ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 104 VOL. 13
? w o n t a h W
FINDING OUR WAY IN THE NEW YEAR
MINIMIZING TO-DO LISTS NOT EXPECTATIONS
WASHOUT TESTING NEW BRUSHES
VIRAL
ONLINE CONTENT TO KEEP OUR HUMOR ALIVE IN THE BUBBLE
SETTLING IN FOR 7 MORE MONTHS OF
quarantine
MINI BOARD
A POST-HOLIDAY WORLD AT WALMART As the parking lot snow has melted, the plow’s no holds barred approach has become more apparent. There were even more twisted carts this week. Inside, Christmas quickly gave way to Valentine’s Day, but the toy aisles were restocked with toilet paper. Like seven aisles of toilet paper. I wanted paper towels that week. —MV I don’t think there are enough characters in a Tweet for me to reply, but I’d start with Olive Garden, Red Lobster, this place at the mall...
One of the few toys in the store, Buzz seemed to be calling it quits.
BITING HIS STYLE Luis is really proud of the way he crops himself out of his own selfies. Just ask him about the Superllama wedding photo. Behind the scenes photography is his other favorite style. When we all went out to play in the snow, he took individual selfies with the kids. When he came to me, I decided to take a behind the scenes selfie and crop myself out. —MV
Betty had an optional assignment to share her holiday traditions, and I thought she would draw pictures after I wrote down her answers, like “Spanglish” and “eating.” She drew a big pretzel and called it a day. I laughed when I saw the school had publicly shared her responses. —MV
Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purposes.
CELEBRATE BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND HISTORY
Call for Artists JANUARY 4 - 31
BABY LOVES RETURNS Back when we had an hour to kill between the end of Betty’s day and the end of Boom’s, the library was a convenient place to hang out. We were there so often that I didn’t have to go down the receipt and be sure everything was in my bag of books to return because we’d be back there soon enough. Then came COVID-19. I forgot Baby Loves Quarks in March and only now returned it Jan. 8. —MV
Brooklyn Public Library invites artists aged 13 and up to submit designs for a library card and key fob celebrating Black American culture and history. The cards will be released as part of Juneteenth 2021 celebrations. Preference will be given to artists with a connection to Brooklyn. Artwork may be created in any medium or materials (photography, paint, found objects), but must be submitted digitally based on the template provided. Templates and the library’s logo can be found at https://www.bklynlibrary.org/ black-american-library-card Submit your design and artist statement online by January 31.
D R A HE
T R NA
R E V O
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“I was just thinking, This potato salad is good. There’s just no potato in it...” -Luis
“Maybe, if you go around busting up engagements, you gotta stick around” -Madeline
“CC Sabathia wrote Narnia, right?” -Kal
“Hold on. I want a Dial Tone jersey” -Madeline
“He always answers the call” -Luis
“ʻNo thank you’ in song”
MIND THE GAP After seeing a listical about things Americans do that shock other countries, bathroom stall gaps seemed to keep coming up in my social media. What would America be like if public bathrooms offered privacy? I never think about how
-Siri
horrifying that gap is, but now it has me wondering about how all the kids who’ve been doing remote school for a year will adjust when they go back. —MV
“Pecan! It’s pecan. I don’t even know what a pecan is”
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-Boom
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FLOATING ALONG
WORKING TO GO WITH THE CURRENT AND KEEP OUR HEADS ABOVE WATER By Madeline Strum Photography
After Betty’s anxiety seemed to be turning into a new irrational fear of baths, Madeline went looking for crayons and things that could make baths more fun. She found Crayola Color Bath Dropz. The first round of blue and yellow drops was so vibrant, Madeline decided she needed to shoot some pro bath time propaganda with Kal. The pictures alone of Kal weren’t enough to persuade Betty that she should hop on board, but Betty wore a fun dress, asked for pink bath water, and told Madeline she had 11 minutes to get pictures of her. By the end, Betty laid down all the way, giving herself proof that she’s okay if she lays down in the water. So, we have at least one fewer thing to worry about around here now. —MV
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“It looks like slime” —Boom every time he sees color in the bath
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Betty took the slow way, getting one side of her head wet, and then the other.
