GARTEL COVERS
Art History - the Book Stops Here
As you make your decisions about purchasing Contemporary Art I suggest you read, "Leggere L'Arte - storia, linguaggi, epoche, stili" published by Edizioni Giunti, Firenze. = GARTEL documented as the Last Page of Art History.
Paranoia Magazine
Cover Art of Lydia Cacho
Fall/Winter 2007
Editor, Joan D' Arc commissioned me to do the cover of Paranoia Magazine. The magazine is exclusively for "Conspiracy Theorist" readers. Well...If that doesn't describe me, I don't know what does. I don't trust the government on any political news or events of the last 60 years. Too many strange thing have taken place. When Dr. Edgar Mitchell starts coming out stating that in his trips to the moon he has witnessed aliens and that there has been government cover up, you know you are not alone. Previous cover subjects have included Lee Harvey Oswald, Tuesday Weld, Charles Manson, and Bob Dobbs. Lydia was a positive role model and thus that made her very special. The controversy was more about the people who tried to go after her for exposing the human trafficking and female abusers she was exposing. Cacho wrote the book, "Los Demonios del Eden," exposing child pornographers and government officials. In essence her honesty has pissed off a lot of powerful people. The article in Paranoia tells her story.
The day the magazine was released Cacho received a Humanitarian Award at the the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. I sent up a signed magazine cover with my friend Danny Chazen who took the signed work with him into the city. He gave it to hotel security and then it had to get past event security. Never hearing from Lydia, I have no idea if she got it or not. It was an interesting exercise to see how security works. WHAT IF it was something that was dangerous? It just goes to show how things operate. How one person who is lax can change the course of history. Maybe that is what September 11th was all about. How someone got into this country without his visa and passport being checked. Someone at the flying school in Vero Beach never checked out who was learning to fly a plane. It is all interesting how if someone is non chalant how someone can get past to do serious harm. I just keep thinking of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, and Anwar Sadat. There have been dozens of others who's assassination was questionable. "Who done it?"
Interesting to commission me to create the cover. As Cacho herself is a religious woman, her passion to her faith has to be admired for providing her with inner strength. On my end, I have a fascination and fetish for religious iconography. It was an interesting mix of imagery to create her image. I took her black and white picture and colorized it, along with adding the right type face to the masthead and to the other headlines.
Cacho I hope never falls victim to a hit. People who do good deeds should be rewarded. Those that mistreat others should be punished. But this is a greedy and evil world. I can only honor Cacho for her tireless efforts in the support of innocent victims, women and children.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 1, 2008
Cover Art of Lydia Cacho
Fall/Winter 2007
Editor, Joan D' Arc commissioned me to do the cover of Paranoia Magazine. The magazine is exclusively for "Conspiracy Theorist" readers. Well...If that doesn't describe me, I don't know what does. I don't trust the government on any political news or events of the last 60 years. Too many strange thing have taken place. When Dr. Edgar Mitchell starts coming out stating that in his trips to the moon he has witnessed aliens and that there has been government cover up, you know you are not alone. Previous cover subjects have included Lee Harvey Oswald, Tuesday Weld, Charles Manson, and Bob Dobbs. Lydia was a positive role model and thus that made her very special. The controversy was more about the people who tried to go after her for exposing the human trafficking and female abusers she was exposing. Cacho wrote the book, "Los Demonios del Eden," exposing child pornographers and government officials. In essence her honesty has pissed off a lot of powerful people. The article in Paranoia tells her story.
The day the magazine was released Cacho received a Humanitarian Award at the the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. I sent up a signed magazine cover with my friend Danny Chazen who took the signed work with him into the city. He gave it to hotel security and then it had to get past event security. Never hearing from Lydia, I have no idea if she got it or not. It was an interesting exercise to see how security works. WHAT IF it was something that was dangerous? It just goes to show how things operate. How one person who is lax can change the course of history. Maybe that is what September 11th was all about. How someone got into this country without his visa and passport being checked. Someone at the flying school in Vero Beach never checked out who was learning to fly a plane. It is all interesting how if someone is non chalant how someone can get past to do serious harm. I just keep thinking of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, and Anwar Sadat. There have been dozens of others who's assassination was questionable. "Who done it?"
