Under the guise of his subversive collective, we learn via Hyperallergic, the creative graphic designer Jeff Gates has channelled his talents to make a statement on the sorry state of civil discourse in the United States of America (their chief export it seems) by remixing antique propaganda posters to reflect the current atmosphere, a decline that was fermenting for years and whose vintage predates but possibly prefigures the slovenly scourge of Trump and his best people. Also curated under Google’s Arts & Culture portal, Gates has been prolific in his activism and there’s an entire gallery of images, newer renditions juxtaposed with the origins, to reflect on.
Friday 13 July 2018
chamomile tea party
me, poor man, my library!
Discovered via Coudal Partners’ Fresh Signals, we appreciated the introduction to the vibrant art work of graphic designer Manuja Waldia, whose illustrations have been featured in several prominent publications, in the form of her commission with Penguin Random House paperbacks to design the covers for a new edition of the Pelican Shakespeare series, regularly re-issued with new research and scholastic updates since 1956. Be sure to visit the website at the link above to see more cover art and her other works that can weave a story all on their own merit.
tierkreis
In 1975, electronic and experimental music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen (*1928 - †2007) composed twelve melodic character pieces representing the twelve signs of the zodiac, structured in a mathematically interesting manner and originally arranged for music boxes, though it can be played on any suitable instrument or even sung. Contracting with a Swiss manufacturer (which is one of the last firms specialising in making music boxes), Stockhausen made the custom music boxes commercially available and continued to be sold through the 1980s with later commemorative editions. Learn more and listen to other performances at the link above. Here’s a rendition of my sign, Skorpion, by clarinettist Liam Hockley below:
