Glam Rox! Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Get Real! Autorama

Click images for larger views.
Artwork copyright © 2012 Cheryl Kelley.

The sleek Hyperrealist Auto-Worx of Cheryl Kelley @ cherylkelley.com.
WOW! An eyeful of Car Glory!

Pop Goes the Easel! Heiner Meyer

Click on images for larger views.
Images copyright © 2012 Heiner Meyer / Caldwell Snyder Gallery.

The Wonderous Pop Artworx of Heiner Meyer @ Caldwell Snyder Gallery.

The Q & A: CWIII's Levi's Ads

Illustrations copyright © Charles White III / Levi's Strauss & Co.

Three famous Levi's Ads illustrated by Charles E. White III and art directed by Chris Blum back in the mid to late 70's. These ads were very significant in the making of Levi's Jeans into a major brand and an iconic symbol back in the 60's, 70's and 80's.
Here is what Charlie (CWIII) and Chris (CB) had to say about their working together on this project:

Q1: Of the three illustrations above, which is your favorite and why?

CWIII: My favorite of the three is the Splash one.

CB: I know they should all be like children and I should not have a favorite. However I will have to say that of these three I really like the cowboy or as we called him "Hombre." This painting is currently part of the LA40 exhibit at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles as an example of important artwork created in LA in the last 40 years. I am also happy that this exhibit has put Charlie and I back in touch with each other and I also reconnected David Willardson who also has a Levi's painting in the same exhibit.

Q2: How were they conceived? Was the collaboration between Art Director and Artist as fun as the ads or was it just business as usual?

CWIII: Working with Chris was a dream for me. We would collaborate on the ideas over the phone. As an example for the splash poster, the original idea was (I believe) a reflection in a mirror. As we talked about it we decided to do the reflection in water.

CB: In the case of the Hombre, we wanted to revive an old symbol that Levi's was using for their Western wear in the 1940s known as the "Saddleman." We felt the Saddleman should be updated. I worked with Charlie and we discussed the American West and the cowboy as a hero in peoples minds. The spaghetti westerns and Clint Eastwood westerns were very popular at the time and I'm sure we were influenced by that. I remember attending several Rodeos and seeing that most of the cowboys were smoking Bull Durham which had a little round logo on the end of a string that was used as a draw string to close the pouch of tobacco. you can see that string coming out of the Hombre's pocket. To accentuate the hero concept Charlie took a low angle point of view so the Hombre looks bigger than life, this poster was also used as a kiosk poster so it was printed very large - about 5 feet tall! which really made him look RAD . Charlie chose to cover the upper part of his face in shadow to make him more of a man of mystery as in a "spaghetti western" look. We turned him around and also abandoned the saddle and the branding iron that the original cowboy was carrying and replaced it with a rope.

1940s version

The Puddle poster and the Toothpaste poster were done for the Childrens Wear Division of Levi's. Mike Koelker (co-creative director and writer) and I did not want to advertise to children the way it was being done in those days.- Very sneaky and sly ways that advertisers were using to sell really bad junk food, candy, toys, and cereal to kids. We decided to make the posters carry a constructive message like a reminder to brush your teeth. We also did another one one with Ignacio Gomez about drinking milk . And another with Larry Duke about being considerate to old people (kid helping old pants cross the street)

Two other posters for kids

Q3: Which of these was the hardest to do? What made it hard?

CWIII: The Splash was by far the hardest. Doing the reflection and making it look wet.

CB: It was not the hardest but the Splash painting was difficult because as I mentioned in an earlier blog, there was a time when the Brain Police started coming into the picture (the MBA's and business school marketing specialists). In this case, Charlie had done this water lettering in the puddle, which was something he wanted to do, as he had been experimenting with reflections in chrome surfaces and other indigenous lettering i.e., words that were born from the image rather than pasted on as a font after the fact. I think he was inspired by the work Ed Ruscha was doing- like the word "gun powder" being made out of actual gun powder glued to the canvas.
The "Brain Police" saw the finished art (which did not have the red border with the "make a splash" copy and were concerned that there was no CALL TO ACTION) as they were taught in business school. I believe they now are fixated with "value added" The Brain Police started appearing as Levi's went from a regional (west coast) company to a national company and finally to international. Whenever Levi's hired one of these people the agency was forced to hire a like kind person with the same business degree credentials or it would have been considered a "slight" for the person at Levi's to have to deal with a person that was not at the same level. It even became such- that if the person at Levi's was made a Vice President then their counterpart at the Agency was made a Vice President. This is a perfect example of The Peter Principle (if you don't know the Peter Principal - Google it) and Mutant Management! The end result was the Goose that laid the Golden eggs was killed ! This is also why after 17 years of working on the Levi's account I left and became a film director.
I am not sure why we finally gave in because we usually held firm. As a result I was forced to put the red border with the words " Make a splash in Levi's" on the image. It must have come from Levi's as non negotiable or I would not have done it.
Other good examples of indigenous lettering are the tooth paste in the "Brush your knees twice a day" and the Lariat lettering on the "Hombre."

