ATTRACTIVE HEADLINE - NEWS & PROJECTS

Stair collages printed edition at Svensson Contemporary

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

At the CCA

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Les images laissent voir les interventions d’un banlieusard sur son territoire quotidien. On y voit certes, plusieurs conventions de la banlieue (pelouse impeccable, haie de cèdre fraîchement taillée, etc.) Nous pensons qu’en fabriquant son environnement à partir d’objets trouvés, d’emballages, de restes ou de déchets, Jean-Guy joue à un jeu; un jeu sans fin précise et où il peut manipuler les règles à chaque instant. Au-delà d’une quête de fonctionnalité, ce jeu lui permet, tout en étant actif, de s’échapper...

Message From New York

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

5 Hour Energy

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Evidence, here, on Klaimco.com

Escape Plan – Xavier Mayhem

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0500

This book was intended for lost designers or for any other form of employed workforce. If you still believe the old adage “time is money,” then you might also think that this text is not for you. But let yourself go, for a moment. In this book, look for what you need. Office workers and Officers are therefore invited to read. Includes photographs of a journey into the Yale underworld. A fantastic quest to find the Land of The Sleeping Giant.

BOOK
2012, offset B&W
Cover: Screenprint B&W on Springfield Stock
Printing of the cover with Mathieu Dionne – C&C
7.5 × 9.5", Edition of 100.

“Would it be fair to see this as an escape plan: a possible solution for any captive maker? Escapism is often used to describe cowardice. As discussed earlier, everyday life activities – not those associated with work but those Bob Black would call playful practices – can become very lucrative for industries that take them to extreme levels. This market exists because of the tendency of human beings to distract themselves in reaction to the heaviness of working life. To some, escapism is associated with the inability or unwillingness to connect meaningfully to the world.” (Excerpt from Makers As Escapists)

Binaries Workshop

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Sean Yendrys and I were invited by Concordia Uni... Sean Yendrys and I were allowed to conduct a workshop in Concordia University under the theme “Binaries”. The participants were asked to illustrate their chosen binaries opposition while emphasizing on a narrative arc. 11 student teams / 11 signatures / 16 books / 3 evenings. While Sean was busy doing his grad school affairs, Max took the opportunity to make an image he (Sean...) would be proud of. We then arranged it in the poster below. Special thanks to Christopher Moore and DASA – Concordia.

DESIGNED WITH
Sean Yendrys

POSTER
Printed by Charmant & Courtois
2012, 2 color risograph
11 × 17", Edition of 30;

Preface for Escape Plan and Table of content

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

From the author to the reader*
(Table of content)

You who so plod amid serious things that you feel it shame to give yourself up even for a few short moments to mirth and joyousness in the land of Fancy; you who think that life hath nought to do with innocent laughter that can harm no one; these pages are not for you. Clap to the leaves and go no farther than this, for I tell you plainly that if you go farther you will be scandalized by reading legitimate, sober texts of real history so palpable but bitter in dull colors and motley that you would not acknowledge them but for the truth they possess.

38 Here is a text, not long enough to make you drowse, yet stretched enough to open your eyes, that unbelievably united fellows like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Bob Black and J.R.R. Tolkien.
42 Here are two anonymous radio hosts, close cousins of Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, who got lucky enough to discuss, on the air, the myth of short fish memory.
50 Here is a certain fellow with a sour humor and a grim look – the anarchist, Bob Black. This man has a very unique way to account everyday life. Let him tell the story of leisure, so you will discover another perspective on working life.

Beside these are a whole host of visuals, drawings, scribbles and especially stolen material, all redistributed here, in the merriest of merry books, and all bound by nothing but a few strings (interspersed between the leaves you clap and tied together again in a score of knots) which draw this escape plan – that you are about to execute.

You will find a hundred dull, sober, jogging places, all tricked out by fences and what not, till no one would know their landlords. But nearby is a land bearing an unknown name, wherein no chill mists press upon our spirits, and no rain falls but what rolls off our backs like April showers off the backs of sleek drakes; where flowers bloom forever and birds are always singing; where every fellow hath a merry catch as he travels the roads, and ale and beer and wine (such as muddle no wits) flow like water in a brook.

This country is not Fairyland. What is it? 'Tis the land of Fancy, and is of that pleasant kind that, when you tire of it – whisk! – you clap the leaves of this book together and 'tis gone, and you are ready for everyday life, with no harm done. And now I lift the curtain that hangs between here and No-man's-land. Will you come with me, sweet Reader? I thank you. Give me your hand.

