Bumper Sticker Update #6

Here are my six most recent limited edition wordless bumper stickers, #33 to #38. As I might have mentioned in previous posts, my vision is that they act as seeds to open minds. To further that goal, I am committed to giving away one bumper sticker to every US resident that promises to put it on their vehicle. Likewise, to make it a self-sustaining project, I charge $10 for all other stickers. If you would like one, check my Facebook fan page or Instagram account @robhitzig to see the most recent edition and email or message me an address to send it to.

072516

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

091516

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

042217

limited edition of eleven

3" x 10"

050817

limited edition of eleven

3" x 10"

 070917

limited edition of eleven

3" x 10"

 072717

limited edition of eleven

3" x 10"

Bumper Sticker Update #5

Here are my five most recent bumper stickers. I have been making them since April 2013 and I am now up to thirty-two. I am not sure how many total I've made and distributed because the editions have varied and it would take some math to figure out but it is somewhere around 300 at this point. 

As I have mentioned in previous posts about them, I create them as anti-bumper sticker bumper stickers to counteract the effects of dogmatic and demanding bumper stickers typically found on vehicles in the US. To get them on the streets, I offer all US residents one free as long as they promise to put it on their vehicle; all other bumper stickers are $10. Just email me an address and I'll send one to you. 

Because they are limited edition, I usually only have the latest or latest two available to chose from. To find the latest version, please check my Facebook page.

070715

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

2015

100715

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

2015

103015

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

2015

As of today, I still have a couple of the one below.

122415

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

2015

Below is the latest version. The six month gap between designs is by far the longest I've gone in my bumper sticker designing history. It must mean that I'm not getting out enough and meeting new people so I'll have to make an intention to do more of it, at least through the summer.

070116

limited edition of ten

3" x 10"

2016

If you like the concept and/or designs I hope you'll ask for one. I really would like to get more on the roads around the US, I feel they help to lower anxiety/stress levels because they are non-antagonistic (they don't tell other people what to think/believe/do), and we can certainly use more of that, especially on the roadways.

Cross MacKenzie Show Installation Pics

I installed my show of new striped paintings/sculptures at the Cross MacKenzie Gallery in Georgetown (Washington, DC) on November 11. The show has been extended one week, now being on view until December 15. Originally, the plan was to install eight pieces so I brought twelve to give the gallery a selection of work to choose from but, fortuitously, we were able to hang all of them. Though it is difficult to see, we installed four pieces in the front window, including three of the one-sided paintings.

Though we hadn't originally planned on showing my canoe, the gallery director found images on my Facebook page and asked me to bring it. This canoe is absolutely not for sale but I agreed to let the gallery negotiate a commission one. I love the idea of it being considered a work of art because I built it with that idea in mind. I also agree with the gallery that it gives the viewer a clearer understanding of my art.

Even though we hung more pieces than we planned, I am happy with how much space they have, I don't feel they crowd one-another at all.

I hope you get/got the chance to see the show, the work really is much better in person. Additionally, the gallery has agreed to offer my bumper stickers with the same conditions that I do. I left some of my last three designs (#28, #29, and #30), so if you do stop in, you would have the chance to acquire at least one of my pieces for free.

Bumper Sticker Update #4

As stated in previous posts, I create and distribute bumper stickers as an antidote to dogmatic bumper stickers that tell others what to do, think, and/or believe because I have found that even if I agree with the sentiment, they make me feel anxious. I love the idea of saying nothing and letting others interpret the bumper sticker for themselves, it is my small way of adding a little tranquility to the roadways, where it is badly needed. Because I like to see them on the roads, and because I like to distribute as many as possible, I offer all U.S. residents one free as long as they promise to put them on their cars; all other bumper stickers are $10. Since I post all my new ones on my Facebook page first, you need to check there to see what is available (I never have more than the last two on-hand). If you want one, just email me your address and it will show up in your mailbox. Below are the twenty-first through the twenty-seventh in the series.

