SEARS Commercial: New Murals Made to Look Old

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions, Tonky Graphic Design | No Comments

Droogs,

Have a look at some pics from a Sears commercial shoot that I recently did some design work for. The two main pieces are large hand painted murals that I helped design and for which I created the “pounced” or perforated paper templates.

Prior to painting, these were blank walls and the director wanted them to look aged. Interesting to think about these new murals made to look 50 years old in the context of our current sluggish economy.  Sears, a venerable retail institution, wants to evoke nostalgia and cultivate trust in their company’s stability in a consumer that is holding tightly to their hard earned dollars.

What about that old hand painted patina are they trying to capitalize on?

Credits:

Ad Agency: Y&R

Produced by: DNA Films

Directed by : Paul Gore

Production Designer: Julian Laverdiere

-Tonky

Taxidermied Squirrel Diorama

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions, The American Diorama | No Comments

My fellow woodland creatures,

Check out this scene from the American Diorama. While vacationing in Wisconsin my friend Susan Schmidt snapped this photo of an anthropomorphized taxidermied squirrel diorama at a bar called The Dirty Turtle.

Susan writes:

It was beyond incredible. This Squirrel work of artistic genuis is located at a little place called the Dirty Turtle in New Lisbon, WI.
Things to spot:
1. The Men’s bathroom
2. Women’s underwear hanging off the mirror

Also here are some worthwhile photos from the bar’s website. Polar Bear Swims ( Turtle Dunk ), Foam Parties, and fiberglass turtle statue.

Chinese Storm Troopers vs. Terracotta Soldiers of Xian

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions, Power & Politics | No Comments

The New York Times published this picture of Chinese Storm Troopers accompanying their coverage of the government crackdown of Uighur ethinic minority group. Their armor reminded me of the Terracotta Army at emperor Qin Shi Huang’s burial site.

Read the NYtimes full coverage here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/asia/09hu.html?hp

The Bush II administration detained 13 Uighur men near the border of Afghanistan and they are only now being released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. They were innocent men, but some feared that if released and returned to China the communist regime would imprison, torture, or kill them.

Nytimes covered the release of a handful of the detainees to sunny Bermuda: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/world/americas/15uighur.html

-Tonky

Obama as Fiercely Committed Young Dragon of Mystic Strength

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions | No Comments

I came across this gem in Toscano Design’s junk mail catalog at a friend’s house. They make mostly weird kitschy cast statues for lawn or tabletop. Pretty fair prices and worth checking out it you are on the market for a silly piece of junk.

The caption reads:

Celebrate the historic election of the 44th US president with our Toscana-exclusive Barack Obama figurine. Our limited edition, collectible dragon statue showcases Barack Obama as a fiercely committed young dragon of mystic strength. Makes the perfect collectible gift for any history lover or political aficionados!

Could you imagine being that man and seeing this? How bizarre.

-Tonky

VASAMUSEET – 17th Century Warship Raised From the Deep

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions, Power & Politics | No Comments

The Vasamuseet is one of the top 20 museums I’ve ever visited .

The Vasa, once Sweden’s largest warship, was built in the 17th century and sunk outside Stockholm moments after it set sail ( the engineer made a mistake calculating ballast so the vessel tipped over with a sudden gust and sunk ) Many survived, but some of the ocean goers tragically drowned.

There the Vasa sat upright in the muddy depths, preserved in the cold brackish (mostly fresh, part salt) waters of the Swedish archipelago for nearly 300 years when in the 1960’s and 1970’s Sweden raised the boat like Lazarus – whole. After years of careful restoration and research, they built the Vasamuseet around the wreck.

Be sure to flip through these pics showing the wooden vessel, diagrams of trees containing specific ship parts, and reconstructions of victim’s faces based on their remains.

-Tonky

Sweden Dispatch: God Probably Is Not

Sunday, June 14th, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions | No Comments

Hej! From Stockholm,

I spotted this city-wide campaign that while visually striking didn’t take on full meaning until my brother’s friend translated the text: God Probably Is Not.

The campaign is sponsored by HUMANASTERNA a self proclaimed union of people and thinkers that  promote the “humanist outlook as ideas and values of society, culture and ethics.” It seems they present lectures around Europe and publish literature that focuses on how to improve human life whether or not God exists.

From my few days here, Sweden in fact does seem like a godless socialist state as Limbaugh and Palin might suggest. However everyone is nice, everything works, the food is good, and the subway system is clean and on-time. Oh yes, and people generally get 5-6 weeks of vacation a year! We’re not talking Stalinist oppression, this is a culture where the greedy bastards are put in check and the citizenry’s quality of life trumps infinite violent expansion. Maybe not realistic for the USA, but nice nonetheless.

Take a look around their website: http://humanisterna.se/

They have an English page, but you can also google the URL and have it translated.

-Tonky

Tonky Octopus in New York Magazine

Monday, March 2nd, 2009 | Pop Culture Notions, Tonky Limited Editions | No Comments

New York Magazine featured my Tonky Octopus Wall Decal in their recent fashion week issue. They saw the designs that A&G Merch, the Brooklyn (Williamsburg ) retailer carries and were generous enough to send a little attention my way.

-Tonky