* This preface has been modified from its original version. It has been originally written in 1883 by Howard Pyle in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. (The text above is appropriated from an edition of Junior Deluxe Edition, Garden City, New York.) 3

A friend named Traven

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Traven T. Croves is a friend with whom we’ve worked with during the past two years.

Relatively Dark Blue Neither Purple Nor Green – WYBC – Issue #I9

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This issue was planned to be released at the end of the 2012 academic year – hectic time for us – and was rescheduled for this Fall. Number 19 is pretty much about graduating from Yale and becoming famous. Simple. And David Bowie. For a light-hearted return to school.

DESIGNED WITH
Stefan Thorsteinsson and Andrew Lister

JOURNAL
2012, 2 colour offset cover
with b&w content, saddled-stiched,
6.5 × 9.5", 48 p. Edition of 1000;

The David Whelan Website (or Case) – Illusions of Psychiatry

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Pierre-Elliott Trudeau – The Album

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Just when you thought we had designed this album cover, we announce that this is not the case, and that we have found several copies (all intact) at The Salvation Army – we bought them all. The visual language used on this packaging – versus its content – surpasses us. The content presents speeches and career highlights of the late Liberal Prime Minister of Canada. “I see you're playing devil's advocate, it must be a hell of a role” says he to a journalist. We are now tempted to sell full albums of us working in silence.

COLLECTED ALBUMS
33⅓ rpm recordings
Edition of 5.

Super Models (GDNYC – S/S 2012) Book Launch Party

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Super Models (by Kate DeWitt, Harry Gassel & Jen Lee)

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Makers As Escapists – Maxime Harvey

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Text to be found in the book Escape Plan.

On a designer’s desk lies a small bowl in which lives a fighting fish (Betta Splendens). The artificial territory of the animal is bounded on all sides by glass. Above, the surface of the water acts like a breached wall. Everyday life office fish are born in captivity and they are purchased at low cost. Surprisingly enough, the story of Betta fish reflects the life of graphic designers. (Shock!) However, all of us wonder – do graphic designers have the possibility to extend their territory? Is it possible for them to react to a fuller picture of a larger world – even if it’s a distorted one? (A world blurred by glass.)

The first man who, having fenced off a piece of land, said “This is mine,” and found people naive enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of listening to this imposter; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody. (1)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau had a rather poetic vision in his “Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men.” Rousseau’s point was that the primitive man’s self-consciousness was fueled by an increasing dependancy on relationships which mutated into a kind of obsession with the perceptions of others. He believed that the need for human beings to own territories was motivated by self-esteem; l’amour-propre (self-love?). His concept of inequality may sound naive as it distills the origins of the complexity of the world into simple moral choices. But in a contemporary context, we can observe a lot of love nowadays: territories are owned, administered, managed, regulated. Hyperrealistic details are mapped onto territories and monitored by companies that interact and love each other very much. The word “territory” is relevant when it defines a controlled area – a region under the dominance of a ruler (either human or animal.) If we examine the question of territorial ownership from the point of view of graphic design – and as the question of design authorship always falls flat – we wonder: how can the designer make captivity more visible? Perhaps designers can expand their realm by suggesting actions that others can use to extend their own territory. But first, let’s lose all that pressure by calling the designer, a maker.

Makers can derive commitment by collecting their own imagery the same way I am dedicated to collect my own hand lettering. When recollected, re-framed and digitized, these letters or shapes drawn on torn paper may appear to have been found as is. The reutilization of shapes in multiple projects gives each piece of work an intrinsic quality of déjà-vu. From a strict design point of view, it extends the territory of the maker into the clients realm. (Blasphemy!) The shapes – I cannot name them fonts for the letters that I draw are not intended to be functional or “ready to serve” – they are not distributed. A digitally traced typeface that was preciously drawn becomes a streamlined exchange format. It becomes a public commodity. On the contrary, the letters that I draw are not intended to be functional and they are not distributed. They are not organized in systems ready to operate. This way of working limits the propagation of the pieces that are made but it has more to do with the limitation of the different meanings each drawing can inherit. Horrifyingly, the control comes from the maker…

Sinus, lettering, See WYBC Radio Journal.

