Structural Patterns

Once again working with The School for Practical Philosophy & Meditation’s Director of Marketing Jaime Sears and Marketing Consultant Adam Wasserman, I launched our initial meeting by sharing two of my favorite MTA commissioned illustrators – Jillian Tamaki and Sophie Blackall. I recounted how upon seeing these illustrations in the subway cars, I would get lost considering all the characters these artists created and the New York archetypes represented. Both Adam and Jaime were taken by Sophie Blackall’s illustrations in particular – one of a crowded scene within a subway car. Adam thought it would be fun to have our own past campaigns mounted as the advertisements within the car. Either at this initial meeting or the following meeting, Adam shared an image of a person in a meditation pose that appeared to be created from layered construction paper. In doing so, he proposed a shift in aesthetic to try something new. Adam used Adobe’s generative AI tool, Firefly to create the image. It was an exciting departure from the vector-based illustrations that I had been creating for The School and Jaime liked the aesthetic, so I agreed to give it a try.

After spending a bit of time with Adobe Firefly, I realized that getting a successful image would be a great deal of work. The tool generates a lot of odd glitches when it comes to details and of course even with highly detailed text descriptions, it cannot generate what one has in mind. Fortunately, my years of painting as well as digital composting, helped me formulate a plan – I would breakdown the image from background to foreground, treating each element individually and I would need to provide precise reference images. I would also need to correct obvious glitches.

One morning, I got up early to photograph an empty subway train as well as individual passengers to use as reference images. I composited multiple images of one side of a subway interior, to delete the center pole and expand the width of a single bench. The empty car composite as a reference successfully generated the setting for the poster. The image below was the team’s favorite.

I removed the backgrounds of individual riders to simplify the reference images. However, even with this step, I needed to carefully mask the Firefly characters from their backgrounds to set them on the subway car bench and of course digitally corrected many oddities.

I considered the elements that make riding the New York City subway unique in comparison to other cities such as musicians and dancers. Online I found a mariachi bassist, as well as a pole dancer to use as reference images. All three of us, Jaime, Adam and myself, felt that these two characters were what made the image engaging. Unfortunately, upon review, the MTA flagged the two characters and they had to be deleted.

I recycled past illustrations to generate a few of the characters such as the two women toward the left of the poster, the central meditator and the man reading a book at the far right. The dog in a hand bag was the result of searching for countless reference images and coming across an article about the COVID uptick of dogs on the subway. The aura behind the meditator required masking, gradients and fiddling with opacity to get it right.

Lastly, I worked on the subway car windows and the elements outside the car. Between Illustrator and Photoshop, I created a gleam as a window effect. I found a photograph of a flying pigeon as a reference and used NYC skyline images to help generate the buildings in the distance. To the right, I added a blue gradient for the copy and fussed with text to have it fit nicely.

The Marketing Team came up with the catch phrase “ELEVATE YOUR EVERYDAY.” We tried a few fonts before landing on the sharp and clean Futura bold with a drop shadow to finalize the poster.

The platform poster was a good deal quicker as it consisted of one character, reuse of the aura and relatively minor digital editing of the background. However, I consider it a boring poster that does not reflect the nuances of New York City.

As much as I enjoy the final in-car image, my takeaway regarding Adobe Firefly is that it’s useful for quick brainstorming and quick graphics for social media and email announcements. However, for a high-quality print image, Firefly generated images require a great deal of planning and painstaking digital retouching. Also, I did not mention the many many images generated before getting the ones that I could work with.

As the School for Practical Philosophy & Meditation prepares for the fall registration, I again worked with creative director Jaime Sears and digital consultant Adam Wasserman to create the new advertisement campaign. We began by considering current events and New York City realities – the protests due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, upcoming national elections, heightened political tensions, rising rents… And yet New Yorkers are incredibly resilient. Tourism appears to be thriving. Based on the heavy daily traffic, it appears that the city is hard at work. New building projects are everywhere and there isn’t enough housing. New immigrants are increasingly integrated into the city life… We sought to create an advertising campaign that captured the ongoing unrest while also celebrating the resilience of New Yorkers and adjacent to it all, the peace that one may achieve through philosophy and meditation.

