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Who's Who: Juan Carlos Pagan

Juan Carlos Pagan is a Designer, Typographer, Painter and other half of the duo behind the Send Help project. A designer at G2 Branding and Design by day, his curiousity for the written word and it's structural manifestations keeps him up at night...



State the facts: Name, Age, Hometown
Juan Carlos Pagan, 26, Poughkeepsie, NY

What's your genre and where did you pick up your art?
 Communications Design, Parsons School of Design



Tell us something about yourself...
I'm gonna quote Gaius Benbow and say that the only applicable description of me is "creative".

If you have to pick one of your best works, what would it be?
Well I really had a great time working on my first typeface Malleable Grotesque. I also really love the Naked type posters, every project should be that fun and effortless. I would also have to say the Jena Six poster I created for Diane Wah's Thesis still moves me.



If you could send help to anything, anyone, anytime, anywhere. what would it be?
I would like to send help to young creative people, they need more outlets to express, collaborate, and create.


See more of Carlos's works

Who's Who: Cindy Rodriguez

Cindy Rodriguez is one half of the dynamic duo behind the Send Help project. (To read the back story click here.) She proves to be just as much a force of nature on her own as co-founder of Hudson Valley Tours and helping out the Exhibition Management Department at the Guggenheim Museum.

State the facts: Name, Age, Hometown
Cindy Rodriguez, Age 24, Yonkers, NY (Y.O.)

What's your genre and where did you pick up your art?
I graduated with a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design in 2006.



So how did you end up on this project?
We crossed paths with Carolina and Frej, while catching up after some time had passed, and we realized we all really wanted to be around each other, and work on some projects together. They had this beautiful space they were working to define, and we had all these ideas about what we wanted to do creatively together. Out came this idea for a show, a solution where everything kind of converged at a point: collaboration, good friends, ideas exhanged, and great work - all for the sake of satisfying this urge to create something together. That's how I ended up here.




If you have to pick 3 of their best works, what would they be?
"Zombie Dolls" - packaging; "Apollo 11" - book design; and "Home" - 1 of 5 posters in a series. I feel these 3 works best represent what I've been most passionate about, and are a solid foundation for the kind of work I'd like to create. Each holds meaning for me in a different stage of my learning experience as a designer as well.

If you could send help to anything, anyone, anytime, anywhere. what would it be?
I think communication needs help. More specifically how we communicate and connect with one another. It's not that we need help communicating - there are endless ways to communicate with one another these days - I just think we need help connecting with one another. We live in a time where people resort to text messaging, and emailing before picking up the phone to call one another or making efforts to see each other. I don't claim innocence, I know I do it too. Part of me just wishes there was a way to shut off phones and the internet for one week to see (as a social experiment) how communication would play out between us. I think we would be pleasantly surprised to see how much better off we are without them, and how many more real connections we'd make.

Can you give us a sneak peek at your creative process?









Visit Cindy's portfolio

Epiphany

So I've pretty much been running with the same concept for my contribution to this show since we came up with the idea. But, tonite thanks to a friend with a brilliant notion and an amazing new venture, I've modified my concept. I don't want to give away too much since her venture is in it's fledgling stages but I just couldn't ignore it and I can't think of a better fit for me and Send Help. So with my renewed enthusiasm and inspiration I leave you now so I can get started.

Who's Who: Niina Cochran

Meet Niina Cochran and yes that's not a typo. As she puts it "my mom is from Finland and that is how they spell Niina, it is pronounced the same as Nina, it is just a cooler spelling. Of course there is the habit of saying my name like this: Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiina...."

State the facts: Name, Age, Hometown
Niina Cochran, 24, Kinnelon, NJ

What's your genre and where did you pick up your art?
Parsons School of Design; Majored in Illustration but mostly paint now



Describe yourself in a line
I have always and will always be creating.  I am lucky enough to be in and know about this show because I am friends with one of the curators!



If you have to pick 3 of your best works, what would they be?
I like these pieces (see images) because I tried something new and experimented and I think it actually worked out.

If you could send help to anything, anyone, anytime, anywhere. what would it be?
This is too difficult for me to answer.  Too much pressure! ha.


Check out more of Niina's works

Who's Who: Gaius Benbow

With 3 weeks to before the show, we're kickstarting the countdown with a series of "Who's who" of our contributing artists and behind-the-scenes look as they gear up for the big day. First on our list is Gaius Benbow....



State the facts: Name, Age, Hometown
Gaius Benbow, 27, Tarboro NC

What's your genre and where did you pick up your art?
Communication Design; Pitt Community College - CDT, Parsons School of Design



Describe yourself in a line
"The only label that has ever stuck, or that I was willing to accept & wear proudly is 'creative'."I grew up in a "small town" and soon realized that small towns aren't big enough for me.


If you have to pick 3 of their best works, what would they be?
as of now my fave project still has to be my slavery "game". I am also partial to the MindTrap Identity system and hopefully whatever i put in the Send help show.



If you could send help to anything, anyone, anytime, anywhere. what would it be?
If i could send help to anything, it would have to be the public school system in this country. It's not just under funded, it's under-thought, under-noticed and under-respected. If we just focused on giving the young minds in this country a real education and a fighting chance to compete on a global scale, I have complete confidence in their ability to come up with solutions to most of the other issues/areas to which we should be "sending help".

Check out more of Gaius' works
Hit him up on Twitter

CREATIVELAB

Hey everyone!
We've made some significant progress with our prep for the show. We now have for your viewing pleasure a complete floor plan to get an idea of the space we have available to showcase your work, along with photos of the space, courtesy of Frej and Carolina.

So if you have an idea of what your peice will be like / how much space you'll need, you can use this for reference.

Workshop

We are happy to announce a CREATIVELAB Workshop for artists developing work for this project. The weekend before the show date, CREATIVELAB will host an open work session where we can all come together before we showcase. Details to come!

Promo Postcard

Show Date

The Send Help Project will open for 1 night only!
The official opening date is Saturday, March 28th, 2009.

Exhibition Space

Thanks to our friends Carolina Garcia and Frej Hedenberg of CREATIVELAB for generously lending us their beautiful studio space and hosting the Send Help Project.

CREATIVELAB is located at:
68 Jay Street Suite 422
Brooklyn, New York 11201

[www.creativelabny.com]

Artists

The following is a list of artists that will be contributing to the Send Help Project:

Gaius Benbow
Leslie Cain
Niina Cochran
Carolina Garcia
Angel Gonzales
Frej Hedenberg
Freddy Lopez
Deirdre Merrigan
Rory Mulligan
Juan Carlos Pagan
Pablo Pineda
Andres Rivera
Cindy Rodriguez
Diane Wah
Jay Woo

The Idea

The words SEND HELP jumped out at us from the back of a road map on our way to Montreal. It's simplicity and immediacy stirred our thoughts and sparked our curiosities about the meanings behind the words, and the various images that are conjured up depending on the interpretation.

The Send Help Project is an art show that invites several artists to interpret the phrase "SEND HELP" in any way they choose, through any medium they choose.