Every Wednesday in December, Flavorwire will take a look back at the year in film — the stories, the performances, the movies that we were talking about in 2011. For this week, let’s revisit some of the year’s movie controversies, shall we?
We film folk can get worked up pretty easily, so while we found plenty of things to get all a-tizzy about in 2011, the assembled list of 2011′s film controversies doesn’t exactly read like end-of-the-world, stop-the-presses stuff. But these things are important to us! We’re easily excitable! Thus, ratings and posters and Oscars and Darth Vader’s scream were well worth talking about — then, and now. Join us after the jump to relive some of the year’s very big deals. Read More »
There’s no denying that the Occupy movement has been inspiring people across the globe, and in many cases, that inspiration is being expressed artistically. Not that we find this the least bit surprising — art and activism have always gone hand in hand. In New York City, the Smithsonian and the New York Historical Society, aware that they have a phenomenon on their hands, have been gathering artifacts from the protest all along, with an eye towards future exhibitions. Even with the art-world spin-off Occupy Museums, meant to get “people to think about who museums serve, and calling the art world out on its elitism and its abuse of labor,” the artistic community has been very supportive of the movement. Here we have collected twenty artworks, from drawings to posters to sculptures to puppets from artists both well known (Banksy, Shepard Fairey) and anonymous. Some of these, like the propaganda posters and stamped dollars, are meant to further the Occupy movement’s cause directly, while others are just artistic visions or ways to capture the humanity of what’s going on in the world right now. Click through to check out twenty pieces of art about Occupy Wall Street, and let us know what you think in the comments.
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Every superhero is at least 50% nerd. Or most of them are, at least. These great poster designs by Danny Haas (self-described “Husband. Father. Artist. Geek.), which we spotted over at Design You Trust, remind us that our favorite masked avengers are just as much mortal as they are magical. Rendered in satisfyingly simple lines and charming vintage printings, these are some of our favorite incarnations of these iconic American superheroes. Click through to check out Parker, Kent, and all their buddies rocking both their epic manifestations at once, and make sure to check out more of Haas’s work here. Read More »
These amazing retro-modern superhero posters, which we spotted over at My Modern Met, manage to give us those warm nostalgia feelings and a vision of the future all at once. Created by French artist and graphic designer Grégoire Guillemin as part of his “exercises in style” series, they remind us of an imaginary golden age of real-life superheroes that we desperately wish existed, like the ones portrayed in stories like Watchmen and The Incredibles. Click through to check out our gallery of Guillemin’s work and dream of pop culture’s modern knights, and let us know what you think in the comments.
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Every college student dreams of getting to work with the leaders of their industry, but this rarely happens, especially as an in-class assignment. But for the design students of the School of Visual Art in New York, a handful of students lucky enough to get into the Visual Identity and Multimedia course dreams do come true.
That’s because for three hours a week, these students get the opportunity to work directly with legendary design firm Chermayeff & Geismar, who has been responsible for creating such well-known logos as those used by PBS, NBC, National Geographic, and many others. As if that weren’t enough, the students get to balance class assignments with actual client work for M&T Bank.
That’s not to say the class doesn’t have interesting non-client assignments though. For one of the student’s biggest projects, they were asked to create a poster design that illustrated two opposite issues, objects or concepts. The results are impressive, so be sure to click through to enjoy the best of the projects.
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Everyone has a favorite song. You know, the one that has never left the “Recently Played” section of your iTunes, or your internal playlist for that matter. Have you ever wished that you could just paste its lyrics up on your wall in some lovely typography? Do you happen to be a fan of famed musical acts like New Order, Morrissey, and Radiohead? Then we’ve got some exciting news for you! To celebrate its 200th anniversary, Warner/Chappell Music (a division of the Warner Music Group) asked 10 well-known graphic designers to transform iconic lyrics from its catalogue into new works of art. Now, these pieces are being sold as limited-edition posters, with 100 percent of the profits going to Save the Children. Click through to browse the impressive collection, which will be on display at London’s StolenSpace gallery through October 10.
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The best things come in pairs. Or so we think after coming across “Similarities“, retired Professor of Graphic Design at West Texas A&M University Bob Caruthers’s Flickr set of reused designs, which we discovered over at Quad Royal. Carthuers writes, “The pairs of images in this “Similarities” set are similar visually in one way or another. They are presented without judgement as to the motives of their creators. The viewers of the pieces can form their own opinion(s) about what they see.” Some of the pairs are “accidents”, some are “re-contextualized”, some are “inspired”, some are “homages”, some are “appropriated”, but no matter what the politics or language, it’s amazing to see the way that images can influence — or down right form the basis of — new designs. Hey, our mothers always told us it was good to recycle. Click through to see some of our favorites, and head on over to Caruthers’s Flickr page for many more.
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We recently spotted Patrick Tilley’s 1960s posters for UK newspaper the Sunday Times over at Quad Royal and instantly fell in love. The simple, cheeky designs seem cutting edge and pleasantly retro at the same time, and the mixed media with the bold colors would definitely catch our attention if we had seen them on the street. At the time of their release, however, they provoked some controversy: critics suggested that they were less than art, and Stewart Lewis wrote in Advertiser’s Weekly that they seemed ‘more suited to the promotion of an intellectual left-wing periodical, or a poetry quarterly’ than a serious, national newspaper. Maybe and maybe not, and though we have no idea if they sold any newspapers, we’re pretty sold on them. Click through to see Tilley’s work, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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This morning, /Film clued us into an amazing-sounding new documentary about the art of the gig poster. Just Like Being There, the new title for the previously untitled, ongoing project, will explore the world of gig posters and gig poster production, documenting artists and fans of limited edition poster art within and beyond the world of concert posters. The film will focus on three artists, Kevin Tong, Daniel Danger and Jay Ryan, who are part of the core of this world, and as far as we can tell, will be filled with awesome art, music, and interviews. Click through to see two short promos about the newly-titled documentary, and head over to /Film for an exclusive interview with the director and producer.
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Brooklyn-based graphic design team Two Arms Inc. have recently released the first two installments of their Brooklyn Neighborhood Series, wherein they will design posters representing each neighborhood in the eastern borough. The designs are simple but elegant — Two Arms pulls essential, representative elements from each neighborhood and juxtaposes them for a warm and fuzzy, almost nostalgic feel. So far, they’ve only released Williamsburg and Greenpoint, which is probably a smart move — we bet those are the areas with residents most likely to buy a poster of their hood — but we’re excited for the rest. Click through to see the posters, and let us know which elements of your neighborhood you’d want to hang proudly on your wall.
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