A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends

Greetings From Windhoek

Postcard from the past, mixed media, 13 x 10 centimeters, 2010

 

I recently took part in a time-traveling postcard project by Maz Dixon, an Australian artist and past contributor to this site. A few months ago, Maz asked people to suggest an historical place and time from where they would like to receive a postcard. She then created a postcard from that place and sent it in the mail. She describes the project on her blog: 

Firstly, and most obviously, I’m trying to encapsulate a time and place in a single image. In true postcard fashion, this means often resorting to stereotypes or juxtapositions of images that might make sense to a visitor, but perhaps not to a resident. Postcards, as pocket-sized marketing tools, can serve as shorthand for a visitor’s preconceived notions of a place or culture, and I’ve had a bit of fun playing with these kinds of assumptions. Of course for this project I’ve tried to balance that with what the people who have requested these cards might expect. A few people asked for something that has a very particular or personal meaning for them. I’ve tried to incorporate that as possible. Lastly, I think one of the most important aspects of a postcard series is a really ghastly and completely inappropriate font. 

I requested a postcard from Windhoek, Namibia in 1910, during the period of German colonization. I first became curious about Windhoek's strange colonial history during my college-aged travels in southern Africa. I visited Namibia to explore the world's tallest sand dunes, and I remember walking around the mostly-empty streets of Windhoek and being struck by the quaint German architecture, antique shops, and beer halls. Everything felt completely out of place in the middle of the barren desert. 

Without knowing anything about Namibia, and based mainly on my remembered experiences, Maz created and sent me the postcard above. It's remarkable how much the scene resembles Namibia's Kolmanskop ghost town.

You should check out all of the postcards in the series here.

Celebrities: They're Just Like Us!

Celebrity doodles and notes, ink on paper, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 2004-2006

A friend of mine used to work for a sound studio that would rent out space for public radio interviews. Various celebrities would show up to have their conversations beamed around the country. The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, got into the habit of collecting the scribbled notes and doodles left behind by famous guests. He gave me permission to share some of the interesting ones.  

US Senator John McCain

If only this guy had been able to better communicate his core values of "honor, purpose, and strength", he might be president today. In these notes, McCain wrote "so cal" to help him remember that KPCC is a public radio station in Southern California. It also looks like he may have been trying to make a point about baseball great Mickey Mantle. 

 

Broadway Legend Tommy Tune

In 2005 Tommy Tune took to the airwaves to plug his touring song and dance show. Did you know that out of all the songs performed at the Orange Count/Costa Mesa show, the Beatles' number "When I'm Sixty-Four" was the secret surprise "wild card"? Wow.

 

Actor Liev Schreiber

I'm guessing Liev Schreiber was on the radio talking about his role in the remake of the Manchurian Candidate in 2004. These doodles make me think that he is a pretty chilled-out guy.

 

Writer Eliza G

Eliza is an author and journalist who writes about issues of global conflict and the war on terror. She's not a huge celebrity but her doodles are solid (I'm not printing her last name in case she doesn't want this in her Google results). During her radio interview in 2005, she expertly blended text notes with metaphorical illustrations. The plight of the Nepalese is highlighted by doodles of a black sheep, a spider web, and a wall of flames. 

Also notice the contrast between "fat and happy" and "skinny and sad". The imagery evokes the disparities between rich and poor. 

 

Actor Christian Bale

And finally, if there was ever any doubt, now we know with certainty -- Christian Bale is a serious guy.

Batman!

 

As you can see, most celebrities are just like you and me. Thank you, anonymous friend, for sharing these fine doodles. 

UPDATE: My friend's studio also rented out space to record voice-overs for commercials. This slip of paper was read by actor Alec Baldwin while recording an ad for a vegetarian restaurant in Florida. Baldwin has certainly made an amazing comeback in the last five years. 

 

UPDATE 2: Of course these are real. Are you serious? If these were fakes, don't you think I would choose better celebrities and make the notes a lot more interesting? Tommy Tune? C'mon!

UPDATE 3: Welcome, Baleheads! Thanks for your interest in the Christian Bale discovery. Bale's doodle prompted an intense discussion on the IMDB messageboards. 

People Are Cold-Blooded, Dude

Found note, typography, tattoo art, 2009, [Mature Content]

On Sunday afternoon, while driving back to San Francisco from a brunch in Petaluma, California, I found this torn and crumpled note at the top of a garbage can at a Shell gas station. In the note, two gentlemen discuss the design options for a "Fuck The World" tattoo. 