Interesting to commission me to create the cover. As Cacho herself is a religious woman, her passion to her faith has to be admired for providing her with inner strength. On my end, I have a fascination and fetish for religious iconography. It was an interesting mix of imagery to create her image. I took her black and white picture and colorized it, along with adding the right type face to the masthead and to the other headlines.
Cacho I hope never falls victim to a hit. People who do good deeds should be rewarded. Those that mistreat others should be punished. But this is a greedy and evil world. I can only honor Cacho for her tireless efforts in the support of innocent victims, women and children.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 1, 2008
Computer Design Magazine
Check the date of these magazine covers. Circa 1981. As of this writing that was 27 years ago. Holy mackerel. Time sure goes by fast. That is more than half a lifetime ago. Crazy. And to think people are just now getting into Digital. I feel like a broken record already with this time thing. Truth of the matter is though, that people did not pay attention. They were so pre-occupied with Pop Art and never say it coming. Matter of fact, curators at museums dismissed it. Can you imagine? I guess every art form was shut down when it arrived against the Champion. When you create something new you are the underdog. The small fry against the Giant. How the tables have all turned.
Now every single artist picks up a Macintosh and whizzs around with Photoshop thinking they are creating something new. Not quite. What it has done however is completely water down the market so now it is a house hold appliance, a commodity and thats why an SD 1 meg card is $7. Strange but true. I guess thats a good thing that it is so democratic. But Id like to see some originality out there if I go to a gallery. Throwing something into a solarize filter or multiple colors just is not anything exciting. If we all can do it, it does not hold any particular value. People have a need to be creative so I guess this is the way they think it will get them fame and fortune. Good luck. Personally I would go into mixed media myself, or some sort of hands on approach. Get yourself dirty. I started doing digital works when I felt I hated the darkroom with all its chemicals etc. Now that is no longer an issue. Great artists reinvent. If you are not reinventing, they there is no way you make the time line.
The galleries in New York City are filled with obscure images and artifacts. I say if they are working with quirky things; let them have a look at Joseph Cornell. - Game over folks. Cornell was 80 years ahead of you. The same can be said for every "cool" person today trying to be clever with strange objects. Go have a peek at Marcel Duchamp. We are so living in a society of recycling, forget about the resampling of music. Image recycling is a big yawn. Im all for innovation. Living in my time.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 6, 2008
Check the date of these magazine covers. Circa 1981. As of this writing that was 27 years ago. Holy mackerel. Time sure goes by fast. That is more than half a lifetime ago. Crazy. And to think people are just now getting into Digital. I feel like a broken record already with this time thing. Truth of the matter is though, that people did not pay attention. They were so pre-occupied with Pop Art and never say it coming. Matter of fact, curators at museums dismissed it. Can you imagine? I guess every art form was shut down when it arrived against the Champion. When you create something new you are the underdog. The small fry against the Giant. How the tables have all turned.
Now every single artist picks up a Macintosh and whizzs around with Photoshop thinking they are creating something new. Not quite. What it has done however is completely water down the market so now it is a house hold appliance, a commodity and thats why an SD 1 meg card is $7. Strange but true. I guess thats a good thing that it is so democratic. But Id like to see some originality out there if I go to a gallery. Throwing something into a solarize filter or multiple colors just is not anything exciting. If we all can do it, it does not hold any particular value. People have a need to be creative so I guess this is the way they think it will get them fame and fortune. Good luck. Personally I would go into mixed media myself, or some sort of hands on approach. Get yourself dirty. I started doing digital works when I felt I hated the darkroom with all its chemicals etc. Now that is no longer an issue. Great artists reinvent. If you are not reinventing, they there is no way you make the time line.
