When information is communicated visually, it's easier for many students to absorb. That's why your teaching materials include 12 posters. They provide an engaging way to present key information and to elicit student participation.
ARTIST: Gary Baseman
Posters 1 and 10
Gary Baseman's cartoon illustrations have appeared in Los Angeles Times Magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Time, The Atlantic Monthly and Sports Illustrated. Baseman’s acrylic on canvas depiction of how smoking can make you less attractive and his take on internal pressures pack the kind of visual punch that appeals to youngsters in Posters 1 and 10 (below). He created the three-time Emmy and BAFTA award-winning animation series, "Teacher's Pet” for Disney and is clearly in tune with how to speak to kids through illustration. We feel fortunate to have commissioned him to create two posters for your Project ALERT curriculum.
ARTIST: Tom Connor
Posters 2, 4 and 12
“Would you think someone in his 40s remembers how it feels to be 12 or 13 years old?” asked Tom Connor when we brought him on board to work on your posters. “Of course I do!” he said. We believe his artwork proves it. He “draws to” the teen and pre-teen age group in Posters 2, 4 and 12 (below). As an “occasional” animator, he has done work for Cartoon Network and he was an animator for MTV's "Daria," which was about a high school girl who often felt "less than perfect." However he is primarily an editorial illustrator. His illustrations are clever and expressive. We asked our artists to help you evoke an emotional response from your class on the subject of substance abuse, and we think that Connor’s eye-catching, attention-holding visuals will pass the test of today’s graphics-savvy teen culture… with flying colors!
ARTIST: Mark Zingarelli
Posters 6 and 9
Mark Zingarelli says he always loved the comics as a kid, and began developing his artistic talents when he was a youngster by using comic book illustrations and storytelling. Not always drawn to “superheroes” or “fantastic” comic strips, Zingarelli modeled his illustrations after those depicting social and cultural humor. After spending several years as a traditional freelance illustrator with primarily corporate and advertising clients, Zingarelli has come back to comic illustration to meet the needs of “editorial clients.” A writer of short stories, as well as an artist, he is recognized as an informational resource in the field of editorial illustration. The dialogue sequence in the Alcohol Can Harm You Any Time You Drink poster is used to “tell the story” of the consequences of using alcohol, while the dialogue bubbles in the Ways to Say NO poster both graphically and verbally depict resistance skills.
Artist: Jamie Bennett
Posters 3, 5 and 11
A successful illustrator living in Toronto, Canada, Jamie Bennett’s artwork combines technical illustration with the kind of visual impact needed to get and keep your students’ attention. Bennett has illustrated everything from CD and book covers to postage stamps and calendars; her work has appeared in a wide gamut of magazines ranging from Business Week and New Yorker to Rolling Stone and Elle. Her ability to get the message across by mixing imaginative graphics with a little bit of reality made Bennett a good choice for Project ALERT. Her Toxic Chemicals poster and Smoking Affects Your Heart and Lungs posters are the most concrete and medically focused of the twelve posters in the Project ALERT set.
Artist: Dave Teel
Poster 8
“What I like about conceptual photography,” says Dave Teel, “is the challenge of getting just one shot to say as much as you can.” In designing the posters, we chose to favor illustration over photography, because illustrators can represent people using generic characters – but Teel is the exception. Teel calls his special technique “photo illustration.” The poster speaks for itself – allowing your students to see that the face behind the mask might portray any one of the feelings discussed in Lesson 3 and shown in the message area on the poster.
Artist: Keri Smith
Poster 7
Keri Smith is a Canadian artist known for her vivid and engaging use of collage. Interestingly, in Poster 7 (below), Smith says she used very little collage, but “wanted to draw, to create imagery we can all relate to.” It has become her personal goal, she says, to “pare down imagery,” to go back to “simple” in her work. We think she succeeded in creating the kind of visual message your students will understand in this important poster on the consequences of long-term alcohol use.
