Changethethought

Ron English recently appeared on CNN to explain his recent art that has appeared in the Manifest Hope show. I had to opportunity to sit down with Ron this year at the Manifest Hope show in Denver during the week of the Democratic National Convention. We were both busy putting back a few drinks that night and we talked about everything from Shepard Fairey, advertising and the government. He is a pretty funny guy and like most of us in the art and design fields, highly opinionated about a lot of different topics. It was a real pleasure to meet him as I have always admired his work. Its great to see him getting such great coverage. He’s worked his ass off for it and deserves it.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Manifest Hope, Obama, Painting, Ron English, street art

Well, if the Whitehouse website is any indication of Obama’s intention to ‘get things done’ we might actually be in for some real changes. The code validates and the site was updated pretty much the second he was sworn in. Hooray for good design in the White House.

C’mon folks. Its the little things you know. Bit by bit. We’ll get there.

written by Christopher | tags: Inauguration, Obama, Politics, White House, Whitehouse.gov

Fairey has, without question, made the leap headlong into mainstream culture.

written by Christopher | tags: Colbert Report, Graphic Design, Obama, Shepard Fairey

Well, 2008 was an insane year. So much happened that I did not expect. I set out, very deliberately, at the beginning of last year to start a whole new version of the site and really push myself both personally in my own work, and also strive to hunt down as much content as humanely possible to create a legitimate blog that can serve as a real source of daily inspiration for the modern designer. It wasn’t easy since I work full time as an Art Director at an advertising agency, and it has been straining many times, but it has been worth it. The site has come so far, and I have plans to keep pushing it further.

Just before the holiday I got word that Uptown Magazine will be publishing a special double issue (2 covers) for the inauguration of Obama that feature two of my illustrations. Currently I am also working on a new television spot for the Colorado Lottery . I also re-concepted and art directed along with all of my hard working friends at Cactus, the new version of the Own Your C campaign along with a new version of the website for which I am still pushing for further development. Thank you to my new writing partner Lee for all of his work on the new campaign. The OYC work included 5 new T.V. spots created with the amazingly talented people at Lifelongfrienshipsociety. I had more fun working with them this year than probably any other project I have worked on. NYC is amazing. I cannot wait to go back. I was also asked to contribute a small piece and make some predictions for trends in 2009 by Computer Arts Magazine. You can see and read this in the current issue (also pictured above). I also appeared in the 50 covers/50th issue of Advanced Photoshop Magazine U.K. this month. I am currently working on printing a new series of A3 posters and continue (outside of my day job) working on creating new posters and work (a recent poster is pictured above).

I am still looking for new partnerships both for the site and for new creative projects. I am still seeking a art/design rep to help me secure more design/illustration work and am always looking for new freelance projects. My work at Cactus is going very well though and I feel blessed everyday to be working for such a tremendous agency and be surrounded by so many talented and kind people. I plan on staying there with people I truly care about for some time.

I am just perpetually interested in growing as a creative and a person and that means taking on as much as I can handle. I will also be pursuing my acting career more aggressively this year and will be getting my first head shots soon. Basically, I refuse to sleep until I pass out.

I am also currently shopping for a house and have decided to hunker down for a while in Denver. Its beautiful here. Its an up-and-coming city and I want to be a part of making it a better place to be a creative.

2009 is going to be a big year and don’t let the media get you down. We can make the world better and turn things around. We have before and we can do it again. Stay positive and keep creating. Thank you so much for the support and keep your eye out because Changethethought is going to charge on.

written by Christopher | tags: Cactus, Changethethought, Ctt News, Obama, Own Your C, Uptown

An interactive map on the NY times website gave an insightful look today at just how much the voter landscape changed in just 4 short years. It is by far one of the most detailed maps on the subject to appear so far. It is really amazing considering what all the talking heads were saying just how much the public shifted in this election.

There is little doubt that the Obama campaign will be studied down to the smallest detail in the future.

written by Christopher | tags: Democrats, Election 2008, Interactive Map, NY Times, Obama

So a local artist and designer, Josh Holland, was kind enough to bring this to my attention yesterday and I can’t say I was all that happy about it.

