PhanArt at MockShow (with Jiggs gear!)

Many thanks to PhanArt selling my Miami Vice themed NYE shirts at the PhanArt booth at Miami's Mock Show.  Pete said a lot of folks were commenting and snatching up the shirts today. If you are looking for one and couldn't make it to Miami, check out the links on the right.

Congrats are in order for Stout, Isadora, Lamb, and Welker for the poster wins.

Lot Art = Pop Art?

By definition Lot Art, be it a shirt, poster, or sticker, falls into the category of Pop Art. According to the Artchive "The term first appeared in Britain during the 1950s and referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products."

The literal definition through Merriam-Webster is as follows:

Main Entry: pop art

Function: noun

Usage: often capitalized 

Date: 1957

: art in which commonplace objects (as road signs, hamburgers, comic strips, or soup cans) are used as subject matter and are often physically incorporated in the work

— pop artist noun often capitalized P

Of course, everyone thinks of Andy Warhol first. There could probably be no more recognizable symbol of the Pop Art movement than the Campbell's Soup Can. However, there is a long list of artists that are included in this movement, like Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, and Jasper Johns that aren't as recognizable. (If you have purchased lot art in the last decade and haven't heard of these artists, look them up.)

Art, like anything else, has a cutting edge of ideas that eventually filters down to others who want to try similar ideas. From parodies of different kinds of art techniques, to company logos would have been a logical transition.

The earliest example I was able to find of this was a poster for a fraternity at an antiques store a few months ago. It was a Budweiser Parody for a school dance, or function. Unfortunately I have deleted the picture, but the date on the poster was from the early 60's. From that point, it's easy to see the jump to T Shirts and Stickers for touring bands like the Grateful Dead, and eventually the Phish parking lot.

The legality of the more recent items has been the source of much debate, both constructive and ridiculous. You may remember Knighthood finally won after a court ruling determined:

"...it is just as likely that many Phish fans are sophisticated enough to understand the difference between plaintiffs' items, which clearly display an official, registered 'Phish' logo," stated Murtha, "and the defendants items, which uniformly and prominently incorporate artwork associated with other, non-Phish products."

I don't claim to be an expert Art Historian, or even serious art collector, but the history of the items we all love so much is a very interesting one indeed.

Learn more about "pop art"

Rounding Out Heady Threads 2010 Designs

These last two designs for Heady Threads round out the designs commissioned for early next year. The final shirt and ink colors are being selected, and these are expected to be available next month.

This one parodies Pirate Bay and features two lyrics from the song. The front subtext reads "the moment ends though I feel winds". The back reads "Hear the order Watch the sail". The graphics are, of course, approximate to the colors chosen, but the final prints for the Moma Dance Shirts should be bright mustard yellow on a slate/stone blue shirt. The sail features Fishman's Donut Dress.

This one features a white on kelly green print based on a popular clothing manufacturer...which I understand is overrated. The subtext on this one reads "thoughts faded". A leaf beatle replaces what was once a tree in the center. The larger version is a kelly on white to show the detail. Congrats to Heady Threads for some great concepts to work from, and good luck in 2010!

For information on getting your hands on one of these, please contact HeadyThreads at  theheadythreads@hotmail.com.

How Cute... Is This Band?

When trying to make an avatar for someone of the screaming girl from this ad...it occurred to me that they could be having a little more fun...while they're young.

More for Heady Threads

These are the next two in line for Heady Threads. The ideas came from Heady Threads, and the art and layout was done by myself. For information on these designs and when they will be available, please contact headythreads@hotmail.com

Look for these to start printing sometime next month.

 

 

YEMSG for PhanArt

So, I was following Twitter and watching the setlist roll in for MSG Night 3 when at about the time the encore started, PhanArt texts me the idea for this. After some ideas get bounced around, we settled on this graphic. This will be a black and white vinyl sticker. The square measures 4.25 inches, and these are the durable vinyl that the Kuroda stickers were printed on.

Since these are brand new, they have not yet been added to the PhanArt site. A paypal link will be added to the store on their site very soon, and you can look for these in Miami this year.

Great idea Pete!

Homefield Advantage

A Miami phan showing off his Jiggs shirt via webcam. Blinking glasses, check...Miami shirt, check...

