Book Review in the Daily Gleaner

A book I designed last year for the New Brunswick Museum, "William Forrestall: Paintings Drawings", was reviewed in the Daily Gleaner yesterday, November 23. The review was done by Karen Ruet (many, many thanks to her), and explains the design quite intricately.

It was the second time the book has been reviewed in the last week, in anticipation of William's opening this Saturday, November 27 at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, downtown. I will be in attendance and it would be great to see some familiar faces!

Here's a link to the full review on The Daily Gleaner's website:::::
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/liveit/article/1319650

Book Review in the Telegraph Journal

William Forrestall: Paintings and Drawings is an impressive volume spanning 25 years of creative production by a significant Atlantic Canadian artist.

The book, which is also a catalogue to an accompanying exhibition opening Sat., Nov. 27, at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, documents the artist's oeuvre, from preliminary sketches to finished paintings. Allen Bentley's essay, as well as the interview with the artist, provide an in-depth look inside the artist's mind within the development of his studio practice in still-life painting.

The sheer number of reproductions is enlightening; however, it is the inclusion of painted studies, and an entire chapter on preliminary drawings, that adds to the fascination of Forrestall's work. This detail, describing his masterful skill in the drawings, leading to the freedom in the painted studies, which then dives into a state of control in the finished works, allows us to enter into the artist's process.

Bentley's essay astutely compares Forrestall's search for simple truth to "William Blake's finding eternity in a grain of sand." Underneath meticulous surface control, the works present themselves with honesty and integrity. The focused precision allows for the knowledge that the paintings are part of the artist's contemplative journey and search for a greater human truth.

It is the artist's comments that are most revealing. Forrestall's discussion of faith and family is proof that underneath the control and repetition there exists an interaction with humanity, and even compassion.

Alexandrya Eaton for the Telegraph-Journal

NEW, New East Side Layout

There it is! EastSideBoardSupply.ca has been redone again. After getting some great critique from people about the usability, look, and feel of the other redesign, I went back to the drawing board. I stuck with the easy-to-update blog approach, but went in a totally different visual direction. I wanted something easy to look at and easy to read, with good colors and satisfying contrast. This is what I ended up with. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, so let me know what works and what doesn't! (Including links)

There is also a sale going on in Saint John this weekend. Save 20% on all regular priced items! Fredericton will be hosting the same sale, but next weekend.

Oh No Theodore - The Lighthouse Sessions

The Lighthouse Sessions consist of 3 songs from Oh No, Theodore!'s debut Self-titled album; they are:

"Bloody Hands"
"Senescence Song"
and "Fit for Your Toes"

The video shoot went down in Fredericton, NB on top of the lighthouse on Regent St. We paid a nominal fee, and were aloud to shoot for an hour. However, we only required a second take on two songs, and got out of there fairly quickly considering all of the bands equipment, and my video equipment.

Here are some screens of the videos. Click any of the pictures to see all the videos in one place on my Behance Portfolio page. Or click here.





Thanks very much to Ali Samuel and Jon Pollack on assistant camera, as well as Zach Long on sound. The Lighthouse Sessions were produced in part by Oh No Theodore and myself, and the videos were edited solely by me, Rodney Mann.

I hope you enjoyed the videos. Please pass them along. This band deserves as much recognition as they can get. They have done a lot in the 6 months they have been around, including becoming finalists in The Harvest Jazz and Blues Rising Star Competition, and being featured as a Show-to-See at this summer's Sunseeker Festival by CBC contributor Marc "Bones" Leblanc of Indy Pop Night fame.

http://myspace.com/OhNoTheodore for more amazing songs. More videos to come soon. Very soon.

Oh No, Theodore! is
Jeremy McLaughlin
Kyle Albright
Lucas Bailey
Alethia Dinkins
Aaron Bravener
Gemma Marr
and Jake Spencer

Had a lot on the go!

To everyone who keeps checking my blog despite my terribleness of updating; Thank You.
As the title of this post suggests. I have been busy on a few other ventures, including a new website for East Side Board Supply (www.eastsideboardsupply.ca), a rather large banner (8ft x 3.5 ft) for a Malawi Exchange Program offered at the University of New Brunswick, a book that just went to print for Fredericton-based artist Stephanie Weirathmueller, as well as a couple of skate videos.

I'll start off by showing off the newest East Side website. Here's a screen shot:
  

Holy No Update

So I apologize for the major lapse in updates. Although I know it only hurts me. I'm sure, like most of you, school has all but crushed your dreams of being a professional (or at least amateur) blogger come exam time.

