Posted by Gil Roeder on Sat, Apr 07, 2012 @ 08:25 AM
This post from last year is still just as valid this year.
Each year during the Passover season, I begin to think about Freedom and what it means.
One of the great things about Passover is that it is a celebration of Freedom – an ode to Freedom and what it means for humanity as a whole and for each of the peoples and nations individually. This year,2012, more than any in recent memory, the feeling of freedom is in the air – it’s becoming more and more difficult for oppressive regimes and rulers to keep their people from the information and sharing that is going on worldwide.
The Freedom Song, is a song that we have been singing every year at our Passover Seder – each year when possible we add a new verse to the song (needless to say it had gotten really long over time) but I’d like to share this song and I welcome any suggestions of a new verse for this year of 2011. We will add in the best new verse and it will become part of The Freedom Song…if yours is chosen you will receive an invite to our Passover Seder to share, music, food and freedom discussions with us.
Feel free to use the Freedom song in your own celebration of Passover or any other Freedom celebration at this time of year.
Let me know how it works out.
Posted by GIL ROEDER on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 10:30 PM
One of the great icons of distribution and curating of the American and International Graphical Novel, Pop culture, Pulp novels, Art and Illustration, Pinups and Photography is shutting down his business. I have been a fan of Buds Art Books for a couple of years (he has been in the business for over 40 years) and was saddened to find out a month ago that he would no longer be sending his monthly catalog. But I was even more saddened to get the Final Final catalog which says "I am closing down Bud's Art Books".
The only moderately bright note in all this is the possibility for any fans of the genres to pick up books and other items at ridiculously low prices. You can check them out here and if you are a fan let Bud know by commenting here or on Bud's site.
Take a look at the site -- you will find something you like for sure. If you're a fan of graphic novels, or manga, DC COmics, Mad, Dean Yeagle and Mandy, Boris Vallejo -- Bud's has something for you!
Posted by Gil Roeder on Thu, Apr 14, 2011 @ 09:44 AM
Jodorowsky Now in Lincoln MA at GilRoederStudio
I've been a huge fan of Alejandro Jodorowsky since back in my graduate school days. In fact, I was once mistaken for one of his characters in El Topo on late night in New York City.For anyone who is not familiar with Jodorowsky let me recap...
Alejandro Jodorowsky is a Chilean writer and filmaker among other things. His best known (and my favorite) of his films is El Topo, which enjoyed a lengthy midnight run at the Waverly Theatre in Greenwich Village - kind of a precursor to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. More recently, he has been a writer of graphic novels with the
collaboration of several amazing artists.
I'm excited to announce that the GilRoederStudio in Lincoln, MA is now carrying a line of Jodorowsky's graphic novels. Here is what we currently have available:
The MetaBarons Saga Volumes 1-4
The TechnoPriests - Books 1,2, and 3
Order an amazing graphic novel now!
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The Technopriests Book three: The Perfect Game
Written by Alexandro Jodorowsky
Illustrated by Zoran Janjetov
Colors by Fred Beltran
THE TECHNOPRIESTS saga concludes as Albino the Supreme Technopriest fights galactic battleships and cosmic fortresses in his grandest battle yet! Jodorowsky and Janjetov create a gorgeous space opera adventure that pushes the imaginative limits of comics. Highly recommended for fans of Grant Morrison comics, Geoff Johns' GREEN LANTERN, and Jonathan Hickman's SHIELD.
96 pages
7.3 x 10.25 inches
Color
Cover Price $19
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Cover Price $15
Technopriests Book 2: Rebellion
Albino wants to join the Technoguild and free the minds of every citizen in the galaxy. However, the Technoguild is a vicious and corrupt organization and Albino will learn the hard way that the path to become a Technopriest is fraught with unimaginable danger. Parallel to Albino's adventures, his mother, brother and sister endure their own perilous quest to take revenge on the brutal pirates who fathered Albino and his siblings.
Cover Price $15
Metabarons Saga Volumes 1-4
Written by Alexandro Jodorowsky
Illustrated by Juan Gimenez
Discover the lineage of a character first created by Jodorowsky and Moebius in the science fiction epic, THE INCAL, as the history of the warrior clan known as the Metabarons unfolds. Each generation of this ultimate bloodline of warriors must struggle to continue the traditions of their heritage and to overcome the forces amassed against them as they fight against a universe corrupted by greed, power and terror.
The Metabarons #1: Othon & Honorata
THE METABARONS #1: OTHON & HONORATA tells the story of Othon Von Salza, the first Metabaron, as he loses his family and his world in a series of tragedies that lead to the creation of the Metabaron clan. Told through a stunning mix of action, drama, and lavish artwork, this book is a perfect introduction to one of the most unique stories in comics today.
