I did Just Sell It for a friend after a conversation with a few mates about why the hell do you see shoes, trainers (sneakers if your in the U.S) on telephone wires? It turns out that none of them had a clue besides it being a bit of tom foolery or general shenanigans by kids! Yet myself and one friend had heard that it was a bit of a urban myth that shoes on a wire “indicates – drugs sold here”. I think this was a New York thing as I was sure I had seen it on the film Downtown 81 were it explains the myth when Jean Michel-Basquiat is walking down the street in his Manhattan neighbourhood which was totally different to the New York we know today.
Whilst looking on the web to see what I could find on the subject I came across a Blog discussion on the subject Shoes On A Wire, I loved the photo and one of the quotes and thought it would make a great advert for Nike, which made me laugh as more and more big brands are using this type of target reference advertising by using street artists to hit different demographics, so in the words of Nike I just did it!
Back in January, W+K – Weiden + Kennedy who do the Nike campaign to name but a few, ran Seeking to find new talent by inviting creatives to submit a PDF telling them your story by showing them what you can do! Weiden + Kennedy are one of the biggest and best independent advertising agencys in the world and have to be admired. I entered Seeking but never progressed although I received a consolation prize of the excellent book called April Fools which commemorated W+K’s 25th anniversary. I may not have progressed but I was made up to hear that Andrio Abero of 33rpm had and is in Portland right now working at W+K. When I heard the news I realised just how tough the competition was and if anyone deserves it is Andrio. I have always followed Andrio’s progression since I came across online at gigposters.com and bought some of his earlier prints, he is a really nice guy who always takes the time out to reply and chat. I am only 6 months into Framedink.com and I am already realising what a challenge getting things off the ground is! So to think he has been plugging away since 2000 makes you understand the scale of his achievements, his work speaks for it’s self with a large body of print and illustration work, but it was his screen printing work that really got me hooked. You can still purchase limited edition prints of certain work if you have a look through and at $15 he is giving them away!
Jon Smith (Smithbellcraft) sums up Andrio Abero well with: “Technically skilled, devilishly creative” and I totally agree!