As a maker, I choose to privilege content that mocks contemporary utilitarian ideas or, on the other hand, content that covers social concerns. The elements that I collect are often impregnated with a social reminiscence: a photograph of an escalator (meaning the break), a crushed pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, papers with printed calligraphic letters, manuscripts, torn cartoon pages, etc. So, the forms that are found in the work are part of a collection of items made for future use. This way of working allows me to work in a playful state of mind.

Lucky Strike, crushed cigarette pack, printed with cigarette ashes as pigment.

In The Abolition of Work, Bob Black urges workers to start a “ludic revolution.” He explains that “Playing and giving are closely related, they are the behavioral and transactional facets of the same impulse, the play-instinct. They share an aristocratic disdain for results. The player gets something out of playing; that’s why he plays.” (2) Black asserts that “work makes a mockery of freedom.” This suggests that the practice of the maker could be thought of as a state of play. That said, working in a state of play is difficult to achieve and even our leisure time is often a preparation for work, a kind of recovery, and not a solemn period of leisure. Working life is often metaphorically translated as a kind of game where one has to score points and deliver results. If a worker isn’t productive, he or she is likely to be reported and sanctioned. This type of translation is close to rule-governed zero-sum games such as baseball, chess, or Monopoly. In the case of Monopoly, the acquisition of territory and staying within the rules is clear. But as Bob Black proposes, there is another state of play to be seen in practices such as dancing, conversing, having sex, traveling – in which following rules isn’t a premise. But, these practices could shift into the realm of work and be measured through performance, efficiency or productivity. Would it be possible to reinvent work? Black proposes that we replace it, insofar as it serves useful purposes, with a multitude of new kinds of activities – pastimes that deliver useful end-products as a result. Only then the maker will be able to work in a fair environment, when the rhetoric of power will be dissipated. “Then all the artificial barriers of power and property could come down.” (3)

Would it be fair to see this as an escape plan: a possible solution for any captive maker? Escapism is often used to describe cowardice. As discussed earlier, everyday life activities – not those associated with work but those Bob Black would call playful practices – can become very lucrative for industries that take them to extreme levels. This market exists because of the tendency of human beings to distract themselves in reaction to the heaviness of working life. To some, escapism is associated with the inability or unwillingness to connect meaningfully to the world. No doubt our managers, superiors, tormentors don’t want us to deviate and become less efficient. In fact, they are the perpetrators of our daily burden.  J. R. R. Tolkien advanced the argument that fairy-stories had a prior function of “Escape” but he deplored the confusion of its misused meaning. In his essay, “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien argued that the word was serving contemptuous criticism. In a wartime context, his position was that the meaning of “Escape” was misinterpreted as the escape of the Prisoner or the Flight of the Deserter. According to Tolkien’s, the Deserter of War is denounced by a dominating Party; deserting is a treachery often exaggerated and wrongfully labeled by the word “Escape” along with “Disgust, Anger, Condemnation, and Revolt.” (4) It’s a nuance that critics use to serve their own ends. On the other hand, would a prison break be more likely glorified in times of war? Tolkien responds to the critic of escapism in this way: “Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?” (5) Back to the maker’s lair, would it be fair to criticize him for finding ways to escape the lure of success only achieved through “hard work?” What if “achievement” is a direct result of play, experimentation, pleasurable trial-error?

The maker that works in a true state of play is also an escapist. Playing should never mimic working life and escapism should be examined carefully – especially because now, more than ever, escapism is seen as a caprice. “Let’s not waste time on the land of fancy.” “Why?” “Because a project is due.” “Too bad, our office is only open on weekends. Our office fish has been put back into nature.” Deadlines are from Mordor. Makers should consider escapism literally: jump fences, search for hidden and inaccessible places or travel underground… The territory is for everyone. The walls are always artificial. But watch out, one does not simply escape from Mordor.

Boromir, internet meme.

1 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Discourse on the Origin and Foundation of the
Inequality between Men,” in The Social Contract and Discourses (New York:
Everyman’s Library, 1913), 192. 

2 Bob Black, “The Abolition of Work,” in The Abolition of Work and Other Essays
(Port Townsend: Loompanics Unlimited, 1985). The following disclaimer is
reproduced from the verso of the title page: “Not Copyrighted. Any of the material
in this book may be freely reproduced, translated or adapted, even without
mentioning the source.”