 090314

3" x 10"

limited edition of 12

2014

  100514

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

With all of my previous bumper stickers I had used the printing companies cheapest printing method. I didn't always capture the colors exactly as I had envisioned them but that was good enough as long as I had many different colors in the design. However, when I changed to a more minimalist style, each color became critically important so I needed more accuracy. After going back and forth with the printing company a few times they suggested upgrading to their digital process. It is more expensive but it was too embarrassing to be associated with stickers I hadn't intended.

121114

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

 122614

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

 022015

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2015

 050915

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2015

 061715

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2015

Of course, this isn't a money making business but I do find it fun and entertaining. Some people go to movies, others give away bumper stickers, to each their own.

Another Way To Say Nothing

I've really enjoyed my bumper sticker project over the last year and a half for a number of reasons -- they are fun to design, they are easy to talk about, people respond to them, and they have a concept that I think is important: saying nothing -- not telling people what to think, do, believe; and giving them something that they can interpret for themselves incongruously placed where they would expect an overt message.

Over the summer I got the idea that I could raise the volume of my silent propaganda by doing the same thing on a billboard. The thought scared me at first (and, actually, it still does) because the significant increase in expense, but when I realized the thought wouldn't go away I became resolved to the the fact that I would do it. As it turns out, I realized the vision pretty quickly, settling on a spot in Queensbury, New York, Route 9 (north facing), installed on November 11 for a four week period.

Queensbury, New York

billboard

10'5" x 22'8"

2014

I like how it came out, and I like the juxtaposition with a liquor store and a fast food restaurant, but I am now very curious how it is received or whether it will be noticed at all. I saw it in person on the November 12. During my visit, I didn't get a sense that anyone had a thought about it -- I didn't see anyone looking at it and the one person I asked hadn't seen it yet. I get the feeling that it is one of those things that you'd have to pass several times before you give it a second thought so, in that way, I'm glad it is in an area that local people would likely drive by to work or shopping on a regular basis.

Queensbury, New York (second view)

When I committed to the space I was under the impression that at the end of the rental period the billboard would be destroyed as part of the process of putting a new one up, but, to my surprise, I found that it is printed on a woven plastic fabric that I can actually keep when it is taken down. So, instead of it being a ephemeral installation, I can actually retrieve and sell the piece. As a result, it is theoretically possible that I could get enough money from a sale to afford another. It would be wonderful if I can make this an ongoing series in different locations around the country. Hence, I've been aggressive sending out press releases with the hope that I can generate enough publicity that the piece will have value when it is taken down.

Queensbury, New York (third view)

Admittedly, there is a crazy element to renting a billboard with no words or identifiable image (though, I believe, all good art is at least a little crazy so this gives me hope that making it is the right thing to do) but since I couldn't ignore the idea, realizing the vision alone is worth the effort and expense. Still, I have hopes, and my desire is that people see it and have a response -- any response. Perhaps it is seen as a crazy, irrelevant, self-serving, esoteric, opaque, and/or just plain confusing, but even a negative response is self-generated thinking from the viewer, so I feel the process is positive even if the emotion created is negative. However, if viewers see it as I intend, as a gift of mental space, as an object that is purposefully not telling people what to do and, thereby, saying "be," I will be even happier.

Bumper Sticker Update #3

Here are my latest four wordless bumper stickers. I'm thrilled to continue having incentive, and inspiration, for making them and being able to find people who are interested in getting one, however, I recently modified the rules for giving them away -- as always, the first bumper sticker is free for anyone with a US address (just let me know where to send it) but I'm now insisting the people agree to stick it on a vehicle, for everyone else I charge $10.

050514

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

With these amorphous designs people often tell me thing that they see in them which I always find interesting because I have nothing in mind when I create them, but my favorite interpretation is when someone saw the one below and immediately said "Oh, its a T. rex tail!" I love the image of T. rex tails being green polka dotted.

062314c

3" x 10"

limited edition of 11

2014

070814b

3" x 10"

limited edition of 11

2014

With this last sticker (my twentieth!!!), the printing company had made a mistake with the violet shape, sending me stickers with something that was too close in color to the background, making it difficult to see, so when they corrected the printing job they made a couple of extra to make up for the error, hence the edition of 12. As of today, August 21, 2014, I still have ten copies of 080214, so if you want one, let me know. All others have already been distributed and are no longer available. If you would like to see my latest designs as they become available I recommend following my Facebook page because that is where they are posted first.

