Good News From AAN
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 8:39 am on June 30th
Around this time each year, the AAN hands out it's awards for a range of Newspaper categories spanning the entire jouranlistic process. This year I was fortunate to receive a handful of nods for which I am grateful.
In the Cover Illustration categorie I received 1st place for my grisly Miami New Times cover, The Suitcase Murders. I also received 3rd place in the same categorie for another illustration, Guarimba", again for The Miami New Times.
In the Best Cover Design category, Darrick Rainey, who is now at the LA Weekly, won first place for three of his covers for The SF Weekly. I was honored to have my artwork on one of those awarded.
Beyond the elbow wrenching pat on the back, I wanted to post this news as a plug for the often maligned alt-weekly assignment. I was an AD at the Miami New Times for 4 years, and remember the difficulty in getting top artists to work for our budgets.
Many of the bonds I've made in the illustration community were made way back as an alt-weely AD, when artists who deserved much more were taking assignments because of the richness of the topics and the relative creative freedom. And that's the main reason I love working with these folks. Alt-weeklies often have a lot to prove, up against "established" slick dailies with their massive circulations. Most often what they prove is that the little guy is closer to the ground, and the ground is where the action is.
I remember fondly the intoxication of being part of exposing a corrupt politicain (ok, maybe that got a little boring with all the easy pickin's down here). I felt like my efforts were significant. We made a difference, cleaned things-up, bullied them right back. My sure-fire way of getting a reluctant official to sit for a photo was to threaten them with a Brodner carricature if they would not cooperate (I always hoped they would still refuse so I could assign art). Illustration as blackmail, I love it.
Weeklies are still one of the most immediate ways to get your stuff out there in ink. I'm addicted to newsprint. I can't imagine that folks wont always crave a tactile experience of print on pulp. It's where my real design career started, and it directly led to me becoming an illustrator.
The Suitcase Murders for Miami New Times. A local serial killer preys on prostitutes, stuffing their lifeless bodies into suitcases. (definitely a "call stauffer" topic)
Guarimba, for Miami New Times, about a local agitator who is inciting violent protests in Venezuela against Hugo Chavez.
Late Bloomers
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 8:54 am on June 27th
A rare genetic trait that results in a unique dwarf-like condition, called Bloom's Syndrome, was the topic for this weeks cover of The Riverfront Times. This syndrome almost exclusively affects descendants of Jewish heritage, hence the Star of David icons as flowers in "Bloom".
This one was delicate for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I didn't want to portray the subjects in a way that would exploit their physical differences. Instead, I wanted to nod to the life of someone who is always looking up at the world. The woman in the feature is a proud and defiant person who's stature is measured in optimism.
The other has to to do with how this condition has been twisted as some sort of proof of inferior genetic heritage by white supremacists and hate groups. I didn't want to give them any imagery that could be twisted for their own use (I've had this happen with Pro-Choce illustrations in the past). I found this out when I did the customary google search on Blooms Syndrome. The first few links were to these hate groups, rather than to the support and social networks that "Bloomies" rely on to cope with everyday life.
A big nod goes out to Riverfront Times AD Tom Carlson, and Editor and old pal Tom Finkel. These guys are amazing to work with. Tom and I built an extremely fruitful AD/Editor relationship during my 4 years as the art director for New Times in Miami.
Good Medicine
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 6:46 pm on June 23rd
More and more doctors are being faced with patients who consider religious beliefs to be an important part of their healing. Some doctors are offering prayer, even prayer not of their denomination. A recent study has shown that it's working for many.
This was the topic of my first, and hopefully not last, assignment from former TIME AD Janet Michaud who has made a soft landing at The Washington Post. Janet is one of those great AD's - an open mind with high expectations.
This was another chance for me to work some of my drawing "skills" into the final.
Reconciliation
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 5:09 pm on June 4th
I consistently get rich topics from the folks at Pentagram Design. On this occasion, DJ Stout and Daniella Boebel assigned a full page for an article about the process of reconciliation between warring factions in African conflicts.
The first thing that came to mind was the weapon of choice, the inexpensive and plentiful AK-47. Every kid should have one. In fact, in Africa many do.
The sketch and a detail of the final are also included below as an example of how I'm continuing to bring more of my sketching into the final pieces.
About today
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 9:59 am on May 26th
This image was a personal piece that I submitted to the Nation back in 2006. They ended-up running it as the cover art for their issue commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the war. I posted it a long while back but thought it was a good one for the day.
Today was a great opportunity for me to get my kids thinking about the holiday and what it means. I told them the story about how back in 1966 when my parents were searching for a name for their new baby boy, my dad chose to honor his best pal, Brian Medford, who was serving in Vietnam at the time. Brian was shot 8 times in the stomach and legs by a 10 year-old Vietnamese boy with a machine gun. Members of his platoon shot and killed the boy. Brian survived his injuries and returned home, needing to learn to walk again. I vivdly remember meeting him in 1973. He wore cowboy boots and walked with the aid of a cane. My father lost track of him a number of years ago. I think about him every Memorial Day. I hope I get to meet him again some day.
