IDSVA-

Happy long weekend...I just finished up a sweet project that was so amazing to be apart of. IDSVA offers a low-residency PhD program in philosophy and art theory to visual artists,

architects, curators, and creative scholars. Instruction includes preeminent world-wide visiting faculty, residencies in Tuscany, the Venice Biennale, Paris, and New York City, plus year-round distance-learning. George Smith, president, started this amazing program. Here is a quote from the website. 

"I have collaborated with art practitioners and scholars from around the world to design a PhD program for artists---and by artists I mean those who approach their work as a creative practice, as curators, architects, creative scholars, or art practitioners in the more traditional sense. I believe we have created the first PhD program of its kind in the United States. It combines rigorous philosophical study with on-site intensives. The latter might be described as critical interventions that bring the artist-philosopher into immediate contact with the life-world of contemporary art, whether it be participants in the Venice Biennale or the critics, curators, gallery directors and artists who populate the New York art scene." -George Smith

After a few conference calls with Rhonda Birkbeck (amazing designer // interior designer) who referred me to Amanda Holland (marketing genius) and after I heard 2 seconds about the program..which I already knew a little about from doing the JULY 2010 Feature spread in Maine Magazine. We quickly all became immersed in all the ideas we could run with knowing it was going to be an insane creative evening celebration! Only requirement was that it had to be different, something that stood out--something bold.

The concept we came up with for the event was to have a blow out, urban party on a roof top of a parking garage in the Old Port down town Portland, Maine. Think cement, grit, graffiti, hot DJ music, sweet lounge...it's all underway and the starting point was suppose to be a kick ass invite. So Rhonda and Mandy + I spoke various times on the phone throwing ideas around and came across some pop artist work--as well as some classic work of Lichtenstein + Warhol. These visuals became the backbone of the look and feel we were going for. 

I love silk screening anything these days so the opportunity to screen a sweet invite was exactly what I was concepting. The program is based in a lot of amazing cities all over the world so the crew at IDSVA wanted me to incorporate the skyline of iconic architecture buildings that really screamed each city. IDSVA’s three-year course of study blends distance learning with intensive residencies at Spannocchia Castle in Tuscany, the Venice Biennale, Paris, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island. So while being totally graphic and bold / urban I combined all these iconic cities into one collage that focused on the tops of a few buildings. 

I wanted the paper stock to be 100% recycled, gray to match the endless amount of cement and be a tad gritty. And I wanted it to be super THICK so I could screen on it with out it rolling up. AND I really wanted it to be a over sized POSTER...so I wanted something to be different and city like. Maslen + I  silk screen my tags and other things on chip board and thought of this but wanted it to be more gray then brown--so we looked all over for GRAY CHIPBOARD.

After searching all over for GRAY CHIP BOARD Mandy found it and bought it up (super cheap + great) and we had it cut down from Dunstan Press--my letterpress guru. George / Rhonda / Mandy asked for a little of Erin Flett here and there so I added a few decorative elements but also wanted it to not get too busy or over designed. So this is what it ended up like. We loved the black but since I did the spread in Maine Mag in a hot pink--that was something I thought we could continue---so please enjoy the pics! First line up MAINE MAG SPREAD--COLOR / and design take off---then the invite drying in our studio print shop. ENJOY. e