THE SPRING 2012 GRAPHICS
“I don’t see any reason to create a t shirt design if it’s not inspired by some grain of cultural significance. The graphic t shirt is a powerful form for communication. Why waste the opportunity on a meaningless, insignificant, and only decorative image?” RMK Most of the images used on our t shirt designs were photographed in house.
PANCHO VILLA # 1162112 JosĂŠ Doroteo Arango ArĂĽmbula A.K.A. Pancho Villa, was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals. He is an icon throughout Mexico to this day. California was once a Mexican Province and after the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ceding California (and other territories) to the United States for $18,250,000.
DEATH BRIDE # 1162111 Also known as “Santa Muerte� or The Cult of St. Death, the death bride refers to a growing tradition practiced in Mexico symbolized by the Santa Muerte, a skeletal figure that is worshipped by people whose lives are filled with danger, violence or both. original photograph: 2011
BEER FRIDGE # 1162124 Anonymous online review of El Salvadorian Pilsener Beer: “Well, isn’t this a treat! Poured out a pathetic, fizzy white foam that was gone before I put the bottle down, clear light gold with random floating shit that pretty much sums this up before my lips even touch the glass. Flavor is both flavorless and ick. Corn, some sourness, and other unwelcoming shit.” Update from the same anonymous reviewer: “Apparently my review has not met expected standards after consuming a truly horrendous liquid - let me clarify: This beer might actually improve on flavor if my dad chugged it, vomited into my old hockey jock strap that he was wearing and I drank off of his feet as it leaked out and ran down his old, hairy legs. It is vile shit…maggot filled bottle of diarrhea.” Response on same site from someone in El Salvador: “Ala puta, siempre con la pendejada de dejar comments. Con esto ya vale verga, me salgo inmediatamente y me quedo con Ratebeer. son unos cerotes, grandes cerotes a decir verdad.” original photograph: 2011
SANTOS # 1162102 On November 16, 1989 six Jesuit professors were assassinated on the lawn of the Central American University in San Salvador. The murders, carried out by a team of US-trained Salvadoran special forces, symbolized a violent response to the Jesuits accusations of ill treatment and cruelty to the impoverished class of Central America.
MI FAMILIA # 1162122 Corridos are a form of narratives, usually about a hero or famed criminal and have included stories about drug trafficking. Corridos can be played by various types of bands, including norteño, mariachi, and even Tejano. The Mexican singer Selena was once considered the “Queen of Tejano Music” and the Mexican Madonna. Though Selena did not sing of criminals or drug dealers, she has become a legend to latinos and specifically Mexicans and Mexican Americans after she was murdered by a woman who was employed by her to run her fan club. original photograph: 2011
HOMELESS VET # 1162137 “As I was exiting a freeway recently, I saw this vet at the end of the off-ramp. His sign said he was unemployable. I pulled over to ask him about it. He told me that almost all jobs he applied for after returning from 8 years in the service told him he was “unemployable” due to being enlisted for so long.”-RK original photograph: 2011
VIVA LA REVOLUCION # 1162123 Changes in attitudes towards sexual freedom, especially in the 60s and into the 70s, are often referred to under a general metaphor of the “sexual revolution.� Studies have shown that, between 1965 and 1975, the number of women who had had sexual intercourse prior to marriage showed a marked increase. Viva La Revolucion! original photograph: 2011
LAVANDERIA # 1162109 “This was an actual Lavanderia (Laundrymat) where a Hispanic man was selling ceramic Jesus statues in front of”-RK original photograph: 2011
IN THE PISSER # 1162150 The total amount of consumer debt in the US is nearly $2.4 trillion in 2010. That’s $7,800 debt per person. original photograph: 2011
HOMELAND SECURITY # 1162120 From the about section of the Department of Homeland Security Website: “The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 230,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, but our goal is clear - keeping America safe.�
EL SALVADOR # 11621119 The National emblem of El Salvador. FIVE FLAGS: Five fraternal Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica), BLUE STRIPE ON THE FLAGS: The sea and the sky, WHITE STRIP ON THE FLAGS: Peace, FOURTEEN LAUREL LEAVES: Fourteen Departments (or States) of the Republic of El Salvador, PHRYGIAN CAP: The cap of liberty, FIVE VOLCANOS Represent the Central American Isthmus which represent the five nations in the isthmus, washed by the two oceans, OCEANS: Pacific and Atlantic oceans, EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE: Equality of individuals. The three Branches of the Republic (Executive, Legislative and Judicial), RAINBOW: Hope, GOD, UNION AND LIBERTY: The Republic of El Salvador is based on this principle, BOW (KNOT): Unity, SEPTEMBER 15, 1821: Day of Independence of the Republic of El Salvador. El Salvador is the smallest, most densely populated country in Central America. The population of Salvadorans in the United States increased dramatically during the late 1970s and early 1980s in response to the repression and violence associated with the onset of civil war. Approximately 1.5 million Salvadorans now live and work in the United States.
