Product of a Generation

2009-11-25T02:28:00.001-05:00

Wishses

2009-08-21T22:38:00.001-04:00

I wish my blog was more interesting looking. I'll have to remedy this.

Amazing

2009-07-28T00:21:00.001-04:00

I went skydiving today. Completely amazing.

www.freefalladventures.com

This is what happens when i get bored.

2009-07-27T01:09:00.000-04:00

Bored and procrastinating

Post

2009-07-26T21:54:00.002-04:00

This is what my college education is doing for me....

The differences are subtle, but meeting a client's needs is key to making a name for yourself.

Pimpin

2009-07-23T18:19:00.001-04:00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150361183351#ht_500wt_1182

I have to promote these all over because I need them out of my house! :)

Roids

2009-07-21T01:05:00.001-04:00

Thought I'd post these. I took them outside the Phish Concert in June. Shakedown!!!!

Inside of the Retrotones Cover

2009-07-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

Full Spread with details

2009-06-29T00:08:00.003-04:00

Here's the full spread back(left) front (right) for the album insert.

Finally

2009-06-25T01:05:00.001-04:00

Finally posting something new.
Album cover for The Retrotones.
Check them out at: www.myspace.com/theretrotones

<3ska

round 2 of this logo

2009-06-11T01:01:00.000-04:00

...

2009-06-09T21:46:00.002-04:00

2009-06-08T00:20:00.000-04:00

Logo

2009-05-27T00:53:00.001-04:00

Step one...

The Retrotones / High Street Gallery

2009-05-26T22:30:00.002-04:00

I am beginning heavy work on two new projects. One is a non-paying job for a small Ska Rock band called The Retrotones (www.myspace.com/theretrotones) and another is promotional pieces for The High Street Gallery, a gallery I am currently acting as curator and director to. I will be publishing my progress with each over the next few days as well as filling in more information about Eric Tran's logo I am developing.

Logo for a friend

2009-05-20T17:42:00.003-04:00

Check Eric Tran's amazing work at: www.erictranart.tumblr.com

Ledger, Heath

2009-05-15T00:30:00.001-04:00

I know it's not perfect or finished, but whatever its a post. Ha.

Work for maggie's mom

2009-05-14T20:27:00.002-04:00

I did a lot of stuff today... I'm not looking for a crit on this, just showing

Resume changes

2009-05-14T18:03:00.001-04:00

I recently accepted a position at Rowan University as Gallery Director for the High Street Gallery... yay!

REvision

2009-05-14T18:00:00.003-04:00

This is a revision of an older anti-smoking poster I created last year.

Resume is finally done...

2009-05-12T01:08:00.002-04:00

Exhibition Stuff

2009-05-09T23:28:00.004-04:00

Maggie (g/f) and me! yay!
The artists !
Maggie, mom and me!
Grandmom, Grandpop, myself, Grandpop Joe!
The main wall with our signage books and artist statements

Graduation

2009-05-06T20:38:00.001-04:00

I am graduating school soon. You're invited to the party. Yes, you.

My show is coming

2009-04-30T20:40:00.006-04:00

Landscape photo show!!

Embarrassing

2009-04-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

Here's a very embarrassing picture of both James Victore and myself. Recently Victore came to my university to give a somewhat intimate lecture.

Stationary (the remix)

2009-04-23T14:07:00.002-04:00

[Addendum] I added borders so you can margins. The "teal outlines" would not be printed.
Finally got around to making some stationary for myself
The green border around the business cards represents the trim and would not be printed

Traffic?

2009-04-23T13:47:00.000-04:00

I would love to know how much traffic my blog generates. I'm assuming next to none, but I'm not sure how to be certain of the hits I receive.

PC CAN S. MY D.

2009-04-21T02:07:00.000-04:00

This is what I make when I should not be making things.

Fun Things I find

2009-04-16T20:45:00.002-04:00

I found this in an old psychology book my mom used to use in school.

