http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/index/ This is a studio blog for Fashionbuddha Animation Studio. The views represented here don't necessarily reflect those of the Studio. en robert@fashionbuddha.com Copyright 2008 2008-12-01T02:23:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/culture_jelly_joel_trusell_at_the_grassy_knoll/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/culture_jelly_joel_trusell_at_the_grassy_knoll/#When:02:23:00Z “Culture jamming” is the mocking or flat out rejection of social trends or pop culture. That’s all great, but we’re not here to judge. Joel Trussell’s first solo show, “Culture Jelly” is neither a satire nor celebration of our culture’s herd mentality. Instead, Trussell gives us a unbiased examination of his fascination and antipathy with the culture that surrounds him. “Culture Jelly”, in essence, taps into the culture of Trussell’s mind, where we get to see an array of eccentric characters. With a love of the 2-D world, Trussell is deeply influenced by masters such as Gene Deitch, Rene Gruau, Jim Flora, Ward Kimball, Erich Sokol and Takashi Murakami. His work concentrates largely on characters which sometime reflect society, and other times become an exercise in composition and aesthetics of the design alone. The show presents a full range of content from personal experience to experimental ideas with the lines often intersecting. Joel Trussell is an illustrator/director/animator who has worked in television, commercials, music videos and print since receiving his B.F.A. in Drawing from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1998. His illustrations have appeared in publications such as Print Magazine, Alternative Press Magazine, New York Press, Houston Press, San Diego’s City Beat, and The Portland Mercury. In recent years his characters were collected for Pictoplasma’s Character Encyclopedia, he was commissioned for a painting by Fox’s “Family Guy”, and he created shirt designs for the clothing company Gama-Go. Trussell has also directed several music videos for artists such as M.Ward, Morcheeba, Coldcut, and Jason Forrest for which he won a number of awards. His music videos have been featured in dozens of film festivals including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the San Francisco International Animation Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, Platform, and Resfest. They have also been featured on StashDVD, OneDotZero’s Select DVD and Pictoplasma’s Characters in Motion DVD, and shown on MTV2, MuchMusic, CMT, MTV Europe and other music programs. Trussell made his television directorial debut with four segments for Nickelodeon’s “Yo Gabba Gabba!”. He also directed animated commercials for Esurance and Nicorette. Before his work as a freelancer, Trussell worked as an animation director in Seattle, animating online projects for clients including Disney, Napster and the band Devo. Joel Trussell currently lives near the mystic hills of Dollywood in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife and two young sons. About the Gallery The Grassy Knoll Gallery specializes in the work of innovative illustrators and animators. The gallery is adjacent to Fashionbuddha Studio, located in the historic Merchant Hotel in Old Town, Portland Oregon. Links: The Grassy Knoll Gallery Joels website 2008-12-01T02:23:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/pause_nyc/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/pause_nyc/#When:04:48:00Z I’ll be attending the Pause: Ideas in Motion Conference at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in NYC this week. There is a lot to be excited about - I love NYC! and cant wait to catch up with many old friends and certain to make some new ones. Look me up if you are attending! Here’s the Pause: Ideas in Motion website for more info. Animation 2008-11-09T04:48:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/fable_of_annabell_lee/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/fable_of_annabell_lee/#When:23:21:00Z The Fable of Annabell Lee from fashionbuddha on Vimeo I posted a preview of our short film collaboration with Evan B Harris a few months back - but here’s the real thing! Just in time for halloween - a beautiful and haunting tale of love lost at sea. Let us know what you think! Quicktime Version HD version on Vimeo 2008-10-27T23:21:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/b_boy_series_by_ward_jenkins/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/b_boy_series_by_ward_jenkins/#When:20:26:00Z The Grassy Knoll Gallery presents: bboy - Ward Jenkins Exhibition Dates // Oct - Nov, 2008 Artists Reception // Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 6-9, Free and open to the public Live Performance by breakdancers Randm-1, Impulse, Skywalker of Moon Patrol Crew and DJ Computer Fam “b-boy” is a tribute to the early boogie boys of the Bronx, the original poppin’ & lockin’ dancers who kept the parties live back in the day, back when hip-hop was in