posted
Pen and ink artists with a sense of humor would sometimes place names/faces/objects hidden within their artwork/drawings. I was recently given a fairly high res scan of a town seal to enlarge and colorize. There is a large portion of pen and ink grass, a tree with squiggles representing leaves, and a stand of pine trees in the background. After scanning, printing, re-scanning to get a workable large size to clean up and colorize, I found a dog, rabbit, squirrel, a couple of names etc. hidden in these areas. The original was only three inches square, and without a magnifying glass, these objects were invisible. Someone years ago told me about this artistic chicanery and mentioned the name for it. I can't remember what it was called. Anyone happen to know? It is driving me crazy. Old Geezer word loss at work. By the way. I made a trip to the town hall of the town with my loupe in hand and asked if I might see a piece of official stationary with the town seal imprinted upon it. Upon close examination, there they were! Invisible to the naked eye. But there for all to see with a 10 power loupe.
[ January 02, 2007, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: William Holohan ]
-------------------- William "Irish" Holohan Resting...Read "Between Jobs." Marlboro, MA 01752 email: firemap1@aol.com Posts: 1110 | From: Marlboro, MA | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
I call it fun! Don't know what the official name is.
As a pen and ink artist I hid many things in the drawings I did. Later when I adapted this same style to mural work on a much parger scale I continued the practice. I've hidden over 150 objects and names in a single mural. Here's one example...
The mural I recently led in Lodi also had about 100 names hidden in it. Many were very obvious up close but from a normal viewing distance (like from a car) were not noticable.
It was great fun for all involved!
-grampa dan
[ January 02, 2007, 06:45 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8740 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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I used to letter the Okanagan Springs Beer trucks, which included their logo/label. My signwriter friend Al Graw used to come down to the Coast to do them with me..he started putting his kids names, dogs name into the "greekstyle" stuff in a portion of the label. Then it became standard practice! A new, refined label was later put into use, alas, no opportunity for any more fun!
then they sold to Sleemans, beer quality went down, full Digital Trucks appeared, ah, Progress!
John
-------------------- John Lennig / Big Top Sign Arts 5668 Ewart Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada bigtopya@hotmail.com 604.451.0006 Posts: 2184 | From: Burnaby, British Columbia,Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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I dunno what it's called either but early on, I was told to put something like that into ink sketches, so that if they were illegally duplicated by someone else later on, you could point out the hidden stuff to prove they were originally yours. Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Jill, you are the winner!!!...of what I'll have to decide later...The word was either memarkers (me markers)or mymarks (mymarks) I can't remember which. Too long ago. 50's 60's...
-------------------- William "Irish" Holohan Resting...Read "Between Jobs." Marlboro, MA 01752 email: firemap1@aol.com Posts: 1110 | From: Marlboro, MA | Registered: Dec 2001
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I've heard em'called Easter Eggs before but not the Memarkers or MyMarks. Maybe someone with a few more murals under their belts will know for sure?
At the last couple of Walldog meets I was at we put in a few things here and there. That's the fun part. I was in Jacksonville, IL this past summer workin on my project and one of the locals asked were I was going to sign my name and I told him he'd never find it. It's there it's just not easy to find. Those things are a blast to come up with...just trying to fend off the "old timers" I reckon.
If you remember for sure let me know..it's be nice to put a proper name to my madness.
posted
Dale, This seal was drawn sometime after 1866, the year town was incorporated, but before 1868 when it first appeared on town documents. I doubt it was called an Easter Egg. I think Easter Eggs started with the software business. I think they were first hidden in Adobe software products. Not sure of that though. I am taking it down to have it blown up to three feet (my printer only prints super tabloid 13x19) to see what else I can find. Hopefully the artists name is in there somwhere. If my memory serves me well, I think I first heard about it/them in high school art class from Mr. Besnia my high school art teacher.
-------------------- William "Irish" Holohan Resting...Read "Between Jobs." Marlboro, MA 01752 email: firemap1@aol.com Posts: 1110 | From: Marlboro, MA | Registered: Dec 2001
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a bit off topic, but wanted to mention to Dan that i see that mural in 29 palms quite often on my way to our river vacation place (in parker az) and i just love that mural and all the other ones in that city.. I didnt know it was yours until last nite when i did a goggle search on the murals in that town..