Sequential

2009-04-16T19:23:00.002-04:00

I am planning to present work to have a Polaroid exhibition. I've taken nearly 80 polaroids over the past 6 months with another 50 planned. The top three are from left to right At the Car Wash 1/3; '' '' '' '' 2/3; '' '' '' '' 3/3.
Enjoy

Sometimes I can write, too

2009-04-14T00:51:00.001-04:00

The great paradox of art, for me at least, is that it can be so universally accepted by all cultures of humanity on a macro scale, but so tediously confusing and complex on a micro scale.
When I was younger I was certain I knew what art was. Even before this class [Aesthetics] I thought I had a good understanding of what art is and that I would carry that conception with me into my 30s and maybe later down the road I would have some grand epiphany about art that would lead to a great and timeless understanding of what art "is" and that some how I would know something that no one else before me had ever known. Ever.
With each passing reading, however, I'm not so sure that there are unexplained areas of art theory or philosophy. Everything seems to have been covered up into this point in history. There are essentially no more limits to what can be created, and what can be thought about being created. Even to have an idea of maybe one day making something significant is a type of art. So what does that leave for the modern artist?
Warhol and Lichtenstein took the world they saw and adapted it. They made works biggers and massed produced them. Even Duchamp took something that was already in and used, and turned it on its side and made it art. What does the modern artist aspire to create that has not already been created by someone better before him?
Imitation is a tough thing to achieve without feeling cheap. When I take a photograph, or draw a picture, I'm not making anything original in the sense that I am making something from nothing, but somehow the process of me making that photo or drawing becomes more than just a copying. When I copy something I become the author of that copy, but is that worthy of praise or critique?
I have chosen a career choice that allows me full versatility and freedom of expression, yet I'm still crippled by the fear that things have already been done, and already been done better. Being more than an artist, but rather being a great idealist and contemporary thinker, seems to in some respects outweigh craftsmanship today. I'm not sure where I belong at times, but I don't think I can stop myself from trying to make something new. I guess that's a large part of what art IS for me. It's a drive to make a and create and attempt and fail and succeed and always push forward. I'm always going to try and create. Always. Regardless of whether or not its been thought or done before.

Awards and Books

2009-04-12T13:00:00.005-04:00

So I recently made two books. One is a compilation of my sketches and the other is polaroids. On the first of the month I was honored with two prizes by Rowan University for my book of compiled photos entitled "Polaroid, The" one of which was a "Dean's Purchase Prize Award" and solidified my work by giving the book a permanent residence on the campus.
MyPublisher is a great resource to make small "pocket books" cheap and quickly. I used their program that you download on their site and upload the images to templates. I've ordered from them half a dozen times now and the books always arrive between 2-3 business days after placing the order. They're incredibly efficient and the prints are consistent.

Award

2009-03-27T23:47:00.002-04:00

I have been award a Top Prize by the Rowan University Annual Student Juried Exhibition :)
Full details here:
http://www.thewhitonline.com/?p=9396

Drawing

2009-02-27T00:59:00.002-05:00

The scan doesn't do this justice

Book Making

2009-02-26T21:40:00.001-05:00

I'm using LuLu to or Blurb (I'm not sure) to put together a book of all my drawings over the past couple years. A lot of stuff from this blog. It should be a neat little thing to thumb through when it's done.

Hey I made that!

2009-02-17T22:33:00.003-05:00

So last semester I designed a logo just like this. Friggen weird.

Logo maybe?

2009-02-17T00:57:00.003-05:00

This may end up being my logo. Still working on it. As it stands now its a variation 2/2

First go

2009-02-16T20:13:00.003-05:00

Here's the first go at a friend's logo. I'm having trouble with it, but I think he'd be pleased. The question is: Am I pleased? I have no answer atm.

Got a new wide-angle lens

2009-02-12T21:48:00.001-05:00

workworkwork

2009-02-06T16:59:00.001-05:00

im hard at it

Final Design

2009-02-04T12:38:00.004-05:00

This was chosen by the English Department at my school for promotional purposes. Final image will be 11x17 and accompanied with a booklet

Drawerings

2009-02-03T00:30:00.004-05:00

Been doing a lot of drawing and painting tonight. it feels good, but i wish i were better.

deets

2009-01-26T00:21:00.000-05:00

Hmmm

2008-12-07T07:28:00.001-05:00

Now I'm not sure, but I may very well be going insane.
Let's just hope it helps the creative process.

side project im developing :)

2008-12-07T00:37:00.001-05:00

MYSTERY!