its golden, embryonic stage. Using various ‘lo-fi’ materials and surfaces, such as found cardboard, wood, and linoleum, Ward harks back to the essence of the early ingenuity and innovation of hip hop. During the 70’s and early 80’s, kids used a wide variety of surfaces to dance on and perform stylized acrobatic moves. Using what was available, they proved again and again that the brightest sources of creativity often come from the most humble of places. “b-boy”is a tribute to the beginnings of that movement, before the uninformed media brought it to near-fad status. Ward is an animator and director currently living in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two kids. Originally from Atlanta, he has worked at several award-winning studios such as LAIKA/house and Primal Screen and over the past 12 years, has integrated his quirky style into many broadcast elements and commercials. Graduating with a BFA in Illustration at Georgia State University in 1995, Ward immediately sought work in the animation field. While doing research for a personal project in 2000, he caught the graffiti bug which forever changed his approach in creating his figures and characters. The experience of working larger and on different surfaces terrifically flavored his graphic work and profoundly changed his artistic identity. About the Gallery The Grassy Knoll Gallery specializes in the work of innovative illustrators and animators. The gallery is adjacent to Fashionbuddha Studio, located in the historic Merchant Hotel in Old Town, Portland Oregon. Links: Grassy Knoll Gallery Ward’s Site 2008-10-06T20:26:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/america_the_gift_shop/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/america_the_gift_shop/#When:22:04:01Z Today we launched America the Gift Shop, a flash site showcasing Phillip Toledano’s conceptual photography about the current state of our country. From the opening statement: If American foreign policy had a gift shop, what would it sell? America the Gift Shop is an installation project that reflects the current foreign policy in the fun-house mirror of American commerce. My palette is the vernacular of retail. The more familiar it is, the better host it becomes for the idea. Once the sugar coating of the ordinary dissolves, we are left with the hard and uncomfortable truth about where we’ve been as a nation. We buy souvenirs at the end of a trip, to remind ourselves of the experience. What do we have to remind us of the events of the last eight years? View www.americathegiftshop.com 2008-09-18T22:04:01-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/dylan_coulter_photography_adobe_site_of_the_day/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/dylan_coulter_photography_adobe_site_of_the_day/#When:02:06:00Z Adobe has awarded Dylan Coulter Photography with Site of the Day for August 26th, 2008. “Adobe recognizes websites based on their use of strong visual designs, superior functionalities, and innovative uses of Adobe products.” Visit Dylan Coulter Photography. Interactive 2008-08-26T02:06:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/communication_arts_webpick/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/communication_arts_webpick/#When:18:07:00Z We are excited to announce that our flash site for Oregon College of Art and Craft has been awarded Communication Arts Magazine webpick of the week. Update: We just learned that the OCAC site will be featured in the november issue of Communication Arts Magazine as well! Interactive 2008-08-22T18:07:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/skull_petals/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/skull_petals/#When:22:01:00Z Jimmy and I have been working on an interesting idea where a flower blooms into a skull. Although the design has already changed I really like the idea and can hopefully take it further in the near future. Illustration 2008-08-07T22:01:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/upcoming_flash_game/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/upcoming_flash_game/#When:23:44:00Z We are working on our second flash game for tarot.com. We always jump at the chance to work with artists we admire and this is no exception. Please check out the fantastic backgrounds Erwin has been working on for us. You can see more of his artwork here. Animation, Interactive, Illustration 2008-07-31T23:44:00-08:00 http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/browser_stats_for_july_2008/ http://www.fashionbuddha.com/blog/index.php/site/browser_stats_for_july_2008/#When:00:07:00Z With a sample of over 100,000 visitors, we were extremely surprised to discover that Firefox has soundly overtaken Internet Explorer in for July. No browser is perfect, but Firefox is a step in the right direction. Great news for web developers everywhere. Thought I would check back to see if the trend held. With a sample of 200,000 visitors firefox remains the dominant browser. Interactive 2008-07-31T00:07:00-08:00