The galleries in New York City are filled with obscure images and artifacts. I say if they are working with quirky things; let them have a look at Joseph Cornell. - Game over folks. Cornell was 80 years ahead of you. The same can be said for every "cool" person today trying to be clever with strange objects. Go have a peek at Marcel Duchamp. We are so living in a society of recycling, forget about the resampling of music. Image recycling is a big yawn. Im all for innovation. Living in my time.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 6, 2008
Madison Avenue Magazine
Madison Avenue Magazine Cover (c) GARTEL 1981
Trend Setter
I loved Madison Avenue Magazine. Why? Because they were supposedly the trendsetters. They told everyone else what was going on. I worked very closely with the Art Director of this magazine Vladimir Laksin. (Where oh where is Vladimir now?) He and I got along so well. He understood my genius. At least I sold him on that idea! -)) Everyone back then was just so mesmerized by the possibilities I could create. Remember in 1981 there was no such thing as Adobe Photoshop. And um.....There was no such company as Adobe either. Think about that for a second. Just imagine creating graphics before Adobe? No need for Adobe. No reason for Adobe. No Adobe at all! That is because ingenuity was senior to the creative process. So above and beyond the images I created were never seen before. Those automotive images that adorn the July 1981 edition of Madison Avenue were photographed directly off the screen because there were no devices to save the images with. So technically it would be impossible to duplicate those images today because the crudeness of the screen capture, was part of the art. The manipulation of the analog system dials enabled various gray scales of the image to be changed separately. Voltage control allowed the high frequency to make lines within the picture. - Yes. It is terribly confusing. Just like if a botanist started talking to me about cross pollination. I would not have a foggy clue what he/she would be talking about. Alas, art is a science, like anything else with its own nomenclature and its own verbiage. As we dumb down America and make technology easier, everyone understands a USB plug and a megapixel. Back then there was no such thing. That is why these early cover projects are so memorable and deserve to be escalated to the point of specimen. May they forever live on the internet as they were intending to be electronic so many years ago. Happy July Anniversary Madison Avenue Magazine Cover!!
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
Trend Setter
I loved Madison Avenue Magazine. Why? Because they were supposedly the trendsetters. They told everyone else what was going on. I worked very closely with the Art Director of this magazine Vladimir Laksin. (Where oh where is Vladimir now?) He and I got along so well. He understood my genius. At least I sold him on that idea! -)) Everyone back then was just so mesmerized by the possibilities I could create. Remember in 1981 there was no such thing as Adobe Photoshop. And um.....There was no such company as Adobe either. Think about that for a second. Just imagine creating graphics before Adobe? No need for Adobe. No reason for Adobe. No Adobe at all! That is because ingenuity was senior to the creative process. So above and beyond the images I created were never seen before. Those automotive images that adorn the July 1981 edition of Madison Avenue were photographed directly off the screen because there were no devices to save the images with. So technically it would be impossible to duplicate those images today because the crudeness of the screen capture, was part of the art. The manipulation of the analog system dials enabled various gray scales of the image to be changed separately. Voltage control allowed the high frequency to make lines within the picture. - Yes. It is terribly confusing. Just like if a botanist started talking to me about cross pollination. I would not have a foggy clue what he/she would be talking about. Alas, art is a science, like anything else with its own nomenclature and its own verbiage. As we dumb down America and make technology easier, everyone understands a USB plug and a megapixel. Back then there was no such thing. That is why these early cover projects are so memorable and deserve to be escalated to the point of specimen. May they forever live on the internet as they were intending to be electronic so many years ago. Happy July Anniversary Madison Avenue Magazine Cover!!
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
Forbes
Guidelines
GARTEL COVER: "Guidelines: A Cross-Cultural Reading/Writing Text" Published by Cambridge University Press, 3rd Edition.