2008-12-05T03:17:00.001-05:00

I have no idea.

Modern Art, The Bell Tolls For Thee

2008-12-04T00:42:00.008-05:00

Maybe it's the flu I've been fighting off for a couple days now, maybe it's the near five years of endless studying, or maybe it's a sudden realization of what is truly important to me regarding my perceptions of life, but as far as I'm concerned, the theories behind Modern Art are total bullshit.
Above all else, art is self-expression through a varying medium. Secondary to that self-expression is the idea which drives the expression, and tertiary to that is the aesthetic which is the result of the idea and the realization of said idea be it pleasant or unsettling.
The pretentious writing and essays of Modern Artists have left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Writings which seek to grant greater insight into an artist's reasoning are vague, construed, and frequently irrelevant. The opinions of several artists have become so obscure, so egotistical, and so disconnected with human emotion that I personally begin to think of some choice works as those by Donald Judd as wasted space and talent.
In his Essay "Specific Objects," I can only assume from what I can make sense of, that Judd feels it falls upon himself to create a "new three-dimensional" object (yeah, a sculpture) but he feels that because his opinions of the limitations and expectations of 3-D he is somehow justified in his analysis.
Mr. Judd believes in autonomy of form. That art should exist for its own purposes, and that no emotion should be carried with it through its observation.
...So when I pay to go the MoMA and I see Mr. Judd's wall SCULPTURES I am supposed to feel nothing? If only his work was showing and it was before 4pm on a weekday I would demand a refund.
Autonomy in art is the basic denial of all that goes into self-expression! To claim that something should invoke nothing would better be conceived not having been executed at all. To truly experience nothing is to not yet be born (for what lies beyond life is truly beyond all of us to say that there is nothing).
Black (culturally) evokes feelings yet is nothing in essence. White (again, culturally) evokes specific feelings. Blocks of constructed wood, presented with no interior, equally spaced, and painted, primed or left unfinished evoke certain feelings! Uniformity, conformism, equality, brokenness and emptiness all come to mind, yet I have been told they imply nothing.
Unfortunately when you display your art to others it becomes the public's, and anything you intended in its reception goes out the window. People will always try and feel something about art they are viewing, and I'm feeling quite bored.

Maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe Judd's work and countless other artists in showing countless places around the world have something going on in their heads that I simply don't understand.
Maybe my ideas of what art is, and what art should do are dated.
Maybe my thoughts are antique.
Maybe I'm a dying breed.
Maybe I'm right.

Regardless, his work has left me feeling more angry than anything else :)

2008-11-24T13:11:00.002-05:00

tasked with making a 'down on the farm' style label for two brands of butter: appple and pumpkin.

illustrations done myself on some paper with a good tooth to it. originally drawn in black charcoal and then color corrected to fit the 'country' feel a bit better.

w00000

2008-11-20T21:02:00.002-05:00

Pretty excited. The poster in the post below this one will be hung around campus as well as applied (in alternate versions) to both a sticker design as well as web-vertisement (i made that up I think).

The stickers are going to be placed on the plastic containers at school that cold lunches are purchased in, and upon visiting the Rowan Student Portal on the web page, a splash screen will appear encouraging the students to find out more!

It's a tad bit of an aggressive campaign, but no one knows that they can go to all the campus events for free so it's kinda important.

I'm happy everything worked out well.

New posta!

2008-11-17T01:42:00.002-05:00

reppin'

Increasing disinterest

2008-11-16T19:42:00.006-05:00

9 semesters is too much... and I've still got 1 to go. A whopping 6 classes and an inevitable breakdown (or multitude of breakdowns) left before I say goodbye to the college projects and attempt to find myself work in this 'real world' I keep hearing about. Even though now it feels like its going to be one hell of a place to try and find any 'real' work.