I created a few new illustrated characters in meditation, two were selected. I scoured the web for New York City silouette landscapes and combined and reworked vector files to generate a city background. I also reworked silouettes of people protesting. I created two variations of this scene, one with characters that I had created and another only with silouettes. For the platform poster, I used a graphic AI to generate images of NYC residents protesting. It took many prompts to have an image generated that I wanted to work with. I vectorized the image, reworked it and then superimposed one of the meditating characters along with the text theme we landed upon: “PEACE BEGINS WITH YOU.” And the copy begins with the question “Struggling to find your place in a chaotic world?” The greater space of the platform poster permitted us to broaden the copy with a few of the outcomes from the introductory course “Philosophy Works”: learn timeless wisdom, focus, happiness and inner-strength.

A recent article from El Pais details the mass migration of Cubans off the island:

Cuban economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos has announced that between 2022 and 2023, the island’s population fell by 18%… His study also references the 738,680 Cubans who arrived in the United States between October 2021 and April 2024 after receiving immigrant visas… The economy had been moving towards collapse since 2019, there were the economic sanctions of the Trump administration, economic and political measures that sank the country even further”
https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-07-23/from-a-population-of-11-million-to-little-more-than-85-million-the-real-toll-of-cubas-migratory-crisis.html

The first time that I was in Cuba in 2017, the island was in the midst of positive transformation. Tourism was thriving, there was construction throughout the streets of Havana and Camaguey. And the centers of both cities were bustling. Whether it was the curators of the video festival I participated in or the students working the festival or the owner of the home that hosted me, people appeared happy, friendly and eager for conversation and exchange. By my second visit, in 2019, the island seemed very transformed. Everyone I spoke with wanted off the island. Construction and renovation sites seemed abandoned. Tourism had radically declined. It was striking to see the negative change. I entirely blame Trump and his administration’s short-sighted isolationism.

As an extremely near neighbor of the United States, our empire has the power to quickly transform this island. Obama saw that possibility and even our responsibility to help the Cuban people. The Obama administration opened up travel to Cuba and Americans immediately embraced the island as a vacation destination for so many great reasons – quick and easy travel, inexpensive, and a taste of unique unAmericanized culture without McDonald’s or Starbucks on every corner. Everyone felt it was the moment to visit Cuba before McDonald’s, Starbucks, Target, Americanization took over… Trump’s moronic and selfish isolationism put a halt to the economic upswing of Cuba and rather than stopping the immigration of Cubans to the United States, his policies have brought the numbers up because hungry and desperate people will migrate.

Jaime Rathore, the creative director for the advertising campaigns for The School for Practical Philosophy & Meditation once again hired me to create the MTA subway posters for the School. This time we worked with fellow School member and digital consultant Adam Wasserman to help generate ideas for the posters. Adam presented several ideas, the one that was selected features the word “TRANSCEND” trailed by a phrase that reflects common nagging realities (at least common to New Yorkers). A few of these phrases were:

• your late-night doomscrolling
• your roommate’s dirty dishes
• slow walkers
• your eight side hustles

The three that resounded best were: “TRANSCEND your late night doomscrolling,” “TRANSCEND your side hustles” and “TRANSCEND your roommate’s dirty dishes.” As both the budget and time were tight, I was asked to reuse some of the recent artwork. I did, however, create a new illustration for the doomscrolling concept (pictured above) as I didn’t have an appropriate asset. Below are the two in-car subway posters that will be presented above riders’ heads and one platform poster. Adam suggested editing the illustrated characters’ t-shirts from showing the entire School logo and name to only showing the logo (which I think works nicely).

