Heineken Ad Remix @ 11th + U St.
Seen this poster pasted around DC recently? The image has cropped up all over the city in the past few weeks, with the quote:
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocked fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed”
— President Dwight Eisenhower
The poster brings us back to the real meaning of “innocent bystanders” in Heineken’s coy ad pitch – and illustrates yet again the influence of art in media. That influence, of art and counterculture in mainstream marketing, is what sparked our new Ad/Remix series for eSocialMediaShop.
Got any ideas what’s behind this DC poster campaign, or your own snapshots of remixed ads? Drop a line in the comments!
Street Art Triple Matinee @The Fridge June 5
Saturday, June 5
Hosted by Asad ULTRA Walker
InSPIRATion Art Exhibit at American University
Inspiration Exhibition opened at American University’s Katzen Museum May 8 + runs to June 6th.
Details, show info, and Facebook like buttons are on the Inspiration Exhibition Facebook Page. Favorites by DECOY, and Juan Pineda, are below – but of course they can’t beat a visit to the exhibit. More pics are posted on Flickr.
DECOY: relax, 2010
Juan Pineda, 2010
AU writes: “Programmed by emerging curators in AU’s Arts Management program, “inSPIRATion” is 15 inspirational shows in one, from graffiti art and spoken word, to vanishing photography and junk-clock sculpture … Through a broad range of media and expression, the exhibition explores the origins—and destinations—of inspiration.”
InSPIRATation writes: “What inspires an artist to create? SPIRAT … Spirat takes its letters from the word INSPIRATION, suggesting the “spirit” of a work of art. Where did a piece come from? What inspired the artist to create? … Living in a media-driven, high-speed world, we hope to share a perspective of current issues revolving around the idea of inspiration.
As spirat is taken from inspiration, artists take inspiration from the world around them. They use images and concepts from other people, places, and sources in their own work. This exhibition features the relationships artists have with their own inspirations.”
DCist Exposed: Taking It Up Another Notch
By Flickr user LaTur (click for more)
Guest post by kiramarch.
It’s been a hot event since the very beginning. That first year, we waited in the cramped stairwell forever while an apologetic DCist crew, awed by the turnout, handed out free beer.
That was 2007. This year, even the 5,000-sq-ft Longview Gallery was pushed to the limit. At 6:45, there was a 45-minute wait to get in, and DCist reports a crowd of 1,800 people.
But for me, the headline was the quality of the photos. The first couple years, I dutifully sorted through my photos, got opinions from friends, and submitted my best shots. I remember thinking there were some great photos in the pool, but mine at least stood a chance of getting picked.
Not anymore.
I didn’t make it through the whole exhibit on Saturday (too many people, too many fancy liquor samples), but here are a few I lingered over:
by Flickr user jdmalis (click for more)
By Flickr user Alex Barth (click for more)
By Flickr user michal starghill (click for more)
And here are twists on two classic DC views. The photogs don’t allow me to embed them here, but they are totally worth clicking through for.
- Another really nicely composed snow photo with the flags and the monument
- Fourth of July over the monuments, done so well that it doesn’t matter that the concept is overdone.
Sigh. Maybe photography stardom is out reach for most of us, but at least we get to enjoy some really nice photos at a hoppin’ DC art show. Props to DCist for pulling this one off!
DC’s Best Graffiti of 2009
Graffiti draws a remarkable counterpart to marketing and advertising. Memorable street campaigns take the same creativity, consistency, branding and visibility needed to make marketing work.
Street artists are marketers gone rogue (also a popular theme of the year) – developing and executing creative concepts, many with a specific and often populist tone. Like it or not, the closer you look, the more of a message there is to see in the details of graffiti.
DC represented big in 2009, and themes in our graffiti and street art reflected important, meaningful local issues: problems of homelessness, DC’s non-state status, and few (but expanding) outlets for public art. Check out a full photo set of the year in DC graffiti on Flickr.
These are the freshest names and stand out styles in DC graffiti:
Names Up Everywhere:
JAKE
CHE
MOE
REZIST
PEAR
AERA
DECOY
Click here to see a Flickr photo set of the year in DC graffiti.
Top Creative in DC Graffiti:
Fill: REZIST. (Next: JAKE). REZIST’s fill-ins are always crazy colorful – and legible. Same with JAKE, who tones down the new school funk and maintains a wild style.
Bomb: CHE. (Next: MOE). A close call but easy to pick. MOE may have more tags up, but CHE is mighty close – with bigger fill-ins and better, riskier, more visible spots. MOE tagged Adams Morgan’s mural on DC’s non-state status – an ironic, shady move to deface a message the rest of DC’s graffiti seems to be all about. Watching CHE and MOE get up this year was like watching the good guy vs. the bad guy – and here, the good guy wins.
Spot: JAKE. (Next: CHE). JAKE is up in the undisputedly best spot in DC – in the middle of the Patomac River on Georgetown’s Key Bridge. To hit the spot, JAKE had to either get a boat, or haul gallons of paint and loads of supplies under the bridge span across its huge arcs, starting at several chainlink fences directly next to the US Park Police office. JAKE’s piece is one of the most visible in the District, in a place that’s the antithesis of graffiti – squeaky clean, picture perfect Georgetown. A huge hassle, if not nearly impossible to remove. It epitomizes graffiti in a clean, simple, colorful piece that carries impressive implications in logistics and location.