Apparently an Illustrator thought it was O.K. to steal one of the posters from my Obama download section and sell it back to Newsweek for the above article. I would never have known about this had it not been for Josh contacting me. So far, I have been unable to get my hands on a copy of this particular issue of Newsweek since this is the prior issue (marked October 20th) to this weeks November 2nd issue.

Yes, the posters are available for free download on the site, but there is clear copy before every download declaring that downloading the images and files does not pass on copyright ownership or distribution for point of sale rights. I can’t believe an illustrator would have the gall to just steal something like that and use it without even annotating where they got the image from. Furthermore, I can’t believe a publication like Newsweek would not even check to see where the image had come from. If you would like to send an email to Newsweek letting them know it’s not alright to use other artist’s and designer’s work without permission you can do so at this email address or just click on the image above this post.

I am trying to contact Newsweek now to let them know I am not o.k. with them using my imagery without permission. I’ll let you all know how it turns out. Yes, I created the posters because I wanted people to have free access to signage and I do realize that I am of course using Obama’s image for this. That goes with the territory, all I am asking from Newsweek is a proper credit.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Copyright, Newsweek, Obama, Rip Off

Credits:
Its been eight long years since the boys said wassup to each other. Even with the effects of a down economy and imminent change in the White House, the boys are still able to come together and stay true to what really matters.

Client: Wassup08.com
Production Company: Believe Media
Director: Charles Stone
Director of Photography: Shane Hurlbut
Producer: Katie Matson Walker
VFX Company: Mass Market
VFX Artist: Rich Rama
Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Editor: Nico Alba
Sound Design: Bill Chesley,
Henry Boy
Sound Mix: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Philip Loeb

written by Christopher | tags: Believe Media, Change, Obama

Alright, it is almost 3am and I still have to go to work tomorrow because I am a regular person and not quite famous enough to call my own shots. But, I have to write briefly about the single most surreal night of my life so far. This week I have met and spoke with Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Date Farmers, a producer for the Charlie Rose show and several other people that I guess are important and I didn’t even know who they were when I was talking to them. I was invited into the VIP section of the Manifest Hope show tonight since I was a contributing artist and it really just blew my mind. Ron English knew who I was, so that was fucking awesome. The reason he knew me though was because of my rant about Upper Playground and his poster. He said this blog was the only blog he has ever left a comment on. That was kind of awesome. Shepard Fairey talked to me and a coworker about having a family while doing the crazy shit we all do. That was a hot topic since my wife is ready to start a family of our own. It was the last thing I ever thought I would talk to Shepard Fairey about. Pretty weird.

I saw Moby tonight at the show. The VIP show also had Sarah Silverman speaking, she was hilarious, along with the mayor of San Francisco. He is one good looking politician. I was then treated to a private show by Ben Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie along with the members of The Postal Service and Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley admitted it was the first time she had ever played guitar for a live audience. That was cool. Sam Flores, David Choe and I have no idea who else were all walking around.

A friend and local artist who was in the show went out wheat pasting with Shepard Fairey this week and will be featured in his documentary about the entire Manifest Hope show. His artwork in the show was all purchased by Morgan Spurlock, the guy who starred in the Supersize me documentary.

In a nutshell, it was wild. Just wild. I was so excited to be there. It felt like the culmination of a long hard road we have all fought to take as artists and designers who have thrown our full weight behind the Obama campaign. It was fantastic to be around all of these people and know we were all there together for something we really believed in.

Ron English is awesome by the way. He knows a lot about politics and I was lucky enough to get to talk to him for a while. I watched him work his way into a potential interview with Charlie Rose as well. Damn would I like to get to do something like that someday.

Oh and I also sold my poster featured in the show and apparently I had sold a bunch of posters at the Manifest Hope official store. That was good news but I decided to donate my sales back to the Obama campaign and back to benefit the cost of putting on the show. I will be selling the remainder of the posters, signed and numbered on the site soon though for about 75% less than what they are selling them for at Manifest Hope.

I will do a full image posting about the show later this week.

