“Beasts! in Movies” Competition

Call for Entries, Competitions, Illustration Industry, , , , ,

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.

Follow-up: Electric Windows Beacon

Follow Up, Illustration Faculty, , , , ,

From the Illustration Inbox: a follow-up about the Electric Windows project sponsored by OPENSPACE gallery (headed by Adjunct Faculty Dan Weise):

WOW! What an amazing project!

With the exception of a little rain here and there the Electric Windows weekend was a huge success! For those of you that missed it or did’nt know about the project check out the wrap-up below:

On the weekend of May 17th, we organized and awesome outdoor painting project with our friends at Beacon Art Supply and Burlock called Electric Windows. It was an amazing 3 day event that brought together 18 artist to create murals for the windows of a 18th Century factory building in Beacon NY. The project was a HUGE success and the pieces will be up on the building for the next year. So if you are in Beacon, definitely come by and check out the building.

You can see pictures from the event here!

Congrats to Dan, OPENSPACE, and all the incredible artists involved in this cool project!  Bonus: check out this great video that Cool Hunting put together about the project:

[brightcove vid=1648122220&exp=1640183789&w=300&h=260]

Work in the Illustration Department!

Current Students, employment, General Info, Interviews, ,

The school year is almost upon us, which means that the Illustration Department is looking for Federal Work-Study students!  This is a great opportunity to work closely with members of the Department and get valuable experience with Photoshop, art installation, and various other exciting areas.  We need people who are reliable, punctual, meticulous, and ready to try new things.  If you have experience and expertise in taking photos, hanging art, working with digital imagery, or website development, you are exactly what we are looking for!

There will be an open interview process on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, August 19th and 20th AND Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, August 26th and 27th.  If you are eligible for Federal Work-Study and are interested in working for us, we invite you to stop by one of these afternoons between 2 and 4 p.m.

Bring a resume and be ready to tell us why you are perfect for the job.  If neither of those dates work for you, make sure you at least email us so we know you are interested in a position.  Working here in the department is a wonderful experience.  It’s a chance to really get involved with departmental events and processe and generally, it’s a great opportunity.

Those dates and times again:

Tuesday, August 19th 2-4 p.m.
Wednesday, August 20th 2-4 p.m.
Tuesday, August 26th 2-4 p.m.
Wednesday, August 27th 2-4 p.m.

Requirements: Current student at Parsons or the New School, a resume, Federal-Work Study eligibility, enthusiasm, high levels of skill, and willingness to learn.

We hope to see you soon!

Quick Hit: Street Artist Swoon goes down the Hudson

Events, Performances, Randomly Intriguing, , , , , ,

Carol Vogel did a quick write-up in the New York Times about Swoon, a street artist who works in Brooklyn and the NYC-area.  Here’s the scoop on an interesting event happening this Friday:

SWOON, the Brooklyn street artist, strikes again, this time along the Hudson River. On Friday she is opening “Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea,” a project involving a fleet of seven boats — raftlike vessels handcrafted from scrap wood and salvaged materials — that will float down the Hudson River from Troy, N.Y., to Deitch Studios in Long Island City, Queens.

Along the way the playwright Lisa D’Amour will give a performance from the decks of the rafts and from the banks of the towns along the river. Swoon is also collaborating with the circus composer Sxip Shirey, as well as a group of Bay Area artists and mechanics who call themselves Kinetic Steam Works and who are dedicated to powering kinetic artwork with steam. A band, Dark Dark Dark (accordion, cello, upright bass and banjo), will perform along the journey too.

Each of Swoon’s rafts uses alternative energy sources, including biofuels and solar power. When the journey ends in Long Island City on Sept. 7, Swoon’s “invented landscape” installations will open to the public at Deitch Studios there.

You can read Gamma Blog’s interview with Swoon here and there’s a list of other articles about her and her work here.

[art by Swoon]

Last Days: “Crocodile Tears” at Giant Robot NY

Events, Exhibitions, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , , , , , , ,

Crocodile Tears: Small Works of Art by Over 50 Artists
GRNY, July 19 – August 13, 2008
Reception: Saturday, July 19, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Giant Robot is proud to present Crocodile Tears: Small Works of Art by Over 50 Artists at the GRNY Gallery.