080214

3" x 10"

limited edition of 12

2014

Bumper Sticker Update #2

I am so happy to have four more bumper stickers to share with the world. It feels great to find enough people interested in having them so that I have an excuse to continue designing new ones. Additionally, though I have no idea if they have any impact on anyone that sees them, it feels like progress to know that thousands of people will see my work, even if they have no idea who created it.

This one, the 13th in the series, was inspired by a friend who said she would want one if I made something with circles and lines.

 0204-020514a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

When I finished #14, I was a little worried about how people would feel about triangles. I never know how people will react to a new design and I'm always pleasantly surprised when they like them enough to put them on their cars. 

 0216-021714c

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

2014

The 15th was a radical design departure. With it, I decided to play with amorphous, ambiguous shapes. It has been interesting hearing what people see in a design of which I didn't have any preconceived intention other than to create an interesting shape. I found that It is a bit of a Rorschach test. I love how abstract art allows the viewer to create along the artist. I like how it doesn't tell you what to think, or see, which is the purpose of this whole project. 

030214c

3" x 10"

limited edition of 11

2014

With the most recent of the series I continued to explore organic designs and I am continuing to find that people see things I never thought of, nor intended. Although I had only ordered ten of them, the company that makes them for me gifted me another ten so this time it is an edition of twenty.

0304-030914c

3" x 10"

limited edition of 20

2014

Because I enjoy designing these so much, and I can't design a new one until I've distributed the latest; and because I love knowing people are seeing my work (even if it is anonymous) I'm still giving them away to anyone in the US who wants one (your first is free but I charge $10 for if someone wants a second). Just email me your address and you'll find one in the mail in a few days.

Bumper Sticker Update

In May I wrote a post about my bumper sticker series. In summary, the series is intended as an antidote to the typical dogmatic bumper stickers that describe the world in black and white terms and try to convince everyone of their point of view in three words or less. One day I realized that, even if I agreed with the sentiment of these stickers, they made me feel uncomfortable, so I decided to make a series of bumper stickers that didn't have any words and didn't try to convince anybody of anything.

070713e

3" x 10"

limited edition of 5

As I started designing the stickers, I ordered them in editions of five (although the company printing them would often send more than I paid for); and I offered them to friends for free because I couldn't see charging for such a small item and because it felt like a gift to me that someone would want one on their car. To my surprise friends liked them, so, as I ran out of an edition, I would design a new one. Soon I was talking about them with people I just met and offering them stickers for free as well -- it just felt better to give them away than to ask for money.

 062913b-072313a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 6

I also found that I really enjoyed the process of designing the stickers and wanted to make more but figured that I couldn't afford to give an unlimited quantity away so I devised a rule that I'd give anyone one bumper sticker for free but that if they ever wanted a second one, I'd have to charge them $10. I haven't sold many at this point but maybe sometime in the future, when cars are being replaced and people need another one, I'll start making money; I don't know, making money with these stickers isn't really the point but, at the same time, I don't want to go broke giving them away; but at the same time, I enjoy giving them away and if I could afford to give everyone in the US a free bumper sticker, I would. 

 081713a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 6

Secretly, I have a fantasy that this project would start of a movement in which mysterious bumper stickers would suddenly fill our roadways and people would start asking about them. I love how the work causes people to ask questions to which there is no right answer and I love how that starts a dialog.

 090113a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10

Additionally, I really like the idea of filling our road ways with abstract art. The public roadways are an underutilized canvas for making our world more beautiful and interesting, so I feel that I'm doing something to promote the beautification of our roads as well.

 091213a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10 or 11

When I first wrote about this work, I didn't offer them for free to the general public because I feared going broke giving them away. But as I've thought more about it, I decided not to worry about that because I can still decide not to give them away if it is costing too much and because my blog isn't so popular that I expect to get hundreds of people asking for them. So I'm now offering them to the general public with the caveat that if you ever need a second one, I'll have to charge you $10; and I'm only offering them to people with US addresses. Just email me your address and I'll send you one. I'll post images of new ones on this blog, and if I need to change the rules for distributing them, I'll state them here as well. Regardless, I hope that making them available more widely will give me a reason to design more (if enough people express interest in them).

