I’ve been wanting to test out the video capture on my new phone. It rained pretty hard today so I shot some footage from the front porch. The road was totally flooded; probably had a good two inches of water flowing down it. Mt. Lookout Community Council is having renovations done on the square and a bunch of the traffic cones and other equipment floated down the street. Even a Metromix newspaper kiosk floated by, which was pretty dang funny.
Le Thermogène by Leonetto Cappiello
The Vintage Poster Bank opened a shop just up the street from my house a few years ago. They have this great corner-angle building (sort of like a mini Flat-Iron Building) on Delta that has long, open window spaces where they display all these awesome old advertising posters. It’s a great place to find inspiration and take a glimpse into the history of design. I became enchanted with the Affichistes, AKA French poster artists, after teaching Graphic Design History for several quarters. One of my lectures focused on A.M. Cassandre with a short introduction about Leonetto Cappiello.
Imagine my surprise when I see an original print of Le Thermogène, Cappiello’s most famous piece, hanging in the window! Thermogène was medical wadding that became heated when the chemicals it was treated with mixed (or perhaps after it was exposed to air, I’m not 100% sure how it worked). It was mainly used to soothe aches, sore muscles, stiff joints, etc. I believe the text translates to “It keeps you warm.” Bold color and vibrant caricatures placed on a black background were trademarks of Cappiello’s style; techniques which he employed to create a lively mood in his work. Cappiello also experimented with legibility, using large block letters to define and separate space. All of these techniques can be seen executed perfectly in Le Thermogène.
Unfortunately, Thermogene is now the name of some miracle diet pill.
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Anime conventions are great places to people-watch. You see so many interesting, funny or just downright weird things. A few weeks ago I went to Ohayocon up in Columbus, OH with Ricky Henry. He dressed up as Speed Racer. I dressed up as me. We met some furries. The dealer room smelled funny.
