Kickstart This Art - September Edition

The Internet can be a dark cave overflowing with trolls spouting hateful bile under the mask of anonymity, but it can also be a wonderful place filled with (sometimes) hilarious cat videos, inventive remixes (and remixes of remixes), and Tumblr accounts rife with the animated gifs of yesteryear. My "Kickstart This Art" column is meant to celebrate one of the cooler things the Internet has to offer those of us who want to not only discover, but ultimately be a part of something innovative and deserving. That's right, I'm talking about Kickstarter. This feature will highlight some of the awesome, at least in my opinion, art-related Kickstarter campaigns that are currently running and competing for your money.

Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa ($200,000 Goal)


The Pitch: Charlie Kaufman, the genius behind films like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine, and one of my all time favorites, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, wants to make a movie. But not just any movie. The guy wants to create a stop-motion animated film about, "a man crippled by the mundanity of his life." What does that mean? I have no idea, but I'm sure it will be equal parts challenging and entertaining.

Why I Love The Idea: Dan Harmon (creator of Community) is producing, Kaufman is overseeing the film's creation and wrote the play Anomalisa is based on. Hmm...I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah, and it's freaking stop-motion animation! I'm not sure if you've already watched the above video, but the whole thing is narrated via an animated puppet. How cool is that? The answer is "None. None more cool." If this isn't worth your hard-earned mula, I don't know what is.

Bottom Line: I'm going to throw out a few words at you: Kaufman. Harmon. Animated. Stop-Motion. Kaufman. 'Nuff said.

Strange Kids Comix Magazine - Issue #3 ($2,500 Goal)


The Pitch: Picture just about everything you loved from the 80s. Can you visualize that for me? Okay. Now imagine all of those things forced to inhabit the same universe and drawn by artists like Jason Edmiston and Brent Engstrom and then finally printed on paper and made into a magazine. Sounds pretty good, right?

Why I Love The Idea: If the pitch or video didn't grab you, then Strange Kids Comix may not be for you. However, if, like me, you saw the above illustrated Videodrome-esqe fever dream and immediately fell in love, then congratulations, you're one of the good guys. In all seriousness, this is a great opportunity to support something that's made by nerds for nerds and it's being independently published to boot (you don't even need to live in Portland or some other hipster-y town to contribute!)

Bottom Line: Oh. And did I mention there's still a few hirsute Teen Wolf posters by Ze Burnay left for those donating $35 or more? Go ahead and click the "Back This Project" button below. Issue #3 is so close to actually reaching its goal. Make it happen!

Garry Brown's DIE HARD Poster ($1,200 Goal)


The Pitch: Do you like the movie Die Hard? I mean, really like the movie Die Hard? Well, so do the folks behind the Die Hard poster campaign and they'd love it if the National Film Registry felt the same way.

Why I Love The Idea: Not only is this a really great idea (who wouldn't want Die Hard to be in the National Film Registry?), but as a reward for supporting the campaign you can pick up a pretty sweet Die Hard print by Garry Brown. Not sure who Garry Brown is? Well, if you're a fan of Brian Wood's The Massive, you may recognize the man's work, as he's the regular interior artist. If you're not a fan of or have never hard of The Massive, then just know that he's a kickass artist.

Bottom Line: What could be better than supporting the preservation of great film and getting an awesome poster to beautify your wall? Not much! Although, it would be cool if Nakatomi Inc was doing the printing.

Justin Van Genderen's Film-Centric Travel Posters

Remember those old (and occasionally vaguely racist) illustrated travel posters that beckoned tourists to "Visit Cuba" or "See India," often with beautifully minimalistic artwork? Well, as you know, everything is cyclical and what once was cool shall be made cool again. Case in point: Justin Van Genderen's film inspired travel posters, which masterfully remix the nostalgia of yore (minus any uncomfortably outdated stereotypes, of course) with the pop culture nerdiness of today.

"Los Angeles" Travel Poster Print
Justin Van Genderen
21" x 31.5" - Signed and Numbered
$35 - Limited to 60
Inspired By: Die Hard

"Chicago" Travel Poster Print Justin Van Genderen 21" x 31.5" - Signed and Numbered $40 - Limited to 60 Inspired By: Road to Perdition

"New York" Travel Poster Print Justin Van Genderen 21" x 31.5" - Signed and Numbered $40 - Limited to 60 Inspired By: Ghostbusters

All three of these posters are screen printed and are sure to look quite classy on any wall they adorn. I think my favorite might be the Die Hard inspired "Los Angeles" print, but I'm probably a bit biased since I live in LA and my fiancee currently works at Nakatomi Plaza (also known as Fox Plaza). I could go on ad nauseum about how much I enjoy this series, but I'll sum it up with this: like many of my favorite artists, Justin is incredibly skilled at connecting and melding the geeky film stuff I devour with the world of fine art I affectionately respect (and am just a little intimidated by). In other words: I like it! Now onto my favorite part of this review, the non-review interview part! Justin was nice enough to take some time out of his day and answer a few of my questions about these prints. Check 'em out below!

Posterocalypse: The pop culture travel posters are a great idea and a beautiful melding of the new and old, but what inspired you to start creating them in the first place?

JVG: The first set of travel posters that I created were of various Star Wars Planets. The inspiration for these came to me after re-watching the original Star Wars trilogy and thinking of how old these movies must seem to the newer, younger generation of Star Wars fans. The travel poster idea seemed to be the perfect mix of old style and (relatively) new subject matter. From there the idea spread to thoughts on escapism with famous comic book locations and now to ideas on location playing a role in films with the movie location posters. For me the travel poster is a great medium for combining classic design techniques and ideas on contemporary or pop culture subject matter.

Posterocalypse: Why Die Hard, Ghostbusters and Road to Perdition? What makes these film locales so important? Were there any films or cities that were in contention, but just didn't make the cut?

JVG: I actually started by creating a long list of different film locations that could work as travel destinations. I ended up working with these three movies because in each film I think the location plays a significant role in the story telling. I can't imagine what Die Hard would have been like if it wasn't a NYC Cop in L.A. or if Ghostbusters didn't take place in NYC. I also always loved the scene in Road to Perdition when Tom Hanks character pulls into mobster-era Chicago. Without these specific locations I think these movies would be totally different. I also thought it would be nice to start off this series with 3 of the largest cities in the U.S. I think it helps tie the series together a little better.

Posterocalypse: You've tackled superheroes, the planets of Star Wars, and now three classic films (with Road to Perdition being a modern day classic in my opinion), any thoughts on what the next project will be?

JVG: Hard to say, I'm always trying out new things but I would definitely like to continue with this idea. I still have a long list of possible destinations and I've already started on a couple more prints that concentrate on cities from our future.

A big thanks to Justin for being so responsive and open about his process!

Justin Van Genderen's movie inspired travel posters are currently available for purchase through his 2046 online storefront. The "Los Angeles" print costs $35, while the "New York" and "Chicago" print cost $40. Every design measures 21" x 31.5", is signed and numbered, and is limited to an edition of 60. There are several ways to learn more about the artist, but I'd recommend the following: visit his portfolio (where you can sign up for his mailing list), his various stores (he's got several), and follow him on Twitter @justinvg.