I recommend his last book, as well as his best pal Norm Macdonald’s “Ridiculous” comedy album.

Ryan Waller is a designer and publisher based in Brooklyn. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2003, from Yale School of Art in 2009, worked at Mother in between, and has been a visiting faculty member at Pratt Institute. He made a zine of graffiti-based logos photoshopped onto images of brick walls and it’s in the Whitney Museum of American Art Library.

You are invited to attend:

CONTRA MUNDUM VI
Sunday, October 4, 2009
7PM

The Enemy of All Mankind

Matthew Taylor Raffety, professor of History,
University of Redlands discusses pirates, piracy,
and the autonomy of the high seas.

The talk will be followed by a DJ set of related music by Jon Pestoni.

Mandrake
2692 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034
(between Venice Blvd and Washington Blvd)

www.mandrakebar.com
www.osloeditions.com

“A list of printers recommended by artist book publishers.”

via Arduous Glamour

by Rebecca Cole

Reporting from Washington — This year, the vegetables served at the White House will be as locally grown as possible — some right on the South Lawn.

After a campaign by gardeners and sustainable food activists, the first family has decided to dig up part of the White House grounds for a vegetable garden. In a ceremony today, First Lady Michelle Obama and local elementary students will break ground for the project.

It is part of the first lady’s promotion of healthful food for her daughters, Malia and Sasha, as well as for the nation. But like many parents, the Obamas have had mixed results: Michelle Obama recently said a version of “creamless” creamed spinach by White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford still was a bit too “green” for the kids.

More than 100,000 people have lobbied the president online to plant a garden on the White House lawn, according to Kitchen Gardeners International, a coalition of gardeners whose mission is to inspire and teach people to grow their own food. The group’s Eat the View campaign to plant “high-impact gardens in high-profile places” urged the first family to start an edible garden within the first 100 days of the Obama administration.

Launched in February 2008 and spearheaded by Roger Doiron, a gardener in Scarborough, Maine, the movement hoped to have the president’s family set the right example in terms of healthful eating — “gardening for the greater good,” as Doiron said.

“It begins at home,” Doiron said. “That’s where we start. And if we get a number of people together carrying out these small actions, it will speak volumes and add up.”

Since the early 1990s, food-activist pioneers such as Berkeley restaurateur Alice Waters and author Michael Pollan have lobbied for an “edible landscape” across the 16 acres of White House grounds.

Though the Clintons did have a small rooftop garden that grew vegetables and herbs and Laura Bush made sure organic foods were served in the residence, this is the first full-scale planting on the lawn in more than 60 years — since Eleanor Roosevelt had a victory garden during World War II.

“I’m just so gratified that this idea that seemed as right as rain from the beginning” has finally taken hold, said Waters, owner of the renowned Chez Panisse.

“Food is precious. It comes from the land,” she added. “And we have to take care of the land in order to nourish ourselves. It’s very hard to talk about food without talking about the garden.”

From a chilly corner of Maine, Doiron’s small plot of land yielded $2,100 worth of produce from 35 different crops last year. The message, he said, is that even in these difficult economic times, when families are struggling financially and psychologically, there are creative ways to put healthful food on the table.

“Even if families can start with something small this season, they’re going to come away feeling empowered,” Doiron said. “There are things that we can do, even though we feel like we are up against incredible odds.”

Waters said she was especially pleased that at the White House garden’s groundbreaking, Michelle Obama would be surrounded by children — an aspect near and dear to her heart.

As a founder of the Edible Schoolyard, a program in Berkeley and New Orleans to integrate organic gardens into schools, Waters wants all children to learn that vegetables and fruit come from the ground, not a store.

“If we make a beautiful place that children can walk through on tours of the White House, we can broadcast that message around the world,” Waters said. “It’s such a beautiful picture. It’s confirming and affirming their interest in the garden.”

via South Willard

The Distribution to Underserved Communities Library Program (DUC) distributes books on contemporary art and culture free of charge to rural and inner-city libraries, schools and alternative reading centers nationwide.

The program aims to actively further a more egalitarian access to contemporary art, and is committed to fostering partnerships between publishers, non-profit organizations, librarians and readers to enrich and diversify library collections. The program offers well over 490 titles by more than 90 different publishers. The program reaches readers in all 50 states and has placed over 200,000 free books in public libraries, schools, and alternative pedagogical venues.

