Hi MLE,

Unlike artists or architects, most people don’t usually know the names of famous graphic designers. Though they usually know their work. Of course everyone knows the I Love New York logo (1976) and the Bob Dylan poster (1966), above. But do they know they were designed by the famous graphic designer, Milton Glaser?

His work aside, there are a number of things that are quite remarkable about Glaser’s career… 

He was born and lived in New York City his entire life.

He has been in the business for over 65 years. 

He has been teaching graphic design at the School of Visual Arts for 62 years. 

To this day, he reports to his Manhattan studio five days a week, even on this 90th birthday, which he celebrated last summer. He has no intention of ever retiring.

He has never used a computer.

That’s all for now!

Suzan

Hi the MLE,

First, for those who don’t know, Miquela is a CGI virtual influencer. 
“I’m a 19-year old musician change seeker taco truck expert.” 

One of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People on the Internet 2018. Massive following on Instagram, of course. But what makes her even more bizarre is when she comes to life on YouTube all animated and human-like.

She is the primary product of a company based in LA called “Brud,” with over 40 employees. Of course the company who made her has gone to great lengths to remain hidden… What are they motivations behind creating Miquela? Well, it’s a business, so making money is the main objective. Brud is valued at 125 million dollars.

Like most influencers, she makes a lot of money selling products. Image above has her and Bella Hadid “Getting Surreal” selling Calvin Klein. She also makes a ton of cash promoting various events, like SXSW. Not to mention her music that garners a lot of attention, with hit songs with millions of streams. The list goes on…

Currently Brud has two other characters as well, Bermuda and Blawko, with more in the works. Of course, each addresses a different target market, rather than competing with consumers, together they appeal to a greater consumer base.

Altogether, it’s a brilliant business model, and it is not surprising that it is also extremely lucrative. One of the founders managed the musician Banks before the CGI musician Miquela - I would love to talk to him about his experiences with human vs CGI. 

It seems that real influencers and CGI influencers are exactly the same in most ways. They are both carefully crafted into a particular character. They use the same tactics and scripts to make people feel really connected to them. Can you tell which of the below is from a human or from Miquela? And have you not heard influencers say stuff like this a million times already?

“I’m gonna tell you a story that’s super embarrassing and made me sad for a minute, but maybe some of y’all can relate.”

“The fucked up thing is that if sharing it can help someone else whose gone through something similar feel less alone, then it’s worth it.”

However, CGI characters like Miquela have many advantages. They are free from all the cost and hassle of a human celeb. Brud does not have to pay her a salary, they have complete control over her actions, and she can work around the clock. No need to worry about a troubled personal life, any health problems, or getting caught by the press doing something stupid, etc, etc. And, thank God, she will never grow old or get fat (well not unless it's part of the script).

So will CGI celebs replace real celebs in the future? My guess would be yes. In fact, it is already happening right now. A Fullscreen study found that 42% of Gen Z and Millennials have followed an influencer on social media who they did not know what CGI. But is this really that surprising with apps like Facetune making people look like CGI?

Suzan

Hello MLE,

I’ve been reading about Carmen lately, as I will be seeing it staged at the Royal Opera House next weekend.  What really stood out to me was the story of its composer, Georges Bizet. His story is that of many successful people: repeated failures, over and over and over—yet he never gave up, and he never compromised.

Bizet was recognised as an outstanding pianist at a very early age and probably could have had a successful career as a concert pianist. But this is not what he wanted. He rarely played piano in public. What he wanted to be was a composer. Not just a composer, but one of original, genre-breaking works.

Unfortunately, the state-subsidised opera houses in Paris of the late 1800s preferred the established classical repertoire to the works of newcomers. They only wanted wholesome entertainment that would please the masses, not challenge them.

So, to earn a living, Bizet arranged and transcribed the music of others. Despite the long hours this type of work required, he still managed to write many keyboard and orchestral compositions in what spare time he had—most of which were largely ignored.
Finally, two of his operas managed to reach the stage (Les Pêcheurs de Perles and La Jolie Fille de Perth)—these were not successes. Several competition entries, including a cantata and a hymn composed for the Paris Exhibition of 1867, were also unsuccessful.

In June 1871, he was appointed as chorus-master at The Opéra, which was a much better day job. However, he either resigned or refused to take up the position as a protest against what he thought was the director's unjustified closing of Ernest Reyer's opera Erostrate after only two performances.

In 1873, Bizet began composing Don Rodrigue. He played a piano version to a select audience that included the Opéra's principal baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure, hoping that the singer's approval might influence the directors of the Opéra to stage the work. This was a success—until the Opéra burned to the ground and the directors set Don Rodrigue aside.

Still, Bizet got right back up and started working on Carmen, persevering though Opéra-Comique's management concerns about the suitability of this risqué story. Then early 1874, Adolphe de Leuven, the co-director of the Opéra-Comique most bitterly opposed to the Carmen project, resigned and the controversial piece was able to go into production.

And what a production it was. The orchestra had difficulties with the score, finding some parts unplayable. The chorus declared some of their music impossible to sing and were dismayed that they had to act as individuals, smoking and fighting onstage rather than merely standing in line as was traditionally done. Attempts by the Opéra-Comique to modify parts of the action which they deemed improper were ongoing. Bizet fought hard to retain his vision, though resolving all these issues delayed the first night.

Its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized the audiences. Much of the press comment was predictably negative. The heroine was seen as an amoral seductress rather than a woman of virtue, the music had a lack of melody, and so on.

Carmen would go on to become one the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire. Musically, the "Habanera" from act 1 and the "Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.

But to Bizet, Carmen was just another failure: "I foresee a definite and hopeless flop.” Bizet died suddenly of heart failure after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. 

The music critic Harold C. Schonberg surmises that, had Bizet lived, he might have revolutionised French opera. I agree. I’m sure he would have.

Suzan

Hi MLE,

I’m back from Texas and I’m going to share with you: TEXAS BILLBOARDS. Boring as they may seem, they really do stand out when I think about the time I spent out there in the “lone star state.”

Why? Probably because we spent quite a bit of time on the road. I love road trips, I love looking out the window and letting my thoughts just flow from one to another. Very relaxing… 

Well, in Texas, there are so many billboards, my thoughts only flowed from one advertising message to another. I didn’t mind at first, but after a few days I found myself always asking, “why?” and then getting annoyed. Not very relaxing…

Did some research to answer my “why” question, and found that President Lyndon Johnson, did his very best, through the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, to put some limits on the ever-growing billboards along the roadsides, to protect the natural landscape. However, even Johnson’s vaunted powers of persuasion could not overcome the lobbying efforts of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. They essentially won: the Highway Beautification Act ironically ended up protecting these billboards from being removed by a city—unless the city pays cash compensation. And these costs can really add up.

For over 50 years activists and billboard companies have been at war over the views along American highways. Four states—Vermont, Hawaii, Alaska and Maine—have banned them outright. Rhode Island and Oregon have said no new billboards. But in Texas, the Texas Transportation Commission voted unanimously to eliminate the existing 42½-foot height restriction beginning September 2019, allowing the size limit to double. 

There’s the answer!

Suzan