The note uses heavy text message slang, so I've taken the liberty to translate some of the words and add appropriate punctuation: 

Person 1: Because F.T.W. -- FUCK THE WORLD. It's a fucked up world. People are cold-blooded, dude, which makes the world fucked up. 

Person 2: Dude, you know what? Get it in cursive like the Faith tattoo. Get it in black and red, or get it in all black, but get it in cursive. That would look bad-ass.

Person 1: Lots of laughs, dude! You already know me because that's how I want to get it!

I also wanted to see what this tattoo would look like using their design specifications, so I created a mock-up using cursive and all black. Here is the tattoo in the popular Zapfino font: 

I also searched for real-life examples of this tattoo and was surprised to learn that it isn't uncommon. Did you know that Tupac Shakur had a "Fuck the World" across his back? So do these two guys:

   

And taken to an insanely literal extreme, here is a tattoo that you shouldn't look at while at work. [Warning: Lewd]

Update: Here is a safe image to counteract the profanity. 

Graduate School Artifact

Found item, ink on paper, 8 1/2" x 11", 2008

Laura P sends in the schedule of an anonymous graduate student that was found by her roommate Caitlin. Caitlin is a student at the University of Chicago and saw this paper lying in a hallway. The schedule is presented in crisp, yet bubbly penmanship utilizing vivid red, blue, and black ink. It is in pristine condition for an item recovered from the floor.

The schedule reveals a lot about the (presumably female) student who created it. Here are the key take-away points:

• She's procrastinating - This is a classic technique. She spends almost half the day taking extra long walks and exercising before going to bed early(ish).
• She's broke - She's taking coins to the Coinstar machine rather than making a big "coin run" over summer break. Can't wait until finals are over?
• She's stressed to the point of memory problems - She's giving herself notes to take a shower and go to the library and check out books and look at books and then leave when she is done.
• She's lazy - Reducing your squats from 50 to 20 and then only increasing your lunges by 10 is a big-time weakling move. That is no way to get fit. If that is your attitude, why even bother?

These are just some of the most obvious inferences. What things do you notice? What other stories does this schedule tell? 

Laura P lives in Chicago and works at Northwestern University. She's employed at the same school as Bernardine Dohrn, a former member of the Weather Underground. Laura's roommate Caitlin goes to school in the neighborhood where Dohrn lives with her husband, the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. I've published this found item based solely on its stand-alone artistic merit. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Laura and the people she chooses to associate with.

Election 2008 Doodles

It's been two weeks and already I miss the election. A tip of the hat to Carl W for sending me doodles created by Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. Both doodles tell us what we already know, mainly that Obama is a cool dude and Palin is borderline mentally retarded. 

During a boring Senate hearing, Obama drew lovable cariacatures of Senators Diane Fienstein, Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy, and Chuck Schumer. Pretty good by this blog's standards. 

 

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, made this doodle in 1996 during a city council meeting as she prepared to run for mayor of Wasilla. She uses a self-referential artistic technique that we've seen on this blog before. Her best lines include, "Taxpayer!" and "You would be my boss!"  See the detailed Sarah Palin PDF here.

UPDATE: I did some research and was able to track down a John McCain doodle. McCain reportedly made this doodle on election night at Phoenix's Biltmore Hotel in the hours before he gave his concession speech. The man is clearly battling some personal demons. I hope he gets well.

 

Ball of Dance

8 1/2 x 9, ink on paper, 2008

Check it out, dudes. Kevin G sends in this mega-doodle created by his friends Ashwin and Emina. The doodle was part of a flyer advertising a house party. If you can tell me the exact number of times the word "dance" appears in the drawing I'll send you a $5 Starbucks gift card.

Kevin and his friends live near Berkeley, California and teach the German language to teenagers and young adults.

Typography and a Two Tone Mandala

8 1/2 x 11, 3 x5, 6 x 9, ink on paper, 2005

Ryan A submitted a series of works he created in the Fall of 2005. The top two images are a whimsical cursive and print typography. The unique lettering will be particularly useful for anyone planning to make words containing the letters R, Y, A, N, or B and E.

While it is often mistaken for a heiroglyph, The Two Tone Mandala shown in the third piece is actually a vision that Ryan has had for as long as he can remember. He states that, "Every time I close my eyes, I see this shape with fourteen points. It nourishes my life energy."   

Ryan lives in San Francisco and helps businesses make money and cut deals. He knows advanced features in Microsoft Excel.