DUTCH FOR THE BETTERMENT.

PS: WARMER WEATHER = NEW FONT/LOGO

WILLWORKFORGOOD, AKA:THE DAY THAT THE INTERNET FAILED ME

So, WILL WORK FOR GOOD has been coming up pretty frequently on my google reader, and after a while, I realized I had been favoriting almost every single re-post of their design work. Thus, I decided to check them out. The only problem is that WILL WORK FOR GOOD is "Forbidden" on my server. Don't ask me why because I can't explain that. Here is a re-post of a few re-posts of their work from across the web.



If you like this and would like to see more of their work, TOO BAD.

Update:

Will Work for Good said...

site was down for a while due to mediatemple's 48 hour meltdown last week. it's back now http://www.willworkforgood.org
d¢

CAR-CASSES

881 US auto dealerships closed in 2008

I admire the men women who parked all of these unsold cars.  Kind of a sad recession proof job, but a real opportunity for creative mosiacs.  

FEARS AND BEERS

I have a little college radio show that is themed around evil, depressing and scary music. While putting a show together I was going through my music collection and thinking how I've been genuinely frightened by music three times. My pre-interactional mental state had a lot to do with each situation, but that should not diminish the power of these musicians and their work.

I am generally a very happy person, but a couple weeks ago I was really overcome with a strong sensation of dread. It seemed useless to stay up, so I went to bed. Before going to bed I usually pick some sort of soundtrack to prevent myself from thinking too much. Like a fool, I felt the droning qualities of Neurosis's Through Silver In Blood would be appropriate. My thoughts were accelerated and instead of sleep I found my clearest understanding of being murdered.

My father has had major health problems my entire life. I can remember as far back as being 5 and wondering if my dad was going to die. It's just one of those residual fears. Over a year ago, during a time when my father was in the hospital, I was listening to Valentin Silvestrov's Requiem For Larissa for the first time. This near hour long piece of music was composed in the 3 years proceeding the death of his wife. It is Silvestrov's personal account of the entire experience. The back half of the record tells the story of his grief, but the beginning of the piece is about his fear leading up to her death, and I could not listen past the third movement (of seven). It really pulled my own fear out of me.

Du Tréfonds Des Ténèbres is the first song on The Umbersun, a complete black hole of an album by French gothic neo-classical collective called Elend. There is no real story to this one. This one just scared me one time.

ROB DYRDEK - LAFAYETTE SAFE SPOT SKATE SPOT

I know my last couple posts have basically all been about the same thing and not exactly art focused, but I'll have to apologize because here we go again.

But before I get into a whole bunch of nerdy skate crap, here is a photo of the largest skateboard in the world, which was at the Grand Opening of the Lafayette Skate Spot and Rob and the Mayor of LA rode.



SO. We all know Rob Dyrdek even if it's just for his MTV antics. What you may not know is that he is single-handedly leading the movement for the transformation of how skateparks are built, where they are built, and ultimately how society views and incorporates skateboarding. I think part of getting that to happen is for people other than skaters to 'See What I See' as was eloquently showcased in these DC shoes commericials.



Dyrdek spearheaded the building of the first Skate Plaza in Kettering, OH in co-operation with DC Shoes. The idea of this park is to break the traditional box of what a skatepark should look like, and mimic the natural street terrain that skateboarders have been skating ever since Natas Kumpas, Mark Gonzales etc etc in the 80's. The whole point is to provide a place to skate without the legal hassles of skateboarding on private property owned by people who are not stoked on their marble benches getting wax and chunks on them.



Unfortunately, the Skate Plaza in Kettering is a $700,000 slab of concrete that needed to go through all kinds of red tape, and still fit into the notion of a skate park as a destination that one might have to drive to. For example, when I attended the University of Dayton only 15 or so odd miles away from the Skate Plaza I was only able to visit it once. I had a bike on campus too, but it was still too far - by the time I got there I'd be too tired to skate.

The draw of skateboarding is it's accessibility and universality. Given a board and sneakers you could skate anywhere with semi- smooth ground. The fact that I couldn't skate the best skatepark in the world when I lived 15 miles away attests to the 'skatepark as a destination' notion as an inaccessible and incompatible concept with skateboarding.

So finally to the SKATE SPOT idea. Rob came up with the idea to split up the ginormous Skate Plaza and place bits of it around the city of LA for people to enjoy sans car ride. I actually had been thinking about this kind of thing this summer, so I'm glad I didn't have to go through the trouble of making it happen.





A SIDE NOTE ON "SELLING OUT": Rob appeared in a commercial for Carl's Jr. and on a series of their large 'collectable' soft drink cups. How much did he make from this? Nothing. IT PAID FOR THE LAFAYETTE SPOT. Can you imagine that? A burger chain paying for a skate spot? Brilliant.

"Happy Star Just Saved My Life."


www.skateplaza.com for anything else you would possibly want to know about it.

GO GAYE

RE: VIMEO FAVORITES

2,191 DAYS AND COUNTING

"2,191 Days and Counting" is a three week art exhibition, from March 5th - March 22nd, held at Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn. All proceeds from art sales will be going to the Winter Soldier project of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), which collects soldiers' firsthand accounts of wartime experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. An opening reception with the artists, including Jim Nachtwey, Joyce Kozloff, Joan Snyder, David Opdyke, Martha Rosler, Steve McCurry and Joy Garnett, will take place on Saturday, March 7th at 6PM, and for $10 at the door you may enjoy gourmet food, beverages and performances, including IVAW members speaking about the Winter Soldier project. As the nation nears the six-year anniversary of the wars, IVAW hopes to expose true narratives while encouraging debate aimed at ending these wars.

2,191 Days and Counting: a benefit exhibition for the Iraq Veterans Against the War
Thursday, March 5th through Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
Reception and performance: Saturday, March 7th, 6-10 PM
Powerhouse Arena
37 Main Street; DUMBO, Brooklyn 11201
(718) 666-3049
$10 donation at the door
ivawbenefit@gmail.com
www.2191daysandcounting.com

CALL FOR SALON SUBMISSIONS
Call for artists to donate a work of art to a benefit exhibition for the Iraq Veterans Against the War. We are dedicating one wall of the space for a floor to ceiling installation. Space is limited to the first 100 works submitted. The exhibition will run from Thursday March 5th through Sunday March 22nd, 2009 @ The Powerhouse Arena in Dumbo opening with an evening of celebration and performance Saturday March 7th, 2009 6pm-10pm

JPEG SUBMISSION SPECIFICATIONS

1) The artwork should address the narrative of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2) Dimensions no larger than 8 ½ x 11" (framing is optional and the responsibility of the artist).
3) Jpegs must be submitted: please send them to: IVAWbenefit@gmail.com The subject line should read SALON. The jpegs should be no smaller than 1024x768 pixels and no larger than 1620x1080 pixels (@72 dpi).
4) Jpegs should be named as follows: lastname_firstinitial_01.jpg
5) In the body of the email specify the title, date, medium and materials used. Underneath the details of the work(s) please include your contact information.

Artworks will be on sale for $100 each for the duration of the exhibition.
All proceeds will benefit IVAW's Winter Soldier Project which collects soldiers' firsthand accounts of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while providing legal and mental health support.
Drop Off Artists in the New York metropolitan area are to drop off their works at Powerhouse on Tuesday March 2nd between 10am - 6pm. Shipping Artists outside the New York metropolitan area will be responsible for their own shipping. De-installation will take place on Monday March 23rd.

We look forward to hearing from you.
Maya Joseph-Goteiner & Chere Krakovsky, Benefit Exhibition Organizers