Liquid Treat

Print may be dying, but paper endures, whether cut, torn, shredded, scribbled on, or sculpted into elaborate art installations. David Revere McFadden examines the medium's creative possibilities and artistic achievements in a new book, Slash: Paper Under the Knife, out next month from 5 Continents Editions. The lushly illustrated tome highlights the work of paper-loving artists such as Olafur Eliasson, who in 2006 reproduced a cross-section of his house (at a scale of 85:1) on 900 sheets of laser-cut paper in a sort of anti-pop-up book, and Kara Walker, whose painstaking paper cut-outs explore themes of race, gender, and the shadier side of American history. Don't bother looking for Slash in hardcover; naturally, it's available only in paperback.

Never underestimate the power of stickers to change the world. It's the chosen method of Areej Khan, a recent graduate of the MFA design program at the School of Visual Arts. Khan's "We the Women" project aims to get people talking about the issue of women behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia, where only men are allowed to drive. "The point behind it is very simple: we want to get all the opinions around this issue, why people support it, why they are against it or why they cannot be bothered," notes Khan on the project's Web site. "We want to get to the bottom of this social phenomenon." How? By asking Saudi women to share their thoughts about driving in downloadable speech bubble bumper stickers that feature the project logo. It's basically the female icon, but she's wearing the Hagad, which is the ring that men wear over their headdress traditionally," Khan said recently. "So it in itself is a symbol of rebellion."

Want a writing utensil that can help you beat the heat? Look no further than the Museum of Modern Art, which is doing a brisk summer business in fan pens. Emblazoned with the MoMA logo, each cherry red retractable ballpoint pen is tipped with a battery-operated fan. The museum's store describes the fan as "finger-safe" and includes an AAA battery with each pen. At the push of a button, whatever you're writing or drawing becomes instantly cooler.

Want a writing utensil that can help you beat the heat? Look no further than the Museum of Modern Art, which is doing a brisk summer business in fan pens. Emblazoned with the MoMA logo, each cherry red retractable ballpoint pen is tipped with a battery-operated fan. The museum's store describes the fan as "finger-safe" and includes an AAA battery with each pen. At the push of a button, whatever you're writing or drawing becomes instantly cooler.

This Sunday marks the return of Mad Men, AMC's provocative drama of 1960s Madison Avenue, and with it fresh fodder for Dyna Moe. The New York-based illustrator and designer is the creator of Mad Men Illustrated, a delightful series of drawings, desktop wallpapers, and iPhone backgrounds inspired by scenes from the show and her own cache of period advertisements. "I'm emulating illustrators Aurelius Battaglia, Alice and Martin Provensen, Art Seiden, and J. P. Miller, who did illustration and commercial art during the era the show is set," notes Dyna Moe, whose foray into Mad Men illustration came when actor Rich Sommer (who plays Harry Crane) asked her to whip up a Christmas card to the show's cast and crew. "The show is famous for its meticulousness, and I try to reflect that in the simple cartoony way that I draw."

Signs, signs, everywhere signs, including in the latest issue of Pentagram Papers, the 39th in the firm's series of privately published "examples of curious, entertaining, stimulating, provocative, and occasionally controversial points of view." Presciently proposed last year by Pentagram partner DJ Stout, "SIGNS" focuses on the plight of the homeless. Photographer Michael O'Brien used a large format camera to capture searing portraits of homeless people in Austin, Texas, and these are interspersed with Randal Ford's exquisite shots of signs -- most of them hand-lettered on corrugated cardboard -- collected by singer and rocker Joe Ely, who was homeless for eight years of his life. "These signs, some of the most basic forms of graphic communication in our society today… are a reminder that with a little bad luck we could easily find ourselves in similar straits," notes the introduction. "And that at times we can all use a helping hand."