plural blog

Pipilotti Rist’s new work is very nice.

(link via Flavorwire)

There was a time when being thin was not the American beauty standard. I found printed proof of that long forgotten era on this 1935 advertisement for Ironized Yeast Co. Their promise: “little tablets that deliver health and solid attractive flesh, in a far shorter time!”

What did not change from 1935 to today is the idea that we can take little tablets that deliver beauty-bringing ________(fill in the blank with your beauty standard here) in no time.

Extra points for whoever identifies the typefaces on this advertising.

From the book: All-American Ads 30s (page 501)
Jim Heimann (Author), Steven Heller (Introduction).

Yesterday browsing the UIC print lab, I came across a small book with a cover very familiar to me. I recognized the cover immediately as Paul Rand’s work, and was with no surprise that I found his small signature on the bottom right corner of the front cover.

AD Maazine, February-March 1941 Cover

Although I had seen many images of this particular cover, I had never seen an exemplar in person and holding the book in my hands made me realize how small that publication really was specially for a magazine. It took me a moment to understand that what I was holding was the original AD Magazine from 194!  I thought, for a moment, it might be compilation, a reprint, some sort of multiple of Rand’s 1941 cover. After flipping through the small pages, I found a colophon on page 57! And to my delight, confirmed that the small book in my hands was an original copy of the 1941 publication. By the way, subscription for AD magazine was $1.00 / year (not sure how many issues they distributed per calendar year).

After catching my breath for a moment, I realized that although I had seen the cover many times I never had experienced the back cover that went along with it. And I had no idea of the pages that followed the cover: an incredible essay written by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy about Paul Rand’s work with text and images designed by Rand himself.

AD Maazine, February-March 1941 Back cover

I found some other images and the whole Laszlo Moholy-Nagy essay transcribed at Paul-Rand.com.

Tomokazu Matsuyama via CoolHunter

(via CH)

(presented by Walker Art Center)

Processing.Android: Open Source for Mobile Innovation
UIC Innovation Center
1240 W Harrison St, Chicago, Illinois 60607
October 1st-3rd, 2010

Processing.Android: Open-Source for Mobile Innovation brings together internationally recognized innovators from the open source software community, Chicago based startup companies, and students and academics from the areas of Art and Design, Computer Science, and Information Sciences. Keynote speakers Ben Fry and Casey Reas present the latest edition of Processing targeting Android devices, designed to simplify and streamline prototyping and development for mobile platforms. Processing is used by tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production. Join us for the first public summit to hold Processing.Android workshops, presentations, and panel discussions. The event is free and open to the public. Workshops require prior registration.

Tipoplakat is a new poster initiative started by Nikola Djurek, and Peter Bil’ak of Typotheque. It’s a nice reminder of how the simplest idea can have such interesting and complex results. Simple, effective, and playful typographic posters printed by silk screen and offset.

I remember being blown away when I first saw this issue with all the great work by Build. Flip through the virtual pages. Buy the real pages.

AIGA Chicago
is
presenting
Armin Vit
of
 UnderConsideration

TH
September
16
 2010

at
Morningstar:
22 W
 Washington

5:30pm
Reception
7pm
 Presentation

Registration
here >>>

— via AIGA Chicago

Thursday, September 16, 2010

from R&C: Jacob Ciocci and David Wightman (Extreme Animals, Paper Rad, You Can’t Do That on Television) present a mash-up of live music, video, staged theatrics, and global meltdowns.  They choreograph a disjunctive array of live shredding, extreme feedback, youtube bombardment, ecstatic dance moves, and sunday morning cartoons. Their newest performance delves into the world of tween culture and the current obsession with the infinite hall of mirrors known as “forever young”. Performers sell their soul Paganini-style to become vampires cursed to bleed all over their instruments for all time.

Jacob Ciocci is an artist and current eyebeam fellow notably regarded as one third of the American art collective Paper Rad;  prolific producer of music, installations, websites, and animations. David Wightman is completing a PHD in music composition at UCSD where he is a lecturer of pop music studies. Some of his many music projects include Fortress of Amplitude, Powdered Wigs, and Chariots of Fire. Together Jacob and David form like Voltron in the high-NRG electronic music band Extreme Animals and have toured the country every summer for the past 8 years presenting their music, videos, and art.