Nikkei
Nikkei Computer Magazine Art commission for the cover of Nikkei, Japan
Nikkei Computer Magazine Cover, Japan (c) GARTEL 1984
When in America was the last time you saw a cover of a magazine that was just plain ART? Sure...Art-In-America, Artforum, but there is always text with it. A collective of artists' names. You don't see just the ART. Here we never really give ART its due. America is a very new country. Only 200 years old. Granted there have been enormous strides. But we live in a rapid, fast paced, moving civilization. Few stop to ponder anything substantive. I think the corner gas station store says it best: "On the Run." The average museum goer in America looks at a painting for 6-10 seconds. (According to Pomona College, Claremont, California.)
What does this have to do with the fantastic cover art? Not much. Only to the extent that in other cultures are is considered a great part of one's life which invigorates, stimulates, and makes one contemplative. Art and spirituality have been bonding for many centuries. Buddhism and Art for instance. To live a balanced life with minimal suffering. Art keeps the spirit calm and serene, thus creating an inner piece.
The cover of the magazine using "Logarithmic Folk Art" as the source is composed of individual SX-70 Polaroids photographed directly off the video monitor. The Polaroid is therefore one of a kind without and saved image. The work illustrates the complexity of our lives and the patterns we create, forever in motion. The original work is owned by Davis, Polk, Wardwell in New York City.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
Nikkei Computer Magazine Cover, Japan (c) GARTEL 1984
When in America was the last time you saw a cover of a magazine that was just plain ART? Sure...Art-In-America, Artforum, but there is always text with it. A collective of artists' names. You don't see just the ART. Here we never really give ART its due. America is a very new country. Only 200 years old. Granted there have been enormous strides. But we live in a rapid, fast paced, moving civilization. Few stop to ponder anything substantive. I think the corner gas station store says it best: "On the Run." The average museum goer in America looks at a painting for 6-10 seconds. (According to Pomona College, Claremont, California.)
What does this have to do with the fantastic cover art? Not much. Only to the extent that in other cultures are is considered a great part of one's life which invigorates, stimulates, and makes one contemplative. Art and spirituality have been bonding for many centuries. Buddhism and Art for instance. To live a balanced life with minimal suffering. Art keeps the spirit calm and serene, thus creating an inner piece.
The cover of the magazine using "Logarithmic Folk Art" as the source is composed of individual SX-70 Polaroids photographed directly off the video monitor. The Polaroid is therefore one of a kind without and saved image. The work illustrates the complexity of our lives and the patterns we create, forever in motion. The original work is owned by Davis, Polk, Wardwell in New York City.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
Scope
Scope Magazine South Africa GARTEL's Computer Art
I love when the conversation starts: "So Digital Art started......bla bla bla." Or: Its only been the last 15 years or so when digital cameras,....bla bla bla." There is a lot of rhetoric because most people never saw it coming, refused to admit it was here, didn't want to learn the technology, refused to change their ways. Those people slowly creeped into the general fold, and now they cannot be accused of being one of those people who said "Digital was not a medium of substance." - I can name names, but what is the point in that? What is the point, is the fact that 28 years ago, magazine articles around the world were writing about my ART.
Whether people in the art world wanted to acknowledge it but rather denounce it due to fear, the word about my art spread throughout the world. While people might have read my resume, they never confronted the actual printed page, head to head. That is why this Blog is so valuable. People can actual read and witness the entirety of my career from being to present time. They can see the ways the art was used, and the people that I had the privilege and opportunity to meet through my creative efforts. If there is any "celebritism" it is due to pure innovation and wonderment of processing a new methodology of ART. A few funny people in academia come to mind with their foolish remarks, but they are not worth mentioning at this time.
The art speaks for itself and so does the history. And if there is any bitterness, betrayal or any negativity whatsoever on my part, it is due to pure frustration on the part of curators, museum directors, gallery owners, art directors, etc, that never saw the light when it was directly in front of them. It took a lifetime to make this history. Now they can clearly see it. Any one can. But in those early days, an enthusiastic young man came around with his portfolio. Most of these people turned me away. It was ignorance. It was much easier to play it safe and be obsessed with Pop Art rather than listening to a young artist who had the vision of the future. People like Leo Castelli were vested in those very Pop Artists that I mentioned. It is understood why take a risk on a long shot? He didn't have the guts. The Pop Painters were the darlings of the day. (And still are.) My friend Nam June Paik with two museum shows at the Whitney and the Guggenheim in my estimation, still has not gotten his due recognition. I cannot worry about him any more. I can only sing his praises and honor him when ever possible. Alas though, the writing and accolades I have duly received.
