Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Brandon Bass

Brandon Bass is a mixed media artist and graphic designer currently living in Louisville, KY. Like a crate of old vinyl contains samples for a music producer to rearrange into an original creation, a stack of magazines and paper ephemera from yesteryear serve as the palette for BBASS' mixed media work. Combining this collage style with elements of typography gives each composition a message that attempts to unite the visual subject matter and communicate an idea that goes beyond the original intent of the 1950's advertisements, newsprint, and illustrations employed in the designs.




"In sorting through vintage Maker's Mark ads, I found a 1966 promotion that touted it as "The softest spoken of the bourbons". The phrase stood out as an unusual way to describe liquor, and when combined with the image of a wax-tipped pistol, seemed even more juxtaposed. The gun, taken from an old Maker's Mark magazine ad, belonged to distiller Bill Samuels, whose photo can also be found in the piece. Using bottle labels and other imagery from the distillery, the composition feels both cohesive and jarring- much like the experience of drinking a nice Maker's on the rocks."

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