LEECHNEST IVM

BLEAK NEW YORK - POSTERS

2011-03-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

BLEAK NEW YORK is a live event series begun is November 2010, which takes place on a semi-monthly basis at THE ACHERON, a small DIY art and music space located in the Bushwick neighbourhood of Brooklyn. These events combine visual art with underground music performances.

THEOLOGIAN - THE FURTHER I GET FROM YOUR STAR, THE LESS LIGHT I FEEL ON MY FACE CD

2010-07-13T20:39:00.001-07:00

THEOLOGIAN is the new project formed after NTT ceased operations.
This is the first "official" full length album, being released by Maryland-based label CRUCIAL BLAST. Similarly to the final album by NTT, this recording is based on themes originating with Clive Barker's novella, THE HELLBOUND HEART. Two different photographers submitted source material, which I then distilled into the uniquely striking imagery found in this layout.

HYLAS PUBLISHING - BOOK COVERS, JACKETS, MOCK-UPS AND PRODUCTION

2010-01-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

In my capacity as a Junior Designer at this small book publisher/packager, I was faced with a variety of duties, from creating cover mock-ups for trade shows, production work and photo research for book layouts, and creating book jackets and cover layouts from the ground up. The pieces here represent all of these aspects of my time there.

HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHING - CHILDREN'S MARKETING

2010-01-29T20:05:00.001-08:00

For reasons of copyright, I am somewhat limited as far as what I can post from my professional work in the publishing industry, but here is a small sample of layouts I worked on during my time at HarperCollins.
I am obviously aware of the humour inherent in the fact that I spend the majority of my time creating these dark, dour and — some would say — "evil" pieces of artwork and music, while at other times in a professional capacity, I've found myself producing items such as these:

JARL - FRAGILE CONFRONTATION CD

2010-01-29T19:58:00.001-08:00

Erik Jarl is a fascinating individual, who — like all good artists — seems cursed with having led a particularly difficult existence.
His audio work is beautifully intense, dark and minimal, while his personality is genuine, soft-spoken and gentle.

This was the second JARL CD I released. The layout was constructed using submitted images and text, but again I was essentially given free rein. I love the textures in these images, like corroded metal plates, or concrete that has been eroded to a smooth finish.
Interestingly enough, the same phrases could be used to describe the audio component of this album.

JARL + IRM - TSHIRT DESIGNS

2010-01-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

Another aspect of producing musical releases is designing and printing tshirts, which are — at the most basic level — another, very effective kind of advertisement. These shirts were printed in June 2005 to sell at the first APEX FEST, where Jarl and IRM appeared live for the first (and, to date, only) time in the States.

"Virgin Mind' was released by Cold Meat Industry very shortly before Erik and Martin arrived in New York.
I released Erik's solo album "Fragile Confrontation" at roughly the same time.

KAITEN - TURNING OF THE HEAVENS CD

2010-01-29T15:44:00.000-08:00

Kaiten is a Swedish industrial project consisting of Erik Jarl from IRM and Lirim Cajani of INSTITUT (another Cold Meat Industry act), who came to the States to perform on my dime at the first APEX FEST in June 2005, along with Martin Bladh. The name of the project originates with a World War II-era mini-submarine, which was a sort of manned torpedo that served as the nautical equivalent of "Kamikaze" planes. The Kaiten pilots would intentionally maneouvre their craft into the hulls of enemy ships in an effort to sink them. Awful.
The layout is by intention, extremely simplistic, but evocative of the subject matter called to mind by the project's name and album's title.

In keeping with the visual minimalism of the release, the discface image is simply the black logo on the raw silver of the CD.

LIVE EVENT HANDBILLS & POSTERS

2010-01-29T14:44:00.000-08:00

As the owner of a small underground record label, organising and promoting live events is a matter of course.
From September 2006-December 2008, I curated a series of live events called Unsound NYC, as well as three bi-annual festivals called "APEX FEST," the most recent of which took place in November 2009.
Here is a small sampling of some handbills and posters that I designed, in no particular order.

I would also periodically design fliers for events in which I was not directly involved, but that included artists who were friends of mine, or of whom I was simply a big fan...

ANNIHILVS POWER ELECTRONIX - ADVERTISING

2010-01-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few examples of magazine ads that ran in underground music publications such as IndustrialnatioN Magazine, Convivial Hermit, and others, at various intervals during the last ten years.