The ball game is still going on and its the top of the 6th inning. Men are on base and there is no count on the hitter. It is a clean slate.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
I love when the conversation starts: "So Digital Art started......bla bla bla." Or: Its only been the last 15 years or so when digital cameras,....bla bla bla." There is a lot of rhetoric because most people never saw it coming, refused to admit it was here, didn't want to learn the technology, refused to change their ways. Those people slowly creeped into the general fold, and now they cannot be accused of being one of those people who said "Digital was not a medium of substance." - I can name names, but what is the point in that? What is the point, is the fact that 28 years ago, magazine articles around the world were writing about my ART.
Whether people in the art world wanted to acknowledge it but rather denounce it due to fear, the word about my art spread throughout the world. While people might have read my resume, they never confronted the actual printed page, head to head. That is why this Blog is so valuable. People can actual read and witness the entirety of my career from being to present time. They can see the ways the art was used, and the people that I had the privilege and opportunity to meet through my creative efforts. If there is any "celebritism" it is due to pure innovation and wonderment of processing a new methodology of ART. A few funny people in academia come to mind with their foolish remarks, but they are not worth mentioning at this time.
The art speaks for itself and so does the history. And if there is any bitterness, betrayal or any negativity whatsoever on my part, it is due to pure frustration on the part of curators, museum directors, gallery owners, art directors, etc, that never saw the light when it was directly in front of them. It took a lifetime to make this history. Now they can clearly see it. Any one can. But in those early days, an enthusiastic young man came around with his portfolio. Most of these people turned me away. It was ignorance. It was much easier to play it safe and be obsessed with Pop Art rather than listening to a young artist who had the vision of the future. People like Leo Castelli were vested in those very Pop Artists that I mentioned. It is understood why take a risk on a long shot? He didn't have the guts. The Pop Painters were the darlings of the day. (And still are.) My friend Nam June Paik with two museum shows at the Whitney and the Guggenheim in my estimation, still has not gotten his due recognition. I cannot worry about him any more. I can only sing his praises and honor him when ever possible. Alas though, the writing and accolades I have duly received.
The ball game is still going on and its the top of the 6th inning. Men are on base and there is no count on the hitter. It is a clean slate.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 27, 2008
Amerika Haus
20-YEARS of COMPUTER ART Amerika Haus Frankfurt 1997
Oh how the years fly by. Do you remember what you were doing 11 years ago? I certainly dont. That is why I am creating this Blog. This way I can refer back to my entire art career. Fortunately my memory is in tact and the images around me are my guide to the past. If I didnt have everything saved, I would never remember.
Do you recall in the "old days" when you told a story and couldn't remember a name, a movie, a place, a thing? Today you simply go Google something immediately and there it all is. Google is an extension of your mind. Crazy thought but true. So what will be of future generations? Will they have this problem? - Cannot remember, lets refer to Google? How much dependency is on the computer for memory? A good portion I would say. But we are in a completely new paradigm. The thing about a book is that you could roll over on your back in a hammock and flip pages. This was not possible with a computer 10 years ago. - Now it is. Sit back on your favorite chaise lounge and type into the internet or on your iPHONE or Blackberry and download a book. Paper and electronics are slowly becoming one and the same. When I moved to Florida I had visions of sitting on the beach with a wireless laptop. Now it all has come true.
