The 4th edition of Artivistic: TURN *ON is right around the corner. Artivistic is a collective working on issues at the intersection of art, information and activism that I’ve been involved with for the last couple of years. This year’s gathering, taking place from Thursday, Oct 15th through to Saturday the 17th, brings together over 40 international artists and activists dealing with (and playing upon) the myriad questions raised by themes of sexuality and eroticism.

It promises to be three intense days and nights filled with performances, workshops, installations and dialogues that will challenge stereotypes and our own constructed sexual limitations. Check out the website for more details and RSVP to the event on facebook to stay abreast of all the various happenings.

More to cum…

This weekend, my long-time friend and partner in crime, John W. Stuart will be married to Lindsay Foran. I’ve known John since 2000, and he’s always been a bit of a grumpy, cynical, curmudgeon. Since he’s been with Lindsay though, I’d say he’s lost the grumpy and cynical bits and is now just a plain ol’ curmudgeon. Good job Lindsay! Congratulations to you both and can’t wait to celebrate in Calabogie!

I recently completed a small branding project for Scène 1425, a local concert promoter who’s mandate is to bring quality rock shows outside of the Montreal city center to all the music starved kids in les banlieues (Laval et al). They’ve built a large, loyal following and were in need of a new logo that captured the spirit of not only the company, but the growing scene surrounding it.

Though the budget was tight, the cause was good, so I embarked with enthusiasm on the rush project. The process was a lot of fun, and inspired by designer and blogger David Airey, I thought I would take a moment to share it here for posterity and potential clients. Given the budget and time constraints, some corners were cut in design development and implementation, but I’m pretty happy with the end result that is now being implemented by Scène’s in-house designers.

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Lawrence Weiner

Three of my favourite videos from Hillman Curtis‘ Artist Series. Beautifully shot and composed, they’re worth revisiting time and again when in need of motivation, inspiration and simple wisdom.

Stefan Sagmeister (@ Deitch Projects) and Milton Glaser after the jump.

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I recently completed an extensive interview, this time for the inimitable Ziggy Nixon. Its a rollicking ride of an interview from a ‘design outsider’, injected by Ziggy’s unique sense of humour and passion for the field. Hopefully, it provides an interesting and slightly different perspective on what I’ve been working on all these years. He’s even ‘written’ an annotated biography at the end gathered from all the bits and bobs about me floating around on the interweb! Who knew?

You can read the full interview here (in two parts), and please leave a comment to let us know what you think.

In the previous two issues of Four Minutes to Midnight we’ve featured work by an American poet named FA Nettelbeck. I discovered Nettelbeck on the old vispoets forum, ranting at the powerlessness of the “visual poetry” on display and discussion there. I contacted him, showed him my shit, and asked if he would be interested in submitting something to issue 9 of Four Minutes. He did, and I was blown away. As I read up on his story I was floored…

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I’m very happy to have my Solidarity with Gaza poster included as part of The Match Factory‘s Citizen Gallery project. The gallery features selected posters from their Power to the Poster project made available for sale with an equal share of the proceeds going to the artist, the printer and a cause of your choice.

Check out the gallery here and pick up a poster or two to decorate your walls, support a good cause, and help a ‘starvin’ artist’ while you’re at it.

A while back I mentioned a series of art posters I had designed to promote and raise funds for 2356. So finally, here they are! If you’re interested in purchasing one or more and supporting the cause, please drop me a line. Size is in and around 12″ x 18″, printed digitally on matte archival stock. More designs will be coming soon once I get the new studio set up (pics of that will be coming soon too!).

Amazing (political/cultural) poster work by designer Vincent Perrottet. His work is emblematic of the “french tradition” as it were, falling somewhere in between Ne pas plier and M/M Paris.