artpost

Mat Pack

2011-12-21T00:38:00.000-05:00

A flag I made for the high school wresting page in The Daily Journal

All Shore Fall Sports Illustration

2011-12-15T00:03:00.001-05:00

Banner illustration I made for the All Shore high school sports section for the Asbury Park Press

One of the cover pages my All Shore illustration was used on, page design by Michael Johnson

Inside page topper for the All Shore section

NFL Preview Cover

2011-09-21T16:30:00.000-04:00

Made this one for the NFL preview in The Asbury Park Press.

College Football preview page

2011-08-25T23:40:00.001-04:00

A variation I made of my rutgers page. This one includes Monmouth University, for distribution in the Asbury Park Press.

Rutgers page update

2011-08-23T21:53:00.001-04:00

update to my rutgers football season preview, more than likely there will be some final changes/tweaks.

News Page Design

2011-08-09T19:39:00.001-04:00

As a part of the Gannett Asbury Park Design Studio, I get to come up with pages like this. We currently handle four NJ papers and are taking on several more, including some out of state. It is a busy and exciting time here. The page above is for the college football preview. It still has some way to go before print but it's been awhile since the last post so this is what I've been up to.

Promotional Items

2011-06-01T21:08:00.004-04:00

Business card and email message I made for Select Automotive Inc of Toms River. Incorporates the logo I designed for them previously. Shiny and carbon fibery, translates into luxurious and sporty!

New Business Card

2011-05-24T21:54:00.002-04:00

If you really want hear about it...

2011-05-23T01:23:00.007-04:00

I decided to design a book jacket for what I believe is the all time best, and true, great american novel. The original jacket is fantastic, and I followed its lead a bit. However, I focused on Holden's beloved red cap, a symbol of clinging to his quickly escaping youth and innocence.
Some people never "get" this book, I guess they just don't identify with Holden the way the rest of us do. The way I see it is like Holden says, "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though."

Wedding Suite

2011-04-28T20:34:00.003-04:00

A wedding stationary suite I put together kind of last minute. On the envelope, the girl is literally being dragged to the altar.

Website for Preferred Care

2011-03-20T17:21:00.002-04:00

Currently working on this website for Preferred Care, the colors and background coordinate with the Logo I designed for them previously. You can link to the site here.

Updated logo for Select Automotive Inc

2011-02-19T17:59:00.002-05:00

Folder updated

2010-11-07T14:27:00.001-05:00

Some changes and the other panels in progress.

Currently working on...

2010-10-30T13:09:00.002-04:00

One of the panels for a promotional folder for Preferred Care.

Logo of the day

2010-10-28T19:36:00.005-04:00

I've been trying to either make or at least think of something creative everyday. Today I made this logo.

Public Space

2010-10-27T16:40:00.003-04:00

Used some simple photoshop effects, to create mood in this Salvation Army ad campaign I made for a class. I created both the copy and design for these.

Yay, Logos!

2010-10-24T16:50:00.008-04:00

Logos can be the most fun and the most difficult design pieces all at once. A good logo comes down to the simple goodness of design with form, composition and color theory and of course typography. But it must convey a service, ideal or entire essence of an entity with tremendous efficiency. These are a some of my most recent.

Mailer Ad

2010-10-24T16:44:00.005-04:00

I created this a long while back at University of Miami. It was not for actual use but I still like the graphic pop in this ad.

Manifesto for design/life

2010-10-24T16:39:00.003-04:00

Junior Design Work

2010-10-24T16:19:00.002-04:00

One of the small classified ads I designed a lot of while working as a junior designer at The Weinbach Group. These ads were small in format and limited in color which required a lot of creativity for variety of design.

The End Of The World

2010-10-20T18:21:00.003-04:00

My other La Fin Du Monde ad.

The End Of The World

2010-10-20T18:14:00.003-04:00

Came across this canadian beer and the name really drew my attention. I wanted to come up with a fictional ad campaign that somehow brought that great name to the forefront. In these two ads I created the design, copy and slogan.