Cover Price $20
The Metabarons #2: Aghnar & Oda
Follow Aghnar, the son of the first Metabaron, from his earliest battle against the psychic witches of the Shabda-Oud to his attempt to win the hand and heart of their target: Oda the Capricious. How can he hope to fulfill her demand for a perfect blue rose, when the last rose died 30,000 years ago?
Cover Price $15
The Metabarons #3: Steelhead & Doña Vicenta
Follow Steelhead, who may be the most ruthless of all the Metabarons, as he shakes the galaxy with a reign of violence and murder. But when he falls madly in love with Doña Vicenta, the daughter of one of his many victims, Steelhead decides to prove himself worthy of love.
Cover Price $15
The Metabarons #4: Aghora & The Last Metabaron
The final volume by Jodorowsky and Gimenez in the epic sci-fi fantasy Metabarons saga. The ultimate bloodline of the Metabarons may come to an end with Aghora and her child. This volume concludes the Metabarons graphic novel series collection.
Cover Price $20
Posted by Gil Roeder on Sat, Apr 09, 2011 @ 11:00 AM
Each year during the Passover season, I begin to think about Freedom and what it means.
One of the great things about Passover is that it is a celebration of Freedom – an ode to Freedom and what it means for humanity as a whole and for each of the peoples and nations individually. This year,2011, more than any in recent memory, the feeling of freedom is in the air – it’s becoming more and more difficult for oppressive regimes and rulers to keep their people from the information and sharing that is going on worldwide.
The Freedom Song, is a song that we have been singing every year at our Passover Seder – each year when possible we add a new verse to the song (needless to say it had gotten really long over time) but I’d like to share this song and I welcome any suggestions of a new verse for this year of 2011. We will add in the best new verse and it will become part of The Freedom Song…if yours is chosen you will receive an invite to our Passover Seder to share, music, food and freedom discussions with us.
Feel free to use the Freedom song in your own celebration of Passover or any other Freedom celebration at this time of year.
Let me know how it works out.
Posted by Gil Roeder on Mon, Mar 14, 2011 @ 01:52 PM
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (author of The Legend of Bagger Vance) is a must-read book for any artist or musician. Of course, the title is a play on the title of the classic The Art of War by Sun-Tzu. Like its sortof namesake, the book is a series of advice nuggets designed to help the reader succeed in Art (or War).
Every artist of musician grapples with the blank page syndrome: how do I get started? What is my next book/song/image going to be? How do I overcome this RESISTANCE to getting started?
After reading this book, you will immediately become acutely aware of how resistance tries to thwart your progress at every step. It will be obvious to you that those phone calls you are making to friends for “support” are really Resistance(and resistance is anthropomorphized into a person here) beckoning you away from doing anything useful to further your artistic endeavors.
So if you want to get started on your next artwork – whatever it is – have a read of this book. It can’t hurt and moreover the likely result will be some incredible new art being created. I immediately got started on my next series of pieces after reading the book – they will be posted on my website as soon as they are finished(as long as I can keep Resistance from entering my domain – and I think I can).
Posted by Gil Roeder on Wed, Mar 09, 2011 @ 07:18 AM
If you are in the creative space, it is often a challenge to both produce the work and be creative and then figure out how to market your work - that takes some creativity also. But, emerging as the best way for small and medium size businesses to market themselves and their products is Inbound Marketing - the new marketing methodology that helps you Get Found online by people who are looking for what you have to offer, Convert those visitors to your site to leads and customers, and Analyze your results so that you can continually improve.
All of the tools, training and methodology are available from HubSpot - www.hubspot.com, based in Cambridge MA. Hubspot has emerged as the leader in Inbound Marketing and recently raised an additional $32 million investment from Sequioa Ventures, Google, and Salesforce.
As an artist, I use all of the HubSpot tools to help me to market my art and design that features seaside and urban art images and pieces - including original art, prints, tshirts and other products. Inbound Marketing has helped my art business dramatically increasing both the number of visitors to my site as well as sales.
Posted by Gil Roeder on Sun, Feb 06, 2011 @ 11:58 PM
If you are interested in Urban Art, you must see Exit Throught the Gift Shop. This movie features appearances/"performances" from Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Mr.Brainwash and many others.
Exit Through The Gift Shop is first feature film tobe made by Banksy.
Banksy is a graffiti artist whose work can be seen on walls around the world. He protects his privacy to avoid prosecution and has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film.
The movie is the story of how a French shop keeper named Thierry Guetta began to make films of urban artists and in the process attempted to locate and befriend Banksy.
But Banksy encouraged the artist turn the camera back on himself. There is rare footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many other famous and infamous graffiti artists.
"It’s basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed". - Banksy
Famed street artist Banksy stars in this new documentary, a collaboration with Terry Guetta (akaMr. Brain Wash), called "Exit Through The Gift Shop." We had the chance to check out the film, a result of unprecedented access to the artist over the last ten years, and loved the new insight into Banksy's work, as well as learning how it evolved from street art to collective works.
