Atomic Comic Book

Mon 26 May 200303:48 PM

“The Atomic Revolution” is a gorgeous relic from America’s early love affair with its ability to split the atom. A kind of promotional brochure for the wonders of the atomic age that highlights the concepts and history behind what was then a brave new frontier, it was copyrighted in 1957 and has been apparently forgotten until now. The comic book artist Ethan Persoff recently happened across a copy at an estate sale and has kindly published some wonderful scans of its contents on his site.

Ism Schism

Wed 2 Apr 200312:43 PM

“Commodification of Buddhism“ is a group exhibition featuring, among others, my fellow Behavior partner Mimi Young and some guy named Nam June Paik. It opens tomorrow (with a reception this evening) at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and is sponsored in part by The Buddhism Project.

“Taking a fresh approach, Commodification of Buddhism will explore the growing phenomenon of the appropriation of Buddhist symbols and their widespread circulation in the commercial domain…The pervasive spread of Buddhist iconography in the commercial domain indicates the extent to which such images have become detached from their original significance.”

Posterization

Thu 13 Mar 200305:38 PM

Clark MacLeod: “Saigon Poster Art is a growing collection of pictures of hand painted posters found displayed all over Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.” MacLeod has done a good job; it’s a charming little assemblage of street imagery that’s well worth a look.

I remember this kind of advertising/propaganda from my travels in Viet Nam as well as Thailand. It was an uneasy feeling when I came to the realization that the reason these posters were hand-painted and not printed is because human labor is cheaper than technology in that part of the world… and even in attempting to emulate technologies like photography and printing, human labor can produce weirdly beautiful results.

Talk to Me

Wed 2 Oct 200211:44 AM

Last Year’s Model

Fri 23 Aug 200206:33 PM

Found this little stencil graffiti of Elvis next to CBGB’s. Which reminded me of this interesting book from Thames & Hudson.

Old Media in a New Media World

Fri 16 Aug 200202:17 AM

Talkin’ Bots

Mon 12 Aug 200212:53 PM

All-around sharp tack and Behavior-compatriot Christopher Fahey has been interviewed over at Rhizome.org, for whom he is currently toiling away under a grant on a super-cool art project. Also, check out his drop science and his art smarts.

Bollywood or Bust

Wed 31 Jul 200203:48 PM

The design industry could stand to appreciate more than just its American, Western European and Japanese roots. John Manschot brings us a little closer to the Indian sub-continent in his book, “The Art of Bollywood Blockbusters.” The Web site includes some so-so scans that barely do justice to the plethora of exquisitely illustrated posters and videocovers from the world’s largest film industry. Last year I got my hands on a copy of “Thai Graphic Design” by Anake Nawigamune, which is also big, bold and beautiful — impossible to find domestically, but now you have an excuse to visit Thailand.