Songs in Reverse – a print collaboration

Dear Friendlies,

Jim Winters and I just finished a print collaboration called Songs in Reverse. These prints will be shown in conjunction with the SGC conference in Philadelphia in March 2010.

The idea behind the Songs in Reverse show is to highlight a favorite piece of music of each artist, re-contextualizing each song in a queer fashion. I chose There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon) by the B-52’s. Jim chose The Man That I Am With My Man by the Hidden Cameras. Our collaborative print was based on Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Culture Club.

There’s A Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon) (inspired by The B-52’s).

‘There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)‘ is one of those songs you hear as a teenager that reaches out of the speakers and taps you on the shoulder. Pssst: we wrote this song for you. Yes, you, the awkward one with the bad skin and weird feelings. Charles Nelson Reilly was my first queen on the TV. Fred Schneider was my first queen on the turntable. If you’re in outer space, Don’t feel out of place. ’cause there are thousands of others like you.

The Man That I Am With My Man (inspired by The Hidden Cameras)

Jim sez: “The Man That I Am With My Man, by the Hidden Cameras is a love song to men. Men and their rituals. Rituals that provide close proximity to each other, and in the song, ones that blossom into homoerotic experience. I find the song beautiful, humorous and sexy, and by mentioning both ‘the Army’ and ‘the Klan’ within this sexualized male ritual scenario, it becomes a political commentary reminiscent of a piece by Barbara Kruger: “You construct intricate rituals which allow you to touch the skin of other men”.”

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? (inspired by The Battle of the Naked Men and Culture Club)

‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me‘ was such a great song. I remember coming home from Junior High School to see Boy George on the local video show (this was before MTV). He was so confusing: is he a boy? Is he a girl? It didn’t matter. I didn’t know if I was a boy or a girl either. I was the girliest boy I knew, that’s for sure. Boy had a great look, to be sure, but this song packs an extra punch because it speaks to the anger and potential violence we experience for loving one another. Americans would much rather kill than kiss, and this Brit used makeup as his armor.

You can see a few photos and video of the print process (including visiting Nat @ Bloom Press to cut the prints down) here. It was great to collaborate with Jim, and I’m thrilled with the results.

I’ll get these up in the shop for sale soon.

xm

wertzateria portfolio updated!

Hi friendlies,

the portfolio page has been updated with a bunch of new images from all the work from 2009. There’s work from the 2010 calendar in there, but be sure to scroll down to see the work we did for Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, Monks of Doom, the Developmental Studies Center, Barnes and Noble, the Driveway Follies, and Cisco.

2010 started off with a BANG. We’re already hard at work on the follow up to my kid’s book A Curious Collection of Cats (provisionally entitled “A Dazzling Display of Dogs“) as well as a cool (and truly bizarre) collaboration with Jim Winters for a print show called Songs in Reverse. Stay tuned for images. At the very moment, I’m working on a spot for PC World Magazine. Speaking of magazines, if you get Via Magazine, you’ll see our work gracing their pages as well.

Happy New Year. We deserve it.

xm

cvb apothecary posters are up in the shop!

dear friendlies,

the cvb/cracker apothecary posters are up in the shop. two colors, 18 x 24″. printed by nat at bloom press. yummy.

xm

p.s. these posters travelled all the way to st. louis, where they got signed by both bands. go get one if you’re at one of the shows. also: there’s a good interview with david lowery talking about cracker’s recent trip to play for the soldiers in iraq here.

EDIT 1.13.10: the first 150 posters of the edition sold out at the first four shows of the tour! i’ll be sending another 30 out for the show at the highline ballroom in NYC. there’s a small stack available at the shop as well.

i love pedro almodovar

xm

2010 calendar preview

Hello friendlies,

the 2010 calendars are nearly here! I’m really excited about these. Julie and I worked really hard on the images and design, and gave a lot of thought to each month’s image. They’ll be up in the shop soon: I’m going to ask for a nominal amount to help with postage. Take a gander (you can see the whole set here), and Happy New Year!

EDIT: *D’OH!* Turns out that January 1 was a Friday, not a Thursday. The rest of the months are just fine. Sorry for any inconvenience.

xm

the wertzateria shop – we’re always open

hey kids,

if you’re seeing the snow falling on your screen, you’re in the right place. happy holidays!

the poster i did for the camper and cracker kids are up in the shop for your shopping pleasures. in fact, the shop is just brimming with poster-y (and book-y) holiday goodies.

if you’re interested in a poster for xmas, make sure you get your order to me by the 16th of december at the latest, else the poster won’t arrive on time! i can’t guarantee any orders made after the 16th will get to you, and i don’t want to see any moist eyes on christmas when the kids realize that santa didn’t bring them the two-headed praying mantis print or the zoodiac zodiac book they asked for. they’ve been good kids! even though they gave the cat a haircut and dressed it in a diaper, they’re still good kids. and you! treat yourself! brighten up that cubicle with something made with love by hand.

so click on over to the wertzateria shop for some hand-made home-made goodness. just be sure you do it by the 16th.

xm

2009 cracker van beethoven poster : color sketch

for the cramper folks. the 2009 end-of-year poster. they have been really sweet – this is my third year making a year-end poster for them! here’s the first, here’s the second. this will be printed in two colors. i wanted something holiday-like, but not *too* holiday. dig?

xm

Happy Halloween!

xm