“This is so awesome” —Betty when pressed for a quote
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In January of 2020, iTunes fed me a motivational podcast. I listened to a series about how to get your dream job going as I tackled mountains of junk while all three of my kids were at school. And right at the same time that I was working up the nerve to set up shoots and publish the Dubbs, the whole world went into lockdown.
, f l e s r a e D h g u o r th t e g e w ll i How w ? r a e y t the n ex MADELINE CONTEMPLATES HOW TO SURVIVE MORE OF THE PANDEMIC This situation doesn’t really suck for me. I’ve tried to figure out ways to pay it forward and not be a useless whiner. But there is that overwhelming sense of when it’s all over, will I have accomplished anything? I think I go through this every summer, though—plans in my head to make sure my kids learn life skills, like first aid, and finally make that YouTube channel and sell a bunch of stuff on eBay. But almost none of it happens. And then I have to look at the basics and be glad that even if I didn’t accomplish what I wanted, we’re still here. Last year I put six things on my to-do list publicly, and I got them all done. I should probably stick to that plan this year and not pressure myself to accomplish every whimsical goal from “learn to play the guitar” to “clean out the basement.” Though, “set realistic expectations” is a goal... Reddit
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The school shar ed a mental he alth link that included a list of 30 coping skills to try over 30 days . We tried callin g family, taking a walk, la ying on the floor . The one that I can’t com mit to is startin ga journal. I mean, I committed to keeping the Dubbs goin g in April and M ay as a way to documen t how things wer e going when I couldn’t find another pu rpose. But I don’t have tim e to get person al with a journal and wor k through shit ho nestly in ways that will fo rever be around for someone else to find without me there to offer perspective . This is weird en ou gh already. I keep ca lendars and chor e charts going to remember wha t day it is and that I’m still alive.
none on that s a e r e r get th part of als of mine eve e b y a M “fun” go actually of these cause I don’t fun. be hey are ive t e k done is li ch them Harry, a posit My office wall has a I approa ult.” So, o Jeff board of things I think According t lay has no res ums or ach, “P I should be doing, into alb s play co e r for u t rt pic tration including pictures to can’t so e a photo illus the time g ak illustrate and new even m se I’m spendin sult. Fake u re a c c e ifi painting styles to try ec fun b for a sp ached y g r p e p n and a thousand e a ro nwhile, b and e o t d e ls ne . Mea videos to edit (after I fun goa ific time limits gs do c e fun thin my learn After Effects and s u o with sp e n keep ponta give them great actual s e happening to ure out b fig graphic treatments)... need to heck. Now to ithout c in y kids w shelves. Cooking is not on my m sanity h it w play d toy list. I do not need to how to rcrowde e v o e h t wash more dishes judging
GOA L g to be HERE S PILE UP ictures waitin p f o ll fu h c n empty A e a be e even have W . s m UNRE FASTER T ROUND We havin u lb a hoto t alone in HAN AD JU sorted to p rently I’m no a p ork p A ! s AND m u p. The New Y a tr photo alb ia lg a st THAT NKMAIL o whole n g we — EMA avoiding the I experts sayin N h it w C le ic rt a LUDE n deleting IL Times had a e a month to c n o e S REM S FROM m ti te nder of vo INDI FEND i Nelson, fou should all de th a C . d e e n don’t NG M PRAC rule where E pictures we by the 80-20 s e E TO R v li TICE , rs e g a tossed in Photo Man d and prints THE te le e d re a s to GUIT 80% of pho brave. AR. . I’m not that e g a rb the ga Stories about fa milies who set off from New York as soon as the pandemic starte d are inspiring to me for their extrem e Marie Kondo st yle, but whenever I go looking onlin e for places to dona te all of our book s or toys or clothes. .. It seems like th er e’s no organization locally who wan ts it. I had a working di shwasher and couldn’t unload it in 2018. It’s ou r dishwasher now . There’s no proo fI need to get rid of anything...