I have been busy working on some great essays though that I feel are good enough to feature on the website. If you read them, then sweet, welcome to the circle of the informed. If you don't, then sweet. Now when you come to my mocktail parties on Thursday afternoons, you won't know a thing we're talking about.

Here's a quick bio on Naomi and the book.

Naomi Klien NO LOGO

Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times and #1 international bestseller.

Her first book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies was also an international bestseller, translated into over 28 languages with more than a million copies in print.




Here is my essay on the last half decade of advertising techniques

NO LOGO by Naomi Klein was an eye opening reading. The reading was essentially a timeline of the past 30 years in advertising, and the course it took to go from an athoritarian roll to one that embraced distinct cultures in order to stay alive, the only way they could compete with the competing generic goods they succeeded not too long ago.

The amounts shown spent on advertising alone (although it was a figure from 1998) was astonishing, but expected. Reading this made me do some research about the current spending going on for advertising taking into consideration the age-long battle that has already been occuring between branding conglomorates to garner brand loyatly. The number as of the Klein reading was $196 Billion per annum, but an estimated value from 2008 shows figures closer to $450 Billion spent annually on promoting consumption. I found these numbers to be an amazing waste of resources at a time in our existence when resources are becoming more and more scarce. The irony that all of these companies are promoting consumption and with it, self-indulgence, often times ending in terrible amounts of debt, are in fact, themselves, wading in debt.

The realization that these levels of spending was happening every year on advertising alone made me really question the oversight in company expenditures. While I’m sure it’s approved within the company, the fact that it’s aloud to happen while owing so much money to creditors is really unnerving.

An interesting part of the article was when Klein mentioned the change of the placement of brand logos. Once reserved for the inside of clothing on tags, logos like Tommy Hilfigers infamous line design were all over the place. I think back to middle school and all of the kids walking around with Nike swooshes and FUBU plastered across their chests looking like walking billboards, and can’t help but remember the clicks associated with who wore certain types of clothing. They were interchangeable, the person and the clothes. I couldn’t help but be warded off by those massive logos. I didn’t have a reason for opposing it at the time aside from knowing that that little eagle on a shirt, unnecessarily cost an extra $45, and that did not seem worth it at all.

But I suppose the companies had done their homework. They knew what would sell. Finding a market and culture and attach yourself to it. Brands were connecting with their customers on a completely personal level, in contrast to the older style of advertising that used to preach products to you. Customers responded wallets ajar and the advertising technique continued to flourish to the point that the product became the show even more than the supporting artists or athletes.

“Culture Spending” continued to grow, with some brands going as far as to reach into dozens of niche markets trying to spread its name, and recognition. One of the companies mentioned was Virgin. Virgin is a company that builds its empire based on it’s percieved reputation. The conglomerate run by Richard Branson owns a range of ventures from it’s well-known cellphone service to a stem cell holding company. The name is not limited to any one market or product, but instead puts its name on anything and brings with it a well-backed investment and acquisition.

The article’s exploration of child slavery by Nike was shallow at best, but was at least acknowledged. Something I would like to see included in this type of article would be at least a half-hearted portion dedicated to companies that cut costs by exploiting labour laws and human rights. It is a heavy subject and something that deserves its own article, but it would have been good to have incorporated.

It explored the interdependence of celebrities and the brands they are affiliated with. This reading introduced me to synergy and forced me to research it to find out what it was. What I found is a very difficult concept to explain, and one that is circumstantial. What I gather is that by assembling a variety of backings, be them different companies that combine to make your empire, or different sponsors that an athlete uses to brand themselves. It can be an association that lets both sides prosper, but it is a relationship that must remain on good terms or at least not end badly in public in order to withhold the integrity of the parties involved.

The NO LOGO reading effectively chronicled the world of advertising and branding over the past 30 years and had some interesting points. The sheer expenditures from corporations to promote brand loyalty is just mind-blowing and caught my attention. The fact that all of this seems to work is interesting enough without taking into consideration the money going into getting it right. The embracing of the individual is moving product steadily despite unprecedented amounts of collective debt, and does not look like it’s letting up any time soon.



If you thought this essay was thought-provoking, or at the very least, somewhat entertaining - Please forward this to people you think would enjoy a read like this! Thanks.

Oromocto Skate Park Commercials - Commercial One

I've decided it's time to chronicle all of the videos made at the skate park this summer.