People need ART for their walls. But now if you go into BestBuy you will see digital screens that will present slide shows of pictures. No longer is it something that is unmoving. The paper print on the wall has not yet gone obsolete, but certainly the advent of multimedia wall content is breaking new ground. It is happening at a rapid rate. One thing I do know: the Blog is not going away any time soon. The distribution of information via internet will continue to populate. Twenty years of Computer Art will be much different than 40 years. I look forward to being around to see it, ...and use it.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 26, 2008
20-Years of Digital Art Poster
Amerika Haus Frankfurt, Germany
Oh how the years fly by. Do you remember what you were doing 11 years ago? I certainly dont. That is why I am creating this Blog. This way I can refer back to my entire art career. Fortunately my memory is in tact and the images around me are my guide to the past. If I didnt have everything saved, I would never remember.
Do you recall in the "old days" when you told a story and couldn't remember a name, a movie, a place, a thing? Today you simply go Google something immediately and there it all is. Google is an extension of your mind. Crazy thought but true. So what will be of future generations? Will they have this problem? - Cannot remember, lets refer to Google? How much dependency is on the computer for memory? A good portion I would say. But we are in a completely new paradigm. The thing about a book is that you could roll over on your back in a hammock and flip pages. This was not possible with a computer 10 years ago. - Now it is. Sit back on your favorite chaise lounge and type into the internet or on your iPHONE or Blackberry and download a book. Paper and electronics are slowly becoming one and the same. When I moved to Florida I had visions of sitting on the beach with a wireless laptop. Now it all has come true.
People need ART for their walls. But now if you go into BestBuy you will see digital screens that will present slide shows of pictures. No longer is it something that is unmoving. The paper print on the wall has not yet gone obsolete, but certainly the advent of multimedia wall content is breaking new ground. It is happening at a rapid rate. One thing I do know: the Blog is not going away any time soon. The distribution of information via internet will continue to populate. Twenty years of Computer Art will be much different than 40 years. I look forward to being around to see it, ...and use it.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
July 26, 2008
20-Years of Digital Art Poster
Amerika Haus Frankfurt, Germany
Jack Nicklaus
Pebble Beach
Here's to trinities. I mentioned Dolphin Stadium for football, last blog mentions my commission for the NBA Championship Spurs, now here is a work from the US OPEN I was commissioned to create for Golf Illustrated Magazine back in 1992. What makes this a big deal? For one thing it was the very first time a digital camera was ever used to photograph the US Open. It very well may be the first sporting event EVER that was shot with a digital camera. Everyone on the field was using their usual giant Canon EOS cameras with super long telephoto lenses. I came along with the Canon 760 still video camera that took video floppy disks which held only 25 pictures. The resolution was only 640x480 producing a 900K file. (not even a megabyte.) People thought I was absolutely crazy. Never before did they see such images. I was using Photoshop 2.0 at the time along with Aldus filters. I also used EFI (Effects For Imaging) to make the final changes for color, saturation, midtone, highlight, and shadow compensation.
What I love is how people have all this calibration software when in true fact EFI in 1990 was plenty enough to make a perfect print. People today have been sold a bill of goods on what they really need. But thats for them to figure out. This is a story of being on the golf course and running back to my hotel room and loading up all the pictures with the FV-540 video floppy disk drive that looked like a bread basket and weighed something like 5 lbs. Yes. It was totally possible to "send" a picture over a modem but it would take about 10 minutes to do so for each picture over a 1440 baud modem. Ohhh remember those days? Thank goodness for the Desert Storm War, the training ground for all future imaging technology and potentials. They learned a lot from that experience. Hence I was one of the few civilians to have this camera. My friend Elmo Sapwater was the only other person I knew who had this camera. We never discussed how each of us acquired the camera. It was very confidential. (Still is.)
The US Open was the second stop on the PGA Tour. I actually first shot The Tradition in Carefree, Arizona first, which was part of the senior tour. That was a ton of fun and so was the after party at Eustice Payne's house. There were security guys with guns protecting the house and the people in it. People like Hall of Famer Johnny Bench were present along with the Van Ardsdale brothers who at that time were couching the Phoenix Suns. (Makes sense as we were in Phoenix territory.) I can recall elbowing Lee Trevino to get to the bowl of shrimp that were the size of my fist. I realized right then and there that these guys live some life. Traveling to the most gorgeous places on earth, playing golf, viewing the most marvelous scenery, and eating the most exotic and scrumptious food on the face of the earth. How these guys weren't as fat as houses, still to this day I wonder. They must seriously work out. The amount of indulgence was unbelieveable to partake in.
