Joe Mills

A New Vlog Entry

I added a new vlog entry yesterday to give an update on my Pixel Chicago artwork. Check it out here.

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I have a T-Shirt Design on Threadless!

Vote for my t-shirt design on Threadless! If it has a high score in the next 7 days, it could be printed…forever…

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Gig Posters

Image courtesy of Kevin Tong

Gig Posters. Why did I not think of this before? In my quest to find an artistic style, I have always gravitated towards doing artwork featuring musicians. I find that music and visual art just go together. Recently, I bumped across Gig Posters which is a forum and gallery space for people who make posters advertising musical shows or gigs. I knew this kind of artwork existed. I just did not know that it was this prolific. My plan is to start creating my own gig posters. In order to turn this into a money-making venture, I realize I have some obstacles to overcome. I can not just put venue names and artists names on artwork I’m going to sell. Some way, I need to gain permission. Without any posters to back up what I can do, I will probably have to “work my way up”. Also, I have noticed that many gig posters are screen printed. I certainly do not have the facilities to make a ton of screen prints. Plus, I am not sure I am at a place to get them produced by someone else. In other words, I would need some money. My plan is to just make some posters on my own for a while that I do not plan on selling. As I continue to muddle through this path, I am hoping that I will learn more and get noticed more. I just have to find the best way to do that.

You can find out more about Gig Posters here. Also, at the annual Pitchfork Music Festival last weekend, many artists displayed their gig posters at an exhibition called Flatstock. Unfortunately, I did not attend the festival. The artist above, Kevin Tong, showcased at Flatstock. You can check out his work here.

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I Saw Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game

Nothing reaffirms your love for baseball until you see something that has only happened 18 times in the history of the game. Yes, I was one of the 28,000 lucky people to see Mark Buehrle throw a perfect game today. I’ve seen some pretty amazing sporting events in person and on television, but it will be incredibly hard to top this. I think I noticed that he had it going by the end of the 4th inning. It was still early, but it was hard not to notice. He did look good early in the game considering he had mowed down some of the better hitters like Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Ben Zobrist. He was cruising for awhile and the talk in the stands started to grow. The common practice in baseball is to not talk about a no-hitter when it is happening. It is bad luck. I did not see anything on TV, but I would be shocked if Hawk Harrelson even mentioned it until the end of the game. As the game wore on, my stomach was even turning since I knew I had the chance to see something special. Luck, though, was on Buehrle’s side. There were two foul balls down the left field line that missed by inches. One of them almost knocked over the third base umpire. And, I’m sure most people will talk about the catch by Dewayne Wise. I was unable to see the catch because I was in the left field bleachers, but when it came off his bat, I figured it was over. Then, the crowd right above his head started cheering and I was stunned. At that point, it was fate. I’ll be recording the replay tonight, buying newspapers tomorrow, and getting pictures and videos from my friend who went with me. No other words to describe it…

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My New Desk

So, I had gotten tired of my chipboard desk. You know, the desks you can get for less than $100 at Office Depot that fall apart after a few years. And, I decided to look for something more sturdy and desireable. At my old company, Lund and Company, I loved these workbenches that we used. They had solid wood table tops and metal legs. I thought I was going to have to search around for one, but they were gracious enough to give me one. Now, all I have to do is mount some racks underneath the table and organize the wires in the back, and I’ll have exactly what I’m looking for. I think one of my favorite parts of the desk is the deep tabletop. It makes the table seem immense without feeling like it is overly large. Yes…this is an improvement.

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Teppei Kaneuji

Image courtesy of Teppei Kaneuji

I think the most interesting artwork I saw while in Japan was from Teppei Kaneuji. I just happened to bump into his work while looking through different artist books. As a rule, I am not a big fan of sculpture. Many contemporary sculptors seem to demonstrate that they can put things together in different ways…which is not always aesthetically pleasing or good. Kaneuji is an exception. If you look at his work, he has experimented with different styles and themes over the years. Much of it uses found objects and mixed media. I was surprised at how much of it was visually appealing to me. My favorite was the work that is shown above. He did many of these “monster” sculptures. The idea is based on what he would see when watching young people dancing at a rock concert. It was a sea of jumping and energy. I think he has captured that visual style perfectly. Plus, I like how it is in the form of a figure. It only adds to how a sea of people can seem like a being by itself. I think the work of Kaneuji could also be worked into my art curriculum. I think children like to play different materials and see what they can create. Unfortunately, it seems to just end up being a bunch of stuff glued together. Kaneuji is able to use found objects in a way that is completely striking.

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Trying the G1 App

I just installed a Wordpress application to my G1 to see if it works. Will technology be on my side?

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Akira Yamaguchi

Image courtesy of Akira Yamaguchi

Akira Yamaguchi seems to be a rather popular artist in Japan. At least, I saw his work in more than one place. His work borrows a lot from traditional Japanese artwork. Yet, he updates it to make it feel more contemporary. For example, the above artwork incorporates parts of Roppongi Hills, a town near Tokyo. As I have mentioned before, I love when artist takes landscapes and architecture and make it more playful and interesting. I also like the color palette Yamaguchi uses. It is muted, but it does not seem dull. To see more of his work, check out this book.

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Ozawa Tsuyoshi

Image courtesy of Ozawa Tsuyoshi

I learned about the work of Ozawa Tsuyoshi while at the Mori. He was not currently showing there, but he had an exhibition there a few years back. A lot of his work seems to be a demonstration more than actual artwork. Normally, I would not look at that type of work twice, but his “food gun” work is pretty amazing. Plus, the reasoning behind it is very intelligent. All of these woman are holding vegetables that help to make a traditional dish. After the gun is constructed and the picture is taken, the vegetables are used to cook the dish for everyone to share. Also, the use of vegetables as weapons gives a unique spin on the use of guns and how their use in our world is utterly ridiculous.

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Matthew Ritchie

Image courtesy of Matthew Ritchie.

Another artist I saw at the Mori Art Museum was Matthew Ritchie. Above is the insallation he has showing in their new exhibition.  I love how his work is full of tons of energy. I know his work has stories that accompany it, but they are plain fascinating to look at. His use of lines and color to create depth and movement and this aura of chaos. It is wonderful for the eyes!

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