Hively Named Juror for AAU Spring Show

I’ve been invited to be one of the judges in this year’s Academy of Art University Spring Show. Fellow judges include the chair and brand strategist Camilla Bravo; Matthias Mencke, Creative Director, Siegel + Gale; Mark Coleman, Director of Communications, Gensler; Tom Biederbeck, writer and editor, Felt & Wire and Sarah Moffat, Design Director, Turner Duckworth.

We’ll be judging the work of the BFA and MFA students in the School of Graphic Design. I have to say if it lives up to what I saw last year, we’ll have a very difficult time deciding on the scholarship winners. It will be a three-hour judging marathon on May 25 in San Francisco—what a way to spend a birthday.

MFA Illustration as Visual Essay 2011 Thesis Show

The exhibition brings together animations, children’s books, graphic novels, figurative paintings, comic books and other narrative works by 21 students graduating from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Curated by faculty member David Sandlin, the exhibition will be on view April 29 - May 14, 2011 at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th Floor, New York City. Reception: Thursday, May 5, 6 - 8pm

The MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay is designed to maximize students’ opportunities as figurative artists, from the conventional gallery wall to the full range of 21st-century media. The program fuses the development of creative thinking with technical and communication skills. Additional focus is placed on best practices in navigating the visual art marketplace while empowering students to choose making art as a way of life.

Click here for more information.

Illustration by Chi Birmingham

Save The Date:2nd Annual Nuts & Bolts Conference

Our second annual Nuts & Bolts Conference to be held at the Society of Illustrators on July 8-9. We had a great response from last year’s event—100-percent said they’d recommend the conference—which is especially gratifying since it was our first conference. This year we’ve added a series of workshops and our speakers will be even more focussed on giving the audience the tools they need to build a successful illustration career.

We’ve brought back a few of the speakers from last year and added a few more like Yuko Shimizu, Martin Wittforth and Matt Rota who will join Marcos Chin, Paul Hoppe and Aaron Meshon on Saturday. On Friday, Kate Kelly from Morgan-Gaynin will discuss artist reps, attorney Sheryear Sardar will discuss the specifics of setting up a business and I’ll talk about the Dos & Dont’s of entering the illustration field. Couple that with workshops by Melanie Reim, Justin Gabbard and Katherine Streeter, museum and studio tours and two social events it promises to be an exciting two days of facts and fun.

Early registration begins May 5th, if you’d like to be on our mailing list just contact us at info@3x3mag.com, Facebook or Twitter. Complete details will be coming next week on our new Nuts & Bolts website. The event is for soon-to-be graduates and recent graduates only. Sitting is limited.

AI30 Results

We just got word that our cover for Issue 14 is a winner in this year's American Illustration 30th annual awards. Congratulations to Lasse Skarbövik!

This year’s distinguished jury included Nicholas Blechman, The New York Times Book Review; Rachael Cole, Schwartz & Wade Books; Michael Ian Kaye, Mother New York; Todd Oldham, Todd Oldham Studio; D.W. Pine III, TIME; David Saylor, Scholastic Inc. and Dean Sebring, Worth.

The judges selected 316 images from more than 7,000 entries by over 1,100 illustrators, magazines, agencies, publishers and schools. These images will appear inside the book and represent the best pictures from 2010. Entries were down from last year's 8,030 entries from 1,200 entrants and 388 winners. Let's all hope for an improving economy but let's also celebrate the great work that continues to be produced even under less-than-ideal circumstances. Congratulations to all the winners.

3x3 Cover Shortlisted by Victoria & Albert Museum

We just heard from Martin Flynn, head of information services in the Word & Image Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London that our cover for Issue 16 by Paul Blow is being shortlisted for consideration to hang in their annual show.

The V&A Illustration Awards are held annually to highlight the best book and editorial illustration published in the UK in the previous year. Their aim is to encourage, recognize and celebrate high standards of creativity in the industry. The awards are free to enter and offer some of the most substantial financial prizes for illustration in the UK. The winner will receive £2,000 and a trophy. The overall winner of the V&A Illustration Awards will receive an additional £2,000.

This year’s published category judges are Bel Mooney, author and columnist; Rob Ryan, artist; Francesca Gavin, author and editor; and Robin Allison-Smith, photographer and company director. The student category judges are 2010's overall winner Sarah Carr and Frazer Hudson, academic and a previous winner of the Editorial Award.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Presentation Ceremony on 6 June 2011.

Models on Demand, 24/7

Not only can you have your movies and programs on demand, now you can have a 360-degree look at the human figure—on demand.

I got this email today from Figures and Forms, and according to their sales pitch for $100 you can have a year's worth of models to choose from. Both male and female models in a variety of body types, dressed and undressed, ethnic backgrounds and props. Each pose has nine images showing all sides with the ability to zoom in on any detail. They also have three months for $40 and monthly payments for $15.

www.figuresandforms.com

Issue 16 On Press

We’re happy to announce that the next issue of 3x3 has gone to the printer's—a tad bit late as usual but I think you're in for a tasty surprise.

We’re marking a milestone as we begin Volume 6 of 3x3 and to celebrate that occasion we selected three stellar female artists with di-verse backgrounds and cultures.

Q. Cassetti has spent the better part of her life as a graphic designer but chose to move into the world of illustration, first exploring that prospect at Syracuse University, and then on to a master’s degree at the University of Hartford. Her design and illustration clients include Steuben Glass, the Corning Museum, Tiffany & Co., Estée Lauder, T. Rowe Price and FreeRein Wines. Her work has been honored by Communication Arts, Illustration West, American Illustration, 3x3 Magazine and the Society of Illustrators. Thanks to Ursula Roma for her insightful article.