3 Bob Black, “The Abolition of Work,” in The Abolition of Work and Other Essays,
available online (http://www.zpub.com/notes/black-work.html) 

4 J. R. R. Tolkien, “On Fairy-Stories,” in The Tolkien Reader (New York:
Ballantine Books, 1966), 79.

5 J. R. R. Tolkien, “On Fairy-Stories,” in The Tolkien Reader (New York:
Ballantine Books, 1966), 79.

Group Portrait 2012 – Yale MFA Photography Catalog

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

With an introduction essay by Rick Moody. Showcasing the work of Kate A.T. Merrill, Peter Baker, Maayan Strauss, Richard Choi, Katie Koti, Felix R. Cid, Sarah Muehlbauer, Pao Houa Her and Thomas Gardiner. (In order of Appearance) A project wonderfully orchestrated by Thomas Palmer.

DESIGNED WITH
Inva Çota

BOOK
2012, offset printing in full color
w/ b&w sections interspersed,
printed at GHP in West Haven, CT,
7.5 × 10.25", Edition of 500.

TrendingSearchTerms aka ShowPromo

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

PRESS RELEASE: RockOfAges is a graphic design exhibition to be held at Green Hall Gallery in the Yale School of Art, opening May 5, 2012 at 6:00 PM. It is the work of 16 students, the launch of a magazine, an eBook platform, a Turbo Folk fanzine, and graphic design mixtapes. InvaCota is 3 floors, 13 websites, 2 projections, 5 screens, 6 speakers, 232 printed pieces, and 2 sets of headphones (maybe).

LindsayLohan maximizes all available resources – using, subverting, interacting with, and exhausting all available networks and reconfiguring existing materials with a new agenda. You can call this hacking, you can call this “truth to materials,” you can call this media agnosticism, or you can call this resourcefulness as we call for attention in crowded visual, audible and fourth-dimensional fields with fewer financial resources and an exponentially growing number of platforms for distribution. NFLDraft is a show without a hierarchy, in fact, its a show without a title. SaltonSea is a dynamic set of interactions which promotes both a disorienting sense of subversion and the utopian ideal of equivalence. KombuchaTea is a trending search term, an aggregate as well as a calcified, specific time and place. This is GladysKnight aka Graphic22Release aka Book-Shelf.BizBeta aka BalkaniaFanzineLaunch aka GRiSInternationalPerformance aka YaleGraphicDesignThesisShow2012.

Just don't call us LateForDinner.

—The Yale Design Thesis Show Committee

(Beta) Escape Plan – Xavier Mayhem

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

BOOK (Beta)
2012, offset B&W
Cover: Digital print and screenprint
7.5 × 9.5", Edition of 10.

Ice Cream Tulips revised by Harry Gassel

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

WisconsinRecall aka GiantSquid aka GraphicDesignThesisShow2012

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Escape Plan displayed at Svensson Contemporary

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Magic in Modern London by Edward Lovett

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

WYBC Spring 2012 Schedule

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

DESIGNED WITH
Andrew Lister

POSTER
2012, 1 color risograph
11 × 17", Edition of 400;

FRAIS PEINT is exhibiting Art School’s first years

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The signage scheme applied to this all-school exhibition deprives the gallery of functioning in the English language. The show's visual identity was inspired by an official “fresh paint” card found in a Montreal subway station. In french, Frais Peint sounds like a twisted anglicism. The commonly used expression would be Peinture Fraîche. To apply this different language also means to disturb the current state of operations of the gallery. Unionized workers painted the main wall in red only using Benjamin Moore color named “red”. To the same extent, the graphic language of commercial painters was used to broaden their estate into the territory of the gallery. Artists were invited to courageously hang their work on the wall. “Who is afraid of the red wall?” asked Sam Messer, Associate Dean, in all-school communications. The flyers were made of paperboard painted in the same color.

Relatively Dark Blue Neither Purple Nor Green – WYBC – Issue #I8

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The Ownership Issue.

DESIGNED WITH
Andrew Lister

JOURNAL
2011, 2 colour offset cover
with b&w content, saddled-stiched,
6.5 × 9.5", 44 p. Edition of 1000;

FRAIS PEINT is hiring Benjamin Moore (stay tuned)

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Benjamin Moore is Andrew Lister, Jaewon Seok and Xavier Mayhem. Together, they are preparing the next first year show at Yale University Green Gallery.

