Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Unintentional Art and Thoughts on Design



Meditations on Unintentional Art
with Some Thoughts on Design
of Toys and Everyday Objects.




Madhuban incense cones.







"The damsels of  Brindaban, 
the place where Lord Krishna
grew up had profound love for him...

.....


...they rushed to Madhuban,
the scenic woods by the sacred river
Yamuna to drink of the Devine Music
and dazzlement by His Beauty so great
that the damsels broke off all
restrictions imposed by 
society and the scriptures.

In this picture on the front,
a Gopi, as the damsels of Brindaban
were known, is seen lost in love
of the lord in the Beautiful Madhuban
drinking Rasa -- the nectar
of supreme happiness -- 
from the Lord of Rasa, Krishna
who is pure Consciousness,
pure Bliss, pure Love and pure Rasa
in their purest and most sublime forms."





Ice Breakers mint box.




Buddy Guy and 
Marshall Tucker Band posters.




 Talking Heads Tribute and 
Reggae on the Riverfront posters.




Wonder Bread
sandwich saver.






Wonder logo embossed in plastic.






Perfect size for a sandwich.






Illinois Link (food stamps) card.







RolyPoly frequent customer card.




HyVee appreciation card.





Memory card case.






Pipe in corner.






Light and color
shimmer where you
least expect them to.



 Unintentional Art
flourishes everywhere.

Just open your eyes and Mind.



Unintentional Art
waits for the frame
that occurs in Mind.

The eye looks, but only Mind sees.



Unintentional Art:
hiding, enduring, silent,
worn out, rusted, fading,
abandoned beauty.



NagChampa soap
purchased at Feeling Groovy,
University St., Peoria, IL




The word "HERBAL" carved
into the soap from India.




A strange Mexican candy for kids.
Baby Lucas.




Duck with sunglasses.





Double flattened 
headed hairless troll.



Double-headed doofus.




Scholarly Beatnik Kat




Black and silver corkscrew
bottle opener knife.




Polished hardwood case
 for swanky ballpoint pen.




 City growth.




 Push Pop.




Spiritual Sky patchouly oil.
The original 1960s 
hippie fragrance.





Hand-held Santa head.
For superstitious kids
to wish upon in their pocket.




Cool Honey Altoids.




Lakerol Salvi pastilles.







Posing with Art







Sunday, September 26, 2010

Recent Str8 Sounds CD cover art


Looking back on some Str8 Sounds CD cover art, I'm reminded that a strong, memorable, relevant image is a good way to promote music.

How often have you been seduced by packaging? How many times did a band NOT live up to the hype, the album graphics, the sense that seemed to be conveyed visually? Have you been disappointed, thinking "This has got to be great!" but it turns out to be a waste of time?

Beyond the music itself, two things strike me forcibly about bands: (1) names (2) packaging. I cruise around the music sites quite a bit. I'm always delighted in the creativity I find in both areas. People keep thinking up funny or weird or appropriate band names, and they keep grinding out interesting promotion art.

All this innovation makes the world a more fun and inspiring place in which to sojourn...