NTT - THE GOSPELS OF THE GASH DOUBLE CD

2010-01-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is the Discmakers proof for "The Gospels of the Gash," a double CD release by the NY-based power electronics artist Navicon Torture Technologies, released by Maryland-based label Malignant Records in 2009. Although the title may seem crass and lascivious, it is actually a reference to the Cliver Barker novella, "The Hellbound Heart," which was the original inspiration for the HELLRAISER films. The "cenobites" are referred to as "Theologians of the Order of the Gash" in the book, and Barker's supposedly forthcoming origin story has been referred to as "The Scarlet Gospels" on his website.

This layout was printed on a dual DVDigipak with glossy finish. The white element on the front panel was designed by Jorden Haley (www.karbine.com) and printed in silver ink. I did all of the other artwork and the layout, based on submitted photography and additional images.

The discface for each CD features the same basic elements, with only slight variations.
The text is obviously different (to denote whether it's disc one or two), and disc two has a different "glyph" at the bottom.
The discs were printed with only black ink, all the white elements are the raw silver of the CD.

NTT - VTERVS CD

2010-01-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is the discmakers template for the CD release, "Vtervs" by the NY-based power electronics artist Navicon Torture Technologies, released by Atlanta-based label NCC Records in 2007. Obviously meant to represent an obsession for the female form, like so many other power electronics acts in the world; NTT stood apart from many of their more juvenile peers (and/or imitators) in their portrayal of women as objects of worship, rather than objects of contempt.
This layout was originally supposed to be handled by the renowned Australian designer Seldon Hunt (www.seldonhunt.com), but his design was met with something not quite akin to enthusiasm. Some small elements of his design were incorporated into the final piece.

I constructed both the artwork and layout using submitted photography and additional images.

My single complaint here was that the printers placed the CD tray on the wrong panel in the final product.

Here's another instance where the discface was printed using only black ink, with all the white elements coming through as the
raw silver of the CD, to a visually satisfying effect.

IRM - THE CULT OF THE YOUNG MEN CD

2010-01-29T13:50:00.001-08:00

IRM are a renowned power electronics act from Norrköping, Sweden. The group originally consisted of Erik Jarl and Martin Bladh, but they recently began working with a third member, Mikael Oretoft. This layout is for their fourth full length album, which featured both live recordings of previously released material and new studio tracks.

As with the "Study for a Theater of Cruelty" CD, the layout was fairly simple and involved arranging source artwork and text submitted by Martin Bladh into a cohesive visual narrative.

What I find most fascinating about Martin Bladh's visual work is the fact that it seems to be, more often than not, almost solely centered around his own form. In their first appearance on the "Estheticks of Cruelty" double CD compilation, released by the Swedish label Cold Meat Industry eleven years ago, IRM made what was to become — at least for me — a defining statement for their output: "An act of self mutilation is an act of freedom," which is almost always called to my mind when I look at Martin Bladh's art.

It's always a pleasure when I can take something that another artist has given me, and put my own personal touch on it. The rear tray panel of the CD is just a close-up from one of Martin's distressed Polaroids, but I altered the colour balance and brightness/contrast just enough to make it particularly striking. This is not the final version, which has the track listing across the center in a horizontal stripe. Looking at it now, the image by itself might look incredible on a large scale, hanging in a gallery.

MARTIN BLADH - STUDY FOR A THEATER OF CRUELTY CD

2010-01-28T08:15:00.001-08:00

Martin Bladh is a performance artist and experimental electronic musician residing in Norrköping, Sweden.
He has an extensive discography, having worked with his main project IRM for more than ten years, as well as groups such as SKIN AREA, SHARON'S LAST PARTY and under his own name. "Study for a Theater of Cruelty" is his second solo CD release, which he has described as "the soundtrack for impossible performance art," in spite of the fact that it has actually served as the score for Martin's work with Swedish performance artist Bo I. Cavefors.

This layout was produced using sections of seven larger pieces of artwork and text that Martin had submitted.
While it's quite minimal in terms of layout, I was faced with certain challenges, as it was up to me to decide how to incorporate the source material into the final design.

I then produced a limited special edition of this release, which includes 8x10 prints of Martin's original art pieces.
The CD and the prints come packaged in a large vinyl book, for which I designed a cover layout. This was made using a photo I'd taken some years ago of a large plank of wood, painted with red lead paint. I affected it using sections of drawings that Martin had sent me, and parts of some of his other artwork, to give it a sort of "organic" feeling — literally, as it looks like an internal organ...

More information about Martin Bladh can be found at his blog:
http://martinbladh-vf.blogspot.com

LEE M. BARTOW - DESIGN RESUME

2010-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Lee M. Bartow • Digital Artist [Sight. Sound. Words]
86 N. Franklin Street • Nyack, NY 10960
Phone: 845.553.3084
Email: leech@aex.org

*Professional references available upon request.