Life is crazy.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Manifest Hope, Obama, Obey, Ron English

There are some really cool new Obama shirts for sale in the Stolen Shop. They have put about 3 or 4 new designs up since I last visited. You can show your support and maintain your hipster image. Everyone wins.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Fashion, Obama, Obama Gear, Obama Shirts

Since I have been away the past 2 weeks in Brazil, I have not been able to blog since I have had little connection to the internet nor the time to continue writing. I  stole away today though so that I could mention that I will be exhibiting in the Manifest Hope show in Denver the week of the Democratic National Convention. I am extrememly excited to be a part of the show and I have my friend Scot LeFavor to thank for securing my entrance into the show.

The show is being curated and judged by the likes of Shepard Fairey and Moby, to name a few and is guaranteed to be one of the most exciting art shows this year. I will be exhibiting the first poster in my series of 2,000 signed and numbered Obama Commemorative posters. The poster will be framed for the show and is 2 feet by 3 feet in size. The rest of the posters will soon be available for sale in my online store in September. There will also be posters for sale at the Manifest hope show and at certain locations during the DNC.

Here are the details of the show from the Manifest Hope website:
“Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum. The Manifest Hope Gallery celebrates that role and shines a spotlight on artists across the nation who use their voices to amplify and motivate the grass roots movement surrounding the Obama Campaign. The Manifest Hope Gallery highlights the central themes of the progressive grass-roots movement- Hope Change, Progress, Unity and Patriotism.

The Manifest Hope Gallery will be open to the public in Denver, CO at the Democratic National Convention, between Monday August 25th, 2008 through Thursday, August 28th, 2008 between the hours of 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

The Manifest Hope Gallery, housed within Denver’s Andenken Gallery, and an additional transformed warehouse space, spans 10,000 sq. ft. and will draw together a works as varied as the voices of the artists who created them. Manifest hope will showcase some of the finest modern contemporary artists, acclaimed NY painters and sculptors, activated grass roots and street artists, and present the most widely recognized pieces seen throughout the 2008 presidential primary campaign, as well as newly commissioned works and previous works on loan from some of the United States top artists.

Manifest Hope, along with its online partner MoveOn.org, challenges the artistic world to engage their local communities in a significant and meaningful way, by inviting all artists to compete for a chance to present their works alongside these acclaimed and celebrated artists. Visit the online gallery for details.”

I am very excited to be a part of this show. You can see the amazing list of artists below. If you live in Denver. Please try to come down and check out.

Here is the list of contributing artists:
Aaron Martin // Adrian Sanchez // Alexis McKenzie // Amy Martin // Amy Rice // Andy Howell // Alex Pardee // Cathie Bleck // Casey Ryder // Chanel Kennebrew // Chris Pastras // Chris Yates // Cydney Payton // Dan Monick // Date Farmers // David Choe // David Lanham // Deroy Peraza // Diederick Kraaijeveld // Eddie // Elizabeth Rosen // Emek // Evan Hecox // Frank Chimero // Franke // Gary Baseman // HVW8 // Irene Hardwicke Olivieri // Jason Alberto // Justin Alberto Garcia // Jason Giglio // Jeff Zimmerman // Jesselisa Moretti // Jude Buffum // Julie Adler // Justin Bua // Kate Luscher //Kay Tuttle // Keith Negley // Kofie // Leontine Greenberg // Lisa Anne Auerbach // Lisa Congdon // Lukas Ketner // MAC //Max Ginsburg // Maya Hayuk // Mear One // Mel Kadel // Melanie Reim // Morning Breath // Munk One // Nick Dewar // Pete Yahnke // Philip John Lumbang // Ray Noland aka CRO // Rebecca Berdel // Retna // Rick Griffith // Ron English // Ron Keas // Sam Flores // Sarah Hoskins // Scot Lefavor // Shannon Bonatakis and Josh Holland // Shepard Fairey // Cypher13 // Todd Lockwood // Tom Slaughter // Mike Moore (Tres Birds) // Van Taylor Monroe // Zara Gonzalez // Zina Saunders // Zoltron // Aaron Axelrod // Thomas Brodhal // Ginger Che // Catia Chien // Christopher Cox // Grotesk // Damon Locks // Zach McDonald // Tres Birds // Adrian Tucker // Arellano Harvath // Antar Dayal // Vincent Comparetto

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Changethethought, DNC, Manifest Hope, Obama

Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha. Ha hahahahahahahhahahhahahahahhhaaahahahahahahahah
….ugh…oh….oh….ah…ha…ha..hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah…ohh…ahh
…haha…ha…whoo!

