Do You Need Some New Wallpaper for the New Year?

Free Vector Art Samples

The last couple of weeks I have been busy collecting imagery for the vector section of The Centric Archives. Though it is a slow and tedious process, I must say that I have enjoyed compiling the images that make up this unique collection. If you want a sneak preview of the kind of vector art that we will have available, you are in luck. Just take a look at the sidebar to your right, scroll down past the PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES, and you will find a new VECTOR ART section. Congratulations, you just hit pay dirt! These samples are free to use, without special permission. Enjoy!

Centric Studios Photoshop Brushes at freephotoshopbrushes.net

Now you can download Zoology, Walther P1, Sign Language and Nursing CS3 Photoshop Brush Sets at freephotoshopbrushes.net.

I Now Have a Renewed Faith in Journalism

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man identified as an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at -- but missed -- President Bush during a news conference Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit.

Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The shoe-thrower -- identified as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network -- could be heard yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!"

While pinned on the ground by security personnel, he screamed: "You killed the Iraqis!"

New Clip Art Blog for Graphic Artists

Join The Centric Archives blog now! Subscribers may use any of the 400 illustrations, 13 typefaces and 20 photoshop brushes (that we have so far) in The Centric Archives for graphic and craft applications, free and without special permission. The cost for a 1 Year Subscription is $20 and can be purchased HERE. This is a limited time offer as the cost for membership will increase as the collection grows.

COMING SOON: The Centric Image Archive

Keep an eye out for The Centric Archives that will soon be appearing on our Product Page. It will feature hundreds of images from our private collection of historical illustrations, Centric Fonts and some of our Photoshop Brushes, free for you to use in your creative projects. The cost for a 1 year subscription to The Centric Archives will be $20.

The Chicago Conspiracy

The Chicago Conspiracy is a documentary three years in the making. The project was filmed in Chile, and the story extends into the Mapuche indigenous lands of Wallmapu. The concept for the film was born with the death of a former military dictator. We celebrated in the streets of Santiago with thousands of people after hearing the news: General Augusto Pinochet was dead. His regime murdered thousands and tortured tens of thousands after the military coup on September 11, 1973. We celebrated both his death and the implication that the political and economic system which put him in power might itself be mortal. We began this documentary with the death of a dictator, but we continue with the legacy of a dictatorship.

You can see the trailer and read more about "The Chicago Conspiracy" HERE.

Centric Studios vs. The Firecracker Press (November 14 - Jan 11)

For more info on the show click HERE.

Centric Studios vs Firecracker Press - November 14th

Centric Studios vs The Firecracker Press at Subterranean Books. Opening: November 14th at 7:0pm.

Support Our Junta

Congress passed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to severely restrict the president’s ability to deploy the military within the United States. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 tightened these restrictions, imposing a two-year prison sentence on anyone who used the military within the U.S. without the express permission of Congress. But there is a loophole: Posse Comitatus is waived if the president invokes the Insurrection Act.

Section 1076 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 changed the name of the key provision in the statute book from "Insurrection Act" to "Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order Act." The Insurrection Act of 1807 stated that the president could deploy troops within the United States only "to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy." The new law expands the list to include “natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition" — and such "condition" is not defined or limited.

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Read Amy Goodmans "Invasion of the Sea-Smurfs" article HERE.

New Prints for Upcoming Show at Sub Books

As hectic as it has been around here we have managed to work in a few prints between skateboards and t-shirts. Our latest prints for our upcoming show with the Firecracker Press at Subterranean Books are my favorite to date. The backgrounds of these 4-6 color prints are made up of overlapping patterns and hand applied ink. Once the background layers were dryed a 2 color print served as the cherry on top. I have included a detail from one of them, but if you want to see the rest of it you will just have to check it out November 14th at Subterranean Books (6275 Delmar / St Louis, Mo). This show is still in the works. We will keep you posted with more info regarding the opening in the future.

The Jolly Roger Brand Just Got Bigger

Two years ago we started making very limited edition runs of clothing under the JOLLY ROGER BRAND label. The goal was to simply produce clothing that we wanted to wear, which was basically anything that can not be found in the malls and chainstores of America. You know...something original, experimental and produced on a small scale. Besides our website, a couple of boutiques and art shows, we never pursued marketing the brand.

Over the last couple of months we have been working on expanding the JOLLY ROGER BRAND line to include skateboards. What kind of skateboards? Skateboards that are designed by us and produced right here in the USA with 100% North American Maple. And since skateboarding has been in our blood since 1984, we won't just be offering the run of the mill standard shape. We will also have a limited edition pool shape and we couldn't call ourselves hardcore without a coffin shaped deck. Our shopping cart is in the works now so be on the lookout for the next Jolly Roger post for ordering info.

