KOONS, JACKSON, BUBBLES 

Right about now seems like an appropriate time to write a quick Jeff Koons post, with MJ's sudden death and all. Below, "Michael Jackson and Bubbles", 1988. A ceramic a sculpture, this top-selling piece fetched $5.6m at a contemporary art auction. Very impressive, my hat goes off to you Mister Jeff Koons.





Koons is a controversial figure in the art world, and his previous exhibitions have featured toys and balloons, as well as a giant topiary puppy (below) outside the Rockefeller Center in New York. Much of Koons' work is conceptualized by himself but created by skilled craftsmen.











Jeff Koons is known for his giant reproductions of banal objects such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces, often brightly colored. Koons' work has sold for huge amounts including at least one world record auction price for a work by a living artist. Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some see his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as crass and based on cynical self-merchandizing. Koons himself has stated that there are no hidden meanings in his works. I love Jeff Koons. If I could trade places with him, I would in half a heart beat. He wins on so many levels. 

PALE BLUE DOT. 

Yep that’s the galactic center of the milky way. Pretty incredible.

Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.— Carl Sagan

MODERNIZING PROPAGANDA WOW, look at these stunning Japaneese Avant–Garde Postcards. Japan’s great tradition of exquisite graphic craftsmanship obviously is reflected here–but so also is the degree to which aesthetic sensibility had been modernized, “Westernized,“ and commercialized in ways unimagined only a decade or so earlier.



Explosions, hot-air military observation balloons, Russian and Japanese war flags, enemy gunboats, even sinking warships and landmines became transformed into emblems of beauty, modernity, and cutting-edge creativity. And all for a popular audience and a practical purpose. The “blank” spaces on the postcards, aesthetically attractive in themselves were where messages were written. In some cases, the personal message was handwritten right over the image.

SWEEET HAIR POSTER SHOW! The Sweet Hair Poster Show kicks off this Saturday as 37 Minneapolis based artists come together for the sweetest, hairiest event of the year. All prints are hair-inspired, handmade and created just for this one-time-only event. Not only will some of Minneapolis’ premier poster artists be showcased here, but thanks to Mezzanine Salon, hair will actually be cut and styled during the show’s opening reception. Sweet Hair opens on Saturday, June 13th from 7-10pm at the Art Minion Gallery, nestled away in North East Minneapolis overlooking the Mississippi River. This exhibition is free and open to the public. DJ Rambo Salinas and DJ Talk Radio will be spinning music all evening. Artwork purchased the night of the show will be accompanied with a discount to Frame Ups Custom Framing. The show will be up for one month following the opening reception. 10% of poster sales and ALL pony tails collected for Sweet Hair will be given to Locks of Love. 







Below is the print we contributed for The Sweet Hair poster show. We are honored to have been asked to be part of this and super excited for the show. Posters, free hair cuts, and Surly Beer no reason not to come!

SILKSCREEN PRINTING – 4 COLOR PROCESS PARTY! For those who are not familiar, silkscreen printing is a printing technique where an image is transferred to paper, fabric or other materials by forcing ink through a very fine silk mesh. Usually, each color is printed one by one, however two or more colored inks can be used at once to create a fade or gradient effect. This is called a split fountain – but we didn't do any of that here. Below are some photos from a new print we recently finished printing for the upcoming Grizzly Bear show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.







This particular print is what's known as a 4 color process print. It uses the 4 colors used in process printing: cyan / magenta / yellow / black (CMYK) When these 4 colors are printed in a specific way it allows you to create more realistic, almost photographic color tones. This is achieved by separating the image into what's known as a color halftone image which is made up of tiny dots, dots that vary in size to create the illusion of hue contrast and tone. Where in reality it's just solid tiny dots that are so close to each other it creates the effect of a congruent image. Each of the 4 process colors has it's own set of dots. When all 4 colors are overlapped, you can see how the dots work together to create an image that makes sense, an image we're all more familiar with seeing. Have a look at these pics, it might help you understand. It's kinda like magic!





yellow (Y) – All that yellow you see is actually just tiny dots which create the illusion of a solid yellow image. 





magenta (M)





cyan (C)





black (K)



After each color is printed, they are transfered to dry on a large drying rack like this. Once dry, the prints are collected, stacked and cut down to size.







Then finally, after the last color is printed, they are stamped on the back with the official florafauna seal of approval, signed and numbered. Countless hours are spent pulling an inked squeegee back and forth, forcing the ink through the screen, one color at a time, all by hand. Each print is treated with tender loving care. They are as delicate as a 3rd grader's emotions on the school playground and yield results that are far less predictable. –  Available SOON in the poster shop!