BEWARE # 1162105 Youth culture as a subculture and a brand new consuming class came to be in the 1950s with the prosperity of the era, the advent of rock n’ roll culture, and the invention of the transistor radio that could easily be used without parental supervision and espoused rebellious dictoms from the all powerful radio disc jockey. Along with actors like Marlon Brando and James Dean projecting an image of being misunderstood by their parents, the influences of youth culture rose up to frighten the previous generation.
REBEL ITEMS # 1162108 Vintage items dating back to the 1950s from the collection of the owner. original photograph: 2011
MORRI’ZINE # 1162116 “I was never young. This idea of fun: cars, girls, Saturday night, bottle of wine... to me, these things are morbid. I was always attracted to people with the same problems as me.” – Morrissey obscure Morrissey fanzines from the collection of the owner
WHISKEY SHOT # 1162139 “Show me the way to the next whiskey bar. Oh, don’t ask why. Oh, don’t ask why. For if we don’t find, the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die, I tell you we must die.” – Lyrics to the Alabama Song by Bertolt Brecht from 1927. As sung by Jim Morrison of the Doors from 1967. original photographs: 2011
SUBURBAN THREAT # 1162110 It was once believed that living in highly urban areas resulted in social isolation, social disorganization, and psychological problems, and that living in suburbs would be more conducive to overall happiness, due to lower population density, lower crime, and a more stable population. A study based on data from 1974, however, found this not to be the case, finding that people living in suburbs had neither greater satisfaction with their neighborhood nor greater satisfaction with the quality of their lives as compared to people living in urban areas. original photograph: 2011
DEAD FLOWERS # 1162140 A pink slip buried in a bouquet of dead flowers. This month (August 2011), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in America, the government employment continues to trend up. The number of unemployed persons is 14.1 million and the unemployment rate is at 9.2 percent. This rate has risen by 0.4 percent since March, and the number of unemployed persons has increased by 545,000. original art and photograph: 2011
PALM READ # 1162117 Palmistry’s roots can be traced back to ancient Greece and the philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle stated that, “Lines are not written into the human hand without reason. They emanate from heavenly influences and man’s own individuality.”
BURN, BABY, BURN # 1161437 During the Watts riots in 1965, boisterous rioters began chanting “Burn, baby, burn,” the shouts echoing the most popular call of Los Angeles disk jockey Magnificent Montague. A celebrated radio personality of the times, Montague would chant, “Burn,” whenever he played a record that moved him. original art and photograph: 2011
EXORCIST # 1162114 An exorcist is a person who expels or attempts to expel one or more evil spirits from a person or place believed to be possessed or haunted, by prayers, adjurations, and religious rites. original photograph: 2011
WILL BLOG FOR FOOD # 1162115 According to the Blog Herald, the blogosphere is growing exponentially. The blogosphere has been doubling in size roughly every six months for the past 4 years. With over 146,000,000 million blogs online today, CNET, the popular media news site, estimates that one blog is created online every half second. original photograph: 2011
BUG HUG # 1162125 “We purchased the oversized Madagascar cockroach online from a biological website. We photographed it in position, based on a worked out sketch of the idea. A model was then hired to pose nude in the act of having sex with the bug. The two images were then meticulously combined in the computer to create this graphic.� - RK original photograph: 2011
PAINT BRUSH # 1162132 According to researcher Cathy A. Malchiodi, hand-done art is an activity that taps into a variety of senses, tactile, visual, and kinesthetic, and in ways that verbal processing alone does not. It is possible that drawing stimulates neurological processes that, in conjunction with trauma-specific questions and debriefing techniques, may be specifically helpful in the resolution of stress reactions, intrusive thoughts, and other posttraumatic effects. original art and photographs: 2011
BAD HABITS # 1162128 “I don’t have any bad habits. They might be bad habits for other people, but they’re alright for me.” – Eubie Blake, American composer and lyricist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music (1887-1983)
CRIME WAVE # 1162129 According to data gathered by The Atlantic, Flynt, Michigan ranks as the most dangerous city in America. With 11.8% of citizens unemployed, the city has fallen upon tough times, with 53 murders in 2010, and 22 violent crimes for every 1,000 people.
