Watch Andrew Probert's Glorious "Early Science Fiction Contributions" Video

Check out this video of early concept art by Andrew Probert!

Every Friday I try and feature artwork from a classic of science fiction cinema or television. This week's "Flashback Friday" post is on Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Andrew "Andy" Probert is a legend in the industry of conceptual design for designing iconic villains and sleek star ships. Recently he shared a fascinating video profiling his early television work and it is wonderful.

Andrew Probert is a professional concept artist who's worked on classic science fiction projects like Back to the Future (1985), Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica (1978).

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See more of Andrew Probert's marvelous portfolio at http://www.probertdesigns.com/

Click on the links if you want to see more of Andrew Probert's work or Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: The Next Generation on my blog.

What do you think of the concept art video? 

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Milton Glaser Designs Season 7 Poster For Mad Men - a Q&A With The Designer.

At 84 legendary graphic designer Milton Glaser is still creating and was enlisted to design the promotional ads for the upcoming season of AMC's Mad Men. As the advertising drama moves into the late 60's, the show's creator, Matthew Weiner and the Mad Men promotional team began thinking about the appropriate advertising aesthetic as the show approached its final two years.


above: the final promotional image will appear in ads for AMC's season 7 of Mad Men.

According to the New York Times "...someone took one of Mr. Glaser’s best-known images, a 1966 Bob Dylan poster inspired by a Duchamp silhouette self-portrait, and cut out the psychedelic flowing hair with which Mr. Glaser had crowned Mr. Dylan. The hair was then pasted upside down, like a Technicolor eruption, and sent to Mr. Glaser as an inspiration."


above: The graphic designer Milton Glaser, left, in his Manhattan office with Matthew Weiner, the creator of “Mad Men,” for which Mr. Glaser has designed ads that will start appearing next week. Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

“There is a dreamlike quality to it, and believe it or not, it is related to the show, and not because it’s psychedelic,” said Mr. Weiner, dressed appropriately for the period, with a buttoned-up suit vest but also a bright pink patterned tie. “That’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is the material and the immaterial world, and that’s what I loved.”


above: Milton Glaser's 1966 Bob Dylan poster

Weiner, who rarely discloses details abut the show, added, “It maintains the idea that this is somehow going on in Don Draper’s mind, which is what the story is always about — and what the back of his head is about, on some level.”

AMC interviewed Mr. Glaser about creating the poster. Here is a reprint of that exclusive interview:

Q: You’re responsible for so many iconic images — the I Love New York logo, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits album poster, the DC Comics logo. Is there a piece of work you’re most fond of?

A: It’s a lot like having a lot of children — it’s very hard to pick the one that I love the most. But when I’m finished with a job, I’m finished with it. And it just sort of goes into the storage room, and I’m on to the next… Truthfully, I’m more interested in what I’m going to do than what I’ve already done.

Q: Were you a fan of the show before being asked to contribute art?

A: Yes! I watch it all the time. It was an environment that I grew up in. I had a lot of friends in the advertising business, and it was a growth of a particular moment in the advertising world… I used to work for ad agencies frequently — a lot more then than I do now. So I knew the world. And Mad Men is a really wonderful re-evocation of that time.

Q: Tell us about your process. Was it any different for this project?

A: I liked the show, and I like the intelligence of the people who were approaching me. And I thought, let’s give it a try. And the boundaries seemed well-established, which is to say that they wanted something suggestive and powerful and certainly vigorous in color. And it had to be very assertive. It also had a technical problem of reintegrating the figure [of Don Draper] that has become symbolic of the program and making it look as though it worked together with a totally separate piece of art, which that’s not so easy. The two things have to be harmonious and convincing as a single experience.

Q: The idea was originally to do an abstract. How did the figure of the woman that Don Draper is facing come back into play?

A: In the process of doing it, it just felt more convincing and more interesting to have some figurative element, notably the head of a woman and the wine being poured. So we moved away from the idea of having a sort of wallpaper extraction that would sort of symbolize the moment towards having a bit of narration where the characters in the image are related to a story that as going on.

Q: What was it like trying to re-evoke your style from that era?

A: Sometimes the problem you have is that you can’t do what you once did, especially at my age. But the real issue is the definition of the problem itself: This was supposed to evoke a feeling of what that moment in time felt like for people who actually experienced it, right? But most of the people who watch the show didn’t live through that era, so it’s a funny idea of simulating for people of what they don’t have any memory of and convincing them in a way that this is what it was like… It’s a complex philosophical issue.

Q: How important is it to you that a new generation of viewers connect with what the era was about?

