Currently Enjoying

The Idealist.org: Handbook to Building a Better World.

Dawn at Firebelly gave these out as a gift to each of the campers this year. Though I have not finished, I found this quote to be pretty inspiring...

"One of my lifetime goals is to be as generous as I can be. I am not the most brilliant thinker in the world, so I am not going to push forward the frontiers of human knowledge. Nor am I especially ambitious in my career, so I am not going to be the CEO of the next Google. However, I do have moral ambition. I would like to stretch myself to be the most generous person I can be. I think that is in my power. Even if I fail, it can't hurt to try." -Cliff Landesman, donor, volunteer, Trickle Up, Oxfam America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Lake Champlain Committee, Alaska Center for the Environment, WNYC, Pedals for Progress, among others; Brooklyn, New York

Though I'm not totally ruling out the idea of drastically advancing human thought or creating and running my own multi-billion dollar web venture, I can relate to what he is saying here and I appreciate that.

The quote sort of sums up the book as well. It explains every level of involvement with non-profits and emphasizes the importance of giving, regardless of amount. So, I suggest checking it out if you have the time and interest.

Thanks Dawn!
^d
sarah

2009 VCU GDES Juried Show

Morrissey Letterpress poster by Michael Sean O'neill.

Tonight was the Opening for the VCU Graphic Design Juried show. I had planned on spending my day in 1509 W Main St (our building) doing work for my portfolio, but I ended up spending 4 hours helping to set up this show. It started at 5, which is very unfortunate because Oprah starts at 5 and I hate missing Oprah.

My friends are incredibly talented.


Letterpress work by Sarah Spear (left) and Jordan Weaver (right).


Book by Stephanie O'dell and John Cage Cd Packaging by Kelsey deSostoa.


deja new identity system by Kelsey deSostoa.


Self-portraits by Tida Tep (far left), Sean Kuhnke (3rd from left), and Berick Bacani (2nd from right).


My favorite piece. Letterpress by Berick Bacani.

I had a few pieces up as well!

Max Richter/Experimental Type Music Packaging - 24 Postcards in Full Color


Process Book for Print 2 with John Malinoski.


and a collaborative piece with Christina Gleixner from the Jean-Benoit Levy Workshop - Love Despite Aids (the one with the rubber ducks.)


Students from the sculpture department, graphic design department, and music department have been working together all semester to create the piece below. John Labra got our Senior Studio class involved and a lot of the students helped to build instruments or created posters for the performance. It's basically a huge percussion instrument made out of (mostly) recycled materials. These students performed for about half an hour during the opening. We watched from the second floor, it was pretty sweet.





i think that's all for tonight. i am listening to the ting tings and working on my portfolio. i should probably go to sleep soon.

^d
sarah

addicted to polos

I am not addicted to polos, nor have I ever been moderately interested in their existence. I have, however, had this post on my mind for some time now.

I read most of Naomi Klein's No Logo last semester (a surprisingly interesting read considering the lack of images and abundance of facts and figures). She talks about brands like Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, and Polo in hip-hop culture.

"Tommy Hilfiger, even more than Nike or Adidas, has turned the harnessing of ghetto cool into a mass-marketing science. Hilfiger forged a formula that has since been imitated by Polo, Nautica, Munsingwear and several other clothing companies looking for a short cut to making it at the suburban mall with inner city attitude.

Like depoliticized, hyper-patriotic Benetton, Hilfiger ads are a tangle of Cape Cod multiculturalism: scrubbed black faces lounging with their wind-swept white brothers and sisters in that great country club in the sky, and always against the backdrop of a billowing American flag...

Tommy Hilfiger started off squarely as white-preppy wear in the tradition of Ralph Lauren and Lacoste. But the designer soon realized that his clothes also had a peculiar cache in the inner cities, where the hip-hop philosophy of "living large" saw poor and working-class kids acquiring status in the ghetto by adopting the gear and accoutrements of prohibitively costly leisure activities, such as skiing golfing, even boating. Perhaps to better position his brand within this urban fantasy, Hilfiger began to associate his clothes more consciously with these sports, shooting ads at yacht clubs, beaches, and other nautical locales. At the same time, the clothes themselves were redesigned to appeal more directly to the hip-hop aesthetic."

I love Young Jeezy, and it is only appropriate that I mention his track, "My President" today, as Barack Obama took the position just over 48 hours ago. It might seem trivial, but I was pretty stoked on making a connection between what Naomi Klein is saying here and what Nas [he wrote the lyrics] is asking when he says,

"I said I woke up this morning, headache this big,
pay all they damn bills, feed all these damn kids,
buy all these school shoes, buy all these school clothes,
for some strange reason, my son addicted to Polos."

Nas's son is addicted to Polo because Tommy Hilfiger paved the path for their company. Hilfiger was successful because he ignored moral boundaries.

Negative links like these, links that bring design to society in a negative way, have helped me to realize just how important it is for me to use my design for good.

^D
sarah

places in the world where people do not dream

After browsing through bostom.com's first and somewhat depressing installment of "The year 2008 in Photographs," this book, written and illustrated by Dallas Clayton quickly lifted my spirits.

"There are places in the world
where people do not dream...
of rocket-powered unicorns,
and candy cane machines,
of magical watermelon boats,
and musical baboons..."

You can find the side-scrolling internet version (I believe in its entirety) here. You can pre-order a book to be shipped mid-January here!

Another image just because all of them are so totally awesome...