Get Out the Vote: AIGA Style

Whether you are gung ho for a particular candidate or can’t wait for Election Day to come and go… the AIGA’s Get Out the Vote project may provide a little extra motivation to, well, get out and vote.


Cast Your Vote by Steven Liska

AIGA, originally known as the American Institute of Graphic Arts, is over a century old and provides professional support, networking possibilities and financial and creative guidance to artists who make a living in graphic design.  Plus AIGA promotes the importance of good design.

Since 1998, their Design for Democracy efforts have helped localities to
design and test ballots;

develop better outreach materials for voters;
and create resources for election officials.
AIGA also sponsors a national, nonpartisan Get Out the Vote poster exhibition.


Get on the Vote Boat by Kip G. Williams

It seems like the best of this year’s entries fall into three main categories.
A lot draw on retro images for a nostalgic look.


Do Your Research by Alyssa Bastien



Quit Mopin' by Nicole K. Glaberman



Turn the Tide by Rachel Follis



Reminder by Jillian Coorey

Some cleverly play with text and the word “vote”.


Vote by Ann Ford



Vote! by Thomas R. Ham

 

National Statement by Zach Norman

 



Be Relevant by Arezo Hariri

Others rethink patriotic or political symbols and colors.


Make America Soar by Shelley A. Miller



Make Your Mark by Elisabeth Hawkins



Vote by Eric R. Fernandez



Stars and Stripes by Dominique Chirinciuc

You can download and print individual posters from AIGA’s website or view the exhibition in person at the National Design Center in New York City.


Butterfly Effect by Vincent Gonzales

The Design Center is located on Fifth Avenue, in the Flat Iron District, and is open to the public Monday-Thursday, 11 am-6 pm, and Friday, 11am-5 pm.  Admission is free. Get Out the Vote runs through November 30.

Building Your Collection: Art Star Philly

In addition to 20x200, there are several online galleries I regularly visit on the hunt for interesting artists.

Art Star is a relatively young, brick-and-mortar gallery devoted to craft and innovative art.  They are open every day, but Mondays, in the Northern Liberties (NoLibs) neighborhood of downtown Philadelphia… just north of Center City.  Art Star often collaborates with other institutions, such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and their Craft Bazaar, held each spring, has grown into a regional event and influenced similar markets throughout the nation.  Art Star also maintains a great website where you can peruse their curated collections of housewares, jewelry, clothing, stationery, and of course, original art.

I discovered Eleanor Grosch and Julianna Swaney, several years ago, through Art Star.

Eleanor Grosch is an artist and illustrator based in Philadelphia.  She has designed everything from concert posters, exhibition materials and book covers to messenger bags, bed linens and Keds.  You can ask her to develop an identity for your new business or a “save-the-date” invite for your special day.

Eleanor worked with the American Museum of Natural History
to create materials for their current Creatures of Light exhibit.

But Eleanor is perhaps best known for her images of animals and birds.  And her work is often compared with bird illustrations by American modernist Charley Harper.

Eleanor's Owl Birches notecard

I’m a big fan of her series from Aesop’s Fables.  These are hand-pulled silkscreens on heavy-duty rag paper.  And while the images may look rather slick here, they definitely have a hand-crafted feel.  The colors are thick but slightly muted and remind me of traditional textiles like Hawaiian sleeping kapa and quilts.  I especially like the intricate, retro-Regency or -Chinoiserie silhouettes she adds to create depth and a sense of movement, transparency and whimsy.

The Crow and Vase

The Fox and Stork

Are the polka dot patterns in her new Australian prints inspired by Aboriginal bark and rock paintings?

Uluru

Eleanor’s silkscreens are signed and numbered and amazingly affordable.  I own two myself and have given two as gifts.

Eleanor's work in my friend's son's nursery.

You can order Eleanor’s greeting cards and mugs from Art Star or shop for original prints, t-shirts and accessories directly from Eleanor.

