Christine's Design Blog

Making something everyday, I am aware, is far from a groundbreaking concept. From Obsessive Consumption to Daily Drop Cap, creative minds are obviously in need of constant stimulation for a plethora of reasons.

Mine? Being fresh out of school and needing to, as James Victore would say, ‘stay hard,’ as I try to find work. And making something, after all, is why I chose this business.

So commences Project Make Something, with my first sad little drawing done on the wrong kind of paper with the wrong kind of ink, but I said I’d make something, not a Renaissance masterpiece. This little scratchy drawing has a story behind it. Remember Phileas Fogg? Well, I felt it was time I really got to know the character by reading the actual book, and where I left off, Phileas Fogg was traveling via elephant with his faithful servant Passepartout, from Kholby to Allahabad in India. Apparently the railway was not yet completed at that time between the two locations, so Mr. Fogg had to improvise. Cheers!

P.S. I get nice sunlight in my room between 10 a.m. and noon, as shown in the photo. Exact hours vary between seasons. I wish it would stay sunny all day!

The Wilde Ones from SVA GDAD on Vimeo.

I love this video about Richard Wilde and his teachers at SVA. First saw it at AIGA‘s Those That Can, Teach back in October, and they were looping it at the corresponding Richard Wilde exhibition at the SVA Gallery.

Beautifully directed by Benita Raphan, my favorite bit is James Victore at about 9 minutes.

Part of a recent SVA Visual Arts Brief was this short article about James Victore, who did this cover for Esquire‘s July issue. He had actually shown us photos and talked about this project during his AIGA event.

Victore had told the audience that he’d ‘done his research’ into cosmetics, and concluded that Mac Cosmetics was the way to go to draw on the model. It was funny hearing him describe the experience of going into the store and trying to convey to the salespeople what he needed, but he said that once they realized what he was trying to do with the make-up, they were all eager to help. Everyone loves a challenge outside of the ordinary work day.

During his presentation, he also showed us photos of the process of drawing on the model. One of my favorites was a shot of her just texting away on her cell phone while he drew on her. I’ve got to admit though, I’m still wondering if this cover really has to do with Stephen King’s story. Curiosity hasn’t gotten me to browse through the magazine yet, but I must remember to do so next time I’m in Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Renowned designer James Victore explained that he titled the AIGA event, held at F.I.T., with a ‘How To’ because that draws people to attend. He probably should realize that people would attend without the ‘How To’ anyway,  since he is, after all, James Victore. A tall, commanding man with a mustache.

As a volunteer, I was given the task of passing out programs standing here at one of the bottom entrances:

Settling into our reserved back row seats, the other volunteers and I were treated, along with 280 other attendees, to the thoughts, profanities, and silly little insights into the man who has created some of the most thought-provoking posters of our time.

James said, ‘Young designers … you really want to get into museums because you can get so much action.’ At which point he showed the slide below, and said that when your work is up at the museum like this, girls will come up to you, giggling, wanting to take photographs.

Yet all the action aside, James explained that his work had been exhibited in museums worldwide for some years, but that recognition always comes last at home. Last fall, his work was accepted by the MOMA, and they gave him a call to inform him of the happy news. Excited, he asked, ‘Will there be a party?’ The guy replied, ‘No.’ ‘Will there be an announcement of some kind?’ ‘No.’ ‘Do I get like a plaque or something?’ ‘No.’ ‘… Do I get a formal letter telling me that my work has been accepted by the MOMA?’ ‘No.’ Finally, he asked, ‘Can I at least get a letter for my mom? She’d be so proud.’ And he showed us this slide below, a photograph of a letter addressed to ‘James Victore’s Mom’ that arrived the next day or so, and is now on his mother’s refrigerator (click to enlarge):

It’s always fun to hear designers mention other designers, and James constantly brought up Paul Sahre, with whom he is great friends. From driving out to Long Island to buy blank surfboards to paint on (James said that he painted on four of them within weeks, and Paul produced one in two years — ‘I’m too impatient,’ he said. ‘Why do you think my work looks the way it does?’) to Paul designing James’s monograph, the two are a duo that makes you go ‘aww.’ Paul was supposed to be in attendance, but had twins over the weekend (James added, ‘His wife helped, too.’), so was occupied.

Some fun things James said that he does to keep himself constantly thinking and enjoying downtime are Coffee Notes and Picture Wars. Coffee Notes is something James and his wife do every morning. The idea is that whoever makes coffee that day writes a note for the other person. He showed us examples of the notes covering one of the walls in his kitchen, and they were many and varied — collages, simple text (‘We think too much about coffee’ or something to that extent), drawings of one another (‘Apparently it’s very easy to draw me — you just draw a mustache’), and so forth. And once in awhile his kids will join in, too.

Picture Wars, he said, has caught on with those around him, and Paul couldn’t wait to have a son to continue the Picture Wars tradition. Picture Wars take place when you’re sitting at a restaurant, waiting for service, and you whip out a pen to draw on napkins your dining partners in compromising positions. One example came from a day when Paul was feeling ruthless and mean, and he drew James’s 12-year-old son, Luca, with his pants halfway down, and somebody exclaiming, ‘Luca wears Hannah Montana underwear!’ James said that this really hurt his son, who never gets hurt, and so in retaliation, James drew a picture of the Dalai Lama (spelled ‘Dali Lama’ in the picture) saying, ‘Paul is being a jerk.’

The event was a special one, because also in attendance were students from New York City’s High School of Art and Design, who were mentored by James through the AIGA/NY Mentoring Program. Their work, part of a project called ‘I Have a Voice,’ was exhibited in the lobby, but I couldn’t get a photo before some of them were cleared away by their owners.

All in all, though the man can swear like a pirate and ooze a good dose of cockiness, I’d recommend seeing James Victore speak. His great work ethic and passion for design and creating meaning are pretty darn inspiring.

AIGA/NY
How to Stay Hard: An Evening with James Victore
Tuesday, May 26 @ 6:30 p.m.
Katie Murphy Auditorium, Building D at F.I.T.
West 27th Street at 7th Avenue

Despite the provocative title of the event, I am very excited to be volunteering with AIGA for it. I first learned of James Victore‘s work in my Communication Design I class last semester with Lara McCormick in the fall. His work is, like the title of the event, very provocative.

As is this website for his workshop that he began last year with Paul Sahre and Jan Wilker. I’ve wandered onto this site before, but was highly confused until Lara said during class that you need to own 3D glasses to be able to read it. D’oh. Now that’s a cruel joke, but if I were them I’d sure be laughing. For more information on Paul Sahre, you can watch the video I posted here of a previous AIGA event. I actually sent an application to Karlssonwilker without realizing one of the principals was of this bunch. Needless to say, I did not get a response.

But interestingly enough, I met a girl named Tatjana at Steve Haslip’s Dirty Weekend workshop — she knew Steve because they had both attended the workshop (which costs about $1,000 I think) last year, and she was back in New York interning for James Victore. She was from Germany and was very nice, so I tried to keep in contact in case she wanted someone to show her around the city, but we’ve lost touch.

Anyhoo, you can learn more about James Victore by watching Hillman Curtis’s short film. Which reminds me, I’m still waiting for AIGA to reschedule the Hillman Curtis Design Remixed event. Get on it, AIGA!