Category Archives: Illustration Industry

Picturing Politics

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PICTURING POLITICS
A symposium presented by the Illustration Program, Parsons The New School for Design and The Politics Department, New School for Social Research.

November 15, 2008, 1:00-5:30 P.M.
The New School
Tishman Auditorium
Johnson/Kaplan Hall, 66 WEST 12TH STREET

Illustrative responses to world events, large scale and small, have an effect both visceral and intimate. PICTURING POLITICS explores the current state of political and social visual commentary. The Illustration Program of Parsons The New School for Design and the Politics Department of The New School for Social Research jointly present an afternoon of reflections on the intersection of art and politics.

Guests include Daniel Dayan, leading media and politics analyst and visiting professor in the Department of Politics at the New School for Social Research (Media Events), Steven Heller, author and former New York Times art director (Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State), Professor Joshua Brown, Executive Director, American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, CUNY (Beyond the Lines), Rutu Modan, Eisner award-winning graphic novelist from Israel (Exit Wounds), Peter Kuper, graphic novelist and co-editor of WW 3 magazine (Stop Forgetting to Remember), Steve Brodner, satiric visual commentator (Freedom Fries), Luba Lukova, political poster artist (Social Justice 2008: 12 Posters) and Anton Kannemeyer, South African artist and creator of visual narratives (Bittercomix).

The event will be held at the Tishman Auditorium of The New School, on November 15th, 1-5:30 pm and is free and open to the public. A book signing and refreshments will follow the symposium. Additionally, an exhibition of illustrated covers for Der Spiegel magazine will be on view at Parsons Illustration, 2 West 13th street, 8th floor, from November 14th through November 30th. There will be a reception in honor on November 14th, at 6pm.

[illustration by Guy Billout, Part-time Faculty]

Tara McPherson works in Rome

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Parsons Part-time Faculty Tara McPherson gave us the scoop on an upcoming exhibition of new works called “Inside Nostalgia,” at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome:

I have done 4 large new paintings for this exhibition, and will include a couple small ones as well. These new pieces deal with concepts within the theme of this show; How the dead miss the living and vice versa. These new paintings deal with some much darker subject matter than I usually paint. I had a great time working on them. Please contact the Gallery if you are interested to be put on their wait list to see the paintings.

“Inside Nostalgia”
Tara McPherson
Esao Andrews
Travis Louie
Opening Reception October 31, 2008 8pm
Exhibition Runs October 31 to December 30 2008
Via Nuoro 17 00182
Rome Italy
Tel. +39 06 70161256

[image by Tara Mcpherson, “The Guilt Will Eat You Alive… If You Let It”]

Quick Hit: Social Justice 2008 at AIB

Exhibitions, Illustration Industry, , ,

Internationally recognized, New York based, Bulgarian born, Luba Lukova is one of the most distinctive image-makers working today. She expertly blends human forms and objects to express elemental and universal themes that include love, envy, peace, war, hunger, and ecology. Whether by using an economy of line, color, and text to pinpoint essential themes of the human condition or to succinctly illustrate social commentary, her work is undeniably powerful and thought provoking. The rich simplicity of her images transcends language, culture, and politics.

Lukova will join the Art Institute of Boston’s exhibition schedule this fall with a two-part exhibition utilizing AIB’s Main Gallery in Boston, and the Art Institute of Boston Gallery at University Hall in Porter Square, Cambridge. The exhibits, which will run simultaneously, will highlight work driven by the artists quest for social change, and will feature Lukova’s work on women of the Bible, along with site-specific installations, and her most recent portfolio “Social Justice: 2008”.

Social Justice 2008 & Other Works
Luba Lukova
Through October 18
The Art Institute of Boston Gallery at University Hall
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140

Parsons/Poketo Wallet Jam Results!!

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Through a partnership created with POKETO, Parsons Illustration held a wildly successful wallet jam on Sunday. The six-hour event yielded more than 60 entries for our Poketo competition. Judging of the ever-so-tasty submissions took place the next day with Angie and Ted from Poketo, American Illustration’s Mark Heflin and our own departmental chair, Steven Guarnaccia.

POKETO designs limited edition art products, accessories, apparel and decor, taking art off gallery walls and making it part of everyday life.  Congrats to our winners: Sophia Chang, Stella Jiyeun Lee, Shu Okada, Emmanuel Tavares and Chris Yip! And thanks to everyone who participated!

Repost and Reminder: Politics ’08 Closing Soon

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The Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators presents “Politics ‘08.”  On view through October 4, 2008, the exhibition will showcase the original art from today’s top illustrators surrounding this year’s primaries and general elections. With recent coverage of the debates, a growing awareness in politics has piqued the media’s interest in political illustration and caricature once again, creating an array of important and controversial images. Through magazine websites and artist’s blogs, illustration is bringing Americans together online to discuss the politics of the day, stressing the importance to vote in the upcoming elections. Art from magazines and newspapers of all political affiliations will be represented in this exhibit, allowing artists to express their views on the 2008 election in print and in a variety of new media.