Movie Poster

2010-10-20T17:47:00.004-04:00

Retro silk screen style poster I designed. I love simple but effective imagery in advertising, and this classic film is full of symbolic imagery.

Gettin' er Done

2006-10-01T18:55:00.000-04:00

smal_72dpi, originally uploaded by cucu216.

The third painting for my upcoming group show, "The Bad Good Guys and Good Bad Guys" at Undercurrent Arts. I'v beeen battling procrastanation to get these done but I'm almost there. Finished four and got one more to go. For more show info go to Undercurrent Arts or email me.

New Work cont.

2006-09-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

Lrrp, originally uploaded by cucu216.

Another painting for the show in Miami, "The Bad Good Guys and Good Bad Guys" at Undercurrent Arts. If you're in town on Oct. 14th check it out. More info at Undercurrent Arts or email me.

New Work

2006-09-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

rick, originally uploaded by cucu216.

This is one of the paintings I made for the upcoming show "The Bad Good Guys and Good Bad Guys" at Undercurrent Arts on Oct.14. For more info on the show check out Undercurrent Arts gallery The paintings are rather small so far, this one is about 9x16 inches, and are oil on canvas. I'll post more shortly.

Nord The Gleeful

2006-09-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

nord, originally uploaded by cucu216.

This is Nord, another one of Pavlov's dogs.

Behaviorism Rocks On

2006-08-28T13:33:00.000-04:00

skinnerWeb, originally uploaded by cucu216.

B.F. Skinner kicking ass and taking names.

More Behaviorism

2006-08-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

toi, originally uploaded by cucu216.

The dog on the table here is named Toi and actually was one of Pavlov's subjects.

Drawings on Behaviorism

2006-08-23T13:26:00.000-04:00

Pavlov, originally uploaded by cucu216.

Made a couple drawings of the Behaviorists and their subjects. This is a small diptych of Pavlov, his cronies and an wittingly loyal subject.
I'll post more shortly.

Isabelle "La Belle"

2006-06-02T03:02:00.000-04:00

Isabelle La Belle
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

I've been working on a small tryptich of portraits of Isabelle Dinoire.
This is the first one, a bad image of it but I had to use my scanner.
Anyway for those that haven't heard, here's her story:

(AP)
Isabelle Dinoire, the woman who received the world's first partial face transplant with part of a nose, chin and lips. After passing out on an overdose of sleeping pills, the 38-year-old woman was mauled by her pet Labrador in May 2005, leaving her with severe facial injuries that her doctors said made it difficult for her to speak and eat.

She said she was wrestling with personal problems at the time, had had a trying week, and "took some drugs to forget," which knocked her out.

She said she was passed out when the dog bit her, and she did not immediately realize the extent of her disfigurement when she awoke.

"When I woke up, I tried to light a cigarette, and I didn't understand why I couldn't hold it between my lips," she said. "That's when I saw the pool of blood and the dog next to me. I looked at myself in the mirror, and there, horrified, I couldn't believe what I saw — especially because it didn't hurt. Ever since this day, my life has changed."

The donor was a brain dead woman.

There are three things that interested me about Isabelle and I'm not sure which drew me to paint her.
One, the state she must of been in mentally, emotionally and physically, to have let this happen to her,
Two, the bizarre and horrifying actual event,
And finally, the unfathomable issues of self identity she now has to live with.

Perhaps even more fascinating is the donor's story. A teacher named Maryline Saint-Aubert who comitted suicide by hanging and was declared brain dead. She lived only about 20 miles from Isabelle Dinoire. One succesful suicide is now aidng the recovery of a failed one.

In a twisted sort of way, perhaps one can find deeper meaning in Maryline Saint Aubert's middle name.

