See Saw: ART BY TECHNIQUE: Screen Printing

No Water, Don't Waste It!! No Guns.

No Water Don't Waste it No Guns!

Artist, William Tasker. Federal Art Project, Silkscreen, circa 1941/3. Source

I found this image on Pinterest. It's one of the things I enjoy about Pinterest - finding great images, even if people don't source them well, grrr.

This one caught my eye not just for the great graphic but because the message seems so awkward now. It was made to remind/convince people to conserve water for the war effort. That's the "guns." Government wartime propaganda.

But as a viewer in 2012 I read it as, No Water, No Guns....don't waste it. That is, there is no water and no guns....therefor don't waste these recources. Which brings to mind some dystopic sci fi movie, or contemporary news and activism about water as a resource. Big topic. Water. Resource. Or did it mean, War over Water...another dystopic story -in- the making.

It only took me a minute to remember to adjust my time frame to World War 2 to realize that the idea of conserving water for the wartime/militarizaion effort would be common enough that the poster made sense immediately.

It's also possibly true that it's just not that well written enough to telegraph it's meaning. I can't tell from here.

Posted at 03:05 PM in ART BY TECHNIQUE: Screen Printing, TOPIC: Propaganda | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 11, 2011

MAGLIANERO CAFE, BURLINGTON VERMONT

Silkscreen Mural by Iskra Collective. Maglianero Cafe, Burlington VT

Once in a while, I come across a place or an event that renews my faith in Burlington Vermont. Today, I ventured into Maglianero Cafe, which has been open for just six weeks, in one of my favorite culs-de-sac in Burlington's post industrial South End.

Housed inside of the former Burlington Wholesale Grocery building, which fronts on Maple Street, the cafe is owned by the partners at JDK, one of Burlington's most prestigious PR firms. The building also is home to the Iskra Print Collective, who made the gorgeous screenprint murals inside the cafe.

Burlington Grocery Company, Maple Street, Burlington, VT.1933, photo by L.L. McAllister.

My regular readers will know what a huge fan I am of Burlington's industrial architectural history. So you can imagine my delight in finding this old warehouse re-imagined as a cafe. The interior is large. Huge, even, with various spaces that flow into each other, yet can be separated for various large or small functions.

The bar and a portion of Maglianero Cafe, Burlington Vermont. Photo Liza Cowan.

The iced coffee was delicious and refreshing, served with style and the only kind of warmth I wanted on such a hot day, by Maggie, the barrista.

Maggie at Maglianero Cafe, Burlington Vermont. Photo by Liza Cowan

The theme of the Malianero cafe is bicycles. They have bike parking and even have showers for cycling commuters - which invokes another old passion of mine, community bath houses. (Another time, dear reader, I might post an essay I did on Bath Houses and community bathing in early 20th Century New York City)