Joe Mills

B: The Hip Hop Puppet

I haven’t put these on my web site yet, but I have put them on YouTube. Anyway, I had always wanted to make a puppet, so I finally did. Then, I needed to figure out a way to use it…and this is what I came up with. I’m probably going to make between 8 or 10 videos. (I hope.) I guess making these little videos keeps me out of trouble. Right now, I only have 2…here is a link to the YouTube playlist. Enjoy!

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The Importance of DIY

Clive Thompson has a great short article about the importance of the DIY culture in the latest issue of Wired. I’m a very big proponent of this kind of (unfortunately, counter-intuitive) thinking, so I always feel the need to repeat myself. Clive says it best:

But as we migrated to an information economy, (mechanical skills) began to seem as quaint as, well, mechanical clocks. America’s bright future, we were assured, wasn’t industrial. It was in the hands of “symbolic analysts” — folks who sat at desks and thought for a living. In the ’90s, the rise of the Internet sent this post-mechanical age into a sort of giddy overdrive. Remember Nicholas Negroponte urging everyone to “move bits, not atoms”?

But when we stop working with our hands, we cease to understand how the world really works.

You see this on a personal level. If you can’t get under the hood of the gadgets you buy, you’re far more liable to believe the marketing hype of the corporations that sell them. When things break, you toss them and buy new ones; you accept your role as a mere consumer. “I think it makes you more passive as an individual,” says Matthew Crawford, a former motorcycle repair-shop owner (and postdoctoral fellow in cultural studies) who’s writing a book on the demise of mechanical aptitude in America.

It might even screw up our brains. Neuroscientists have shown that working with your hands exercises different parts of your cerebrum than sitting and cogitating. Ever wonder why Detroit isn’t producing 100-mpg cars? One reason might be that the engineers there spend all their time tinkering with CAD software — developing design concepts in a purely virtual sense. They aren’t ripping open cars to see what’s possible, the way those amateur ultra-mileage Prius hackers do (some of whom, by the way, have modded their hybrids to get 100 mpg).

I’m not always the best at this type of thing, but I’m trying. In this day and age of fast and convenient and NOW!, learning these types of skills will seem counter-intuitive and time-consuming, but they are important. Not only does it save money and can help to conserve resources, but it exercises our most important commodity…our brains. Cooking meals, fixing things, making things, and getting your hands dirty can be one of the more gratifying things a human can do. While passive entertainment might satisfy you in the short term, it can never take the place of learning to do-it-yourself.

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Sideways: A Smart Art Project

Image courtesy of Gestalten

Here’s another cool project I came across on Cool Hunting:

Sideways: A Smart Art Project assembles a fresh collection of work that evaluates the way in which we think about the environment and mobility by 100 international artists curated by 11 top international magazines. The rich diversity of work from photography, illustration and graphic design to painting, sculpture and architecture presented in this anthology show how we can promote greener modes of transportation and shape our future path in a positive way.

I strongly suggest checking out some of the artwork on the Gestalten web site…some of the most innovative artwork I have seen in a while…I will be looking forward to adding this to my collection.

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Mock-Ups in Close Up

Image courtesy of Cool Hunting

I came across this video installation on Cool Hunting, and I hope it makes it’s way West very soon. Here is a short description from Cool Hunting:

Providing a curious look at how directors use models, the film clips used range from art-house to blockbuster, from Peter Greenaway’s “Belly of an Architect” to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (pictured above).

It is at The Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York from March 25th to April 5th.