PIG # 1162141 “Little Boy Blue is outta Folsom. Now them three little pigs gotta roast him.” – Ice Cube, Gangsta Fairytale II original photograph: 2011
AFTER DARK # 1162148 “I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark.” – Comedian and social critic Dick Gregory Photograph of a murder scene in the Los Angeles River, circa 1955
DEADLY HEART # 1162142 Recent research by Canadian researchers Dr. Salim Yusuf and colleagues at McMaster University says that junk food causes a third of all heart attacks. Another study published in the Journal of Food and Composition and Analysis reveals that Americans are getting nearly one-third of their calories from junk foods, which explains why obesity is rampant, diabetes is epidemic, and chronic disease is skyrocketing. original composition: 2011
NAKED CITY # 1162136 The Naked City was the title of a renowned film noir movie from 1948, which took it’s name and visual style from a book published in 1945 by New York photographer Weegee. The book was a collection of lurid tabloid style images of Manhattan crime, crowds, and boisterous nightlife.
OUIJA # 1162134 Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond on July 1, 1890, the Ouija board was regarded as a harmless parlor game unrelated to the occult until America Spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War 1. Mainstream Christian religions and some occultists have associated use of the Ouija board with the threat of demonic possession and some have cautioned their followers not to use Ouija boards.
SHAPES # 1162135 “An abstract logo mark is one form of emblem used by commercial enterprises, organizations, and sometimes individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Well executed and effective logo marks are very particularly thought out for the maximum effect, utilizing the theories of design, form, and balance along with the psychology of the perception of images on the human viewer. Disregarding it’s effectiveness and it’s communicative purpose, abstract marks taken out of context can become an interesting study on 2-D aesthetic composition.” - RK existing commercial abstract mark
DROP OUT # 1162121 According to statistics from the Los Angeles Unified School District, about seven out of every 100 L.A. high school students will drop out of school this year. Yet nearly 30 out of every 100 will do so throughout their four year high school career.
NEGATIVE # 1162144 “This image in the City Noir group for spring 12 references the classic 50s nude pose, film negative, and non-digital techniques to refer to the City Noir theme. In order to achieve this image, we hired a model and did a photoshoot using a non digital 35mm camera and using standard color negative film. After processing the film, we created the composition with the actual film strip and re-shot it using a digital camera. Some ideas just can’t be achieved through digital means alone.�- RK original photograph: 2011
VCR # 1162103 Every major media format in the world has only been successful because of the embrace of the pornography industry, including the VHS form of recording tape over the Betamax tape. The first videocassette recorder was made by the Nottingham Electronic Valve Company in 1963. Labeled the Telcan (television in a can), the recorder was briefly celebrated as the first domestic video recorder. However, high prices and subpar equipment ended the Telcan’s lifespan prematurely.
SPECTRUM # 1162101 Colored condoms can be a fun way to spice up your sex life. Colorful latex condoms come in solid colors and patterns, as well as lubricated and unlubricated designs. They provide a nice pop of visible stimulus to oral sex and generally just add some variety to your safer sex kit. One thing to be careful of - you need to make certain that any colored condoms you buy are designed to be used for safe sex and not just as novelty items. If they are being sold strictly as a novelty, there should be a statement on the box to that effect. It’s important to be very certain you’re not buying a gag gift that will really make you gag. original photograph: 2011
LESS THAN ZERO # 1162113 The novel, Less Than Zero, by Brett Easton Ellis from 1985 follows the life of a rich young college student returning to his hometown of Los Angeles during a winter break where he spends much time going to parties and doing drugs with his friends, along with one night stands with both men and women. Throughout his descent into the netherworld of the L.A. drug scene, he loses his faith in his friends, and grows alienated with the amoral party culture he once embraced. The novel was also made into a movie. A review in the New York Times by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michiko Kakutani after its release stated, “This is one of the most disturbing novels I’ve read in a long time.” 25 years later upon release of the sequel, Details magazine commented on the novel and its original reviews, stating: “Years ago people could have read some of your books and said, ‘Oh, this is just nihilism. These people don’t exist! There’s nobody that rich and stupid and narcissistic!’” There is much reference to Less Than Zero foreseeing the rise of celebrity culture in the form of people like Paris Hilton, Spencer Pratt, and the Kardashians.