New Work

2005-08-11T17:34:00.003-04:00

chile_1989
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

I read somewhere that by 1989 the air pollution in Santiago, Chile was so overpowering that the people began to wear protective masks before going out. From what I imagine, air pollution is not easily reversible. It made me think of what the air is deteriorating to along the beautiful, montainous countryside of Chile, sixteen years later. But like most Latin countries Chile is just as cursed by government corruption as it is blessed with indigenous beauty. Environmental issues fall very low on their list of priorities. Way below pocketing public funds and throwing elections.
The young boy in my drawing is walking to school with his head held high amongst the smog.

New Work

2004-12-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

the_legacy1
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

the_legacy2
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

the_legacy3
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

the_legacy4
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

I just finished this series. I might add a touch or two but I doubt it. I haven't drawn in a while and these bags were just begging to be drawn on. There's a little, very little, painting involved also. The shots I got with my megacrappy camera aren't great. Some are blurred, some colors and contrast are a little off, but the basic idea is there.
The series is titled, "The Legacy of Minor Keith".

2004-12-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

havekost
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

opalka
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-06T14:47:00.001-05:00

opalka2
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

A few paintings around the district during Basel.

Art Basel Miami Beach

2004-12-03T15:02:00.000-05:00

basel
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

ep1
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

ep2
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

katz
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-12-03T14:57:00.000-05:00

frankenthaler
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

As you can see these pics I took at the Miami Beach Convention Center from Art Basel Miami Beach, truly suck. Partly becuase of my 2 megapixel, megacrappy camera but mostly becuase I suck at taking pictures. So I'll just show a couple of pics to give an idea of some of my favoroites at Art Basel Miami Beach. There were others I liked more but I dare not reproduce them so horribly. Next time I must remember to atleast turn off the flash.

Amie Dicke

2004-10-04T19:31:00.000-04:00

AD-002-D
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

The pics above are of some cutout works (made only from magazine pages, an x-acto knife and ink) I saw during my brief trip to New York. They were by Amie Dicke and showing at D'Amelio Terras Gallery. You can see more of these great cutouts at http://www.damelioterras.com on the web.

Show at Art Center

2004-09-17T14:29:00.000-04:00

fresh
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

There's a show this Saturday at Art Center of their new juried artists. For more info checkout http://www.artcentersf.org

New Work

2004-09-15T19:28:00.000-04:00

orlando
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-15T19:27:00.001-04:00

manny
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

pedro
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-15T19:26:00.000-04:00

sammy
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

These four paintings are from the new series I'm working on. They are acrylic on Banana Republic shopping bags and are only about 8"x10.25". The other ones will be more than twice that size and will probably have some ink drawing involved. I'm still working alot of the stuff out. I'll show more of these as I work through them.

United Fruit Company a brief history

2004-09-14T13:03:00.000-04:00

Here's a great article I found on the United Fruit Company, an American mega-corp responsible for the exploitation of "Banana Republics". I found it very informative, the author's name is listed at the end of the article. United Fruit Company is also the namesake and basis of my new series of paintings.

BANANA REPUBLIC:
THE UNITED FRUIT COMPANY
The history of banana growing in Central America is closely tied to the history of politics in the same area from the 1880's through the 1970's. Prior to 1870, bananas were unknown in the United States. The first bananas were imported to the U.S. in 1870 and just 28 years later, Americans in the U.S. were consuming over 16 million bunches a year. The story begins in 1871 with the construction of a railroad in Costa Rica by an industrious 23 year old from Brooklyn named Minor Keith. The project cost hundreds of lives, including the lives of his two brothers. Keith was a man who would do anything to advance his own interests. He even married the daughter of the Costa Rican President. His efforts paid off and eventually he earned the title "The Uncrowned King of Central America".

While Keith was building the railroad in Costa Rica he was also executing a much bigger plan. As construction progressed, he planted bananas on the land easements to either side of the tracks. The bananas flourished and with the railroad completed it was possible to economically transport the bananas to eager markets in the United States and Europe. Ten years later, Keith owned three banana companies. Keith then joined up with a Cape Cod sailor, Captain Lorenzo Baker and a Boston businessman, Andrew Preston. Together they raised the money to found the Boston Fruit Company. In 1899, the Boston Fruit Company and the United Fruit Company (UFCO) merged, thus forming the largest banana company in the world with plantations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Santo Domingo. They also owned eleven steamships, known as the Great White Fleet plus 30 other ships rented or leased. The company also owned 112 miles of railroad linking the plantations with ports.