A: Everything we know is in the brain and not actually out there. There’s no reality out there. So that era was different for everybody, but, for me… I was being influenced by very strange things like Art Nouveau and other things that seemed significant at the time because they were deviations from modernism. But it was that departure from all the modern work that was going on at the time that made my work characteristic.

Q: What do you remember most about those years?

A: I knew [Bob] Dylan, and I worked a lot for Albert Grossman who was a friend who represented the band and represented Peter, Paul and Mary. I was sort of in the middle of it. I helped Dylan find a house in Woodstock, and to some degree I was part of that in terms of the friendships that I had developed during the period… A lot of people know the Dylan poster, and to large degree because it’s Dylan, but also because it circulated by the millions with that last album of his and became — if you want to use the phrase — iconic of the period.

Mad Men Teaser for Season 7:
Don takes off with the Mad Men Season 7 premiere, Sun. April 13 at 10/9c. images courtesy of AMC and the New York Times.

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Exclusive: Interview with MARVEL'S: AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Concept Artist Phillip Boutte Jr.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (2013) "Lorelei"concept art Phillip Boutte Jr.

Check out my exclusive interview with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D concept artist Phillip Boutte Jr.!

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is one of my favorite shows this year. It's still in a ratings slump, but the series is taking it to the next level to bring in viewers. ABC is creating a multi-episode event known as "Uprising" and Ian de Caestecker, who plays Agent Fitz on the show, says the show is becoming "lot more exciting and more appealing."

"I think the first half of the season was quite episodic, de Caestecker said, "Now we are starting to get into much more of week-by-week development - rather than just an episodic story of the week - which I find a lot more exciting and more appealing. There are a lot more things coming out about each character in the latter half of the season. I think it is really hitting its stride and turning into the show that it wants to be."

Guest stars are a big part of the rest of the season. This week Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) will make an appearance and the last episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." had an appearance by Elena Satine as Lorelei the sister of Amora the Enchantress. Over the weekend ABC tweeted concept art of Lorelei and I had an interview with concept artist Phillip Boutte Jr. who talked about working on the show and the challenges and joys he has working closely with costume designer Ann Foley.

Boutte Jr. is a professional costume concept artist who's worked on major Hollywood movies like Man of Steel (2013), Inception (2011) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

Click on the images to enlarge

Maurice Mitchell: It's great to talk to you again Phillip! I guess the first question is how did you start working on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D ?
Phillip Boutte Jr.: Ann and I have known each other since the beginning of my career back in 2007. We have always gotten along and enjoyed working together. When she took the job on S.H.I.E.L.D, she contacted me to do an illustration for the character Mike Petterson. I was so excited not only to work on the show but to get a chance to work with Ann on her first big venture in the land of television.

MM: What's it like working on the show?
PB: Working on the show is great! I love the crew and we all get along well. It has been a great learning experience for me. I have been able to not only work with Ann as she fleshes out a design but I get to work with Kelly, the cutter fitter as well. He is responsible for making a lot of the garments that end up on the characters. Because everything is custom and made to order, it is very important for me as illustrator to draw things that can realistically be made.

MM: You've been designing mostly original costumes so what's it like adapting characters from the comics?
PB: Ann's design process always starts with what is real and a lot of research. She studies the comic character's look, then turns to fashion and history to translate the character's look into reality. I really appreciate the amount of work she does to get a character just right. She also, very much so, cares about the source material which is a big plus on my nerd radar. She wants to know that the character will be recognizable to fans but she also wants to make sure they look like they fit into the world without being too over the top or too overly designed. She balances that nicely so it makes it easy for me to illustrate the characters that I love so much. I feel like the designs are always respectful and don't stray too far away from who the character is.

Also, you should see how much Ann and the team are able to do in such a SHORT amount of time! It's mind boggling.

MM: It is mind-boggling considering the speed of television. What was the inspiration for Lorelei's costume?
PB: Ann wanted her to be chic, regal, and sexy. She wanted her to feel otherworldly. An enigma to this world. She also, again, very much so wanted her to feel like the character off the page. We did several renditions of her based of her many iconic looks from the pages of the comics. The one that stuck immediately was the one shoulder gown look. From there, everything else seemed to fall into place. Ann also wanted to make sure the color of her garment matched as closely to what we see in the comic as possible.

By making the decision to use Chiffon, it gave her the ability the layer the color you see with slight variations of blues, greens and teals. The end result looks beautiful and much better than it would if she only used one flat color. That's the magic of costume design in a nutshell! LOL

MM: How closely do the costumes on the show match the concept designs?
PB: For folks reading at home, keep in mind that all these sketches were done prior to the costume being fabricated. I say this because since they look so photo real, I get a lot of people asking me if I touch them up or paint them after completion of the costume.  The sketches presented are what Ann and I take to the producers to get them to sign off on the garments. From there, Kelly gets to work shaping them into reality.