WYBC Fall 2011 Schedule

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

WYBC Yale Radio asked us to design a small poster announcing the online radio schedule for fall 2011. The poster is composed of photographs of flags made by Harry Gassel and a photograph of the WYBC recording studio called “The Moon”.

DESIGNED WITH
Andrew Lister

POSTER
2011, 3 colour risograph
11 × 17", Edition of 400;

Karel Martens On Karel Martens, a lecture.

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

DESIGNED WITH
Andrew Lister

POSTER
2011, 2 colour risograph
11 × 17", Edition of 100;

L’après-midi chez Jean-Guy

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In search of folklore, we have found Jean-Guy in Mirabel, a suburb of Montreal. These photographs are a much-needed documentation of various inventions that Jean-Guy made from found objects, packagings and waste. From a water heater to various type of stilts, these functional but makeshift objects seem mundane but they demonstrate many uses and diversions of the everyday life that are not often documented. Jean-Guy does not give them titles and does not plan the objects on paper. He does not manipulate the layers of language attributed to objects that already exist. In the making of these objects, Jean-Guy describes what they should do: “extension for this, extension for that”. The viewer must somehow attribute them a title (for purposes of categorization).

BOOK
2011, ISBN 78978986578
4 colour offset
saddled-stiched, 6.5 × 9.5 in, 20 p. Edition of 200
(Order Here) Available at Textfield.org

Stair collages / And Even a Tea Party Means Apprehension... Breakage

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

COLLAGE
Copies of campus staircase
photographs, white-out,
approx. 4 × 6 in each

Relatively Dark Blue Neither Purple Nor Green – WYBC – Issue #I7

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

WYBC Yale Radio – Relatively Dark Blue Neither Purple Nor Green takes is name off a Wikipedia misquote from University printer John Gambell. While Mr. Gambell tries to describe the Official Yale Color, we’ve also find in the sentence a metaphore of the ambiguous position that WYBC takes within the Yale community. Not conservative neither radical. “Do you question what has been put in front of you? The food is poisoned with other people’s judgments. And you can buy it wholesale, or look for better value.” (Excerpt from The New Yalie, Relatively Dark Blue issue no. 17). In collaboration with WYBC.

DESIGNED WITH
Andrew Lister

JOURNAL
2011, 4 colour offset cover
with b&w content, saddled-stiched,
6.5 × 9.5", 40 p. Edition of 1000;

Walden Peer Counseling

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Walden Peer Counselling is a Yale University confidential hotline. Its mission: to help students in need. The faulty copywriting of the disseminated communications, leaflets often scattered in dinning halls, is reused to create a humorous mythology. On one of them one could read: “I don’t want to run in this corporate hamster wheel. I don’t want my girlfriend to break up with me. I don’t want to make the trek up Science Hill. I don’t want to do this anymore. Want to talk about it? (Call Us!)” Some of the new pamphlets have been put back into the dinning halls.

PAMPHLETS
Drawn animals on digital prints,
10 × 14", edition of 10 each.

Avril

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Do the criticism over the smoking habits amongst female celebrities have reached a level of stigmatization? Avril Lavigne, canadian-born singer presents her convictions to paparazzis.

PRINT
Screenprinted with
cigarette ashes,
6 × 10 in,
Edition of 1

Flowers of Capnolagnia

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The first cigarette project, Flowers of Capnolagnia, presents the hypothesis that smokers are stigmatized (the result of unstable politics through the years). Needless to say that cigarettes are in part consumed for their aesthetic appeal. In the video, while the (rebel) pornstars clench their fists, fetishism becomes the refuge of the stigmatized.

Rousseau, Fences and Statement

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

We use this quote is a starting point: “The first man who, having fenced off a piece of land, said ‘This is mine,’ and found people naive enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society.” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Discourse on the Origin and Foundation of the Inequality between Men,” in The Social Contract and Discourses, Everyman’s Library, 1913.) Rousseau believed that the need for human beings to own territories was motivated by self-esteem; l’amour-propre (self-love?). His concept of inequality may sound naive as it distills the origins of the complexity of the world into simple moral choices. But in a contemporary context, we can observe a lot of love nowadays: territories are owned, administered, managed, regulated. Hyperrealistic details are mapped onto territories and monitored by companies that interact and love each other very much.

POSTER
2011, 2 silkscreen pass (red on red)
22 × 30", Edition of 15.

Fortification and Belvedere

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

2009, 12 × 18", inkjet;