'Calm After the Storm' - Splitface & June 16th on NPR

NPR.org, August 27, 2008 - Raydeeohh, the debut album from St. Louis-area underground hip-hop producers Splitface and June 16th, imagines that its heroes have destroyed Earth (because radio here is too corporate) and become DJs at a station on another planet (one presumably not owned by Clear Channel). To find appropriate samples for the album's ambient/industrial sounds, they spent countless hours digging through June 16th's massive record collection, stored in his studio in the middle of a Mascoutah, Ill., cornfield.

Read the entire article and listen to 'Calm After the Storm' here.

In the Works

For the last month or so we have been busy working on several new projects at once. We have been working on a few new type designs, we have been cleaning up, redrawing and digitizing hundreds of images in hopes of releasing our first clip art cd and we are in the process of expanding our Jolly Roger Brand clothing line to include skateboards. And to be honest, it will be a God damn miracle if we get everything finished by the start of World War III! We also have a show with the Firecracker Press planned for November-January at Subbteranean Books. As soon as the details are worked out we will have screen-printed show posters available.

Sonic Outlaws

For those that haven't seen "Sonic Outlaws" yet, it is very interesting look at the art of illegal collage. This film features Emergancy Broadcast Network, The Tape Beatles, and Negativland. And nothing goes better with a screening of this movie than a "Negativland - IAIYH" limited edition screen-printed poster by Centric Studios.

"Negativland - IAIYH" limited edition screen-printed posters

New "Dolla Dolla Bill" Prints

We have started a new series of one color screen-prints on blotter sheets. These prints measure 13.25x19.5 and have punched edges along the top and bottom of the sheet. Even though they are only a one color print, the variety of background colors makes each print truly unique.

You can pick up the 2 prints for $25. They make the perfect gift for those who do not already own prints of a young man covering his eyes and an Osama Bin Laden look alike with outstretched arms.

Videos on the Art Rifle

Now you can checkout The Art Rifle - Media Archive to see some of our favorite moving pictures. It's the perfect place to find a random mix of news stories, movie trailers and short films like this clip,"The Cut Ups", by william Burroughs and Anthony Balch, 1966.

Hop On the Metro(Gadfly)

Ronald Isoms blog, METRO GADFLY, is a good place to start if you are ever on the lookout for a new artists blog to add to your favorites. If you like his work you can purchase drawings at U*Space Gallery.

Question and Answer

Q. What happens when someone robs you of your culture, land and history and replaces it with pollution, taxes, ipods and infomercials?
A.The Republic of Lakotah

Spray Graphic

For all of you social networking artists out there: Spray Graphic caters to visual artists, writers, film makers, musicians and activists alike. Plus you can see great work by artists like Anna Day, leah 6.0, the secret asian trustfund, k.r.santhana krishnan and you know who.

Will Work for Food

Donate $1.00 to Centric Studios at brusheezy.com and we will send you a collection of over 175 photoshop (CS3) brushes that you will not find anywhere else. Our current collection contains a well-rounded mix of textures, backgrounds and historical illustrations. Orders can take up to 24 hours to fill.

Robert Rauschenberg (Oct. 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008)

One of the most innovative 20th-century artists died this week. 82 year old Robert Rauschenberg died of heart failure Monday night at his home in Florida. If you are not familiar with his work thats okay. Just look around and you can see his influence everywhere.

The Lumberyard - Letterpress Magazine

Straight from the letterpress underground comes The Lumberyard, a collaborative project combining the art of letterpress and the literary arts. There is a good interview with Jen and Eric Woods, the creative team behind the magazine, at the Luna Park Review.
• If you would be interested in submitting no more than three poems or works of flash fiction that are previously unpublished, you can send your work to info@lumberyardmagazine.com.

Casualties of the Digital War on Terror

Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, David Hocney, William Wegman, Robert Mapplethorpe....
The list goes on and on of the number of artists, myself included, who have in some way incorporated the use of the Polaroid camera into their work. So I was blown away when I heard that Polaroid is going to stop making instant film. Thanks to the digital camera, instant film is following in the foot steps of the Daguerreotype, Calotype and the Carte-De-Visite. Until some other company sees the need($) for instant film, it would be safe to say that technology kills art.

Centric Fonts on dafont.com

If you haven't been to dafont.com then you must never have had the need for a Simpsons font, a font with a funny name, or an alternative Sans Serif. And if you have been there you already know that it is a great source for a wide variety of typefaces for any project. So the next time you are looking for new fonts to add to your arsenal, stop by dafont.com and checkout a few typefaces created by Centric Studios first.

Don't Look Now! It's the Art Rifle!

Q. What is The Art Rifle?
A. The online journal of Centric Studios.

Q. What is Centric Studios?
A. Centric Studios is a small graphic design and screen-printing studio located in Belleville, Illinois. You can visit our website at www.centricpropaganda.com where you can find out more about us. While you're there you can checkout our product page for a revolving selection of custom typefaces, apparel, posters, prints and ephemera. If anything strikes your fancy you can use the following discount code to save 25% on your online order:
• DISCOUNT CODE: artrifle