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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

After watching this film, I made a bold statement to my brother…this will go down as one of my favorite movies of all time. If you have never heard of it, here is a synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

There’s more drama in this small documentary than in most serious Oscar contenders. A marriage is on the line, integrity is tested, and friendships falter–all in the name of a video game called Donkey Kong. The King Of Kong may inspire both tears and frustrated sighs, but it’s most remarkable for its humor…Billy Mitchell is a towering figure in the world of classic video games such as Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. He has held records in several games, and his high score in Donkey Kong (considered the toughest of the old titans) has been unbeaten for decades. But newcomer Steve Wiebe finds purpose in the game after losing his job, and discovers his natural aptitude at the game. The amiable Steve is just as likely to win the “nice guy of the year” award as he is to best Billy’s record, and this film casts him as a classic hero that viewers love to root for. While Steve is an audience favorite, Billy is a Machiavellian mastermind that rivals any villain from a narrative film. Even though some might argue that the Super Bowl or NCAA tournament is more important, the competition in The King Of Kong rivals the most exciting in sports. Thanks to the film’s wonderful characters, it’s easy to get involved in the drama. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and the people who populate The King Of Kong are as fascinating as any screenwriter’s creation.

The great thing about The King of Kong can be summed up in the last sentence from the above paragraph…truth is stranger than fiction. I am a big fan of documentaries because of that reason, but the director of The King of Kong walked into a goldmine of material. On the outside, it sounds like a bunch of nerds playing video games to see who is best. In reality, the people involved make it more than just that. While documentaries can easily paint a picture that the director wants you to see, that is not the case here. The main adversaries in this film fall easily into a good vs. evil storyline. It will remind you of any classic Hollywood story that pits the forces of evil against all that is good without shoving it all in your face. This is not to say that the director did nothing. Everything is timed and placed just right to add to the drama of what you are seeing. It is not worth missing.

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The Wire Series Finale

I have just finished watching the series finale of The Wire and I can now say without reservation that it is (was) the greatest piece of entertainment in the history of entertainment. (Is that too much?) I’ll start here…I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a big fan of the impact of television and movies (and even music) on our culture. I feel that too often these mediums are passive entertainment. They are meant to be consumed and forgotten. Americans are happy to sit back and be entertained instead of creating or thinking on their own.

First, if you do not know anything about The Wire, please read about it first because I’m not going to talk too much about the premise. That would require about 100 posts. Anyway, what makes The Wire different? When I think about all of the television shows and movies I like, I know why I like them. They are entertaining. They are smart. They are funny. The list could go on. The Wire is different simply because it makes you think in a number of ways. The show is based around the city of Baltimore and the people who inhabit it. While many forms of entertainment do this, The Wire does not bash you over the head with scenes and dialog that drive that point home. It makes the viewer put the pieces together of what the characters say and do in order to see how the city has impacted their lives. And since a lot of what is shown is open to interpretation, you really have to pay attention to everything the character says and does.

That brings me to my second point, the dialog is meticulously written. A lot of people have wondered if the actors in the show ad lib or improvise anything. From what I understand, they do not. Even though David Simon and Ed Burns are two old white people, they know the city of Baltimore and how the people talk. There is not one wasted word, phrase, or sentence. Now that I am finished with the entire series, I’m connecting dialog that was said in season five with dialog from previous seasons. It is like a huge movie that was chopped into 60 pieces.

Which brings me to my final point, this is a true serial series. When Lost gained so much popularity after it’s first season, a lot of people were let down when the second season wasn’t as good. J. J. Abrams had a vision for the end of the show, but since this was a big money making show for a large network, they weren’t sure when it was going to end. So, they had to figure out how to keep the story going while still keeping an eye on the end. Eventually, Abrams worked out an unprecedented deal with ABC to give the show a specific end date. Now, it is back on track in it’s fourth season. Why do I bring this up? It is customary to get as much as possible (read: money) out of a popular show. When you let a show go on forever that could turn into a well-created serial show, it tends to lose something because story lines get wasted that might not have happened otherwise. Simon has said that he always envisioned The Wire as a 5 season show. Everything was deliberate. I have read that before each season they mapped the storyline for each character. It is obvious that Simon had an end game in mind when he started each season. And when you bring everything together like that, it makes the characters and stories so rich that you will wonder why you can stomach any other television show.