The winter MTA subway campaign’s in-car poster remained consistent with the fall design. However, the characters were given winter coats, beanies, the LGBTQ revelers became New Year 2024 revelers. The two men arguing along the bottom left were given NY sports team colored beanies. The mom and daughter to the right are making a snowman instead of tending to a garden. The bike deliver person has been given a winter coat, gloves, helmet and food delivery backpack. If one zooms into the helmet, it is decorated by WAK – WAK is the pronunciation for the Mayan hieroglyphic representing the number six. Places labeled six are cosmic realms in Mayan writing. As an ear decoration, this rendition of WAK wears a smart phone.

For the subway platforms, the creative director, Jaime Sears requested a new design. She envisioned a woman against skyscrapers, at ease as if meditating amidst the magnitude and intensity of New York City. Following her concept, I created a series of glass towers from the street perspective and placed a young woman with her eyes closed at the center, the towers rising all around her.

Lastly, I was asked to create a design for the Wallkill postcard. The budget was small and I was asked to work with existing assets, so I created a new setting and recycled the NYC characters. Linda Engler, a longtime member of the School who lives near the Hamlet of Wallkill where the School has an estate took photographs of New Paltz Main Street. Linda took the photographs to provide me with source material for the postcard. I used a photograph of the Indigo Velvet and Rock Candy Vintage building to help illustrate a New York town setting. I maintained the concept of an individual in meditation as the central element while other characters go about their lives. Hopefully, the postcard will visually engage viewers and draw them into learning about the School of Practical Philosophy and Meditation.

Nearly a year ago in January 2023, I encountered a series of after-school activities on my commute home from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn. During my commute, I regularly check my brokerage app. I collapsed that commute’s observations into a very short story titled “They Took All My Money in One Day” and then posted the story on this blog. As I maintain a podcast of short stories, really Science Fiction short stories, I decided to add my own story to the podcast, although it’s not Science Fiction. The story is however dystopian, a current-day dystopian reality… It’s only four minute listen:

https://www.ambriente.com/immersiveWorlds/

https://www.ambriente.com/immersiveWorlds/index.xml

Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immersive-worlds/id1707925334

I have been a “New Media” professor since 1999 and while teaching technical production courses, I have learned that it can be inspirational for the student to interweave fiction into these courses. The short stories that I select relate directly to the technical material, such as web development. For example, a story such as E.M. Forster’s 1909 “The Machine Stops” is both inspirational and illuminating. Most students do not consider how a 1909 fiction may reflect contemporary life. Over the years, I have developed a list of such readings and I have decided to read, record and publish these readings. Although I am not a voice actor, I hope someone might enjoy these readings. (I am also enjoying creating the illustrations for these readings.)

The recordings are available via the browser and as a Podcast:

https://www.ambriente.com/immersiveWorlds/

https://www.ambriente.com/immersiveWorlds/index.xml

Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immersive-worlds/id1707925334

There are currently two stories available:

“The Machine Stops” by E. M. Forster published in November 1909 issue of The Oxford and Cambridge Review. Perhaps due to radio and an expanding telephone system and inventions such as the Nipkow disk and mechanical televsions Forster was able to envision people communicating via hand-held discs. But even with these 19th century inventions, Forster’s world in which people live in isolation and communicate via a live image seems incredibly prescient. Due to apocalyptic wars, humanity retreated into the earth and constructed a gigantic machine to tend to all their needs. After hundreds of years, the Machine is a god-like construction, until it begins to break down.

“With Folded Hands” by Jack Williamson published in the July 1947 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Following World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Williamson felt that “some of the technological creations we had developed with the best intentions might have disastrous consequences in the long run.” Today, with the rising use of artificial intelligence, Williamson’s short story seems as relevant as when it was first published in 1947.

“The School of Practical Philosophy & Meditation offers a journey of self-discovery that guides students toward understanding their innate wisdom and appreciation of the underlying unity connecting us all. Philosophy Works, the introductory ten-week course, prepares students for mantra-based meditation, an offering upon completion.”

THE CHALLENGE
In-person enrollment has been dropping for the last two years. The brand identity has gone through many iterations. We need a campaign that will once again establish the School as the NY community hub for Practical Philosophy.