Here's hoping.

On another note:

I just watched the Frontline documentary The Merchants of Cool subtitled "A Report on the Creators & Marketers of Popular Culture for Teenagers."

I have to start out by saying this made for t.v. documentary is pretty dated ('01) in relation to how fast things move in our society. At the same time however, the fact that something produced only 7 years ago can be considered 'dated' does a lot to reinforce one of the arching themes presented in the film: trends.

Having grown up and lived my teenage years when this documentary was shot and recorded, I am reluctant to admit that I too, was absorbed, albeit for a shot while, with the popularity and entrancing machines that were MTv and VH1. But absorption quickly grew in to apathy and apprehension. I simply wasn't one of the teenie bopper babies that this media conglomerate was trying to 'nurture' into a screaming fanboy of popular culture and materialism. My own personality has alwats demanded something different of me: creativity.

I have lived my life to this point with a child-like fascination for toys, gadgets, picture making, and particular literature. Yet, while I look to these immediate, and perishable mediums of my intrigue as beautiful, I am left with a solemn emptiness. While I love the things I surround myself with on a daily basis, it is my personal goals to create similar works all my own that drive me through my work.

I personally can only see myself doing one other job other than designing/creating, and that would probably fall into a laborer type field. I think Office Space said it best (without ever saying it at all) that good old fashion hands in the dirt labor can be the most liberating job for a man who can't be restrained by a cubicle or number crunching under the weight of a gluttonous finger. So it is with that attitude that I can't, and will not allow myself to fall into a mindless, droning job of filing, and grinding. I simply can't look to work as a 'grind.' To spend my life day-to-day with no objective would surely drive me to an early grave, and as a result, I have already set up many small personal projects, as well less spoken of 'long term' projects that I will aid me in my quest to live a fulfilled and meaningful existence.

I am not what MTv and VH1 and countless other media giants strive to create out of the masses of people. These locusts coined 'consumerists.' I've seen the way the world is and while I don't outwardly reject it in it's entirety, I think I am confident in who I am as a person enough to proclaim that I am going to try with every last breath of who I am to rise above it.

Makes ya think...

2008-11-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

Cats are some crazy animals

2008-10-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

Links

2008-10-24T01:49:00.004-04:00

Research for Winery:
www.albavineyard.com Good
www.balicwinery.com Comical
www.bellviewwinery.com Poor
www.capemaywinery.com Up to par
www.tamuzzavineyards.com OMG R U SRS!?

www.vinturi.com A "top shelf" web site
http://www.cosbert.com/bottles/images/view_rareonion_cpc88a.jpg IDEA FOR WINE

Because of the nature of my wine name I want find a bottle that is going to reflect something Middle-Eastern and very old.

2008-10-20T11:11:00.001-04:00

Night in Philly with the gal

2008-10-16T22:04:00.004-04:00

Always working

2008-10-12T23:41:00.004-04:00

2008-10-11T18:18:00.002-04:00

revisions

New Camera

2008-10-11T17:50:00.004-04:00

There aren't any great pictures here, but they're the best of what I took today

Rough draft

2008-10-10T02:40:00.002-04:00

ROIDS!

2008-10-02T00:35:00.001-04:00

i love everything about these

REREREREMIX

2008-10-01T02:29:00.002-04:00

Hey look at this.

2008-09-28T22:48:00.002-04:00

Poster Design for a new major at school

omg yay

2008-09-27T23:58:00.003-04:00

im entirely too busy to keep up with this. and it really hasn't been about much at all lately. if anyone even still looks here, cheers! i know you do, maggie! w00t!

2008-08-11T13:23:00.002-04:00

Photo!

2008-07-10T00:50:00.002-04:00

2008-06-23T02:09:00.002-04:00

Documenting

2008-06-19T00:35:00.003-04:00

I've decided to document the events of Glassboro, NJ as it undergoes construction around the campus area.

Woa 3 in one day!

2008-06-14T11:38:00.001-04:00

Hey look another update!

2008-06-14T11:37:00.001-04:00

Hey look an update!

2008-06-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

!!