TOILET STALL # 1162143 Foot-tapping, the odd Morse code of anonymous bathroom stall sex, is a signal used by persons wishing to engage in what law officers might consider lewd conduct. An early reference to foot-tapping is made in the 1975 book “The Tea Room Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places,” by Laud Humphreys, a sociologist. It is based on Humphreys’s 1960s study of public sex. But there are many more ways to communicate desire in this sexual subculture including eye contact, the three-second rule, the lingering at the urinal. Internet message boards on “cruising” are constantly abuzz with come-ons written by those seeking partners for anonymous bathroom sex. The boards also bristle with warnings about locations where law enforcement is cracking down. original photographs: 2011
DEFACED ART # 1162131 In 1956 an acid attempt on the Mona Lisa damaged the lower half of the painting, the restoration took several years to fix. Although many attacks have been made on the painting during its lifespan, the Mona Lisa has managed to survive over 500 years.
REPRODUCTION # 1162126 Reproduction (or procreation) is the biological process by which new “offspring” individual organisms are produced from their “parents”. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction. Sexual reproduction typically requires the involvement of two individuals, one each from opposite type of sex.
MUSHROOMS # 1162133 Psilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin. There are multiple terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being shrooms or magic mushrooms. The mind-altering effects of psilocybin-containing mushrooms typically last anywhere from 3 to 8 hours depending on dosage, preparation method, and personal metabolism. In 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in Life magazine in 1957. In 1956 Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as psilocybe, and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compounds in these mushrooms. original photograph: 2011
CHAMPAGNE # 1162130 According to scientist Bill Lembeck, there are 49 million bubbles in a 750ml bottle of champagne. original photograph: 2011
HEROIN # 1162104 Original commercial logo for heroin from the 1800’s when it was legal.
COCAINE # 1162106 Original commercial logo for cocaine from the 1800’s when it was legal.
MY GENERATION # 1162138 From an article by Sandy Hingston in the Philadelphia Magazine from December 2010 entitled, “Is It Just Us, or are Kids Getting Really Stupid?” A study at Stanford last year led by professor Clifford Nass, who specializes in human/computer interaction, showed that heavy users of multi-media “have a very hard time filtering out distracting information...The phone rings, and their behavior is driven by that distraction.” When heavy users have to consciously decide what to devote their top-down attention to, they can’t. They’re in thrall to their machines. Kids today are assailed by such a constant stream of input that they can’t even remember what they see. Viewers of TV screens crowded with crawls and graphics are significantly less able to recall the facts of news stories than viewers of simpler screens. “The larger the cognitive load, the harder it is to process information to any depth... Our brains need time to mull over what’s presented to us, to decide what’s worth shifting from short-term memory into long-term storage. We may have an infinite amount of information at our fingertips but we don’t actually ingest that information in such a way that it gets deeply encoded.” original photograph: 2011
LESS THAN ZERO NEON # 1162149 “I read it for the first time in about 20 years this year—recently. It wasn’t so bad. I get it. I get fan mail now from people who weren’t really born yet when the book came out. I don’t think it’s a perfect book by any means, but it’s valid.” – Bret Easton Ellis (Author of Less Than Zero) original neon sign and photograph: 2011
HAVE A NICE DAY # 1162118 The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms states that the phrase “Have a Nice Day” first came into being in 1920, and the saying and its variant gained widespread popularity into the 1950’s.
TRIANGLE # 1162152 Inspired by the Memphis design movement. Memphis was a group of international designers and architects formed in the early 1980s and based in Milan. Their work was characterized by the use of bold colors, geometric shapes, and unconventional and often playful designs.
SQUARE # 1162153 Inspired by the Memphis design movement. Memphis was a group of international designers and architects formed in the early 1980s and based in Milan. Their work was characterized by the use of bold colors, geometric shapes, and unconventional and often playful designs.
CIRCLE # 1162151 Inspired by the Memphis design movement. Memphis was a group of international designers and architects formed in the early 1980s and based in Milan. Their work was characterized by the use of bold colors, geometric shapes, and unconventional and often playful designs.
DIRTY RABBIT # 1162127 Rabbit sex is legendary; it has been a constant theme throughout human history because rabbits are associated with virile sexuality. It is not so much that rabbits are always having sex and marathon intercourse (because they do not) but that they are able to manifest such an awesome power of propagation. For instance, in the Southern American archipelago of Tierro del Fueco four rabbits resulted in 30 million rabbits in seventeen years.