I'm very proud of the work I have done on the show as it is detailed, precise, and matches the end product almost to a tee.

See more of Phillip Boutte Jr.'s inspiring portfolio at http://phillipbouttejr.carbonmade.com and learn more about Ann Foley's brilliant career on her IMDb page. Plus, check out an interview she had with Tyranny of Style about working on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Click on the links if you want to see more of Phillip Boutte Jr.'s work or Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on my blog.

Thanks to Jay Jayson (Nailbiter111) for the heads up on the tweet!

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D what did you think?

Official Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series Synopsis
Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films, as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson's team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage; Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), expert pilot and martial artist; Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), brilliant engineer; and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker, Skye (Chloe Bennet). Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s first television series, is from executive producers Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, who co-wrote the pilot (Dollhouse, Dr.Horrible's Sing-Along Blog). Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) also serve as executive producers. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.
Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge
Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
Cinematography by David Boyd
Series airdate: September 24, 2013
Official Website: http://www.agentsofshield.com
© Copyright ABC Studios, Marvel Television, Mutant Enemy. All rights reserved


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You May Know Her as Jessa on GIRLS, But Jemima Kirke Is Also A Talented Artist.

above: Jemima stands in front of two of her works (image cropped, courtesy of Warholian)

above left: Jemima on GIRLS and above right: a 2010 self-portrait in oil (SOLD)

London-born actress Jemima Kirke, who you may know as the selfish, self-destructive but likeable Jessa on the HBO series GIRLS, also happens to be a fine artist. The 27 year old, who was born hip with a drummer as a father and a mother who owns a vintage boutique, received a BFA in painting from the reputable RISD in 2008 and considers being a fine artist as her real work.


above: Domino by Jemima Kirke, 2013 oil on canvas 36"x25" (SOLD)

Now living and painting in New York, Jemima's oil paintings and watercolors are a series of portraits (some friends, some of herself and mostly of women) which, not unlike her own character in GIRLS, embody a certain vulnerability combined with a sense of aloofness.


above: Jemima as Jessa on GIRLS in 2014 (image courtesy of HBO)

above: Jemima in her studio (image courtesy of artfrombehind)

The portraits, which are all unapologetically brave, are not flattering per se, but instead imperfect and provocative. With a style reminiscent of the wonderful portraiture of Alice Neel and David Tomb, Jemima introduces us to both the sitter's external appearance while simultaneously evoking their inner individuality.


above left: Liz Pregnant; above right: Anabelle


above left: Noah; above right: Katy


above: Eleonore, 2011 oil on canvas 29"x24"


above left: Elaine; above right: Gideon


above left: Francesca; above right: Elissa


above: Sea, 2011 oil on canvas 42"x36"


above: two untitled Self-portraits, both done in 2006

Jemima has an upcoming solo show at San Francisco's Fouladi Projects, featuring her portraits of women, beginning March 21st through May 10, 2014

About (from her website):
Jemima Kirke was born in London in 1985. She received her BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. She currently resides and works in Brooklyn, NY.


above: Jemima at work (source unknown)

Skylight Projects is pleased to present A Brief History, an exhibition of new oil paintings and multimedia drawing and collage by Jemima Kirke (b. 1985, London, UK). Kirke was raised in New York City and received her BFA in Painting from RISD in 2008. Inverting the tradition of oil portraiture, Kirke explores the multi-faceted layers of character within each of the models and friends who sit for. As viewers we are made distinctly aware of the painter’s hand and controlling gaze—we are left to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves as voyeurs as well as about the masks and performances we engage in daily.

Drawing on influences as varied as Edouard Manet and Lucian Freud, Kirke stays firmly grounded in a painterly tradition aiming to dissect her own gaze and her models own representations of themselves while underlining the staged relationship that is created with her subject within the studio. Kirke works quickly, and without preliminary sketches, allowing the painting to unfold in real time—her canvas yields an image of this live experience between artist and subject.

These people become both familiar and unclear—women are both beautiful and highly disturbing, strangers and close acquaintances are treated with equal care and intimacy as the artist manipulates and distorts them. By turns both heart-breakingly intimate and ultimately entirely distant, Kirke flees from obvious representations of her subject matter to focus on an underlying darkness and the interplay of pathology that exists between artist and the person studied. Her practice highlights the uncanny moment of fusion between the sitter’s projected identity and the internal character that the artist imposes upon her subject. The strange tension between what we reveal and what we hide flits across the faces of women turning them into ghoulish figures one minute, and provocative sirens the next; young children are in the same instant, frighteningly old, terrifyingly grotesque and tantalizingly naïve.