MY FAVORITE PART OF SOUL WAS THAT YOUR SPARK—THE THING THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO LIVE—IS NOT YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE. THERE ACTUALLY IS NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO LIVE. THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE IS THAT PIXAR DID NOT IMMEDIATELY TURN THE BLACK PROTAGONIST INTO A BLUE BLOB TO AVOID FEATURING A BLACK PROTAGONIST. LIVE YOUR LIFE AND CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AROUND YOU. January 26, 2021 • Art
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Trying not to lose our minds
for the kids
To keep my mind off the frightening prospect that school will end a month early for my kids and how I will keep them busy, I scroll through listicals like the worst designs Reddit has found. There seems to be a lot of empirical evidence proving boredom isn’t the worst thing that can happen to kids, from terrifying (and incorrect?) speech therapy diagrams to poison packets. I’m not really worried my kids will be bored. I am worried they aren’t going to get any exercise this year. Considering how much everyone likes to game, though, we can swap out finishing homework for completing exercises. That has to be better than sand basketball or swings that face each other.
POOR DESIGN CHOICES
It seems in the rush to get hand sanitizer in kids backpacks, Smart Care used packaging designed for food purees. I saw the picture here on a listical of bad designs and noticed the paramedic uniform, so I had to Google it. A mom in Canada bought Trolls World Tour hand sanitizer for her stepdaughter’s backpack, but the child’s grandma mistook it for a snack, giving it to her 18-moth-old brother. He swallowed a bunch of the gel before she realized the mistake she’d made. ABC News reached out to Smart Care, which revealed the product was “immediately removed from retail.” Anyone who has swallowed hand sanitizer is urged to contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Meanwhile, more search results included a warning to parents as boy, 3, accidentally sets himself on fire while playing with hand sanitizer and a lighter. And “sand basketball” led to another gel in food puree packaging. Base gel is meant to weigh down portable basketball hoops. Do not consume.
PS5 v. COVID 19 Vaccine It’s hard to tell which is more highly anticipated in Luis’ world
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HAUNTING While sand basketball and facing swings look like they came out of bad dreams, IKEA is offering up step-bysteps that trick you into entering a harsh reality. Their dynamic gallery wall is no big deal—just three steps, including don’t move the furniture. Ha! I actually think I like the wall better when it’s the brown placeholders. This will keep floating around in my subconscious as one more thing I ought to be accomplishing in quarantine.
long term goals The north section of the garden is shaded by bushy trees. Only weeds seem to do well in that section.
When I picked out seeds from whatever was available on store shelves last spring, I hadn’t measured the space or paid attention to how much sunlight fell on the yard. Most of my packets were vegetables I sowed without thinking what they needed and two packets of flowers—one marigold and one “wildflowers.” The marigolds grew. There is still a clump out there. I’m not sure how many baby wildflowers I picked, mistaking them for weeds. Rather than fill the whole space with vegetables again, I think I’ll give half the space to flowers—and hopefully see more butterflies. I have a lot to learn, though, like planting in waves and pinching everything. Apparently, pinching back inspires taller flowers.
Last year’s grass is mostly still there. I’ll fill in the gaps, hope the local animals don’t dig it up again, and plant a new strip that I can walk down between flowers and vegetables.
One time I grew vegetables, and they were productive. Then the next time, I got hardly anything. I’m hoping that with more research and a better plan, we’ll have sugar snap peas, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, and radishes. I had never heard of companion planting before. Mostly I’m hoping to avoid completely shading plants that don’t need shade, but, if one plant actually repels bugs that eat another, I’m all for that, too.
TELL THAT TO THE ANIMALS
As soon as I planted seeds last year, birds started to eat them. They (and the squirrels) ate more than 40 pounds of bird seed in 2020 after I set up a feeder. They’re messy eaters and those seeds grow. Maybe I’ll hide their feeder in the shady section.
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new projects
A new year brings
After a meme called out Target for encouraging women to dress like they are fighting to hold the family together after locust ate the crops, women started posting pictures of themselves feeding chickens and churning butter on Target’s site. Check out #targetdresschallenge on social media.
Meagan McGovern wrote some of the best captions on Facebook. “This dress is perfect for farm work. Easily ripped, not warm at all, offers no protection from murder hornets, it’s loose enough to get caught in machinery, and with added ruffles in random places, what’s not to love? Oh, and it also has NO pockets! Because everyone knows that women hate pockets.”