Stencil: RVLTN. (Next: 51). Stencil images hit the streets of DC to illuminate two big issues in DC: homelessness and political representation. Amidst the toughest economic time in decades, DC slashed funding to social services that help the homeless. Next, the 51 stencil hit corners and street boxes with a simple, clear, concise message: make DC the 51st state – no matter how our vote tips the political scales.
Poster: DECOY (Next: DIABETIK). DECOY covered more DC walls than any other poster artist this year with a distinct style that’s easy to spot. DECOY was part of an awesome cartoon poster campaign in early December at 14th/T (already removed!) along with the next pick: Peeps. All year, poster Peeps popped up all over the place in DC.
Sticker: Crook. This sticker is iconic of everything about graffiti and Washington DC: free speech, politics, corruption and dissent. The sticker’s amazing wit calls attention to the fundamental issues in both graffiti and politics – and common to us all: open access, free speech, expression, opportunity, and equality.
A full photo set of the year in DC’s graffiti is posted on Flickr.
Something missing? Leave a comment and links to pics of your favorite DC graffiti!
New Mural at Bloombars + Photoshop Auto-Collage Trick
DC Commission on Arts & Humanities recently commissioned mural artist Joel Bergner to paint Bloombars – a small community arts space in Columbia Heights, DC. Joel’s mural tells the story of a Felipe, a boy living in the “Favela (shantytown) City of God in Brazil.”
Felipe's Story Mural by Joel Bergner at Bloombars art space in Columbia Heights, DC
The image was created with an easy process in Photoshop, explained by DC-area Adobe guru Richard Harrington of the agency RHED Pixel – in a workshop on Photoshop for Motion Design at the 2009 DC Motion Graphics Festival.
To create the full image, four portrait-aspect (vertical) photos are combined in Photoshop by:
- Add all photos as individual layers to one Photoshop doc + select all layers.
- [click] EDIT >> AUTO-ALIGN LAYERS… (Photoshop will arrange all of the photos).
- [click] EDIT >> AUTO-BLEND LAYERS… (Photoshop will smooth out photo edges).
The process works best with about 40% overlap between single photos when shooting by hand, or by rotating a tripod head about 15° for panoramic or 360° images, according to Harrington.
Harrington’s Photoshop for Video Blog features hundreds more tips on cool tricks in Photoshop, at http://www.photoshopforvideo.com/.
techARTS Halloween Costumes
Halloween hit DC in style at techARTS Halloween Party – with music from the Eighty Eight DC + XCultureTV crews, a touch of decor by Graffiti Research Lab, Artomatic in the sponsorship list, and my newest favorite photographer Vincent Gallegos. Check out his photo set of the night’s costumes at ReadySetDC – including a shot of my rad concept costume “MySpace is Dead.”
techARTS’ Halloween Party is Oct. 31
DC’s top creative crews mix it up this Halloween for techARTS. Part art, part party – an all funky nerd fest poised to blow our minds with killer costumes, cool beats, and a fresh set that’ll keep us alive for Day of the Dead.
Click for details and get your tix at:
http://bit.ly/1a4GsP
Consider techARTS a human mashup experiment. They’ll provide the venue, music and blank slate for you to do the following:
• Meet the brightest minds in tech and the arts in the region.
• Express your passion with opportunities to pimp your work.
• Find collaborators for the stuff you want to bring to life.
• Party like it’s 1999 1989.
DC’s Creative and Technology communities – coming together for a first time in mass to meet, find collaborators and show off their skills. If you push pixels, sling code, trickle paint, create content or belt out beats this is for you. Okay even if you don’t do that stuff – if you’re kinda awesome this is where you want to be. Find info and tickets at http://bit.ly/1a4GsP
“To me everybody has a story … Seeking out the story of other people helps remind us that our lives are not that different…” says a DC youth artist in Latin American Youth Center’s Art + Media House.
This summer, LAYC worked with 45 young DC artists to craft public and personal art projects in media, poetry, mosaic, and graffiti as part of the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program.
Everyday People explores the background of students’ public projects now found all around Columbia Heights: mosaic at 13th + Irving; graffiti murals at Warder + Otis, and audio stories tucked into the neighborhood’s old corner call boxes.
Click here to see a full photo set from Everyday People on Flickr.
Part of creating the projects included media studies in journalism, media literacy + independence, plus print + broadcast production. After the program is over students say they will continue to carry their work.
“We’re thinking about doing graffiti tours” says one student. “It’s something we can do that people might like to see.”
“The art + media house encourages youth to discover the power of their art as a means of self-expression and as a tool for exploring community issues. The creative abilities of youth are developed through hands-on training in media (photography, radio, video, and music production) and fine arts (drawing, painting, mixed media and murals).
Click Art + Media House or visit http://layc-dc.org/.
Dissident Display Sensory Remix at Phillips Collection
Phillips Collection hosts Dissident Display next Thursday, August 20 to present Sensory Remix for Phillips After 5 – the Phillips Collection’s happy-hour answer to Hirshorn’s late night. Video installations and body paint punctuate the exhibit Paint Made Flesh, $12 admission. 