2008-04-30T20:25:00.004-04:00

I recently won two awards for the this picture entitled "The Time We Talked About Nothing (implications are subjective)."
I won honorable mention in a Juried Show at my University, as well as the Dean's Purchase Prize award, which has immortalized my piece in Wilson Hall permanently.
Also, I got my picture taken with the Dean, and will be in the school paper. Big day for me considering I've never done work I've been happy to show off :)

Roids.

2008-04-27T11:54:00.003-04:00

Alternate Spread

2008-04-21T22:35:00.002-04:00

Spread

2008-04-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

Spread for a magazine I am making in one of my class (body copy not in this version). Title and idea are both my creation

Painting!

2008-04-21T11:13:00.002-04:00

This pretty much sums up what little understanding I currently have of watercolor

Work I've done

2008-04-20T21:50:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to work I've done I probably haven't posted here.
www.behance.net/feariswasted
i don't know how to make websites, or have the patience to learn right now so this is what I got... ha

Child Study

2008-04-17T21:38:00.002-04:00

I have to make a Zoo Poster for an illustration project. I really like the way I handle hair...

Tonight I learned about...

2008-04-09T00:39:00.004-04:00

"the hustle"

Now you may be saying to yourself, "I think I'm smart enough to realize when I'm getting hustled." But ya know what the funny thing is? If you've never been hustled before (at least in person) you don't know what the fuck's going on and it's over before you know it actually happened!
Let me set the mood...
It's a cool Tuesday night, in South Philadelphia, and I'm taking my best gal out for a night on the town to see one of our favorite bands, Minus The Bear. Whether or not you've heard of them or like my taste in music is irrelevant here, so moving on... So we drove around for maybe 10 minutes (we were half an hour early for the show) and finally, to my dismay, I decided we better pull into our normal parking lot and shell out a few bucks for a safe spot. Everything is hunky dory, and I'm feeling quite good about making good time, and as we pull into the lot we see three gentlemen discussing God knows what, and one of them breaks from the group and starts signaling the car in front of me to pull into a specific spot. "This is new," I thought, "This is usually a self-serve parking lot."
So the guy, medium height and weight, black and in all black sweats and a wool cap (WARNING LIGHT ANYONE? not me apparently) says something like "It's $20 for parking past 12am." and me being the white boy I am sheepishly states that we won't be staying past 11pm, because the last time we saw the same show we were home by 12am. "No," he insists "I know this kind of concert you're gonna want to pay the $20." Right away I'm thinking to myself "Oh he just wants the extra couple bucks for overnight parking." and NOT "This fool be hustlin'." So in hindsight I remember him looking around frantically, searching even, as if scoping for Po, perhaps?! Regardless... he got my $20. I didn't even think another thing about it until he neglected to give me some kind of ticket to put in my window. "Hey buddy!" I yelled, "You didn't give me anything for my dashboard." To which he responded "Nah man, you're aight" RED FLAG
So I've walked several feet (maybe 30?) from my car towards the other two guys who I initially saw when I drove in and asked them if the guy gave them anything. "No man, we didn't give him no money, we think he's hustlin'." they tell me.

RED FLAG
"Really?!" I inquire.
"Yeah man." they reply.
"Well fuck me royally." I sigh internally.
9-1-1
"Hello 9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
"Hi, yeah, I just got hustled."
So me and my best girl drove around with 5-0 (Nice bunch of gents) and scoped out the regular hustlers in the area, but again, much to my dismay, the tree of justice yielded no fruit for me. Oh well, I didn't want to go to the station to fill out theft paperwork anyway, and the Minus The Bear concert was fucking fantabulous.

End.

Self Portrait

2008-04-04T21:00:00.001-04:00

Bored

2008-03-30T01:58:00.000-04:00

I'm more than aware this is kind of boring.

Re-re-re-remix

2008-03-26T00:11:00.002-04:00

Poster

2008-03-25T02:11:00.002-04:00

The idea.. a travel poster.. more to come

keepin it going

2008-03-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

Alice take 2

2008-03-18T12:39:00.002-04:00

I like it. The hair design could have come out better, but that's why we make studies first.