Here is a trailer for the movie from bankskyfilm.com.
After leaving the movie, my first response was to go online and try to verify if any of it was real. Both Banksy and Thierry Guetta are pretty unreliable narrators. I wasn't even sure if Thierry actually existed or if he was Banksy or if he was working together with Banksy.
So is it true? I verified that Mr.Brainwash does exist and thtat the monumental art exhibit shown in the movie did exist and that Mr. Brainwash generated a huge amount of cash form himself in the process of creating "art".
Shepard Fairey who is in the movie said “Of course the more I try to say it’s all true, the more it sounds like I’m somehow perpetuating the conspiracy,”
Let us know what you think.
And you can see some urban art from Boston, New York other locales here.
Posted by GIL ROEDER on Thu, Feb 03, 2011 @ 11:48 PM
Google has launched a website where you can visit 17 of the great art museums of the world. Through googleartproject.com you can actually walk through these museums using Google's streev view technology. Each museum has selected one of its most prized pieces from its collection to be included in googles extremely high res view.
These images contain around 7 billion pixels, enabling the viewer to study details of the brushwork and patina beyond that possible with the naked eye.
Here's a detail from "The Birth of Venus" 
You can zoom in much further even than this - it's quite amazing.
The tours of the museums allow you to navigate thru the museum using its own floor plan - is it just like being there?
And for a gallery/studio that's much closer to home you can check out the GilRoederStudio in Lincoln Massachusetts.
Posted by Gil Roeder on Wed, Dec 22, 2010 @ 03:32 PM
A few nights ago I was at a company Holiday party at the MIT Museum. As someone who specializes in Urban Art of Boston and Cambridge, I was intrigued to discover the MIT Holographic exhibit while attending the party.
The MIT Holographic exhibit is on the second floor of the museum and it was there that I discovered this Holograph of Keith Haring (1958-1990).
When I told some of my friends about this discovery, I was surprised to discover that many of them had never heard of him. So I wanted to expose Keith Haring to those who may not have heard about him or who may not have seen his art.
This is a photo of a Holograph!
Here is an example of one of his pieces:
copyright Keith Haring Foundation
His media were performance art, video, installation - but when he found that there was unused advertising panels in the News York City subway -- he began to find his niche. Using white chalk he created hundreds of public/urban drawings.
Of course, New Yorkers, being New Yorkers would converse with him when they came upon him working in the subway. It was his "laboratory" and this was the place he could experiment.
He created more than 50 artworks in cities throughout the world.
One of his most famous is Crack is Wack on the FDR Drive in New York City.
Haring was diagnosed with Aids in 1988 and died in 1990.
Posted by Gil Roeder on Wed, Dec 01, 2010 @ 08:56 AM
from www.boomerlife.org/baby_boomers_population.gif
There are currently about seventy seven million boomers in the USA!
Many of these are looking for second careers or need to find different or additional work due to the shrinking economy. Some of these boomers are going to turn or have already turned to the art business for their new careers.
If you are starting out in a new business as an artist you will need a website for a start. The website for artists will usually provide a place for potential clients to view your work - whatever kind of work you do. But just having a website is not enough.
You will need to market your art yourself and your site. For Boomers, your first thought is likely to be one of the old standbys in what is called Outbound Marketing -- run a print ad, send out some art-postcards (i.e. a direct mail campaign), call your friends and tell them you are having a show.
But there has been a sea-change in the world of marketing that you are probably not aware of. The change involves the practice of Inbound Marketing. Inbound Marketing is the process of having businesses (and yes as an artist you are a business) get found online.
Remember that once you have your website it's not at all a given that your clients will find you on the web. You have to become a presence. This process of getting found and becoming a presence on the web is what Inbound Marketing is all about. And it is a process - it will involve a combination of learning how to Optimize your site so that the search engines can find you, becoming a authority in your area of expertising by Blogging and also by using social media to connect and interact with people who could become interested in what you have to say and show.
Once you are found online, by a "visitor" to your website, you want to make sure that that visitor has every opportunity to become a "lead" and ultimately to become a client of your art business. And of course you want to be able to Analyze your results and see how you are doing and if you are spending real dollars to market your art business, how effective that spending and your effort is.
One of the leading sources for free information and resources for people getting started in Inbound Marketing is Hubspot (www.hubspot.com). I have recently converted my approach to marketing website of Coastal Art, Urban Art and Fine Art giclees and prints to an Inbound Marketing approach. Before this, I was spending a bunch of money on Pay Per Click advertising with very little to show for it. With the inbound marketing approach, I am generating leads and visits to my site that I have never thought possible. And anyone can do it.