Sunday, August 21, 2011

DENIMED IF YOU DUDE..

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
"Let Lucifer" logo
Let Lucifer logo A by the members of the M.S.Co.

This week, the Company finished up work on the a new logo for Indianapolis artisan clothier, Jerry Lee Atwood.

Horseshoes & roses shirt
Jerry Lee's handiwork (photo courtesy of Jerry Lee Atwood)

Mr. Atwood is the founder and proprietor of Jerry Lee's (Mid)Western Wear; a one-man operation turning out some of the finest hand-made and embroidered custom western clothing since Nudie Cohn. The two parties' paths had crossed a few years back, during a previous Company tour. They hit it off off instantly, discussing the finer points of both antique typewriter and moustache maintenance. Since then, Jerry and his lovely soon-to-be wife, Jaime, have hosted the Company on its various crossings of the Hoosier state, providing the Misanthropes with a private and comfortable space to spread out and fulfill their Sunday protocols.

jerry lee's (11)b
A one-man sweatshop (photo by Becky Johnson)

But Mr. Atwood divides his time among many compartmentalized interests. Presently, he is preparing to launch Let Lucifer, a separate clothing label for his line of rugged workwear. This is where the Misanthropes come in.

"Let Lucifer" Illustration progression
Steps in the collaborative creation of the logo

The Company has been hired to handle Let Lucifer's branding; designing the logo, tags, and sundry items for this new venture. And while things are still in their nascent stage, the M.S.Co. is excited at the prospect of seeing its work emblazoned on a leather tag, swinging to and fro on the back of a pair of indigo jeans down the streets of Indianapolis.

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THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of illustration initiated: 20
Number completed: 14
Number inducted: 4
Carried over to next week: 4

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Saturday, August 20, 2011

WHAT MADE MILWAUKE FURIOUS...

by Tallulah Lastname, Company Clerk:
POSTCARD Wisconsin

The Company Away Team is planning a little trip through Milwaulkee, WI where local arts maven Faythe Levine has arranged for Reverend Aitor to spend an evening drawing Unflattering Portraits at Sky High Gallery.

Gasp in horror as your every pimple is recorded for pus-terity; reevaluate your aversion to Botox as your crows feet and worry lines eclipse you smile; etcetra as a bunch of other stuff!

Nathan F.
(photo by Reverend Aitor)

To book your portrait appointment: simply click on the comments section at the end of this posting and claim any hour that isn't already claimed. Online sign ups are open until midnight, Thursday night.

All live portraits are done by donation
. Pay what you can, or think it's worth. Sittings take about thirty to fifty minutes per person. Couples, oddly enough, count as two persons, so please book two slots.

Punctuality, by the way, is always in fashion. Please be aware that patrons arriving more than eight minutes late for their scheduled sitting may not be served.

Unflattering Logo 2
UNFLATTERING MILWAUKEE
Friday September 9, 2011
Sky High Gallery

2501 S. Howell Ave.

6:pm - "midwesteditorialphoto"
7:pm - Marisa
8:pm - Available
9:pm - Caleb and Steph
10:pm - Caleb and Steph
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Sky High Gallery & Boutique: back door lettered by Ira Coyne
(photo courtesy of Faythe Levine)

The event is being held in conjunction with the opening reception for These Things They Do, a collection of new works by San Francisco's Catherine Ryan. Also in the works is additional programming by Print Shop Forever and a trunk show by comrade in arms Sweetie Pie Press.

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

LINE DISEASE...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

The painting pictured above represents something of an olive branch.  A public goodwill gesture from some of the naysaying members of the Company in Toronto to their Away Team counterparts.

"Please Come Back To Us: a public apology"
"Please Come Back To Us: a public apology" by the M.S.Co.

In reviewing this summer's weblog posts, some of the Misanthropes grew concerned that their attempts to preclude the tour might end up being misconstrued; both by the Away Team and the reading public. They wanted it known that there is no true animosity between the two camps.  Infighting is sort of what the Company is set up to do by design.

Indeed, from it's very inception, the Misanthropes agreed the Company should be a house divided against itself, mired in its own bureaucratic democracy.  It's just more fun that way.

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In unrealated news, sometimes the M.S.Co.'s membership finds itself in complete agreement.

folder
 photo by Tallulah Lastname

Last week, for instance, all camps agreed unanimously that it'd been too long since the release of a Company catalogue. Nearly five yeas, asamatterofact.

True to their fickle dilettantism, the easily distracted Misanthropes became sidetracked with new diversion and offshoots thereof, leaving the once monthly review of the Company's collective output to flounder. In 2003, The Misanthrope Specialty Co.  Encyclopædic Catalogue, Illustrated, Monthly was scaled back to a quarterly publication, but even that became too much to live up to. It fared a little better as an annual before falling completely by the wayside in 2006.

Finally, the time has come to revive the all but forgotten publication.

The Killer and line art

 "The Killer" and its catalogue counterpart

A new Editor-In-Chief has been appointed to spearhead the Company's Publications Division.  Assignments have been doled out, and now the company has begun the process of compiling a comprehensive five-volume catalogue of selected works from 2007 to 2011.

Unlike in previous incarnations, the new editions will not contain scans and photos of the original Archive illustrations.  Instead, the Misanthropes have been busily re-creating their work in the slightly more simplified form of line drawings.  Each collectively made original will now be reinterpreted by a single illustrator. Depending on the whims of the Misanthrope assigned to any given illustration, some reproductions may be more faithful to the original than others. 

line art pile
New drawings of old paintings by the M.S.Co.

It is not yet clear when the Catalogues will be published, and at what interval.  For that matter, the Company has yet do discuss whether it will continue to put out new volumes with any regularity after the 2011 volume is complete and on the streets. Right now the Misanthropes are busily focusing on the task at hand.

As usual, curious readers are advised to stay tuned to this weblog for further details as they come to light.


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THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of illustration initiated:37
Number completed: 20
Number inducted: 3
Carried over to next week: 7

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