In 1901, Guatemalan dictator, Manuel Estrada Cabrera granted to UFCO the exclusive right to transport postal mail between Guatemala and the U.S. This was UFCO's first entry into Guatemala. Ruled by a right-wing dictator who would do anything UFCO wanted, Minor Keith judged Guatemala to have "an ideal investment climate". He formed the Guatemalan Railroad Company as a subsidiary of UFCO and capitalized it at $40 million. He contracted with Cabrera to build a railroad between Guatemala City and Puerto Barrios. UFCO also obtained permission to purchase lots in Puerto Barrios at a nominal price and received a grant of land one mile long by 500 yards wide on either side of the municipal pier. Keith also negotiated the contract to build telegraph lines from the capital to Puerto Barrios.

Other countries in Central and South America also fell under the thrall of the mighty UFCO, also called "yunai" or "La Frutera" or "El Pulpo" (the octopus) in Latin America, but none were more under UFCO's thumb than Guatemala. United Fruit's Guatemalan operation generated about 25 percent of the company's total production. In Guatemala, United Fruit gained control of virtually all means of transport and communications. United Fruit charged a tariff on every item of freight that moved in and out of the country via Puerto Barrios. For many years, the coffee growers of Guatemala paid very high tariffs and the price of Guatemalan coffee on the world market was high because of this.

The capital of the United Fruit Company empire was in Guatemala, in the town of Bananera, where it made its headquarters. From here it master-minded its empire and corrupted every level of government and politics in Guatemala. United Fruit also managed to exempt itself from virtually all taxes for 99 years. UFCO had its fingers in almost every pie in Guatemala. UFCO had the unconditional support of right-wing dictators who maintained their power by terrorizing the people and arresting prominent citizens who were either killed on the spot or tortured in prison to extract confessions. During one wave of repression under Jorge Ubico, hundreds were killed in just two days.

In 1944, the people of Guatemala overthrew the right-wing dictator then in power, Jorge Ubico. Guatemala held its first true elections in history. They elected Dr. Juan Jose Arevalo Bermej to the presidency. A new constitution was drawn up, based on the U.S. Constitution. Arevalo was a socialist and an educator who built over 6,000 schools in Guatemala and made great progress in education and health care.

At this time in Guatemala, just 2.2 percent of the population owned over 70 percent of the country's land. Only 10 percent of the land was available for 90 percent of the population, most of whom were Indians. Most of the land held by the large landowners was unused. Arevalo was succeeded in another free election by Jacobo Arbenz who continued the reform process begun under Arevalo. Arbenz proposed to redistribute some of the unused land and make it available for the 90 percent to farm. Here is where the problem arose: United Fruit was one of the big holders of unused land in Guatemala. The pressure mounted against UFCO and finally the company complained to the many friends it had within the U.S. government including President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, saying that Guatemala had turned communist.

The U.S. State Department and United Fruit embarked on a major public relations campaign to convince the American people and the rest of the U.S. government that Guatemala was a Soviet "satellite".

"It [United Fruit] began with enviable connections to the Eisenhower administration. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his former New York law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell, had long represented the company. Allen Dulles, head of the CIA, had served on UFCO's board of trustees. Ed Whitman, the company's top public relations officer, was the husband of Ann Whitman, President Eisenhower's private secretary. (Ed Whitman produced a film, "Why the Kremlin Hates Bananas," that pictured UFCO fighting in the front trenches of the cold war.) The fruit firm's success in linking the taking of its lands to the evil of international communism was later described by one UFCO official as "the Disney version of the episode." But the company's efforts paid off. It picked up the expenses of journalists who traveled to Guatemala to learn United Fruit's side of the crisis, and some of the most respected North American publications - including the New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, and New Leader - ran stories that pleased the company. A UFCO public relations official later observed that his firm helped condition North American readers to accept the State Department's version of the Arbenz regime as Communist-controlled and the U.S.-planned invasion as wholly Guatemalan." (Quoted from Inevitable Revolutions - The United States in Central America by Walter La Feber, 2nd ed. 1993, pp. 120-121.