Alice

2008-03-17T21:51:00.001-04:00

Kinda drew this outta nowhere. My cousin asked me to draw her a tattoo and this was basically a study for what I want to do...

Before/After

2008-03-09T19:49:00.005-04:00

The surreal is reserved for the imaginative.

perspective

2008-03-01T23:39:00.000-05:00

The Spiderman movie made for an excellent source for this persepective exercise

Look mommy! A Swan!

2008-02-26T20:38:00.002-05:00

Apparently I can draw if I really want to.

Licensing

2008-02-26T20:31:00.005-05:00

I'm using this for a Licensing project in my illustration class.

Book Jacket

2008-02-21T01:06:00.002-05:00

here's the same piece again except spell checked and elongated into a book jacket.

School Project

2008-02-20T23:47:00.001-05:00

I didn't chose the title, I just had to make a book cover.

My Card

2008-02-16T03:11:00.000-05:00

Paying work

2008-02-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Here's a small commission job I just did. It's a t-shirt design

Trying new stuff

2008-02-09T11:43:00.001-05:00

Trying to break out of my normal photoshop habits and try something a little more contemporary

Elf concept art

2008-02-04T01:38:00.001-05:00

This is a character I'm creating. His name is still in the works as well as a lot of other details. I can tell you he's a hunter, he's an elf, and he's about to make a big discovery.

Wow

2008-02-04T01:30:00.000-05:00

This is like a montly blog now. Lame. I have a new picture to upload. I'll do it asap

Playing

2008-01-07T03:57:00.000-05:00

Can't get enough Ghost Hunters.
As an additional note: This came out darker than it actually is.

Been awhile

2008-01-07T00:10:00.000-05:00

To those of you who still check to see if I do updates, thanks!

I haven't posted anything because I'm not allowed to post actual work I'm commissioned to do because of contracts, and most of the work I have done has been doodles and and uninteresting stuff. I've been playing a with watercolor recently and here's some of the stuff I've done.

You'll notice I struggle with proportion and depth.
My compositions leave something to be desired as well.
I'm not too unhappy with the way the paint came out on these for the simple fact that I have never really tried to work with any kind of paint before... let alone color!

New Design Direction

2007-11-26T00:56:00.000-05:00

Artists are everywhere. They are teenagers. They are adolescents. They are middle-aged, and the middle-class. "Artists" are blooming in fields of expression and creativity with each passing and moment, and as a result, are forced to compete. Compete not for survival, or land, or love, but for originality.
Man is an expressive beast. He longs to create with his own two hands. To accomplish. To raise his head high and know that he has worked long and hard to make something his own.
With the introduction of the digital medium, and the ease of access therein, it is unsurprising that so many have risen up to become "artists" in our new age of computer screens and "Photoshopping." It is with a sense of pride that I call myself an artist, not because I can look at the works of others around me and learn to copy and emulate what I've seen and studied, but because I have taken what I have experienced, and absorbed it. I have made it a part of my diet. I seek not to create what has already been created, but to create that which has not yet even been dreamed.
Often times I become frustrated when viewing the works of others that I believe to be superior to mine, as I'm sure many of us have from time to time. It instills in me a feeling of anxiety that at my age I still haven't reached a skill level which others younger than me have achieved years prior. It falls on me to work harder. To learn from the multitude of failures encountered each day, and to grow both artistically and spiritually. It is the struggle I face everyday. A struggle to accept that I am not the artists of whom I admire, and that I must learn to create works that speak to me, and others like me on a level that together we can communicate through.
"Fuck Art" is a conceptual idea aimed at expressing the inherent difficulties all artists face when trying to create original works of their own. Whether it be literature, dance, music, or the fine/digital arts medium, we all struggle in our own ways on a daily basis.
"Fuck Art" is for the artist. It is the low point before the brilliant idea. The hopelessness. The feelings of sameness, redundancy, and limited nature of our work that without proper maturity can lead to our failures. It is the hope that we can create something original among a sea of flooding artists.

Jim Viola
2007 Artist's Statement
Rowan University