SpearTalks: Jeremyville
by: Josh Spear
Jeremy Andrew, a.k.a. Jeremyville, covers a bit more ground than your typical designer-slash-artist. Perhaps we should rephrase that, for while it is correct to refer to what Jeremy covers as "ground" (being that he darts around the world with a fearsome frequency), the bare truth is that what Jeremy really covers is stuff. A ton of it. Television screens, snowboards, books, bags, hundreds upon hundreds of t-shirts; Jeremyville is, in many ways, the king of self-branding. An affinity for creation, done at a somewhat obsessive frequency, has allowed him the opportunity to pair with hundreds of entities.
From Rossignol to MTV, Jeremy's ongoing series of collaborations has resulted in a lineup that would make even the editors of Hypebeast blush. Read on to find out what it is that keeps Jeremyville humming along so steadily.
Joshspear.com: You went to school to become an architect, became a cartoonist rather inadvertently, and then continued on to become "Jeremyville." Was this series of events a result of following your dreams, or something more fate-driven?
Jeremyville: I’d say Jeremyville is the result of a million considered decisions, some erroneous in hindsight, some okay!
Jeremyville has evolved quite a bit; it's now best described as a project-based concept. Any idea or project that interests or excites me, I bring in to the Jeremyville story. A book. A collab. An animation. A t-shirt. A toy. A new character. Anything that adds something to the overall Jeremyville landscape, and that intrigues the viewer.
I mostly call myself Jeremyville these days, as I'm the sum of these parts – these projects are my babies and have so much of me invested in them. I'm proud to be really personal in my work, and universal at the same time. I'm striving for some sort of "˜universal intimacy', by which I mean I want both a kid in Paris and a 60 year old in The Midwest US to get something from my work, like from one of my comic stories. This might sound a bit esoteric, but I really do think about such things daily! And no, I don't read self help books!
Spearlocator: World Economic Forum
by: Josh Spear
I’ve landed in London (warm, rainy, safe) and am here for a quick weekend on my way to Davos, Switzerland for the 2008 World Economic Forum. This year’s annual meeting explores the power of collaborative innovation – five days filled with more than 2,500 invited participants from 88 countries. This includes 27 heads of state and government, religious leaders, media leaders, and pretty much leaders of, well, big deal companies. The forum has between 40 and 80 sessions everyday including everything from sessions like Myths and Realities of Private Equity, Japan: A Forgotten Power, Turkey’s Challenges, and many, many more. The whole gist of the week is obviously to get global leaders on the same page about everything from climate change to the global economy. I’ll be joining a panel on the power of social media with the International Media Council — and have no idea what to expect except for pure inspiration. I’m very humbled having been invited to such an incredible event. I’ll be updating throughout the week about my experience on Twitter, and of course, here on this blog. Any readers going (or folks who want to chat in London), drop me a line!
19.20.21.
by: Jeremy Elder
In 2006 the planet crossed a tipping point "“ more than half the world's population now live in cities.
Focusing on 19 cities with populations greater than 20 million people at the turn of the 21st century, 19.20.21. is a 5 year initiative to study the global effects of urbanization. The project plans to use the data collected to become an indispensable tool for urban and business planning.
Since most of the world's biggest cities lie on a coastline, the study is paying particular attention to issues related to the global warming, ocean resources, and energy distribution while also studying factors like crime dynamic and calamity risk. Once gathered, the site aims to distribute its findings in traditional channels like print and TV as well as online and in a series of seminars to be held in each of the 19 cities that were studied.
Daniel Firman
by: Jeremy Elder
French artist Daniel Firman's work is a diverse bunch of opposites. His life-sized body cast plaster sculptures stand in impossible formations – balanced on each other's feet or crawling upward into an inner tube. Clothed and proportioned, but with faces always hidden, their apparent realness is shocking at first. He plays with the visual trick of making each mannequin look real but defy the laws of gravity at the same time. He achieves the same effect with Suspensions — fully dressed bodies held in the air or flopped over metal bars. It's clear that these aren't static situations — a moment of action has been captured. Not the jump-off or the landing but some instant in between. Incorporated into his installations are his eye-grabbing neon sculptures. The multi-colored lines tend to radiate out from a central point in an attempt to create a perfect shape, but they all deteriorate at a point. Near perfect circles have one line that goes a stray.
One of his current exhibitions, at La Galeri des Galeries, is a celebration in honor of the 20th anniversary of famed French couturier Christian Lacroix. Appropriately, rather than form the body sculptures from plaster he not only dressed them, but formed their very bodies, from Lacroix's clothing.
Never is a Better Time
by: Heather Snodgrass
I feel like this is a perfect print for a Friday like today — three day weekend approaching, the hours ticking by with molasses-like viscosity — when most of us probably aren’t being incredibly productive at all. ‘Never is a Better Time’ by cheeky Scottish artist MCR comes in a limited edition run of ten (at last count, half are gone) and is available at the lovely hub of Scottish design gifts known as Papa Stour. I want one!
Via Oh Joy!
Send A Message
by: Evan Kessler
Have you ever wanted to travel to Palestine just to write a message of love in graffiti for your sweetie? Or perhaps you wanted to tell that buddy of yours that he owes you $20 bucks and just wanted it to be visible on something as divisive as a wall to illustrate the rift the debt has caused between the two of you? Well now you can do both of those. At Send A Message you pay and Palestinians Spray! For a mere 30 Euros, you can have your message of love or debt collection spray painted on this 620 Kilometer fence. In return, you get 3 digital photos to share with those who the message is aimed at.
All kidding aside, the wall is a great project, a collaboration between Dutch advertising professionals and creative Palestinian youth, each message posted reminds Palestinians trapped inside the Wall they have not been forgotten, helping to keep hope alive. The project also allows those inside those wall to send one single, simple message: “we are human beings, just like you, with sense of humor and lust for life.” That’s why they do this, and enjoy it.
You'll Love Lamp
by: Evan Kessler
For a while now we've had an extra padded envelope lying around the office that we wish we had a purpose for. If only we could find the perfect lighting fixture or something that could fit inside. Hold on a sec"¦we've found it! The Eureka lamp by Dutch Designer Sander Mulder is comprised of a laser-cut sheet of aluminum with an embedded LED illumination source and powered by a single button battery, making for a slim, sleek, source of illumination for your study or bedroom (because seriously who has a study?) or wherever you choose to let it hang. Unfortunately, it may be a while before this beacon of brightness can light up your life, as it is only currently a prototype. Maybe you should go to Mulder's website and let him know how much you love lamp so that he may be so inclined to produce them for the masses.
Via Technabob