Monika Aichele is a world traveller. Currently she is splitting her time and studio space between Berlin and Munich but has also lived in New York and Barcelona. Her work has been exhibited in those cities as well as London, Rome, Naples, Venice, Tokyo, Lisbon and in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Her clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Random House, Princeton Architectural Press, Bloomsbury, The Walrus, Der Spiegel and Universal Music. The Society of Illustrators, Society of Publication Designers, The Art Directors Club of New York, American Illustration, Print and 3x3 have all honored her work. Mareike Dittmer provided us a close-up look at Monica.

Mari Mitsumi is still fighting rolling blackouts in Yokohama south of Tokyo as we go to press. A graduate of Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin junior college she started her career as an editor before moving into illustration thanks to the Setsu Mode Seminar, a leading illustration school in Japan. She has been a freelance illustrator since 1995 working for clients in publishing, editorial and advertising. She also exhibits her work throughout Japan and has received recognition from American Illustration, Society of Illustrators and 3x3 Magazine. Her clients include AIG, All Nippon Airways, GQ Japan, Columbia Music Entertainment and various Japanese publishers. Fellow illustrator, Hiromichi Ito provided the lovely article—he painted with prose.

This issue’s Icon is Ralph Steadman who along with Hunter S. Thompson collaborated on the birth of gonzo journalism. In addition to work for Rolling Stone, he has illustrated numerous books including Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island and Animal Farm, not to mention wine labels and children’s books—both as a illustrator and writer. Gary Taxali catches up with Ralph as they talk about his latest projects.

We didn’t have to look far for this issue’s illustrated campaign, walk into any subway station in New York and you’ll see the work of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Arts in Transit program. Guided by Sandra Bloodworth, a recognized artist herself, Sandra oversees the department that commissions both illustrators and fine artists.

We travel to Milan for our art director profile and while Paolo Canton doesn’t assume that title, his company Topipittori works with illustrators from all over the world in developing children’s and young adult books and graphic novels. Educated as an economist he and his wife, Giovanna Zoboli, split their time between Topipittori and their design consultancy Calamus.

CareerTalk continues with a focus on developing successful promotion campaigns and building a targeted prospect list.

Thanks to Olaf Becker for Monika’s studio images and Junei Sakano for Mari’s, Q. provided her own photos.

Issue 16 will be on newsstands in the US at the end of April, mid-May in the UK and Europe.

Cover illustration by Q. Cassetti

Marshall Arisman Inducted into ADC Hall of Fame

The Art Directors Club has just announced their Hall of Fame Laureates. The newest group of laureates, representing advertising, design, filmmaking, illustration, photography and education will be inducted at a creative black-tie benefit gala on November 10, 2011 in New York with proceeds going toward ADC education programs.

ADC Hall of Fame laureates for 2011 are:
Ruth Ansel, art director, editorial design
Marshall Arisman, painter, illustrator, chairman of the MFA degree program, School of Visual Arts (Educator Award)
John C. Jay, partner, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy
Joe Pytka, filmmaker, commercial director

In addition, Paola Antonelli, senior curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, will receive the ADC Manship Medallion in special recognition of curatorial excellence.

ADC established the Hall of Fame in 1971 as a cross-disciplinary acknowledgement of the most renowned professionals in visual arts and communications. Past inductees represent a diverse group of luminaries in those fields, including Richard Avedon, Saul Bass, Leo Burnett, Matthew Carter, Jay Chiat, Walt Disney, Charles and Ray Eames, Louise Fili, Milton Glaser, Annie Leibovitz, George Nelson, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Cipe Pineles, Paul Rand, Paula Scher, Andy Warhol and others (for the complete list, please visit www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/).

For What It's Worth 29

As I begin this issue’s editorial the world is in a huge mess, not only have we had mini-revolutions in the Middle East, the country of Japan is facing its worst crisis since World War II. Pick up the paper, log onto your favorite news source and there is little good news, even the celebrity news is mostly all bad. We see improved unemployment statistics but we know full well that people have just stopped looking for work. We see state governments struggling to keep operating and to keep from raising taxes but who knows where the cuts are going to come from and who will suffer next. It’s not any different if you’re running a state, a country, a business or a household. You can’t spend more money than you take in, and yet while we consumers tighten our belts we have little hope the government will or even can. How do we cope in the face of bad news?

The best advice I ever received was on the day I started my advertising agency in Houston. Our attorney who was drawing up the incorporation papers said to us: Don’t worry about anything other than the job at hand. Concentrate on the project you’re working on because if you worry about problems in the business you’ll become paralysed and your business will likely fail. Very good advice indeed, hard to do, but necessary. That’s not to say that we can avoid making business decisions, or that we should stick our head in the sand to avoid unpleasant circumstances. We just need to keep everything in balance.
This is the time of year I spend a lot of time worrying about our shows. Will people enter? How many entries will we get? Will the quality of work be good? I’m not alone with this concern, speak with any competition coordinator and we’re all overly-concerned because show fees make up the bulk of our annual income. Even though intuitively we all know everyone waits until the last minute to enter, it makes for many sleepless nights until the final entry is logged in. Inevitably, as each year proves, it always turns out fine.

How will the year go, how many projects will you have, how many sales will you make, are you on track with last year—or behind? Worrying about these possibilities zaps your creativity and can prevent you from getting today’s assignment done. Bear down on the task at hand. Be creative. There’s a Daniel Burnham quote that seems apropos: “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with every-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.” Amen.