Vending, Snowing, and Naked in Charlottesville

Getting there proved to be half the battle. At least three or four hours of my drive was through heavy snow. It reminded me of going to the Boston show (12-2-03) only more snow, and a shorter drive. The snow continued to fall until right before the show.

If I had stayed up Friday night planning how I would park, I still wouldn't have landed a better spot than where I ended up Saturday night. I was smack in the middle of shakedown. JPJ garage didn't open until later when the other lots began filling up, so it looked like getting the parking pass definitely paid off. Trying to vend mobile with snow coming down would have been a neat trick. It was great to be where the other shirt and food vendors were set up. The icing guy was parked right down from me, and he was advertising his wares with...get this...a green laser pointer. Yes, that was probably him inside that night. At least it didn't last very long.

One of the greatest joys was meeting all the people from the different message boards and twitter. The conversations would always start the same: "Hey!...are you...Jiggs?.....". Thanks to everyone who came up and introduced themselves, and thanks for the comments about the shirts and stickers.

The show will probably end up being one of my favorites, specifically for the Tweezer > Light > Piper > Free. That is why I see Phish. There were some awesome type II moments in there that took the room for a big ride. Kuroda upped the ante when connecting with and mirroring the energy onstage. It was one of my favorite band/light jams that I have seen. It pushed on at times taking a blistering pace, but it all seemed purposeful and natural, as if it were meant to happen that way. Pure hose. And after the Yamar incident, the Antelope featured the "Run Like a Naked Guy" lyrics, making for more asterisks when the show was on paper. I love antics. It appeared, by the way, that the guy never intended to touch the band, well maybe just a hug...and just run naked on stage. Sorry, no pictures of that, but I am sure they are out there. At this point the whole show seemed to go up a notch.

I know most considered this another repeat show, but I'm glad they had plenty of time to practice these on tour, so I got some of the best versions. And, thanks naked guy for giving the whole room a kick in the pants.

The community vibe was strong and I really enjoyed my time in the lot both before and after the show. there were a couple of weird moments, one being a balloon vendor tried to set up/adjust his tank directly in front of me. Literally. I said...well, let's just say I asked him to move. Then balloon vendors popped up everywhere. And when some one almost got arrested directly behind me, it was time to pack up and go. A small blemish on an otherwise flawless evening.

I can't think of a better place for Phish to end the tour than in a small college town in a venue roughly the size of Hampton. Say what you will about a college town, but those kids were getting down, and the band seemed to give it right back.

"I've got a shirt idea...how do I get it made?"

I get asked this all the time. If you have an idea and you want to get it to a shirt, I may be able to help. As long as the design doesn't violate certain rules that I operate by:

• No "Phish". Your idea can not contain the band name, or any variation of the logo of the band.
• No likenesses of the band members. I won't even do silhouettes.
• No cover songs. If your idea is a song shirt, it must be a Phish original.
• No designs in poor taste. (If your idea references Trey's recovery, for example)

I charge $25 an hour to design, and I can usually do most designs in an hour. This includes tweaking the design to your specifications or consultation about the design. If it's more complex and it goes longer than one hour, I will explain that beforehand. I also will request one (1) shirt if it's a design I really like. I will be brutally honest whether I think your idea will or won't work, and whether it has a good chance of selling. I will discuss this with you before I accept any payment. I will expect payment after the work is completed. When completed I will supply you with the jpegs, pngs, and pdfs of the designs and it is then yours to keep, in case you want to do it again down the road. Donating a shirt to PhanArt for sale to benefit MockingBird Foundation is also recommended. PhanArt will list your items for free.

Need help finding a printer? I can help with that too, as I have worked with a couple of people. Depending on the scope of your project I can connect you with the right people.

I can be reached at jiggslikesphish@gmail.com.

Col. Forbin's Design for Heady Threads

I was commissioned to do a few designs for headythreads, the first being an updated Coke parody featuring Col. Forbins. The shirts will be printed on Gildan 100% cotton red shirts. The back of the shirt reads "I know why you've come here."

I will not be selling these shirts, but since I have a hand in creating them, the shirts will be featured here when they are finished. This design is in production now, and will be on the lot in Miami. For information about these shirts or to find out about getting one before Miami, please contact: theheadythreads@hotmail.com.

A positive solution...

So I just got an email from Dan about the copied laser pointer design. He apologized and will be removing it by this evening. Big thanks to everyone who brought this to my attention through twitter, especially @strangedesign.