Gingko Green notecard

Julianna Swaney now lives in Portland, Oregon.  But she grew up in the woods of the Upper Midwest and her art and illustrations seem drawn, literally, from these memories and her own early imaginings of folk stories and fairy tales.

Night Migrations

Wendigo

Delicate, nostalgic and slightly surreal, Julianna’s pen drawings with watercolor are reminiscent of faded, antique embroidery and pressed flowers.  They are like grown-up versions of the pictures of my childhood, especially Garth Williams’ illustrations for the Little House books, Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.


Light in the Woods

Like Eleanor, Julianna does a lot of commission work.  And you can request that she create a logo, sign or specialty announcement for your personal endeavor.  She also reproduces some of her original pieces as giclee prints and postcards.  Original or replicated, her work is reasonably priced to give as presents to others or yourself!

Set of Julianna's "Winter" Postcards

You can purchase Julianna’s card sets, prints and jewelry from Art Star or the same, plus original drawings and wonderfully Victorian brooches, from Julianna’s online shop Oh My Cavalier!

Two Rabbits Necklace from Art Star

Chickadee Brooch with brown, velvet ribbon

Art Star also represents popular artists Kurt Halsey Frederiksen, who usually just goes by Kurt Halsey, Jen Corace and Laura “George” Berger.  If you’re in Philadelphia sometime soon, definitely check out their gallery in person.  But you can visit them electronically any time, any day.

Building Your Collection: 20x200

Chateau

The photograph in Franky and Meridith’s foyer was taken by Jeremy Kohm at the historic Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.  Jeremy’s work often includes images of water, including this iridescent Quarry…

and the monolithic Star Princess gliding out to sea.

But we really loved the slightly cropped, serene image of the old, luxurious swimming pool, which Jeremy admitted he snapped on his wedding day, when he probably should have been focused on other things!  We discovered Jeremy and his work through the online gallery 20x200.

Now, I’m a big believer in supporting creative friends and local artists.  But if you are just initiating your art collection or interested in expanding the scope of your collection, 20x200 is a good place to start.

Jen Bekman, who also runs her own gallery on Spring Street in NYC, established 20x200 just five years ago.  I suppose Jen’s idea was three-fold:

to introduce young, lesser-known artists to a global audience;
to make original art, by both established and up-and-coming artists, affordable enough for all collectors;
and to rethink art as something everyone can enjoy every day in their own homes… instead of art as a commodity or possession of the elite.

20x200 “releases” new work each week, usually one photograph and one print.  Prices run from $24 to $5000, with a huge selection for less than $250.  I should explain that 20x200 is able to keep costs low by only offering prints… museum quality, limited-edition, artist supervised and signed prints, with archival inks on cotton rag paper.  But still they are prints, essentially copies or renditions, as opposed to original prints, such as woodblocks and aquatints, directly created and manipulated by the artist.

Beating the Rug by Ann Toebbe
is a wonderful print based on her original oil painting.

Vogue JUL07:pg 145 (Ripeness is All) by Lauren DiCiocco
is mesmerizing.  Lauren normally works in paint and mixed media.

I think of 20x200 as part of the great tradition of lithographs and printed artistic portfolios that for centuries brought exotic locales, maps and masterpieces to “the masses” before travel and live media were commonplace.  Yes, I am one of the masses!  One of the masses who is interested in learning more about the world, and how creative people think and see things, and of course, how they convey humor and beauty.  Aren’t you?

Photography is one of those fields I am trying to better understand, so it’s great that 20x200 devotes so much energy to photographers at every stage of their careers.  (Plus, without 20x200, most fine art photography would be priced well beyond my means.)

We considered using Dorthe Alstrup's otherworldly
Untitled, Swamp #2 in the foyer.

If you are also interested in photography and will be visiting Central Virginia this week, check out LOOK3: Festival of the Photograph.  The Festival includes workshops, lectures and book signings with internationally-known artists and exhibits at Charlottesville galleries and public spaces.