Whew, had to get that out. I’m in tears.

written by Christopher | tags: Fox News, Michelle Obama, Obama, Terrorist Fist Jab

I leave the country for 4 days and when I come back there is a journalist on Fox joking about ‘knocking’ off Obama? I think a new low has been reached on Fox news. I can’t believe someone would say something like that on national television, not just about Obama, but about any presidential candidate. Is she completely out of her mind? It’s pathetic and just downright unprofessional. What a disgrace.

She couldn’t even apologize sincerely. Someone call security and escort this woman to the door. Call her a cab home and hand her a newspaper so she can start combing the classifieds for a new job because a slip like that should cost her the one she already has.

written by Christopher | tags: Fox News, Liz Trotta, Obama, Politics

I had previously written about artist, musician and designer Scott Hansen being selected by the Obama campaign to contribute the next ‘Artists for Obama’ poster after Shepard Fairey and the poster was printed and put up for sale this week. You can purchase a limited edition print of the poster ‘here‘ at the official Obama website.

It’s interesting to note that where, Fairey’s work (and my own) work for Obama has been very ‘political’ drawing influence from WWII propaganda and Russian Constructivism, Hansen’s poster is very soft and human. It’s a sharp contrast to the now iconic poster Fairey created and portrays a totally different interpretation of Obama’s campaign and message.

You can read more about the poster along with a massive list of comments about it at IS050’s blog.

written by Christopher | tags: Artists for Obama, Graphic Design, Iso50, Obama, Politics

I made another small series of free downloadable Obama posters this week. I will most likely do one more short series with an image of Obama and then be finished. Again, I made these to function as a FREE resource to people interested in printing their own posters at little expense via Kinkos or their home printer or whatever way they can for that matter. I felt it was important that, as opposed to having pay $70 to $200 dollars for a piece of art that was really nonfunctional, it might be more useful to people to just have some clean attractive signage readily available to them so they could show their support for Obama.

I don’t care if you don’t like the font, or you are annoyed by the slanted ‘A’ characters in the last round of posters, or think the simple vector art I created looks too much like Shepard Fairey or whoever else out there in our world of a billion designers that makes simple vector portraits of people. I created them the way I did out of functionality. They are all very small in file size making them easy to download and email (even the vector portrait posters at 24×36), include space for writing for usage as meeting announcements etc., translate easily into black and white, and portray quick easily digestible iconic imagery that was meant to embody the spirit of political propaganda.

If you don’t like the posters, don’t download and use them. If you do, or you want to use the vector art in them to make your own posters, that is exactly what they are for. If you don’t like how I created them, use the existing graphics and improve upon them and then make your posters available for free so people have an alternative. I am all for that.

Obama is one of the first politicians in a quarter of a century who isn’t just speaking to the people, he is speaking for the people. He is a thinking man who wants to elevate this country to a higher plane and re-engage the U.S. with the rest of the world. His message is one of community. In the spirit of that message, and if you are in fact an Obama supporter, I encourage you to create your own imagery to support Obama in whatever way you see fit. Create imagery and give it away for free to help spread his message and help him get elected. It may be one of the most important things you do in a long time as a designer. Think activity not apathy. Move, shake, do something. Our country has been divided by greedy men with shameful motives. We need to reunite as a republic and start working together to take our country back and make it a place for the people and by the people instead of somewhere only for the ‘rich’ people. Any small way you can contribute like making posters, shirts, buttons, etc. is valid. Small contributions can add up into a tidal wave that drowns out the special interests that are crushing us as working class Americans.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Free Obama Posters, Obama, Politics

Well, it looks like people are stepping up for Obama in a big way so far in Texas. There is a great thread about it here at the Daily Kos. I think he is going to take the state, personally and I hope he does because winning Texas is going to send a strong message to the world about American’s sincere desire for real change. He has already reached 1 million donors and counting.

Thank you to all of the people visiting the site so far for the Obama Posters and as I said before please feel free to distribute them however you choose. Use the graphics as well in the Illustrator files to make your own t-shirts, stickers, bumper stickers, etc. They were created as a free and clear resource for anyone interested in helping spread the message.

written by Christopher | tags: Obama, Presidential Campaign, Texas