The DUC is a program of Art Resources Transfer, Inc., a non profit organization founded in 1987, that is committed to documenting and supporting artists’ voices and work, and making these voices accessible to the broadest possible audience.

Textfield Distribution is proud to announce its participation in the DUC Program.

This article on Typographica by Stephen Coles concisely breaks down the different options for selling and distributing digital type. Good dialogue in the comments section, as always.

“Okay, I need a minute to brag about my students who represented my school this past sunday, competing in a ballroom dance competition against 14 other LA schools.

We’ve been working for the past 10 weeks learning 5 different dances, and Sunday was the final competition, in which we selected 10 students to compete. I watched and cheered on nervously as they danced the meringue, rhumba, foxtrot, tango and swing in some fancy ballroom on the west-side of town.

I’ve never been more tense or nervous as I was when they were announcing the winner. My students had worked so hard and danced so well; I wanted them to win badly — they deserved it. The M.C. announced the 3rd place winner, the 2nd place winner, and then the 1st place winner: Culture and Language Academy of Success! We won it! I lost it. Went crazy hugging my students and hoisting our HUGE first place trophy up high. They allowed us, the winners, one last dance in front of the whole crowd. I’ve never been more happy, more proud.

I gotta give mad props to Alaysia, Damani, Evan, Crystal, Jerimiah, Jaida, Kennedy, Renard, Denzel and Tah-je. The best little dancers in all of Los Angeles.

Warmly,
Andrew Gaines

by Dan Rosenheck

BUENOS AIRES — “Soccer has a god. That god is Argentine, and his name is Diego Armando Maradona,” proclaims the Web site of the Church of Maradona, an online fan club of Argentina’s unrivaled athletic icon that claims some 20,000 members.

But this month, Diego Maradona, the country’s 48-year-old sporting titan, will try his hand at an all-too-earthly task: coaching Argentina’s men’s national soccer team, which has failed to reach the semifinals of the World Cup since “El Diego” himself starred for it in 1986 and 1990.

After retiring 11 years ago, Maradona has remained in the spotlight primarily as the country’s leading real-life soap opera star, waging a series of well-publicized battles with drugs, obesity, the news media and past lovers. Now, the hopes and dreams of 40 million soccer-mad Argentines will rest on the shoulders — much-slimmed after a stomach-stapling operation in 2005 — of a man who, in the words of the local newspaper columnist Horacio Pagani, will be “the least prepared manager in the history of international soccer.”

Given Argentina’s string of disappointing World Cup performances, the country certainly seems as if it could use a supernatural savior. The team was sent home by Romania in the round of 16 in 1994, by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in 1998, and by Germany in the quarterfinals in 2006. In 2002, Argentina failed to qualify for the knockout stage.

But handing Maradona the reins represents a profound, if not reckless, leap of faith. His managing résumé is thin and checkered. In 1994 and 1995, he piloted two Argentine club teams to just three wins in 23 games, and he was once forced to call the shots from the stands because a suspension for ephedrine use prevented him from sitting on the bench. Moreover, his personal track record hardly suggests he is fit to keep a 23-man team playing in lockstep. As recently as March 2007, rumors of his death circulated wildly while he was hospitalized for alcohol-related hepatitis.

The controversial selection became official Tuesday, when the executive committee of Argentina’s national soccer federation met. But that group serves as little more than a rubber stamp for the decisions of the organization’s president, Julio Grondona, and his pick of Maradona is considered a fait accompli.

Grondona, who also serves as a vice president of FIFA, the game’s international governing body, is widely thought to run the national sport as a personal fief. During his 29 years in office, he has been accused of using his influence over referees, the news media, and the distribution of revenues to guarantee obedience from the club presidents who elect him — and to advance his business interests. The courts have ordered some 50 searches of his offices during his presidency, but few formal proceedings have ever been filed against him, and he has never been found guilty of a crime.

The leading candidate for the coaching job, which became available after Alfio Basile resigned in October, was Carlos Bianchi. As the manager of Boca Juniors — Argentina’s most popular club, for whom Maradona played from 1981 to 1982 and from 1995 to 1997 — Bianchi won four domestic titles, three continental titles and two intercontinental titles. But his poor relationship with Grondona appears to have disqualified him for the post.