Several photographers from 20x200 and the Jen Bekman Gallery will be shown during the SHOTS and WORKS events, including
Beth Dow, from her In the Garden series;

Trees, Hidcote

Todd Hido;

#4124, from the series House Hunting

Rachel Hulin;

Globe

Paul Octavious;

Kite Hill

and Cristina de Middel, from her Afronauts series.

Hakuna

Festival workshops start this evening and run through Saturday night.  Most artist talks require a paid ticket or pass, but exhibits are free.  SHOTS and WORKS are projected on a huge outdoor screen at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in downtown Charlottesville, 9 pm until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.  Admission to SHOTS is free, but for some reason, admission to WORKS is $10 a person.

Under Exposed is an exhibition of underwater photographs by David Doubilet,
hanging from trees along Charlottesville's downtown pedestrian mall.

Don't worry.  Even if you miss the events this weekend, Festival exhibits will be on display through the month of June.

Favorite Bird-and-Flower: Imao Keinen

Seeing the scrolls of the Colorful Realm of Living Beings last month reminded me of a group of bird-and-flower prints I really love.  The Kachō Gafu by Imao Keinen was originally created in 1891, almost 140 years after Itō Jakuchū’s first scroll, and is remarkable for its sheer size (over 160 birds are represented) and Imao’s prodigious talent.

Kachō-e or Kachō-ga is the term used for bird-and-flower prints.  Just like the Colorful Realm scrolls, these prints are based on centuries-old Chinese and Japanese artistic traditions that emphasize the divine and transient nature of life.  They feature birds and insects, and sometimes other wildlife, in their natural, if somewhat stylized, environments and trees and flowers blossoming throughout the year.  The art of Kachō-e reached its peak in the late-19^th century.  And many consider Imao’s four albums – one for each season – as the greatest example.

Imao was born in Kyoto in 1845 and began his classical art education at the age of eleven.  His adult life corresponds with the Meiji Period (1868-1912) when Japan transitioned from a shogun-led, feudal society to an emerging, modern world power.  Imao was obviously influenced by both Asian and Western techniques.  And his work includes a Western sense of realism and detail.  But it is important to understand that his Kachō Gafu is not a scientific manual.

Peony and Peking Robin

This blending and juxtaposition of cultures is what interests me about Imao’s art, and I suspect, what inspired subsequent generations of Japanese artists and thrilled collectors and fellow artists around the world.  Slightly later editions of his albums were specifically printed for export.

All the prints featured here are available for sale from Davidson Galleries in Seattle, Washington.  Davidson Galleries specializes in works-on-paper, mainly original prints, both contemporary and antique.  They have a beautiful selection of prints by Asian, Eastern European, Scandinavian and American artists.

From the Spring Album:

Barley, Broad Bean and Skylark

Crabapple and Canary

Daylily and Starling

Jonquil and Chestnut Bunting

From the Summer album:

Tree Peony and Blue and White Flycatcher

Pomegranate and Zebra Finch

East Indian Lotus and Chinese Egret

From the Autumn album:

Japanese Silver Grass, Gentian and Eastern Waxwing

Gingko and Great Spotted Woodpecker

Chrysanthemum and Chestnut Mannikin

From the Winter album:

Lotus and Snipe

Black Pine, Ivy and Woodpecker

Chrysanthemum and Wren

I want to mention… Imao Keinen was a painter and his Kachō Gafu is a collection of woodblock prints.  These prints were crafted through the collaborative effort of Imao, Tanaka Jirokichi who carved the blocks, Miki Jinzaburō and Tanaka Harubei who printed them and Nishimura Sōemon who published the albums.  Imao was a highly-respected artist, revered teacher and avid gardener, and both his art and his life bridged the old and new, from the Ukiyo-e to Shin Hanga, during a time of extreme change in Japan’s political, economic and social structures.

You can also find prints by Imao Keinen from online antique dealers like Prints from Panteek and Fuji Arts.  His original paintings are significantly rarer.