The moon (the one we see from earth on virtually every other night than tonight, a new moon, go figure…)
I remember vividly the wee hours of Monday, 40 years ago today, when I saw Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon (at 02:56 GMT in the early hours of 21 July—I was living in Germany at the time, so it was already Monday there, while North Americans enjoyed a Sunday night special). Our family did not have a TV and I was quite sick with the flu at the time… but I got up in a fevered haze and walked six blocks to the nearest Radio & TV shop which had TV sets tuned to the moon landing in their display window, with loudspeakers of the English reportage playing into the street. (I ended up translating the action and the English announcer’s coverage into German for an assembled group of Italian and Turkish foreign workers from the nearby barracks, disoriented drunks, and assorted street-people and others too poor to own a TV set—all of whom had gathered outside the shop to take in the spectacle in real time).
That unique moment offered a fresh view of our wee blue-green planet for all of humankind, and triggered Marshall McLuhan’s phrase “Global Village” as well as Buckminster Fuller’s “Spaceship Earth.” Trivia factoid: it also marked the first time in history that the New York Times used a 96-point headline: “Men Walk On Moon.”
(Thanks to GDC-Listserv friend Marilyn Matty, from New York (fittingly), for pointing out the latter re: the NYT a few minutes ago).
Peace does not require love.
Hate—without weapons—will suffice.
Any dialog—even if only accusations, denunciations and vituperation—is preferable to bullets, bombs, broken hearts and broken bodies. War (violence) is an incredibly infectious, disfiguring disease for which the only antidote is dialog.
Some of the more rewarding aspects of hosting a blog such as this are the serendipity and unexpected encounters one makes from one day to the next… for example, earlier today I received the thoughtful truism quoted above from a certain Glenn S. Michaels of Phoenix, Arizona… I thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Asheville, North Carolina
A few weeks ago, after he interviewed me on his site, I sent Marty Weil of the ephemera blog an envelope containing some of the philatelic collectibles from the recent Canadian Recording Artists stamps that Circle designed for Canada Post. Marty has now produced and posted a short video of his response, here.
(Thanks again for your interest, Marty).
Warsaw, Poland
Our friend, the incredibly talented illustrator Stasys Eidrigevičius, turns 60 this week. Best wishes, and keep up with the phenomenal work! (Experience some of Stasys’ remarkably empathetic illustrations and graphic creations here, here, and here).
Stasys currently has an exhibition (Stasys and POLITYKA—drawings for the magazine Polityka from 1986-9 as well as posters) on exhibit at the Koszalin Town Art Museum; from 25-26 July an instillation of his is showing at the ECHIGO-TSUMARI ART TRIENNAL; two days ago (17 July) his works went on display at the Toyama Poster Triennal; and on 3 August, his exhibition Wall of Silence opens in Warsaw the Muzeum Powstania. (Thanks to Rene Wanner for the news and exhibiton details).
Lisbon, Portugal
I’ve found myself (re)attracted to visual collage of late—and Cristiana Couceiro does it exceptionally well. Admittedly, form seems to trump meaning (or coherence) in much of her illustrative work(?)… but there’s a time and place for being obtuse, right? Enjoy more here.
Southampton, New York
Herbert Matter (1907–1984) was a Swiss-born American photographer and graphic designer known for his pioneering use of photomontage in commercial art. His innovative and experimental work helped shape the vocabulary of 20th-century graphic design. Read an excellent biography (written in 1976) outlining his prolific career here. In addition to the images shown above, there’s an fine sampling at the AIGA Inspiration site (along with a tribute by Steven Heller and David R. Brown) here. Paul Rand (known to many in our field as somewhat of a curmudgeon) wrote the following poem about Herbert in 1977:
Herbert Matter is a magician.
To satisfy the needs of industry, that’s what you have to be.
Industry is a tough taskmaster.
Art is tougher.
Industry plus Art, almost impossible.
Some artists have done the impossible.
Herbert Matter, for example.
His work of ’32 could have been done in ’72 or even ’82.
It has that timeless, unerring quality one recognizes instinctively.
It speaks to all tongues, with one tongue.
It is uncomplicated, to the point, familiar, and yet unexpected.
Something brought to light, an image, a surprise, an analogy.
It is believable, as it is unbelievable.
It always has an idea, the one you almost thought of.
It may be formal or anecdotal, full of sentiment, but not sentimental.
It is commercial; it is contemplative.
It enhances the quality of life.
It is Art.
And that’s saying something… (found here).
1962 on the Italian Riviera—topless girls, big baguettes, family camping… life was good.
Nevada, 1948
It’s hot. Really hot. Thousands of years ago you would have been swimming in a lake, but climate changes dried it completely up and left behind a 159 square mile (412 square km) expanse of densely packed salt up to six feet deep. This bizarre landscape exists right outside the small casino town of Wendover, Nevada, 115 miles (185km) from Salt Lake City. The land is completely inhospitable to plants and is so flat that it’s almost perfectly aligned with the curvature of the Earth. Once a year men and women come from all over the planet to test their mechanical creations against this barren expanse of densely packed salt. This place is known as The Bonneville Salt Flats, also dubbed “The Fastest Place on Earth.”
One particularly hot morning, on Sept 13, 1948, a man known as Roland “Rollie” Free hopped on his Mobil Oil sponsored Vincent HRD Lightning, determined to break the world record of 136.18mph (219.16kmh). A record that had been unbroken for the past 11 years. His first attempt shattered the record with a speed of 148.6mph (239.15). Rollie wasn’t satisfied. Convinced his safety leathers were creating unnecessary drag, he stripped down to nothing but a pair of swim trunks and goggles. His trademark style of lying flat across the motorcycle instead of a traditional riding stance added to the insanity, hurtling Rollie to a record of 150.313mph (241.91kmh) and into the books for the next twenty years. It was a run that resulted not only in the record, but also in the creation of motorcycling’s most famous photo ever (the shot above of Free piloting the bike horizontally), taken from a speeding car racing alongside. —Sean Sullivan
Found at A Continuous Lean. (where you can find additional photos)… thanks to Gregor Brandt for the link.