THE GOAL
To reach our audience more efficiently, speak to their pain point and engage them with the benefits of PHILOSOPHY WORKS. We expect to increase our in-person Philosophy Works classes on the Upper East Side and Tribeca.

MY DESIGN APPROACH
When on the subway, I seek out the illustrations commissioned by the MTA and I tend to lose myself in the stories that the illustrators create. I do not seek out advertisements. (Of course, I don’t need to as they can’t be missed.) Generally, the advertisements are not engaging. My approach to this project is to be a visual artist and storyteller, not an advertiser. My goal is to create an in-car advertisement that people may lose themselves in through illustrated New Yorkers and the possible interactions and activities of these characters. The School’s Creative Director, Jaime Sears felt that the advertisement needed to speak to the difficulties and uncertainties (“pain point”) commonly experienced by New Yorkers at this time. Ideally, the scenarios in the illustration will be familiar to most New Yorkers.

With these concepts in mind, I rode the subway and traversed the city. I photographed fellow commuters and eavesdropped on their conversations, observed their interactions. Specific individuals and life moments are represented in the final illustration. The majority of the characters in the final composition are real New Yorkers – commuters, pedestrians, recyclers, and even our infamous subway rats…

THE CAMPAIGN
As meditation is a key element of the School and a practice known to calm people, I elected to have meditation be the central element to the design. Without the funds for a photo shoot, I searched online for people meditating. I found an attractive young woman sitting on the floor with her hands’ index finger and thumb touching. At the School, people generally meditate in a chair, however, design-wise, I felt that the chair would take up too much horizontal space, so I purchased the rights to the photo of the woman on the floor in a criss-cross applesauce pose and changed the hand pose. I based the central illustration on this photograph. I also wanted to make the name of the School central, so I placed the School’s name on her t-shirt at the very center of the design.

I surrounded the meditating woman with vignettes of everyday life from subway to street. Moving from left to right: subway musicians, a Hasidic commuter studying, a young woman with her earbuds in place, a businesswoman busily texting, two men in conflict, an MTA maintenance worker sweeping as he watches a business dandy toss his coffee cup on the platform floor with a trash can nearby… At the center, a woman meditating with a fiery aura outlining her figure. Then to the street (right side of the design) – a young female pedestrain wearing a surgical mask, PRIDE revelers enjoying life, an older man observing the street scene from his window, a mother and daughter gardening, a food delivery guy on his bike, and people recycling. A few of these illustrations, I had already created for past projects. The subway musicians and female subway rider I rotoscoped long ago for a series of animations reflecting New York City life. The rat and delivery guy are from a 2D video game and installation, una geografia de ser. Recycling past illustrations was necessary as the turn around on this project was very tight. However, the rest of the work is new.

I created a version of the graphic illustration with thought bubbles or spoken text for the various characters, but the School preferred that viewers interpret the illustration for themselves. Throughout the illustrations, I attempted to represent points of conflict that are common to the density of New York City.

The platform poster is much simpler and hopefully striking. It merely presents a woman meditating. Since people are on the platform for a shorter span of time, waiting to get on a train or exiting the station, I wanted to create a graphic that would immediately speak to the commuter.

Here are images posted in the subway cars and in the platforms:

Walking along the 86th Street and 2nd Avenue Q platform, I heard screams of agony from a young voice. Between loud crying and guttural sounds, I distinguished the phrase, “They took all my money in one day.” The words repeated over and over as inconsolable screams with pauses only to breathe while crying.

I couldn’t see who the boy was, but as I quickened my pace out of curiosity and to reach the far end of the platform before the southbound Q arrived, the cries got louder and louder. Finally, I was in eyesight of the tortured creature; a boy who looked about six wearing a blue blazer, white shirt, and khaki trousers, light brown hair neatly parted to one side. The boy was accompanied by his father, an older middle-aged man, athletic in appearance.

