Vintage Russian Ads

What Dostoevsky has to do with sausage art and bicycles.

Today, we’re looking at that weird limbo of Russian heritage between the cultural zenith of the Dostoevsky era and the nadir of Russia’s current status as the Gas Grinch – namely, vintage Russian ads, the intersection of art and commerce.

From tobacco to tailoring, the collection speaks to a striking resemblance between the cultural valuables of Russian society and those of the Western world circa early 20th century, debunking the whole “us vs. them” notion of lack of cultural common ground.

And while much of the typography and illustration appear to… ahem… “borrow” from their Western brethren, we notice some surprisingly sophisticated techniques rarely seen in Western vintage ads — such as this perspective treatment of type:

Courtesy of English Russia. (Remember sausage art?)

But before we get too caught up in the cultural common tangents here, let’s not forget the other side of the whole Soviet-American relationship, clearly and stride-stoppingly revealed in the Soviet propaganda of the day.

We encourage you to play around with English Russia, the second most addictive source of relentless amusement we’ve discovered last year.

via Coudal

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Uncovered Gem of the Week: Tarsem’s The Fall

25 years of cinematographic obsession, or what Nike has to do with a 6-year-old Romanian girl.

Chances are, you’re already familiar with legendary director Tarsem (pronounced tar-SAME) and his prolific commercial work for brands like Guinness, Nike, Levi’s and Motorola RAZR, as well as music videos like R.E.M.’s famed Losing My Religion.

What you may not be familiar with is his colossal pet project. The Fall, inspired by 1981 Bulgarian movie Yo Ho Ho, took 25 years to make and was shot on 26 locations across 18 countries. The film was quietly released in 2006 and swept the festival circuit, polarizing critics and audiences with its dramatic avant garde style and odd head-scratcher of a plot. And while The Fall sets a whimsical playground for the bizarre, the macabre and the idiosyncratic, what’s even more fascinating than the film itself is the story behind it.

If Tarsem‘s style, however distinctive, seems vaguely familiar, it may be because he keeps rather famous company. His posse includes iconic director Spike Jonze and filmmaker David Fincher of Se7en, Fight Club, and Zodiac fame. The two were, in fact, instrumental to making the The Fall happen by getting Tarsem to finally move from obsession to production.

We have a hard time pegging The Fall — it’s part The Wizard of Oz, part Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon, part Bjork, part something else entirely. And while it’s just as likely to leave you overwhelmed with sheer awe as it is to make you underwhelmed and confused, it’s worth the watch even merely for the breathtaking cinematography, the phenomenal locations, and the brave play of light and color.

Watch The Fall and stay tuned for Tarsem’s new project, Greek epic War of Gods, now in production.

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Catch of the Day

Preservation the surfer way, or why farmers’ markets are now selling condoms.

We’re suckers for clever guerrilla campaigns. We’re also suckers for sustainability. So, naturally, we’re all over this campaign for environmental nonprofit Surfrider Foundation.

From condom “fillets” to styrofoam “bites” packaged like something you’d find at Whole Foods, the Catch of the Day campaign is a visceral reminder of how pollution both stifles wildlife and ultimately ends up on our plates.

The junk is all 100% authentic, hand-picked from various beaches across America, from Galveston to South Padre Island to Venice Beach.

Yep, the condoms too.

The campaign positions littering as the antithesis of the true surfer spirit of bonding with nature, respecting it, and appreciating its raw beauty. Because nothing puts as big a damper on that appreciation as having a cigarette bud stick between your toes while walking on a wild beach.

Best part: Packaged in (we hope post-consumer) plastic to look like seafood, the stuff is offered at real farmers’ markets across the coasts. Talk about authenticity and stride-stopping impact. Genius.

Out of Saatchi & Saatchi, LA.

via TreeHugger (Thanks, Teddy)

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The Art of the Doodle

Why pen and paper are not dead and what Aspirin has to do with Thom Yorke.

It’s a well-documented fact that creative people, whatever their craft, doodle. Documented mostly on napkins, sticky notes, torn off notebook pages, and other random scraps of paper. Doodling is a silver bullet for everything from fleshing out that big idea to relieving creative boredom, an art form so underappreciated yet so necessary for keeping the cogs of the creative world turning.

One brave blog is out to claim doodling the kind of status it deserves. Doodlage is a rich and diverse tribute to the art of doodling, spanning the entire spectrum of doodlers — from the professional illustrator to the everyday cubicle slave stuck on a long call with nothing but a pen and the back of a spreadsheet.

Granted, some of the stuff featured is the brilliant work of world-class artists, but that’s okay because Doodlage, not unlike us here, seems to be in the business of indiscriminate inspiration.

Doodlage scours the web for doodly goodness, whatever medium or shape it may take — from to fascinating notebook doodles (some of which remind us of a certain Thom Yorke album cover), and everything in between.

And since this is exactly the kind of stuff to make you seem all smart and thoughtful in the otherwise cheesy and cliché-driven ordeal of holiday gift-giving, be sure to check out the Doodlage Shop on Etsy.

Doodlage is the work of creative duo RaShell and LeO, both of whom you can follow on Twitter.

via AiBURN