 100413a

3" x 10"

limited edition of 10 or 11

As of January 14, 2014, I still have two copies

I have to say, it is fun to be somewhere and see one of my stickers, especially if I don't know whose car it is. I have been asked a number of times why I don't sign the work or leave some kind of indication where they come from and I have responded that self promotion isn't the point, the bumper stickers shouldn't have any words on them and I really like the idea that they are mysterious -- that if someone is interested in them they have to ask the car's owner about it. I also like to hear stories about these interactions. That is far more satisfying than putting my name on them (which would answer questions and cause them to be easily dismissed as merely self-promotional).

120213b

3" x 10"

limited edition of 11
As of January 14, 2014, I still have eight copies

So if you want one, and you have a US address, let me know which one you want and I'll send it to you (only the last two are currently available, I'll post more as I design more). Though I might not get rich giving them away, it makes me happy and makes my driving experience more fun, so I'll do it as long as I can afford it.

It's Not Art, It's Propaganda

On a recent drive to DC, my mind wondered into the realm of bumper stickers and how worded bumper stickers make me feel anxious, regardless of whether I agree with the statement or not, because they sum a belief or ideology into a few pithy words which make me feel like I need to pick a side. I started to think how nice it would be to have a bumper sticker that didn't have any words, that I could drive around in peace, and just enjoy the visual aspect of a bumper sticker without having to believe something, or be convinced of something, or know anything.

So, convinced I would never find anything that I liked if I looked or waited around for it to find me, I decided to make my own, and start a movement of peace through the proliferation of wordless bumper stickers. 

I decided to print the stickers in limited editions of five, in part because I wanted to have enough to share but not so many that I would be purchasing many more than I could ever find homes for without knowing if anyone else would want one. Here is my first design.

042813a

With my second design, I decided to play with turning my flag series into sticker form. In making it, I found it fascinating how much I liked some of the odd random shapes within it. I'm not a huge fan of the triangles, but I find those random angled four and five sided forms completely mesmerizing. Hopefully, others don't feel the same or I could be causing accidents all over the place (luckily, I can't see what is on my own truck as I drive around).  

050513b

With my third, I wanted to experiment with polka dots, which are always fun and joyful, but I decided to tone them down a bit with a few stripes.

050813c

I debated for quite a while about putting this last one on my truck because I ran out of space on my bumper and I thought it might be too much to have three, but then I decided that I liked it to much not to use it as well. In retrospect, I think three stickers on one truck is too chaotic, too crazy looking, but it is also true that I can accept this truth. 

Three Bumper Stickers in situ

It turned out that these are more popular than I thought they would be. I'm at the point that I need to design and print a fourth in order to maintain an adequate inventory, just in case there is a rush on them, or (as I fantasize) that strangers in parking lots start asking me how they too can get such cool bumper stickers.

One of the things I love about these is that I feel they say so much more than worded ones, and, at least for me, without the anxiety inducing text (but I wonder whether I'm creating anxiety for other people on the roads as they wonder what I'm trying to say, though, perhaps this a useful/good anxiety). I also see them as propaganda because I feel they promote a subversive ideology of non-ideology. In this way, I think of them as inverted ready-mades. Instead of taking non-art objects and making them art, as Marcel Duchamps did, by calling them art; I'm taking art objects and making them non-art by calling them propaganda. Which creates an existential question of whether they are art or not. If I make art and call it non-art, is it still art? Or, by making art and calling it propaganda, is the art the fact that I'm saying it isn't art? Or, regardless of whether I say it is art or not, if it is art in the eye of the beholder, does that make it art? I guess the ambiguity is what I like the best.

Addendum (June 11, 2013):
Here is my latest, all others have already been distributed.

052713a

Addendum (July 8, 2013):

Version five, this one is in editions of seven.

062913d