-------------------- sue brown american instant signs pasadena, calif Posts: 90 | From: southern california | Registered: Jul 2006
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(((---photo not coming likeness close enough
This practice goes back hundreds if not thousands of years as long as there have been slave craftsmen they have left their mark. If you visit any English cathedral and meet with the curator they will show you all sorts hidden in the carvings. I do indulge in this as well, when I spent a few years just painting pub pictorials we would always slip something in the picture just for a laugh or to see if people actually looked at the finished job. There are Roman soldiers and Jolly sailors wearing N*KE trainers,five legged horses, You could get away with it most of the time because the signs were 15 feet off the ground Cheers Terry
-------------------- Terry Colley The VintageSign Co 42 barrack hill Romiley Stockport Cheshire, England sk6 3az tel 0161 494 5089 terry@bullandbrush.fsnet.co.uk Posts: 210 | From: England | Registered: Dec 1999
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I can't recall the name of the process, but Al Hirschfeld became infamously well known for hiding the name of his daughter, Nina, in his New York Times' drawings.It got to be a ritual for readers.
The New York Times received a letter suggesting that Hirschfeld let them know how many Ninas they should look for in his drawings. Hirschfeld responded by including a number next to his name for the number of Ninas to be found in a drawing. When there was no number, it meant there was only one Nina to be found.
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Ray Rheaume: I can't recall the name of the process, but Al Hirschfeld became infamously well known for hiding the name of his daughter, Nina, in his New York Times' drawings.It got to be a ritual for readers.
The New York Times received a letter suggesting that Hirschfeld let them know how many Ninas they should look for in his drawings. Hirschfeld responded by including a number next to his name for the number of Ninas to be found in a drawing. When there was no number, it meant there was only one Nina to be found.
Rapid
I remember reading about the "Nina's" in Hirschfelds drawings, and still look for them to this day whenever I see one of his caracachures (sp?). This morning I was looking at a drawing of Warren Zevon that he did and spent several minutes trying to find the "Nina".
-------------------- Frank Sanborn Sanborn Signcrafters Charlotte, Michigan Posts: 10 | From: Charlotte, MI | Registered: Aug 2006
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Playboy's been hiding the bunnie on cover of every issue for a long time now...
-------------------- Frank Magoo, Magoo's-Las Vegas; fmagoo@netzero.com "the only easy day was yesterday" Posts: 2365 | From: Las Vegas, Nv. | Registered: Jun 2003
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I'm still adding some "hidden" images in the Dixie Meet mural - it's scheduled for unveiling in April, so no telling what we'll have in there by then.
I read that the Navaho Indian weavers always hid one small error in their work because only the Gods were meant to be perfect.
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4117 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Yeah Sonny, they even hid the "J" from you, it's spelled "Navajo"...pronounced like a "h" though...
I have a 20's period Yaee from the four corners tribes and it's flawless, except for one errant thread, took forever to find and it's for the reason Sonny alluded, only God is perfect...
[ January 05, 2007, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Frank Magoo ]
-------------------- Frank Magoo, Magoo's-Las Vegas; fmagoo@netzero.com "the only easy day was yesterday" Posts: 2365 | From: Las Vegas, Nv. | Registered: Jun 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Sonny Franks: I read that the Navaho Indian weavers always hid one small error in their work because only the Gods were meant to be perfect.
...another long-time fan of Navajo weavings here, even before my 5 years in Santa Fe.
That stray thread is often called a "spirit Line" and whil I have often heard (& often quoted) the reference to it's being an acknowledgement of the imperfection of man...
...it is also considered an exit route for the spirit of the weaver, & the weavers creation, as mentioned HERE.
posted
We pulled these kind of things for years painting billboard pictorals. When the sales staff got in thr habit of bringing in the client to view the work in the shop we had to quit.
One of the last we did was for a MacNaughton(sp) board. Painted a little guy sittin on a rock fishing. The first time I drove past the board on location it was toooo close to the road and was readily visible. I worried we might get in a little trouble, but nobody ever said anything.
-------------------- Bill Dirkes Cornhole Art LLC Bellevue, Ky. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. Posts: 591 | From: Bellevue,Ky. US | Registered: Aug 1999
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