Curated by former Art Director at TIME Magazine, Edel Rodriguez, the exhibition features the work of political illustrators including Steve Brodner, Philip Burke, Tim O’Brien, Hanoch Piven, Stephen Kroninger, Luba Lukova and Barry Blitt. Original art used for print by Rolling Stone, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The New York Observer and the controversial New Yorker cover of Barack and Michelle Obama will be on display along with the printed publications.

In an interview with the Nation, illustrator Steve Brodner explains the importance of political illustration: “They are an important part of the mix. They are a way to encapsulate ideas, to make them clear and find what is compelling. We look for meanings, for passions, for true things. If you can have all these factors working simultaneously, you are a master.”

Politics ’08
On view through October 4th, 2008
Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street
New York, NY 10065
212.838.2560

Repost and Reminder: Beasts! in Movies Competition

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Jitter-Magazine has announced an international illustration competition: Beasts! in Movies.  Here are the details they passed along to us:

Jitter is the only German magazine focusing on illustration, comic art, and animation. Each issue covers a key issue like “drawing”, “music”, “laughter”, “fashion”–the forthcoming issue (October) covers “beasts”. In our categories interview, artist portrait, art show, image+narration, we present illustrators and designers, talk with art directors, publishers, university lecturers, gallery owners; we review comics, dvd, books on illustration, design, animation and fine art and related theory.

The main purpose of jitter is not only to show great artwork and artists but to have a close look at their context. We look on contemporary and historic illustration in regard to philosophy, psychology of perception, semiotics, media theory and art history. We believe that picture making is deeply rooted in mankind and not a thing of modernity or luxury.

Beasts! in Movies Competition
Entry of this competition is free.
Deadline is September 30th, 2008.

Beasts! What would man be without the creature? Whether admiration or contempt, emotion or horror, the ambivalent relationship between man and creature has been the source of countless stories of all cultures.

Seeing himself as creation’s crowning glory, man keeps his distance to nature only to use it as screen for all kinds of desires and fears. Over and over again this has been the reason for movies; whether they aim for a romantic view of a primordial lost world, used at the same time as a metaphor for the innocent of childhood or they aim for the darkest nightmares of an unnameable evil hidden in any unknown terrain — even in our own basement. The fascination of the creature is a never ending source.

All professional illustrators and students of art programs are eligible to enter. Work must be dated after August 2007 and should have beasts who appeared in movies as a theme. These beasts can be real, fantastic, harmless or menacing. The manner of the beast’s demeanor, its appearance alone, in pairs or in masses, as well as the staging of the encounter between human and beast are interesting starting points.

Work must have the size relations 1:2,35 (cinemascope) and be submitted in digital format. Work will be evaluated through a professional jury. All selected work will be showcased in Berlin in an exhibition at a cinema of the Yorck cinema-group. Faber-Castell and Adobe have kindly made available prizes amounting to Euro 3300.

We are especially happy to have a distinguished panel of judges including Armin Abmeier, Publisher (Die Tollen Hefte), GER; Andrew Coningsby, Representative (DebutArt Ltd & The Coningsby Gallery), London GB; Dr. Rolf Giesen, Deutsche Kinemathek Berlin, expert for phantastic film, GER; Steven Guarnaccia, Parsons New School for Design, New York USA; Andrea Offermann, Illustrator, GER; Prof. Albrecht Rissler, Illustrator, GER; Sabine Witkowski,Curator and Cultural Manager, H. Torsten Wolber, Illustrator, GER.

Download an entry form here!  Good luck.

Last Days: AJ Fosik in Paris!

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Parsons Alum AJ Fosik has had his first solo show in Europe up for most of September at Gallery L.J. Beaubourg.  It closes on September 29th, but if you’re in Paris, stop by and see the wonderful collection of “wooden bears. big jaws, and freaky creatures.”  Kanye West even posted images from the show his blog. Way to go, AJ!

Stiff Meat
a solo show by AJ Fosik
On view through September 29th, 2008
Gallery L.J. Beaubourg
23 rue de Renard, 75004 Paris
m Hotel de Ville
01 44 59 27 27

Information session for Make Music New York 2009

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Make Music New York is a music festival like no other. Taking place on a single day, June 21st, last year’s event featured over 3,200 musicians giving 870 free musical performances in every genre, on streets, sidewalks, and parks throughout the City. Performances included 69 punk bands on Governors Island, a NYC Opera and NY Philharmonic block party, Roberta Flack singing with middle school students in Central Park, Bollywood Karaoke, and hundreds more.

Everything is free. Everything is outdoors. Anyone can sign up to make music.

For the last two years, Parsons students have designed the Make Music posters and programs (printed by Metro New York and amNewYork newspapers), the visual elements for Time Out New York’s dedicated MMNY website, and fliers and postcards for some individual concerts. This year, they’re looking for more than just new designs — they want proposals for radically new ways of promoting the event, that fit its outdoor, do-it-yourself, absurdly cheap spirit.

Aaron Friedman, creator and organizer of the festival, will be coming to Parsons next week to present this year’s project, and to show examples of the kinds of design interventions they’re looking for.

Thursday, October 2nd
2 p.m.
Illustration Library
Room 805, 2 W. 13th

We hope to see you all there. This is a tremendous opportunity for innovation, creativity, and publicity!

[Image created by Danielle MacIndoe]