Posts Tagged ‘culture’
0“What is that? Is that a bakery? Is that an adult movie store?”
Johnny Earle, founder of the Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt line, is as much a comedian as he is an entirely self-taught entrepreneur. That was probably the most entertaining lecture about entrepreneurship and marketing that I’ve ever been to. And there were only 2 instances of marketing buzzwords, which is a miracle! (For the record, they were “retail destination” and “viral.”)
“An Evening with Johnny Cupcakes” at MassArt (benefitting Youth Design Boston) was basically Johnny talking for three hours straight about the history of his company: from his early childhood attempts at making money off whoopie cushions to selling shirts out of the back of his ratty old car while working at Newbury Comics to Las Vegas trade shows and all the rest. Interspersed throughout were amusing personal anecdotes (some of them, um, very personal) and optimistic advice for young hopefuls intent on starting their own rampaging subculture brand. (Don’t have a girlfriend, start experimenting in college, take big risks, give up beer pong forever, etc.)
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a great book. I have to confess, it is one thing to call myself a dork because I write Actionscript and know what a “Rick Roll” is… but it is another thing to let this MIT professor, who is probably a bigger dork than I will ever be, take me through the hidden backstreets and boulevards of new media culture. Through this book, I learned so many things that I wouldn’t have fully realized just from being a bemused observer and participant, from the ambiguously empowering effect of Harry Potter on children to the great lengths Survivor spoilers would go to prove themselves masters of their craft.
This is a belated post. Saturday afternoon (pre-mochi), we actually went to see the Shepard Fairey show at the ICA. Here are my random thoughts:
By and large, it was a very predictable show. We saw an abundance of visual tropes inspired by war propaganda depicting activist/culture-jamming themes in a super-flat, high-contrast style. We also saw a preoccupation with sumptuous Asian and Middle-Eastern decorative motifs, as well as those spirograph-like things on money. But none of this is meant in a disparaging way. There were several things that I found amazing about the show.
On a happier note, Shepard Fairey got arrested last Friday.
This is the guy known for his iconic Andre the Giants and then his even more iconic Obama posters. He has been all the rage in Boston lately, with his new show going up at the ICA and all. (I’m excited to go see it myself actually.. who wants to come see it with us?) The problem is, when fame and success come to any rebel underground indie artist, it comes with cries of “sellout” in hand. We saw it happen with Banksy in the last few years… and now it’s Shepard Fairey.