Employment:

• Summer 1997-Present • ANNIHILVS • Nyack, NY
Title: Owner/operator
Coordinate activities of self-financed independent microlabel for underground music.
Responsible for all facets of operations, including sales & distribution, website design and administration, layout and design of packaging, promotional materials, and t-shirts.
Peripherally to these activities, I have been organising and promoting live music events since the late 1990s.

• January 2008-February 2008 • BizBash • New York, NY
Title: Designer (Freelance)
Layout and design of print and web promotional material for trade show and corporate event marketing.
Home-based Freelance position.

• January 2007-August 2007 • Hylas Publishing, Incorporated • Irvington, NY
Title: Junior Designer
Responsibilities include layout, design and production of books and book jackets, as well as creating mockups for trade show presentations.
Focusing on a variety of subjects, ranging from science and chemistry to US Presidents and dog breeds.
Position included some photo research and extensive file management.

• October 2006-January 2007 • ADR Studios, Incorporated • Irvington, NY
Title: Associate
Assisted in design and installation of audio/video systems for private residences, corporate buildings, churches and live venues.
General clerical and administrative duties, received training in Vectorworks.

• July 2000-January 2002 • HarperCollins Publishers, Incorporated • New
York, NY
Title: Designer (Freelance)
Layout and design in Children’s Marketing Division of major publishing house.
Created and modified artwork and layouts for sell-sheets, brochures, promotional material, print ads, displays, packaging, and in-house catalogs.
Scanning for Design Department using Epson Expression 836XL scanner, retouched and archived artwork for Marketing Division database.

• Fall 1999-Winter 1999 • Interactive8, Incorporated • New York, NY
Title: Design Intern (P/T)
Worked closely with Design Department Managers and Site Producers at web design firm.
Deadline-intensive. Digital photography. Scanning, retouching, and archiving web artwork for the History Channel, A&E, M&M/Mars, and the Discovery Channel.
Also received some basic HTML training.

• Spring 1994-Spring 1999 • Pennysaver Response Media Group • Elmsford, NY
Title: P/T Production Assistant • P/T Proofreader • Graphic Artist
Started as part-time Production Assistant, tasks included manual paste-up and layout of weekly direct-mail publication.
Coordinated positioning with Sales Associates. Worked part-time as Proofreader December 1996-August 1997.
Transferred to Art Department December 1998.
Created and modified ads, modified camera-ready art for spot color process.
Designed spot and four-color mailers, worked on special projects including Wedding and Home Guides.
Coordinated design specifications with Sales Associates, retouched and archived artwork and logos.
Position included digital photography using Kodak & Olympus digital cameras, scanning for Art Department, using Epson ES 1200C scanner.

* More than sixteen years Macintosh experience, including various versions of Adobe Creative Suite applications, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Acrobat, QuarkXpress, Transmit FTP, Fetch FTP, Macromedia SoundEdit16, Felt Tip Sound Studio, Digidesign Protools, Emagic Logicpro, Adaptec Toast, Microsoft Word, Microsoft XL, Adobe Type Manager, Microsoft PowerPoint, Symantec Suitcase, and experience with a variety of database systems.

Education:

• Fall 2009-Present • SUNY Purchase College • Purchase, NY
Continuing Education/Bachelor Degree Completion Program, Liberal Studies
Currently working toward completing Bachelor's Degree, prior to entering Grad School
*3.0 GPA as of Spring 2010

• Summer 2004-Summer 2007 • New York University • New York, NY
School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Currently Enrolled in Sound Design Certificate Program

• Spring 1996-Spring 1998 • Ramapo College of New Jersey • Mahwah, NJ
Major: (BA) Communication Arts (Contract Major-Incomplete)
Concentration: New Media, Writing & Music
*Awarded Cara Michelle Hirschman Memorial Scholarship, Fall 1997
*Awarded School of Contemporary Arts Award for Outstanding Academic
Achievement in Communication Arts (Music), Spring 1998
Received highest marks in design courses such as Desktop Publishing,
Digital Video Art, & Publication Design

• Winter 1993 • Margiotta Studio • Nanuet, NY
Privately-owned studio for continued training in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
Illustrator, & QuarkXpress

• Spring 1991-Summer 1993 • Rockland Community College • Suffern, NY
Major: (AA) Liberal Arts
Concentration: Visual Arts & Writing

• Fall 1990-Winter 1991 • Chamberlayne School of Design at Mount Ida
College • Newton Centre, MA
Major: Graphic Design
Concentration: Writing & Design