@mwats83
@tinyanimalsbigfun
@rose_pheonix_13
The big hair on @tinyanimalsbigfun reminded me of the women from the Yearning for Zion polygamist ranch in Texas. #pandemicchic
EXCITING NEWS Check out friend of the Dubbs David Cooper. The cover he illustrated for Black Boy Out Of Time was accepted to Illustration West 59, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles 59th annual show. He also illustrated Kevin Hart’s Marcus Makes a Movie for middle school readers. It’s is an inspiring story about bringing your creative goals to life and never giving up, even when nothing’s going your way.
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@time.travel.is.possible
ROOM TO EXPAND Where one game could be more like the other is in card design. Luis offers some ideas In their year-end awards edition, Operation Sports awarded MLB The Show with the top prizes for Sports Game of the Year and Card Collecting Game of the Year. Both were well-deserved. MLB The Show has been an absolute revelation for me. I had stepped away from The Show for a few years, but dove back this past season. As NBA 2K became more pay to play (the highest end cards were only available to people who invested more money), I became disenfranchised with the game. The Show felt like a breath of fresh air. A game that rewarded players investing time. The best cards in the game were available for free—all it took was time. The one thing that 2K still has is a robust community of content creators who are constantly sharing new concept cards. As a creative, I love the fact that the community comes up with their own versions of cards that they’d like to see in the game. The Show leans heavily on the catalog of past Topps and Bowman cards. The NBA card market didn’t really take off until the mid-’80s. Without a wealth of past cards to choose from, the content in NBA 2K lends itself to current concepts. Part of the reason The Show might stick to designs everyone’s already seen is that the community seems to be a little stuffier (just watch for the next time a player flips a bat or wears his hat backwards) than the NBA community. The community’s adherence to an outdated set of baseball “rules” doesn’t allow for a lot of progress. I think MLB The Show can push the envelope, though. Release more themed series of cards. Over the past few weeks I’ve designed a few series of cards, as well as taken some of the current cards and added in some players I’d like to see (mostly Yankees). Some of the concepts play off themes that MLB already supports like the World Baseball Classic and honoring the Negro Leagues. These have been a blast to put together, and I look forward to putting more together in the future. —LV
Babe Ruth once said Josh Gibson was the greatest baseball player he ever saw. If they ever introduce him to The Show, Gibson would break the game.
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Our TV isn’t set to get a break in 2021 with all the of titles we’re excited to
watch and play
TV SHOWS
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) Mr. Mayor (NBC) WandaVision (Disney+) Falcon & Winter Soldier (Disney+) Loki (Disney+) The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+) Mandalorian (Disney+) Superman & Lois (CW) Hawkeye (Disney+) The Lord of the Rings (Amazon Prime) Y The Last Man (FX) Young Rock (NBC) MOVIES
The Matrix 4 The Suicide Squad
NO MERCY Luis’ take on Season 2
Dune
Streaming has been the unquestioned winner of the pandemic. One of the biggest beneficiaries of everyone having more time to stream (plus the acquisition by a bigger platform) has been Cobra Kai. Netflix acquired the rights to the series from the now defunct YouTube Red and gave it the signal boost it deserved. Billy Zabka’s performance as Johnny Lawrence trying to reform is unabashedly politically incorrect. Johnny’s relationship with Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) and their rebuilding of the Cobra Kai dojo is the backbone of the series. Returning Karate Kid characters (Danny, Kreese, Chozen, Ally) ground the series in mid-’80s nostalgia. Striking first and striking fast, Cobra Kai hits all the right notes.
Godzilla vs. Kong Midnight Sky Space Jam In the Heights Many Saints of Newark VIDEO GAMES
MLB The Show 21 Horizon Forbidden West Overwatch 2 Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course Hollow Knight: Silksong Gotham Knights
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COMICS CORNER What Luis is and isn’t reading I did not sign up for Marvel Unlimited. There just aren’t enough story lines that interest me there. Meanwhile, the DC Universe app became DC Universe Infinite and they halved the embargo time—users need to wait only six months instead of one year to read new issues. I’ve read more in the last three days than in previous three months. All Black Label and Vertigo titles are also in DCU Infinite. That means Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing from the ’80s is there. I would check that out as well as Harleen, a different take on Harley Quinn. I’m excited for the sequel to White Knight, the alternate take on Gotham that dives into Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn battling insanity.
