cataloging some things to read for later…
This is not a manifesto: Towards an anarcho-design practice
designing anarchy? by steven heller for print magazine
anarchism & design by christopher schwartz for core 77
disclaimer: from what i know of this guy, his ideas about the legitimacy of private property and capitalism are suspect, but this still looks to be worth reading.
new questions for anarchist art by josh macphee for if i can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution
i was recently invited by the open table kc to speak on a panel about art as activism. i was honored to sit alongside nika renee – poet , community organizer, and self-published author; and anthony marcos rea – multi-disciplinary artist, educator and organizer. painter, museum professional, and co-owner of monarch coffee jaime rovenstine was invited but unable to stay for the discussion. it was a great event, moderated by the inquisitive garrett brown, a member of the open table’s leadership team.
listen to the podcast of the discussion.
below are the images shown at the event as a representation of my work.
embedded in many typical “design a logo for X” or “a magazine for Y” is the designerly conceit that prioritizes (fetishizes?) the thingness of the artifact over the need for humans to communicate particular content to certain other humans. if we are responsible and innovative designers, we will move beyond stuffing the need to communicate into a stock format, as profitable as that may be.
"overlaid geographies" can help people gain a more concrete sense of scale on a global or local level.
it's funny how things fall together slowly over time, how one piece you discover a year ago will sync up so nicely with another piece you just discovered a minute ago. i'm having a synthesis moment right now and don't want to lose it, so here goes...
i was honored to speak recently at the local "coffee&design" monthly series about design for good. being the smart and organized folks they are, the whole event was documented so i wanted to include the video here as well as a pdf of my slides with presenter notes in case anyone wants to take a peek.
thanks very much to erica birkman, kelly tomlinson, and rob lafeve for the opportunity!
as a student collaborator one of the first assignments was to work with stand up kc advocating for fair wages and termination of wage theft. little did i know that all this corruption was occurring in my backyard.
"anti-designspiration" a visual inspiration site for everything non-trendy, shitty looking, real-authentic (not faux-thentic), actually informational, punk rock, diy, workhorse-genius, 3rd world, desperate, cheap-ass, and possibly stupidly-risky.
does this already exist and perhaps i just don't know about it?
this idea is free to use, co-opt, or otherwise exploit. let me know if you want to discuss further or contact me if you use it.
For my internship at The New Programme, I was assigned to create the logo for the Rozarks in Rosedale. The Rozarks are natural biking/hiking trails, and are described as an "urban nature escape." The new logo will be placed around the trails acting similar to a national forrest trail sign.
final ink drawing before vector work
in the fall of 2013, my undergrad professor at missouri state university invited me to participate in an international poster exhibition he was organizing. titled "sarejevo 100", it is a collection of historical events from the past century of this storied city.