enhance connections and relationships between and among other disciplines within the School for Art, Media and Technology at Parsons and the New School University; and will strengthen connections and relationships among sophomore, junior and senior level curricula.

This individual will also take part in a team that will develop graduate programs in Illustration. Through an immersion in technical expertise, processes, aesthetic considerations and proactive social engagement, Parsons¹ Illustration cultivates the technical skills and intellectual habits essential to imaginatively explore and responsibly integrate the swiftly expanding roles of a successful professional Illustrator.

For requirements and application deadlines, go to the official job listing and submit your resume!

21st Annual Indie and Small Press Book Fair this weekend!

comics, Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, Talks/Lectures, , , ,

book-fair

Celebrate publishing’s independent spirit with over 100 indie publishers from around the world, all under one roof, selling books you can’t get at your big box bookstore. The Indie and Small Press Book Fair is one of New York City’s favorite annual literary events. It’s free, open to all, and packed with an exciting line-up of public events. Full event schedule and exhibitor list can be found here.

Bonus: In addition to all the wonderful wares and events, Illustration Alum and Faculty member R. Sikoryak will be giving a lecture on Saturday, December 6th, 2 p.m. Here are the details:

Masterpiece Comics: A Slide Show with R. Sikoryak

Comic book artist and Parsons instructor R. Sikoryak presents literature as seen through the cartoon medium. His slideshow explores the intersection of “high art” literature and “low art” comic strips as seen in the works by cartoonists who have adapted classic novels and plays. Sikoryak (whose own work includes adaptations of Dostoyevsky and Emily Bronte) discusses the history of these reinterpretations with images from over ninety years of comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels.

21st Annual Indie and Small Press Book Fair
Hosted by the New York Center for Independent Publishing
Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7
General Society Building
20 W. 44th St.
New York, NY

Check out the official website here.

Good luck, Bob!

Quick Hit: Neil Swaab working on Superjail!

Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , ,

superjail

Parsons Illustration Part-time Faculty Neil Swaab was one of four character layout artists who created and drew the characters and key poses in the 10 episode season of Superjail, which officially premiered in late September.  Superjail was created by Christy Karacas, Steve Warbrick, and Ben Gruber and animated by the talented staff at Augenblick Studios.

Congratulations, Neil!

Follow-up: Picturing Politics Symposium

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Check out some highlights from this past weekend’s “Picturing Politics” symposium, hosted by Parsons Illustration and the Politics department of the New School for Social Research.  You can see more images here.  Our thanks to everyone who participated and attended!

Transfluence–Carol Peligian at MOBIA

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not-now-ever

Illustration Part-time faculty member Carol Peligian has a show up at the Museum of Biblical Art called Transfluence.  Here’s the official description:

Transfluence brings together familiar visual forms – paintings, drawings, and sculpture – to concentrate on a subject beyond our experience. Two- and three-dimensional images pose questions essential to an inquiry that crosses cultures, on the nature of grace. They appear to reference forms we know, yet when juxtaposed, intertwined, or fully melded with their opposites, each is not neutralized but intensified, and a new order is indicated. Is what we see corporeal or spiritual; actual or evanescent; beautiful or terrible; a whisper, a touch, or an irrestistible, consuming force? The effects of time and transformation are both implied and directly evident in the images, as external and inherent color and light change as we observe, and as figure and ground vie for dominance. We are unsure if the implied time is measured in milliseconds or millennia, or if the transformations will lead to successful outcomes or dead ends. The surface of each art work reflects its viewers, and it is our recognition and questioning of the elements present that create meaning, as a conscientious observation of natural forms will do. But are these natural forms, or are nature and our experience only the beginning? What will the inquiry do to us in terms of time and transformation, and what can we discover of grace, within and without?

Transfluence is on view through January 18, 2009. There will be a “Meet the Artist” event this week on Thursday, November 20th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  
Congratulations to Carol!
Museum of Biblical Art 
1865 Broadway at 61st Street
New York, NY 10023-7505
Telephone: 212-408-1500
Email: info@mobia.org

Last Minute: New York Stereoscopic Society 3D Comics Night!

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sikoryak
New York Stereoscopic Society 3D Comics Night
Wednesday, November 19, 7 pm
Mick Andreano, Jerry Marks, Joe Pedoto — 3D Comics and Moral Corruption
Haft Auditorium, Fashion Institute of Technology
Enter C Building Lobby on 27th street between 7th and 8th Avenues
FREE and open to the public!
 
3D PROJECTIONS and live readings by:
Michael Kupperman — “Hercules vs. Zeus”
Kim Deitch — “It’s 4D!”
R. Sikoryak — “The Lost Treasure of the 3D!” (Parsons Illustration Alum and Faculty!)
Jason Little  — “The Abduction Announcement”
Get more information and pictures at either the official website or on Facebook.

Jillian and Mariko Tamaki’s Skim honored!

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skim

In addition to being nominated for an Ignatz Award, Skim, a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and her cousin, Parsons Illustration Part-time Faculty member, Jillian Tamaki was named last week as one of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2008.  See Skim and the other books recognized in this slideshow.  The book was also reviewed in the Times.  Here’s a snippet:

The black and white pictures by Jillian Tamaki, Mariko’s cousin, create a nuanced, three-dimensional portrait of Skim, conveying a great deal of information often without the help of the text. The book’s most striking use of purely visual communication occurs in a lush and lovely double-page tableau of Skim and Ms. Archer exchanging a kiss in the woods that leaves the reader (and maybe even the participants) wondering who kissed whom. In another sequence, Skim and Ms. Archer sip tea without ever making eye contact, the pictures and minimal text communicating the uncomfortable emotional charge in the room and the two characters’ difficulty in knowing what to say to each other.

Tamaki’s palette often becomes noticeably darker or lighter to signal a change in mood. Various night scenes communicate Skim’s depression, her unhappy moon-face isolated in fields of inky black, streetlights casting long, lonely shadows. In contrast, Tamaki sets the outdoor memorial service for the dead boyfriend on a frozen winter field, the participants drawn in lightly, almost as if they’re ghosts, the snowy backdrop and blank white balloons (shown caught on bare winter trees) conveying absence and emptiness.

Read the rest of the review here and pick up your copy of Skim here.skim frame

Congratulations to Jillian and Mariko on their tremendous accomplishments!

Quick Hit: Nicholas Blechman and Max Bode at SI

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nblechman

Lecture: Art Directing and Illustrating
with Nicholas Blechman and Max Bode
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Society of Illustrators

Nicholas Blechman, Art Director for The New York Times Book Review and Max Bode, Art Director for The New Yorker, will discuss the pros and cons of illustrating and art directing, their different approaches, how the editorial field works in relation to illustration, how it’s changed over the decades, upcoming trends and illustration vs.photography.

Begins at 6:30pm.
$15 non-members, $10 members, $7 students.
RSVP via email or call 212-838-2560.

[illustration by Nicholas Blechman]