ARTISTS WE LOVE: PABLO PICASSO Way back, Jessica said she would write about her favorite artist when we got to letter P I could not tell you for the life of me what exactly I liked so much about Pablo Picasso when I was introduced to his work in elementary school, but even as a child but I felt his work spoke to me. Enough for me to redeem a gift certificate my godmother gave me for Christmas one year to buy a book about Pablo Picasso. It was a children’s book with a short biographical sketch and helpful interpretations of his paintings and drawings. I know that Picasso had quite a few stages of his career, including the Blue Period, the Rose Period, the African period, Cubism, Neoclassicism, Surrealism, etc. I was drawn into some of his work from the sketches in his Blue and Rose periods, but what really drew me in was his Cubism period—especially the unrealistic approach to his drawings and paintings. I sometimes felt the same way about my own drawings and paintings throughout life. I still to this day am unable to make a person look realistic. Maybe that is because that is how I see and interpret things or maybe that is just my style. Fast forward to my college years... I will never forget my opportunity to study abroad in Spain. I spent six weeks there. I actually went to study Spanish, not Art. Can you believe that, Luis? I know, I know. I am still not allowed in the Spanish club. Anyways, on Fridays we took day trips to different locations throughout Spain. One Friday we went to visit the Reina Sofia museum. I was so excited that we were going there. It was the first time I would ever see one of my favorite pieces, “La Guernica.” It was one of the last paintings we went to see that day. I remember growing very impatient to see it. When we finally walked into the room where it was hanging I just remember being in such awe. The canvas was HUGE! You see pictures of it, but to see it in person was just something else. I felt that I could have stood there for hours just staring at all the different things going on in it. Another piece I love is “Pipe, Verre, Bouteille de Vieux Marc,” a Synthetic Cubism approach that he had tried. What I like about this piece is it’s more collage, making the work of art look more three-dimensional and brining a different approach to what he was creating. Lastly, “Three Musicians.” How could you not like this one? It’s just so fun and playful with all of its shapes and slight hint of patterns. The Harlequin is the one playing the violin, the Pierrot playing the clarinet, and the Monk playing the accordion. I still have a hard time actually seeing the accordion at times, but it’s there. Picasso used colors to make the figures easier to see and also to tie them together as you look at the picture. It’s not only the artwork of Picasso that I enjoy, but also his quotes. My all-time favorite quote of his that I based a whole book on for one of my college art classes was, “I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.” I always live up to that quote as all of our work as artists starts out as an idea which evolves and goes through many, many rounds of perfection before we come to a final product that we are satisfied with (or can at least live with). To sit back and see the journey of how you got there—that to me is the best part of creating any type of art.
Some of Jessica’s favorite pieces by Pablo Picasso (from top): “Three Musicians” (1921), “La Guernica” (1937), “Pipe, Verre, Bouteille de Vieux Marc” (1914). Back when Art Department Weekly was still young, Jessica designed a lovely story about Picasso for Michigan Avenue.
The sketches for Chicago Picasso give us some clues of the journey Picasso went on to create his sculpture
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dark humor
Because we’re amused by
The world will continue to not make sense based on all the examples the internet has to offer. Don’t do that to your dog. Don’t expect to use the outlet. Don’t have an emergency.
Before Bernie’s mittens After magic didn’t work to escape 2020, memes wondered if 2021 was worse
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“
Saying Trump shouldn’t be tried because he left office is like saying
you shouldn’t prosecute a murder because the victim’s already dead.
“
—Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general
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FIVE THINGS OBSERVATIONS MARY ELLEN SHARED ON SLACK
Honestly, there is some BUBBLE WRAP right by Luis’ desk, which is clearly a metaphor that we are never returning to the office I feel like DOLLY PARTON has been 75 for the last 10 years?! But has looked the same for the last 20 years Has anyone watched BRIDGERTON on Netflix? Speaking of shows Luis probably doesn’t care about... Bridgerton is like the 50 Shades of Grey/ Gossip Girl version of Pride & Prejudice A FESTIVUS for the rest of us. That was a tough poll, huh? Two responses That song “THAT ONE NIGHT” by Jan’s assistant is a classic
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