The US Open was full of major golfers as you can imagine. I photographed them all. The picture of Jack I am posting with this blog is a classic. The "Golden Bear" in a classic stance. You just have to love it. I'll post the winner of this match eventually as it is a great work of art. However, Jack is Jack. Legends are beautiful people.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 5, 2008
Pebble Beach
Here's to trinities. I mentioned Dolphin Stadium for football, last blog mentions my commission for the NBA Championship Spurs, now here is a work from the US OPEN I was commissioned to create for Golf Illustrated Magazine back in 1992. What makes this a big deal? For one thing it was the very first time a digital camera was ever used to photograph the US Open. It very well may be the first sporting event EVER that was shot with a digital camera. Everyone on the field was using their usual giant Canon EOS cameras with super long telephoto lenses. I came along with the Canon 760 still video camera that took video floppy disks which held only 25 pictures. The resolution was only 640x480 producing a 900K file. (not even a megabyte.) People thought I was absolutely crazy. Never before did they see such images. I was using Photoshop 2.0 at the time along with Aldus filters. I also used EFI (Effects For Imaging) to make the final changes for color, saturation, midtone, highlight, and shadow compensation.
What I love is how people have all this calibration software when in true fact EFI in 1990 was plenty enough to make a perfect print. People today have been sold a bill of goods on what they really need. But thats for them to figure out. This is a story of being on the golf course and running back to my hotel room and loading up all the pictures with the FV-540 video floppy disk drive that looked like a bread basket and weighed something like 5 lbs. Yes. It was totally possible to "send" a picture over a modem but it would take about 10 minutes to do so for each picture over a 1440 baud modem. Ohhh remember those days? Thank goodness for the Desert Storm War, the training ground for all future imaging technology and potentials. They learned a lot from that experience. Hence I was one of the few civilians to have this camera. My friend Elmo Sapwater was the only other person I knew who had this camera. We never discussed how each of us acquired the camera. It was very confidential. (Still is.)
The US Open was the second stop on the PGA Tour. I actually first shot The Tradition in Carefree, Arizona first, which was part of the senior tour. That was a ton of fun and so was the after party at Eustice Payne's house. There were security guys with guns protecting the house and the people in it. People like Hall of Famer Johnny Bench were present along with the Van Ardsdale brothers who at that time were couching the Phoenix Suns. (Makes sense as we were in Phoenix territory.) I can recall elbowing Lee Trevino to get to the bowl of shrimp that were the size of my fist. I realized right then and there that these guys live some life. Traveling to the most gorgeous places on earth, playing golf, viewing the most marvelous scenery, and eating the most exotic and scrumptious food on the face of the earth. How these guys weren't as fat as houses, still to this day I wonder. They must seriously work out. The amount of indulgence was unbelieveable to partake in.
The US Open was full of major golfers as you can imagine. I photographed them all. The picture of Jack I am posting with this blog is a classic. The "Golden Bear" in a classic stance. You just have to love it. I'll post the winner of this match eventually as it is a great work of art. However, Jack is Jack. Legends are beautiful people.
Laurence Gartel
Boca Raton, Florida
August 5, 2008
Sesame Street, 1982
Can you tell me how to get......how to get to Sesame Street? - GARTEL cover for the ELECTRIC Company. 1982
For all you tech heads out there.....this was created on the same computer that TRON was produced on.
GARTEL included in "DIGITAL ART" published by HF Ullman, (English and Germany Editions)
(c) 2011 Laurence M. Gartel;
All Rights Reserved for Graphic & Written Content
Use by Explicit Written Permission Only
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