The father kept his left hand on the boy, rubbing his back and gently squeezing the shoulder. His right hand held a briefcase. He was speaking softly trying to console the boy, but the boy did not appear to hear a word that the man said as the crying and screaming – “They took all my money in one day…” did not stop. The boy’s chest was heaving, large tears falling down his cheeks. In the short time that I could see them, I observed the boy’s face redden. Myself a father, I was intrigued. Had the boy been bullied by schoolmates who took his money?

I put aside my goal to make it to the far end of the train and board the last car, which at the Brooklyn Church Street stop leaves me right by the stairs leading toward my home. I was now hoping the train due in two minutes would be delayed so that I could learn about this boy’s lament.

The father and boy had slowly made their way to a steel bench at the center of the platform. The father sat down to be at eye level with the boy. They had their backs to the southbound side of the platform that I had been walking along. So I walked toward them, considering taking a seat on the same bench, but really just trying to get close enough to hear the father and get a sense of what had happened to this poor boy.

It was 3:30 in the afternoon and on my way to the subway, I had walked past similarly uniformed boys of various ages. Certainly, this boy attended an Upper East Side private school – The Buckley School or Saint David’s maybe Dalton? Perhaps his money was spent by the twelve or thirteen-year-olds buying pizza on Lexington. This was a group of unruly boys in the same uniform. I had to brush against the blue-blazer’d mob as they monopolized the width of the sidewalk just outside of Famous Famiglia at 84th and Lex. I could easily imagine those older kids taking money from a six-year-old just for laughs.

I now heard the father repeating to the boy, “This is just part of the game, it’s how it works…” as he held the boy’s arm. I was now discreetly watching. I observed the boy reach into his pocket, his chest still heaving, tears still streaming down his face, but he had stopped repeating the phrase. The boy pulled out an iPhone, cupped it in his small hands, and with a couple quick thumb swipes opened a trading app. The app in dark mode presented red, negative numbers, and a plummeting sparkline. The boy stared down at his phone as the screen blurred with tears.

From The Making of the Indebted Man by Maurizio Lazzarato. The following are all quotes from the book:

The Subprime Crisis

No direct or indirect wage hikes (pensions); instead, consumer credit and the push for stock market investment (pension funds, private insurance). No right to housing; instead, real estate loans. No right to tuition; instead, university loans. No risk mutualization (unemployment, health, retirement, etc.); instead investment in private insurance.
The wage-earner and the beneficiary of public programs must earn and spend as little as possible in order to reduce labor costs and the costs of public services, whereas the consumer must spend as much as possible in order to use up production. But in modern-day capitalism, the worker, the beneficiary, and the consumer are all one and the same.
Pg. 110

Christian Marazzi argues, we have moved from public deficit spending to private deficit spending in order to prop up the global demand for goods and services.
Pg. 112

The Sovereign Debt Crisis

Banks were saved through the use of the “public” money to nationalize their losses. The State injected a money flow into society – which is, as Deleuze has shown us, a flow of power – in order to reestablish and reinforce the power relation between creditors and debtors.
Pg. 115

Society is not the space in which a certain distance or a certain autonomy is created with respect to the State; rather, it is the correlate of governmental techniques. Society is not a primary and immediate reality but part of the modern technology of government, its product.
Pg. 125

Reestablishing the “relation of man to man” spoken of by Marx, reveals itself instead as the source and height of the cynicism and hypocrisy of our “financialized” society. Continuous cynicism and hypocrisy not only in relations between bankers and costumers, but also in relations between the State and the users of social services.
Pg. 136

Debt operates not only in the manipulation of enormous quantities of money, in sophisticated financial and monetary policies; it informs and configures techniques for the control and production of users’ existence, without which the economy would not have a hold on subjectivity.
Pg. 137

Etymologically, autonomy means to make one’s own law. At the unemployment and welfare agencies, employment, competition, and the market are the law. Autonomy means being able to find one’s own bearings. At the unemployment office, everything always points to employment, the market, and competition.

Becoming “human capital” and being an entrepreneur of the self are the new standards of employability.
Pg. 145