One last thing about the finale, we have been so accustomed to the twist ending or the “go out with a bang” that I think some people weren’t ready for an ending like this. We have to be spoon fed everything in order for it to make sense. Some things can be too cerebral, but if it is written well, any person with an IQ can figure some things out. When The Usual Suspects came out, that was the ultimate twist ending. But even they bashed you over the head with some things at the end to make you realize what Verbal Kent was doing. As much as we hypothesized about larger things happening, I think David Simon played everything just right…no major drama…no major deaths…the circle continues. You can’t just put some people in a predicament, have something crazy happen, and then give a twist in the end. It’s all been done before. Stories need to be told differently. And as David Simon has shown us, it is possible to make television a worthwhile medium.

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Food Fights

Before I get into what I’m going to say, here is a description of the above video:

An abridged history of American-centric warfare, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict.

Now, when you read that, you probably have the same reaction that I did…huh? I came across this video through Drawn! and I was curious to say the least. On the surface, it sounds ridiculous. In reality, it is well-done, accurate, humorous sometimes, and dark sometimes. It is worth a few minutes to view it.

Now, this got me to thinking…how important is it for an artist (or anyone for that matter) to have a vision? Regardless of how it might sound to others or be viewed by others, I think it is important to stick to your guns if your vision is something you truly believe in. I can see how the artist of Food Fights could have run into those kinds of obstacles. The idea (on the surface) sounds silly, but he stuck with it. People on the outside will do their best to knock you down and criticize your work because they need to have an opinion. They need to prove they know what is best because it is an American tradition to be able to say the following words, “I was right”. My wife and watched this season of Project Runway. I like the show because it shows artists/designers envisioning something and then creating it. I know it is popular because it deals with fashion, but they could be designing toasters for all I care. Anyway, the designers on this show confront the criticism I mention above a lot. Many times they will say, “I don’t really care what he or she says, I’m going to stick by it”. For instance, one of the designers this past season created a collection that used human hair. While the thought might be repulsive to an extent, the results were excellent. While he did not win, the “judges” saw his vision and liked what they saw. I think that is so important for anyone who is trying to create something they believe in. Your vision is your vision. While they all might not be successful, sometimes you have to use your talent, skill, and gut to guide you over what others say.

To read more about what is depicted in Food Fight, check out the main site.

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Arty Globe

Image courtesy of Arty Globe

I was recently talking to someone about the aesthetic quality of maps when I came across the work of Arty Globe. The attention to detail and playful quality of the lines add to the terrific perspective created in these “maps”. And to be honest, I think these works speak for themselves.

On a side note, these past few artists I’ve highlighted have me thinking about the “style” of an artist. If an artist/designer/illustrator expects to get work, they need to have definitive style. As someone who considers himself an artist, it seems to go against the mentality of an artist. I always want to try different mediums and styles, so I end up not sticking to one look. Maybe I just haven’t felt strongly enough about any one thing I’ve made, but at the same time, why only do one thing? Oh well…just talking out loud at this point…

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Eyeport

Image courtesy of Eyeport

I’m not sure what Eyeport means, but I love the work on this site. At first, I was little put off by the angle of everything, but it just took some time to get used to. I like the basic color palettes used. I like how he keeps this style in all of his work without it looking the same. I like the humor. And finally, I like the angle. It has a playful, toy-like quality that makes me want to pick the characters right off the page. Plus, the angle of everything adds this strange dimension to everything that can be down-right mesmerizing.

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Chris Jordan – Running the Numbers – An American Portrait

Image courtesy of Chris Jordan
Running the Numbers: An American Portrait is an excellent series of works. From his site…

This series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 410,000 paper cups used every fifteen minutes. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. The underlying desire is to emphasize the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming.

I strongly suggest you check out the other work on his site. I don’t always get into “conscious” artwork, but I like the message of Jordan’s work. Plus, he has an eye for the aesthetic as well. I’m totally drawn into the amount of each “something” in each print. As he mentions in his site, I think these would be better seen close up. Above, I’m only showing the detail of a 60″ x 90″ print. Regardless, it is worth the extra clicks.

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