On a side note, my 6 year-old asked me why they have so many "sales" on memorial day. I have to admit, I was at a loss for a good answer.
In Memory Of
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 10:11 am on May 23rd
Personal piece, Memorial Day Weekend, 2008
On May 6th, a relatively little discussed hearing was taking place on Capital Hill to discuss the alarming rise in soldier suicide attempts and the VA's complete lack of response to the crisis. With over 1000 vets attempting suicide each and every month, the militarys response was to relieve the doctors who completed the study. WHen pressed, they relented and admitted that more should be done. read story here.
An acquaintance of mine who recently returned from Afganistan explained to me the often bottomless sense of loss and disconnect that soldiers feel when trying to reconcile the world they've experienced with the relativley superficial and petty existence of everyday life in the states.
As much as they want to rejoin "normal" society, their eyes have been opened to a level of life and suffering that most of us actively suppress in order to maintain our comfort zone. This is not meant as a criticism of our everyday lives, but rather as a reminder that the casualties of war go far beyond life and limb. I do suspect that this crisis is directly related to how much we as a society engage with the reality of the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. What is lost by many is a belief in the value of their very existence previous to their service in combat. The worlds are so different, so how could they both represent reality. For some, they cannot both be true.
When we look at the numbers, it seems that the chasm is widening and deepening. For a growing number of those who have served our country in honor that gap is too far to bridge. When pressed about what we can do, the simple answer was to reach-out to these vets and listen to their stories. Close the gap by letting them know that on some level they are not alone in knowing what they now do about the wider world that we live in. Often vets worry about protecting their friends and family from the harshness they've experienced but this is thought to be the first step towards isolation.
What will I do? Remember them. And then I'll go and hug my children. I'll try to keep my eyes open to the world and remember what I see in the hope that the collective knowing of the truth about these events will in some way make us less and less interested in sacrificing so much beauty, life, and innocence in the future.
Myanmar Op-Ed
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 9:11 am on May 12th
In the Myanmar cyclone disaster, the difference between life and death was only a few feet in elevation. The assignment, from Brian Rea at the New York Times, was for an editorial that discussed the tragedy within this recent tragedy - that the need to heed early warnings, particularly in this low-laying region, is crucial as the storm surge submerged 2000 square miles. The use of a topography map felt like a nice way to bring that across.
In recent weeks, I've been working some of drawn elements from my sketches into the final illustrations. This Op-Ed as well as the piece below are the beginning of more and more line work being infused with my textures and scanned elements.
line drawing detail
the original sketch
For the Phoenix alt weekly, New Times, is an illustration for a story about a home for the mentally retarded. It seems that a particularly slimey realestate developer has his eye on a prime piece of AZ property that just happens to be the site of a 70 year-old home for mentally retarded peoples. The facility, which has received high marks for quality of life, has been the lifelong home (from infancy to senior adulthood) for it's inhabitants. It the only home they know. The developer has been accused of trying to have the facility closed due to poor care.
Both the bear and backhoe scooper are texture-filled line drawings from the original sketch.
Genetic Discrimination, For TIME
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 12:30 pm on May 9th
Congress passed legislation this week making it illegal for insurance companies and employers to use genetic data gathered during routine blood testing as a basis for choosing who to hire or cover.
In this week's TIME, Michael Kinsley explores this new law and the many questions it raises. The issue is anything but clear-cut.
You can read the article onlline here, but you will notice that once again, and for reasons that defy reason, the online edition didn't run the art. They used a corbis stock DNA strand-in-a-pill image that has no relation to the topic. Way to go!
Adolf Who?
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 7:19 am on April 28th
When asked, 1 in 4 of Bostons public schools teens didn't know the answer to "Who is Adolf Hitler"?
In response, the Boston School District is making a switch to a form of teaching history through empathy for those who lived through it's tumultuos chapters. This illustration, which appeared in yesterday's Boston Globe Magazine, was my attempt to show this new method of making kids "walk in the steps of history".
Thanks again go out to Josue Evilla for fantastic topic and venue.
Father and Son Op-Ed
Posted by Brian Stauffer at 12:57 pm on April 25th
My kids spend a lot of time in the studio, but I usually kick them out when it's time to get down to some serious thinking. Yesterday was the official Take Your Child To Work Day at my older son's school, so of course it was the perfect day for a same day turnaround assignment from Brian Rea at the NYT Op-Ed section.
The editorial discussed the 25th anniversary of a critical report on the state of education in the USA entitled, A Nation At Risk. The report spoke of the imbalances, inequalities, the erosion of our educational foundations, and the possible future consequences for the Nation.
I was fortunate to have Andrés, my 6-year-old on the job with me to help out with the mental heavy lifting. He saw a ladder in one of my sketches which led to the final. He was such a big help, in fact, that I asked to include him in the art credit! Seems only fair.
Congratulations Andrés, and welcome to the world of illustration. And thanks again to Brian Rea for a tricky topic to play with.