Q4: Can you reflect on the times and how these or any of the images became so iconic in the selling of Levi's Jeans?

CWIII: There wasn't a jean company that could come close to the creative work done by Chris's group, They were built in icons.

CB: I could probably ramble on forever about "the times". You have to keep in mind that it was the 60s and 70s and San Francisco was the epicenter for Global and Sociological change and transition= Music, Art, Politics, Photography, New Media, The sexual revolution, Alternative Lifestyle, Mind expanding drug culture , Student revolution,The Anti-war movement, Even the beginning of the Digital/Technical Revolution was starting to happen. To make a long story short - all I had to do was open my eyes and see what was happening in the cultural winds that were originating or blowing through SF at the time, and then apply that to what we were doing with Levi's and 3 -6 months later the same cultural winds would blow through LA, Chicago, NY., Denver, Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, Minneapolis, Boston, or any other major city. And the Levi's image/communication would be RIGHT THERE speaking the "language of the times". This meant that there was ultimate simpatico or bond between Levi's and the people who were buying their products. = easy peasy.

Q5: Who did the Lettering/Design on these? Was that hired out or done in the Studio/Agency (Michael Doret?)?

CWIII: I happened to do the lettering on Brush your Knees, and Splash Levi's.

CB: I believe Michael Doret was a associate of some kind in Charlie's studio and he might have been involved on some of the lettering but I am not sure. The lariat lettering on the Hombre poster was done by Tony Naganuma in SF (a very talented designer that I went to art school with in the 60s).

Q6: How many Levi's poster illustrations did Charles White III create for Levi's?

CWIII: 4 or 5.

CB: I think Charlie did 4 or 5 but we also did a lot of really fun print ads as well. Charlie's The Writer and the West poster (which is a self portrait of Charlie) is in the permanent graphics collection in the de Young Museum in SF.

Charlie's self portrait in the de Young Museum

Q7: How many preliminary sketches were submitted before the final idea was approved for these illustrations? Was there an idea that didn't get picked and you wish it did?

CWIII: Could be wrong, I don't remember doing sketches. We would talk the on the phone and just go for it. Chris showed amazing faith and for that faith there was no way to let him down.
That was a great time to have a chance to work with someone of that caliber.

CB: Usually just one idea was presented. Mike Koelker and I always had our act together before we presented work and we could always build a case as to why we were doing what we were doing. Something I learned early on was to always be able to answer the question "Why is that in there? why is that part of the image?" or as a client might say, "Why am I paying for that ?"

[Thanx, Jack Tom for your questions and help! Chris Blum for the images that he provided. And Charlie White III for all he represents to me.]

HVD!

Way, Way Out!

Click on images for larger views.
Designs copyright © 2011 Scott Amron / Amron Exptl.

If you are looking for something totally different then you have to go to Amron Experimental @ amronexperimental.com.
Industrial designer Scott Amron has got some great ideas that will turn your head sideways and all the way around.

George Hardie in a Can!

Illustration/design Copyright © George Hardie / NTA Studio.

These jpegs of George Hardie's designs were sent to me by Pierre Bouillé:

I've found in my archives a little-rusty-film-metal-box with a sticker on the top drawn by George Hardie in 73 or 74 (I think?) for J'illustre - our rep in Paris, Michel Gillet. This film box was material given to advertising agencies as a promotional gift.
Inside (of course) the film contains some pics of each illustrator (unfortunatly today it's only red and magenta).
The team members were : NTA Studio: George Hardie, Bush Hollyhead, Malcom Harrison & Bob Lawrie, Philippe Morillon, Dominique Gangloff, Jean-Louis Guy, Didier Crombez, Claude Trouche, Glenn & Joyce, Pedro Torrent, Esther Scharzer, Akos Szabo, John Pasche, Paul Leith, Chris McEwan, Heinz Berger, Caroline Porter, Tony Meeuwissen & my studio, Studio Bravo: Olivier Cauquil, Jean-Luc Falque and myself. - Pierre Bouillé

Food For Trotsky!

Vintage Soviet Food Posters @ englishrussia.com.
Enjoy, Comrades!

Moderne Love!

Artwork copyright © William P. Welsh.

Great examples of Art Deco Era illustrations by master illustrator William P Welsh sent to me by Leo Pando!
Enjoy!
You can just Google Search for more examples!