seekandspeak.com / Blog

Unused Taxi Driver poster made months ago for SpokeArt’s...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:38:19 -0400

Unused Taxi Driver poster made months ago for SpokeArt’s Scorsese tribute show. The decaying mental state of a New York cabbie seen through his operator’s license.

Official one-sheet I designed for the US release of...

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:37:00 -0400

Official one-sheet I designed for the US release of “Berberian Sound Studio”.

"The problem with effort and good design is that the best solutions look like they take very little..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:10:00 -0400

“The problem with effort and good design is that the best solutions look like they take very little work. The solution appears natural and effortless. The worst are the solutions that are over-designed, over-produced, over-wrought, and desperate. But, civilians will look at the ABC logo and say, “So what? What took so long? I could have done that.” The logo that is an illustration of a person with raised hands on top of a globe with all nations color coded and series of stars that wraps around the globe, sitting on a word mark of tortured typography is praised, “Boy that must have taken a long time.””

- Sean Adams

The Lost Film Art of Bob Gill

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:25:51 -0400

The Lost Film Art of Bob Gill:

A look at one of the best graphic designers to ever make a movie poster.

I put this together for film.com, which you can read if you’re into that sort of thing. He is, to put it mildly, probably my favorite graphic designer.

Iron Man III, for ShortList. This took awhile.

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:01:12 -0400

Iron Man III, for ShortList. This took awhile.

"The problem is if you really believe in a society where those who merit to get to the top, get to..."

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:22:50 -0400

“The problem is if you really believe in a society where those who merit to get to the top, get to the top, you’ll also, by implication, and in a far more nasty way, believe in a society where those who deserve to get to the bottom also get to the bottom and stay there.”

- Alain de Botton

Writing for film.com now, about film art. If you’re into...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:47:00 -0400

Writing for film.com now, about film art. If you’re into that sort of thing, then http://www.film.com/movies/art-house-introduction

A deeply religious people

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:04:00 -0400

You should be reading a proper process post, but we’re months away from when I last sat down and watched ‘The Wicker Man’, so my memory is a bit hazy on the whole affair. The Nic Cage remake had me laughing on the floor for a good 10 minutes; the original, 1973 classic from Robin Hardy (which this is about) stuck to such a degree that the last dream I can remember having involved me and these two asking a parade of mask-wearing pagans if they’d seen a girl named Rowan Morrison.

Yeah.

Instead, I’ve unearthed a few scraps that go a long way towards explaining just what’s going on under the hood in this poster. It’s hard not to be conscious of the fact that the last 40 years of imagery advertising this film has been, for the most part, centered around the large, burning effigy referenced in the title. And with that, recognizing that people become deeply attached to the familiar. Rocking that boat without a modest explanation is usually a recipe for, at best, a misunderstanding of intentions. At worst, people call you names on the internet. I’m hoping to avoid some of the former.

Below is an excerpt from an email I’d sent to a friend, which sums up best what I was aiming to do. A lot of those early thoughts were worked out in a sketch which, what do you know, is also below.

As for Wicker Man, the poster pulls from a lot of different places, but the main thrust plays off of the Christian story of the serpent offering an apple from the tree of knowledge and the consequences that come from taking that deceptive offering. It felt like it synched up with so much that was going on throughout the film. Howie is a devout Christian who, after being deceived and learning the truth about Summerisle, finds himself cast out of the world, alone in a burning effigy, crying out for God. The island of Summerisle is famous for it’s apples, stemming from an earthy crunchy set of beliefs. That society is ultimately rotten, however, given the foundations that it’s based on. The fish mask on the snake is a nod to the final act of the film which, well…is more than a little bizarre.

UK Quad screenprint. On sale tomorrow from FrightFest Originals.

Alex Griendling, telling it like it is. Validation from within,...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:58:51 -0400

Alex Griendling, telling it like it is. Validation from within, not outside.

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:43:35 -0500

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”

Made for Ltd. Art Gallery’s current exhibition this month....

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:14:00 -0500

Made for Ltd. Art Gallery’s current exhibition this month. 12x18, giclee, edition of 10. On sale here.

"I think what you get in awards is favoritism. I mean, people can say, “Oh, my favorite movie..."

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:01:46 -0500

“I think what you get in awards is favoritism. I mean, people can say, “Oh, my favorite movie was ‘Annie Hall,’” but the implication is that it’s the best movie, and I don’t think that’s possible. I don’t think you can make that judgement. Except for track, track and field, you know, where one guy runs and you see that he wins, then it’s okay.”

- Woody Allen

Four color 18x24 screenprint, edition of 50, now available...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:57:00 -0500

Four color 18x24 screenprint, edition of 50, now available online for $35 from Hero Complex Gallery

For Silver Screen Society’s two year anniversary, going on...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:27:30 -0500

For Silver Screen Society’s two year anniversary, going on now. Those are actual bushes, the kind you find outside around real summer-camps. I swear.

"I don’t want to do anything. I just want to focus on the subject in the simplest way possible."

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:33:00 -0500

“I don’t want to do anything. I just want to focus on the subject in the simplest way possible.””

- The Goodness of Nothing

My Doctor Who inspired screenprint. 18x24, edition of 50. Custom...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:52:53 -0500

My Doctor Who inspired screenprint. 18x24, edition of 50. Custom TARDIS blue ink. Available here for $25

"I think that the reason the podcast became interesting was really, in retrospect, that I was doing..."

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:33:15 -0500

“I think that the reason the podcast became interesting was really, in retrospect, that I was doing it for personal reasons. It was not to create entertainment. It was not to make money. It was not to build an audience. I really needed to talk to people.”

- Marc Maron

"I don’t care what my paintings (etc.) look like - I care about the idea that is expressed."

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:18:08 -0500

“I don’t care what my paintings (etc.) look like - I care about the idea that is expressed.”

- Duchamp

"The irony is that most people concerned with creating good design take their values from the..."

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:32:00 -0500

“The irony is that most people concerned with creating good design take their values from the surrounding culture – from Graphis magazine, say. So they’re all doing the same designs – which to me is boring. So if you are not concerned with what “good design” is and you let the design come from the idea, you get an original design.”

- Bob Gill

For a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece of modern...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:31:00 -0500

For a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece of modern horror, The Shining. One color screenprint on shocking yellow glo-tone French paper available from Spoke Art later this afternoon here.