The campaign succeeded and in 1954 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency orchestrated a coup, code-named "Operation PBSUCCESS". The invading force numbered only 150 men under the command of Castillo Armas but the CIA convinced the Guatemalan public and President Arbenz that a major invasion was underway. The CIA set up a clandestine radio station to carry propaganda, jammed all Guatemalan stations, and hired skilled American pilots to bomb strategic points in Guatemala City. The U.S. replaced the freely elected government of Guatemala with another right-wing dictatorship that would again bend to UFCO's will.

The history of Guatemala since the Spanish conquest is one of continuous domination and repression. For a brief ten years from 1944 to 1954, Guatemala experienced the fresh air of democracy. However, with a right-wing dictatorship back in power, Guatemala was thrown back into the dark ages and the stage was set for the next 30 years of repression and killing. As part of their efforts in the coup, the CIA made a list of 70,000 "questionable individuals". During Guatemala's 36 year civil war that just came to an end this year (1996), the government often referred to this list originally put together by the CIA.

As is always the case, opinions can be found on both sides of the question of whether United Fruit was a benefit or a scourge to Central America. The company certainly brought a great deal of economic development and organization to a region that had very little of either. The United Fruit Company paid its full-time employees better than any other, built housing and schools for the children of its employees, built hospitals and research laboratories. From early on the company embarked on vigorous research projects to conquer tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Their laboratories also worked very hard to conquer the specialized diseases of the banana plant. In Costa Rica, whole areas of bananas were wiped out by disease and the laboratories of United Fruit developed specialized insecticides and fungicides to halt the problem. Some of these laboratories are still at work today.

United Fruit brought tangible benefits to the countries where it operated, but also brought problems or perpetuated existing ones. For the legions of seasonal workers in the fields, life was very hard. Conditions were physically dangerous and the toxic chemicals used on the banana plants were a constant hazard. Malaria and dengue fever were a constant danger as well. The field workers for UFCO were paid more than on other farms but the work was seasonal and annually amounted to very little. United Fruit staunchly opposed any attempts at the formation of unions. It would abandon entire areas if unionism started to gain a foothold. When it abandoned an area it would tear down the housing and schools it had built leaving the area destitute. The company also practiced institutionalized racism. In company towns like Morales/Bananera and Puerto Barrios non-whites were forced to yield right-of-way to whites. The whole concept of a "banana republic" was exemplified by the conditions in Guatemala from 1920 through 1944. The government worked very closely with United Fruit to maintain the highly stratified, fiefdom-like social structure of Guatemala so as to provide a plentiful supply of cheap labor. UFCO didn't create this social structure but worked to amplify it and perpetuate it.

United Fruit later changed its name to United Brands and then ran into financial difficulties during the 1970's. UFCO's lands were bought by the Del Monte Corporation which now operates the former holdings of United Fruit but no longer engages in the political and social manipulations of the past.

P. Landmeier © 1997

Night Paintings

2004-09-11T12:43:00.000-04:00

Intersection
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-11T12:42:00.000-04:00

The Big Red D
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

Overpass
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-11T12:38:00.000-04:00

We're Open
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

2004-09-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

Bangkok Bangkok
Originally uploaded by cucu216.

It's time I start sharing my work with you guys. These are some of my night paintings, there's a statement about them if you click on "view my complete profile" in the sidebar, then on "my web page". I've actually taken a break from these paintings becuase I started a new series that I had to give my immediate attention. But I'll be posting that stuff later.