A Brief History presents us with the short version of a long story that spans various contexts and generations. We are left wondering not so much about who these people are, but rather how and why Kirke has brought them together as a beautiful and twisted family overrun with ghosts and memories. This collection of paintings and collages grasps for insight into a moment of time shared between artist and subject—a ripe moment, a rich palimpsest of imagery and stories that speaks to the depth and length of our personal histories and the stranger than fiction characters we each embody.

See more of her work here

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Must-See TRUE DETECTIVE Facts, Photos, Quotes, Art, Parodies and Links.

Tonight airs the 8th episode and season finale of HBO's True Detective. An addictive new series that premiered January 12, 2014 starring Matthew McConaughey (as Rustin Cohle) and Woody Harrelson (as Marty Hart) that has caught on like wildfire and spurred numerous online discussions, fan sites, theories and of course, satire.




Great acting coupled with intense writing that contains enigmatic acronyms, intellectual theories, philosophical monologues and cryptic references make the show simultaneously compelling and yes, totally friggen' confusing.  So I've gathered facts, glossaries, photos, artwork, sites and videos, both hopeful and humorous, for you True Detective fans to enjoy as the season comes to an end.

First off, if you know nothing about the show, here is it as described by HBO:


Opening Titles and Music
The True Detective opening title sequence (shown below) is accompanied by The Handsome Family's "Far From Any Road".


LYRICS:
From the dusty May sun
Her looming shadow grows
Hidden in the branches of the poison creosote
She twines her spines up slowly
Towards the boiling sun
And when i touched her skin
My fingers ran with blood

In the hushing dusk under a swollen silver moon
I came walking with the wind to watch the cactus bloom
And strange hands halted me, the looming shadows danced
I fell down to the thorny brush and felt the trembling hands

When the last light warms the rocks
And the rattlesnakes unfold
Mountain cats will come to drag away your bones

And rise with me forever
Across the silent sand
And the stars will be your eyes
And the wind will be my hands

Memorable quotes from season one:









Rust's storage locker:







Evidence/Clues?:






Truly Helpful Links:
DB? CI? KA? Prost? Braced? Juiced? Spaghetti Monster? Carcosa? What do all those acronyms and words mean?


• Anna Silman's A Handy Glossary of True Detective Names, Places, and Things for Vulture Magazine is list of terms that will answer some serious - and not so serious- questions for you.


• The Huffington Posts' Definitive Guide to Understanding True Detective defines law enforcement abbreviations and some Louisiana slang for you.

Artwork
Official True Detective Mondo Posters commissioned by HBO (not for sale):

By artist Jay Shaw:


By Phantom City Creative:

By Vania Zouravliov:


Best Artistic Fan Site:



Artist Nigel Evan Dennis has created a graphic designer's dream version of the True Detective characters, theories, geography and more which he also sells as posters here.
Check it out here

Another nice piece of Fan Art by Cameron Stewart:


Some Funny Parodies:

"Can Anyone Understand "True Detective?"
Published on Mar 5, 2014 - Joel McHale and "The Soup" present their take on the hit HBO show starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson:


True Detective: The Oscars Parody
Published on Mar 6, 2014 - Matthew McConaughey is interrogated by The Academy about the 2014 Oscars and his past of less-notable films.

 Written by and Starring Jon Rudnitsky:


True Detective - Next Season
Published on Mar 6, 2014 - A sketch by UCB Maude team Royal Bermuda Whiskey Club

. Directed by Will Reese
Written by Matt Chester:


Marty Hart Watches The Red Wedding. Great for any Game of Thrones and True Detective fans. (don't watch unless you are caught up on both). By DecentFilmz



Where's the show going? 
Even lead actor Matthew McConaughy's not certain. Here he is discussing it at the Film Society of Lincoln Center:



Other Relevant Links:

•HBO's True Detective 

•Darkness Becomes You is a special micro site for the show by HBO which has all seven episodes, great photos, music and more

•HBO's Official True Detective's Instagram

• True Detective's Official Facebook Page

•HBO's Official True Detective swag ( T-shirts, pens, hats and posters)

I hope you enjoyed my round-up of True detective related info. Of course more will be revealed after tonight's episode airs. I hope it's as intriguing as the rest of the season because I, for one, am really looking forward to Season Two.

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