Following up on 2007’s hugely popular Look Behind You and Snack Isle group shows, Crocodile Tears will feature a large assortment small works that measure 5″ x 7″ or smaller. Each of the over 50 artists (editor’s note: featuring Parsons Illustration alums and faculty!) will be contributing two to five pieces in his or her own eclectic style. Mediums will range from painting to stitching to drawing to sculpture.

Continue reading →

Guy Billout written up at “Lines and Colors”

General Info, Illustration Faculty, , ,

Charley Parker over at Lines and Colors did a great little write-up about longtime Illustration faculty member Guy Billout.  Here’s a taste:

Like all of those artists, Billout excels at that aspect of art that brings us to a refreshingly different point of view on the world. He lays out a a geometric grid of stillness to quite our minds, and then drops a pebble of irony into the pool, allowing it to gently ripple through our unconscious mind until it dawns on us that, indeed, something’s not quite right here; but not quite right in a most delightful way.

You can read the rest of the article here and then find more of Guy’s work at his own website.

[image by Guy Billout from Wired Magazine]

Last Minute: Typhon Book Signing

Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Publications, , , , ,

NYC area comics aficionados are invited to a TYPHON book signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe on Wednesday, August 6th from 6-8PM!  Parsons Illustration Alum R. Sikoryak drew the cover and a story for the collection.  Congratulations, Bob!

Pick up a copy of the brand new, 192 page, full-color comics anthology TYPHON Volume One, and get it signed by these TYPHON contributors:

Gregory Benton
Victor “Bald Eagles” Cayro
Mike Edison
Glenn Head
Danny Hellman
Cliff Mott
Bruno “Hugo” Nadalin
Chris “Steak Mtn” Norris
R. Sikoryak (Illustration Alum and Current Faculty)
Doug Skinner
Matthew Thurber
Motohiko Tokuta

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Jim Hanley’s Universe (Manhattan)
4 West 33rd Street
New York, NY

[illustration by R. Sikoryak]

Repost and Remind: Rory Hayes & “Where Demented Wented”

Events, Publications, , , , ,

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS & DESERT ISLAND present:

WHERE DEMENTED WENTED:
Celebrating the Comics and Art of RORY HAYES

Join us for a book release party and panel discussion featuring:

KIM DEITCH
BILL GRIFFITH
GEOFFREY HAYES
and moderator
DAN NADEL

WHAT: Book Release Party for WHERE DEMENTED WENTED: THE ART AND COMICS OF RORY HAYES, with panel discussion and Q&A

WHO: Dan Nadel, Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith & Geoffrey Hayes

WHERE: DESERT ISLAND • 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY •718.388.5087 

WHEN: Friday, August 8, 7PM (discussion begins at 8PM)

FREE ADMISSION
An exclusive, limited-edition Hayes silkscreen will be available for this event.

The controversial cartoonist Rory Hayes was a self-taught dynamo of the underground comics revolution. Attracting equal parts derision and praise (the latter from the likes of R. Crumb and Bill Griffith), Hayes emerged as comics’ great primitive, drawing horror comics in a genuinely horrifying and hallucinator manner (some have called him the Fletcher Hanks of the underground). He has influenced a generation of cartoonists, from RAW to Fort Thunder and back again.

On Friday, Aug. 8, on what would have been Hayes’ 59th birthday (Hayes died of a drug overdose in 1983), Desert Island and Fantagraphics Books will celebrate the life and art of Rory Hayes with a special evening celebrating the release of WHERE DEMENTED WENTED, the first-ever collection of Hayes’ legendary comics and art.

Editor Dan Nadel (Gary Panter, The Wilco Book) will moderate a discussion of Hayes’ work with three men who knew and worked with Hayes: Kim Deitch (creator of Waldo the Cat), Bill Griffith (creator of Zippy the Pinhead), and Geoffrey Hayes (brother of Rory and author of the recent Benny and Penny from Toon Books).

WHERE DEMENTED WENTED: THE ART AND COMIX OF RORY HAYES is the first retrospective of Hayes’ career ever published, features the best of his underground comics output alongside paintings, covers, and artifacts rarely seen by human eyes—as well as astounding, previously unprinted comics from his teenage years and movie posters for his numerous homemade films. The Art and Comix of Rory Hayes also serves as a biography and critique with a memoir of growing up with Rory by his brother, the illustrator Geoffrey Hayes, and a career-spanning essay by Edward Pouncey (a.k.a. Savage Pencil). Also included is a rare interview with Hayes himself.

This should be a great event and a fantastic book.  Check ’em both out!