On a side note, if there is still a demand for my original Kuroda shirts, please send me an email. I may consider re-running this one.

Imitation is flattery

Through the wonder that is Twitter I discovered that my Laser Pointer shirts and stickers were copied recently and used without my permission on this fairly new website: http://www.phishtshirts.com/new-products.php. You may also notice that they have stolen PhanArt's Twitter/Tweezer design, as well as an old Lawnboy design I did over the summer.

PhanArt and I are in contact with him and are awaiting a response.

Miami Shirts!!

The shirts are Short Sleeve 100% 6.1 oz. cotton Gildan's. The color is Navy. I have been using Gildan all summer and they have been running average sizes.Make a great gift for anyone heading to NYE this year.

EDIT: This is all that is left. There will not be a reprint.
EDIT: Paypal links have been removed. This item has sold out.

Representin' in Albany

Here's Eric in his Kuroda/Laser pointer shirt relaxing before the show. Thanks to Eric for letting me use the photo. Also, thanks for all the great pictures from the show last night! I don't have any of these shirts left, as they were a one time thing, but a link to the stickers is on the right.

If you have any show pictures of you in some Jiggs gear you'd like to share, please email them to mrminor@gmail.com.

On tour...

Some of the fun of making lot stuff is seeing it displayed or worn at shows. Sometimes I even get pictures emailed to me of phans sporting my gear, which is always fun! Do you have a picture of yourself in a Ghost tee or maybe an Undermind shirt? Do you have that Kuroda sticker in a really unusual place?...ok, so maybe a car isn't that unusual, but if you'd like to send a picture my way to post here, please do!

I'm not sure this can be topped, but this is my Kuroda sticker on...well, Kuroda's light board.

Here's a jokester making sure there's an even distribution of Kuroda stickers at Festival 8, and a twitter follower showing them to the webcam.

2009 Photo Animation Montage

I have finished up a series of photo animations for a big project and decided to put some of my favorites in a montage. Everyone loves a montage, right? Each of these images were manipulated into a 3 D type effect with motion added. Depending on the elements in the photo, they took from 1 to 2 hours to complete. It took me quite a long time to finish, but I think the end result was well worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxEvesfUleE

Here and there...

Besides creating shirts myself, I have also had the pleasure of working on or providing graphics or ideas for other lot merchandise. One recent one you may have seen at 8 was this Alaska themed shirt. The front featured an old piano with the Alaskan mountains springing up from the top. The back I didn't work on, but it featured the Alaskan Flag and a couple of lyrics "I'll stay right here" and "Far away from you".

I don't know if there are any of these left, but they were last seen on Reality Tour under the name wolf_sis.

Extra Fest 8 Shirts

These are 100% cotton Gildan shirts (this is pretty much my standard brand). There will be no reprints of this shirt. As always, the prices below include shipping with delivery confirmation.

EDIT: I currently have one Long Sleeve XL left. $20. Email if interested.

Coming Soon!

Here's the first test print for the new Miami Vice themed NYE shirts. These are printing on Gildan 100% cotton navy shirts and will be 16$ for M-XL and 18$ for XXL and ladies sizes. If you'd like to reserve a shirt, you can paypal for it now, and i'll make sure it's shipped as soon as I have it.

Last of the Indio Stickers

A good portion of these went to 8, and the rest were sent out with the Super8/Fest8 long sleeve shirts. I am down to less than 30 of these, and there will be no more of these printed. The sticker is a 4.25 inch square. It's black ink on white vinyl, and is designed for long term outdoor use.

EDIT: The paypal button for this item has been removed.

Ghost Shirts

The short sleeves are printed on Ice Gray 100% cotton Gildan 6.1 oz. shirts. The long sleeves are a 90/10 cotton blend printed on sport gray, also on Gildans. The back of the shirts say "I'd Call Him Instead". The shipping charges are included and as with all shirts, these include delivery confirmation.

Edit (2-20-09): The short sleeve shirt is officially sold out.

The Kuroda / Laser pointer sticker

 This might be the most popular sticker I have created. What started as a joke in response to the online uproar about laser pointers at shows turned into a scramble to keep up with all of the sticker requests. I was extremely flattered to find out that Chris even put one of these on his own light board. I will continue to make these as long as they are requested.These are about 2 by 6 black ink on vinyl. These are designed for long term outdoor use.

Get one on the Shirts and Stickers page.