Sergio Batista, who coached Argentina’s under-23 team to the Olympic gold medal in Beijing, was also passed over.

Maradona has, predictably, brushed off concerns about his readiness, noting that he spent two decades on the national team.

“Soccer hasn’t changed,” he told reporters in Argentina. “I don’t think anything will surprise me.”

The choice of Maradona is sure to increase the international profile of the Argentine team, which will probably increase its revenues. Tickets for his first match in charge, on Nov. 19 against Scotland in Glasgow, have sold briskly.

Public opinion, while divided, seems to lean against the choice: an Internet poll conducted by Clarín, Argentina’s largest newspaper, found that 74 percent of nearly 50,000 voters were opposed. Purists were particularly appalled, arguing that Maradona’s indubitable star power was no substitute for the years on the bench accumulated by other candidates, and that his postretirement antics put the country’s image at risk.

“He was a great player, but nothing more,” said Oscar Pereira, a union employee in the stands at a local league game on Friday night.

“We need someone more serious. You see him running around with Hugo Chávez talking about Che Guevara.”

Moreover, accusations of cronyism against Grondona are flying more freely than ever. “Whatever money they make off Maradona, Grondona and his friends will keep it for themselves,” said Raúl Gámez, a former president of the club Vélez Sársfield and one of Grondona’s most outspoken critics.

But Maradona’s stature among Argentines still leaves many believing he deserves a shot — or at the very least, that his all-too-public campaign for the position forced Grondona’s hand.

“We’ve had a lot of experienced managers, and they haven’t always done well,” said Alejandro Fabbri, a broadcaster for the TyC Sports network. “If Maradona wanted the job, he should get it.

“He’s the greatest Argentine player ever. At least they won’t be able to say he never got the chance.”

To compensate for Maradona’s lack of training, Grondona has also appointed a team of veteran tacticians to support Maradona, led by Carlos Bilardo, who managed Maradona on Argentina’s 1986 World Cup championship team. With capable assistants, Maradona’s devotees say, he will be able to focus on providing the players with his special brand of leadership and inspiration.

“He’s the biggest name there is,” said Pereira’s son, Nahuel, who accompanied him to the game. “He’ll pass on some of his magic to them.”

While Argentines disagree over the merits of the decision, they share a concern for Maradona’s well-being in his new role — perhaps a concern greater than their worries about the direction of the team as a whole. Will Maradona the deity survive Maradona the manager?

“I told him he was too big for this job,” Pagani said. “Right now, everyone loves him. Once he starts making decisions for the team, he’ll be held to account. He’s risking his legend. But he said that he wanted to do it.”

Thanks Ryan

I want to join just to hang out in their clubhouse.

The Universal Mind of Bill Evans. The creative process and self-teaching.
(Extract)

Watch the full 5-part series.

B&W CAD print, 26 × 40 inches

Poster designed for the Photography Department (Shannon Ebner), USC Roski School of Fine Arts. If you are attending the school, please Sign up! Fred Davis (pictured) is the tight end for the USC Trojans (2007 Mackey Award).

Rob Giampietro’s excellent article on this Richard Hamilton book cover is at home on his blog, Lined & Unlined, with a bunch of other great material.

After several weeks of preparation with Harsh and 9 straight days of intense/hard work by our students at CalArts (and our Teachers Assistant Diego), we are finished with Practicum! For our Practicum (Textfield Workshop), we had the students make their own book/mag/zine. In order to make a magazine in such a short period, Harsh and I selected 2 formats for them to work with, developed a Content Library and a limited Type Library. Students paired themselves into groups of 2 — each group was responsible for selecting a topic and compiling, editing and laying out their own 16-page Signature (112 pages total). We couldn’t have been more excited with the results.

Special thanks goes to our Teachers Assistant Diego Padilla, who went above and beyond to make sure the students kept on top of their work and contributed so much to the critiques, really outstanding — Also Stacey Hauge Printing in Valencia, who did an amazing job of folding, trimming and binding our Project. Dennis (owner), Bryan and their staff, spent over 3 hours working closely with us and (unexpectedly) did our job Pro Bono — we cannot thank you enough for your time, experience and generosity.

Dennis has 8 adopted German Shepherds — please visit the German Shepherd Rescue website for more information.

Textfield Publication Workshop
24 January — 1 February 2008
Instructors Jonathan Maghen and Harsh Patel