Got our mojo working...

Another piece of wartime propaganda, this time from the Soviets in WWII. I enjoy older communist poster art. This is a reprint from a communist Chinese matchbox label that I have. Typical soviet socialist 'realism'. Definitely more in the heroic style than the German example listed below. This is depicting the repulsion of German forces on the eastern front (If you look very carefully, you can see that the closest fallen soldier is German, because of his helmet style). The stalwart soviet soldier dominates the field with his size, and the strong diagonals formed by his body posture and legs. His cape is blowing majestically behind him. The angle of his submachine gun barrel is roughly parallel with the airplanes in the background, moving forward with him, and the tank is moving forward, also. Just one big, happy collective family of comrades, doing what they have to do for Uncle 'Joe'. The extremely muted and limited palette of colors may have been a result of wartime exigencies.

And ain't I a woman?...

A great poster from a classic cult movie. This movie is a seminal work in the exploitation genre, and, quite arguably, director Russ Meyer's magnum opus. Sex and violence; fast cars & fast women; it's got it all. As another poster for this film proclaimed, 'Filmed in glorious black and blue!' I would add that the victims in this film, by and large, are the male characters. The use of three different typefaces in the first three lines is not exactly coherent, and feels a little tacky, but the movie itself is tackiness personified, so it fits. There is an extremely dynamic feel to this poster. The first word is slanted (with 'wind marks' added) to effectively convey a sense of speed. The next line of type doesn't really fit in with anything else on the poster, but it does visually 'grab'. The third line is the only element of color, and it is that emotional red, to emphasize 'kill!' It's a little hard to see in this size of image, the fonts using the word 'kill' are also segmented, and shifted laterally, in order to draw more attention to that line. The central female character dominates the center of the frame, partly through her angled, diagonal pose, and partly through the use of her black clothing contrasting with the more grayscale figures.

Does this scare anyone else?

There is a woman who is a professional baker and cake decorator, and she started a blog about 'memorable' cakes, shall we say, or 'cake wrecks', at http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/. The site has become fairly large, and some of the creations listed there made me laugh until I was crying, but this particular example is in a different category than ineptness. The physical execution of the cake is actually well done. The colors work well together. I think this type of cake may be becoming a current trend at baby showers, but to tell you the truth, it creeps me out. I'm flailing for words here, but I would use 'inappropriate'. I guess it is intended to be 'cute', but would anyone else besides me have a hard time being the first one to plunge a knife into the pregnant abdomen and involuntarily become a defacto vivisectionist?

Come for the work-related topsoil removal, stay for the recreational fly-fishing...

This is another cinderella stamp, part of a set used to draw people to Oregon. I have a hard time dating this one. The use of bold, contrasting colors and simple graphics is very effective to me. Some unintended humor with the retro-appeal of trying to lure people in, with the implicit promise of despoiling the land with copper mining.

'cinderella stamp' from WWI

I have an appreciation for many different types of vintage commercial graphic art, and I haphazardly collect it at times. I enjoyed Ed Polish's presentation, and his treatment of vintage adwork. I tend to seek out material that predates most of the material he works with. A 'cinderella stamp' is any type of roughly stamp-sized printed label which was not an official postage stamp. They used to be used quite frequently for advertising, publicizing expositions and fairs, to show tax revenue had been paid, wartime propaganda, etc. This cinderella stamp is from my own meagre collection and apparently dates from around the time of WWI. It seems to be wartime propaganda, but it is unusual to me partly because of the treatment. Wartime propaganda is usually either unrelentingly grim, or unrelentingly heroic, but this one doesn't really fit the mold. It depicts a sombre, business-like crew of a German AAA gun standing guard on a map of Europe. The use of light pastel colors is fantastic. The overall visual effect is really quite lovely, and you can't always say that about military propaganda. I enjoy very much the enlarging of small printed halftone illustrations, so that you can really see the dots and be aware of the 'process'. Being an idealistic view of the German military, I am unclear on why the caption was printed in English, and not German.

Whatever it is, just don't do it, okay?

I have no experience in traffic engineering, but it seems to me that the one overriding concern when designing a road sign is not only visual - but also syntactical - clarity. The sign itself is simple enough with it's basic yellow, black, and red on a white background, but the intended meaning has me completely befuddled. Just what exactly is being prohibited here? (And remember folks, ignorance of the law is no excuse.) Construction of signal fires on taxis strictly prohibited? This is a roof-mounted nuclear device free zone? Something about transporting giant jellyfish on 1950's DeSotos?

I love public displays of unintentional ineptness/confusion. It warms the cockles of my heart. This sentiment is not a Freudian thing about feeling superior; it's just a constant reminder of human frailty (which I can certainly relate to).