These videos were put together with tons of help from a lot of the kids at the park, but some names that come to mind, and many thanks to them;

Mat Hinchey
Mat Dana
Kyle Albright
Tj Leighton, and so many more..

Here's Commercial One from the Oromocto Skate Park from Summer, 2009.

Behance Network - My Portfolio

I came across this website called the Behance Network. It's one of a couple of design websites that Behance runs. The Behance Network is basically a network of artists putting their recent work online into portfolios and having it critiqued and commented on by their peers.

Think DeviantArt only easier to customize.

I've got a lot of my completed work on there and it just keeps growing. It's a lot easier to look through projects than a blog, so I've decided to put a link to it under the Friends tab so you can take a look at it any time!

So yeah, check it out:



Tomorrow! NO HOLDS BARRED 8 will be released! Stay tuned!

Book Release!

Long time no post, I know. I have been pretty side tracked of late.

Last night I was in Saint John for William Forrestall's exhibit opening at the New Brunswick Museum, where a book I designed for the show was released. It weighs in around 137 pages, and has essays, interviews, paintings, and sketches by and about the artist, William. Here's a full Cover shot.



You can pick a copy up at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, or contact me about getting one if you can't make it there!

PANO-RAMA Time!

Hello all. I have been very sick with a terrible head cold for the past week. I have been spending most of my time laying in bed and the rest complaining.

As a result, I have not been updating, and for that, I apologize. Here are some PANOs I shot to make up for it:

UNB Indoor Soccer Field, Winter 2008



Paint Room in memorial Hall, UNB, 2008



Dingey Entrance to the Indoor Soccer Field, Winter 2008



CPIT Mac Lab (Where I work)



I'll upload the interactive mov files when I get a chance. Stay tuned for some outdoor Panos and maybe even some from this fall with the lovely colors.

The Year Ender Extras

There's tons of footage I have left over from The Year Ender -- It was pretty hard to keep it down to a run time of 8 minutes...

There are some funny clips, some hard falls, and a tape that hasn't been transferred yet, so if you were wondering "Where was my inward heel?" -- It's probably on that tape. And Kyle or myself will transfer it over asap.

Also, to everyone who had footage in the video, I will be uploading everyone's footage to the internet so you can download it! Talk about easy!

That said. Here's a little taste:

The Year Ender: A Summer in Review

The long anticipated Oromocto Skate Park Year Ender video is finally completed after over 70 hours of taping, transfer, and editing.

Without further ado, here it is:




Check out WhoIsFreddy.ca
and Kyle Albright's blog.
They've been kind enough to toss this video up. Take some time to check these guys' sites out. Feel free to spend hours surfing.

Many thanks.

Ball Maze

Here's a Ball Maze I made for a final project in my Maya class:

Phamily Photos are Phun!

So the long weekend was like three years ago but I hope everyone enjoyed their extra day off. I have been pretty swamped with homework and actual work so I haven't been able to update for my vast amounts of readers (Thanks Mom! -- Wait does she even have the Internet?) -- Moving on, this next week will be one filled with tons of working pieces getting completed, so there should be an onslaught of finished products.

It's also going to be an interesting week in politics with the Loony almost at par with the US Greenback, the Cons flirting with 40% approval rates, and much more. So for those of you who follow my column in The Aquinian and saw that I didn't have a column this week, I apologize, but I will have one next week touching on everything I mentioned and taking a look at what a stronger dollar means for Canadians, especially New Brunswickans.

In the meantime, my first ever book that I designed is going to print tomorrow morning! It's an art gallery book made for the New Brunswick Museum for Fredericton's William Forrestall's art show.

Here's a glance at it:

A Sunday Push

I recently finished a school project that required me to make a moving multimedia piece based on my influences from a piece of Jazz music and a painting.

The painting I chose was Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending Staircase No. 2. The painting is a cubist/futurist piece of a woman descending a staircase and essentially houses multiple frames on one canvas. As you can tell, it's a rather monochromatic piece, so I decided to make my piece as colorful as possible.

The Jazz piece I used was performed by Eric Lewis at TEDTalks in March, 2009 and can be viewed here. His originality during his cover of Going Under - Evenescance was unique to say the least, but perked my interest in his choice of music to play at such a presigious event as TEDTalks. After finding out about his past, combined with the story I got from his performance, I decided to make a care-free skateboard video.

Here it is:



Thanks to Kyle Albright for helping out. You can check out Kyles blog at http://timetoburnagain.blogspot.com