The Identity of Joseph Habshey

Joe, it's a damn crying shame that nobody stood up and took notice of the best and most unique demonstration of identity in class. I'll explain in just a bit, but first, come with me.

In our world of New Media, we must have a finger on the pulse of society in order to be successful. What is current, what is hip, and what is now tends to fall deafly on the ears of many people I know. I mean, I'm trying to be different just as much as the next cat and I would never call myself trendy by any stretch of the imagination, however I do find it very important to know what is happening. One may not know it by looking at me but I read more gossip magazines than a Carmel house-wife, am a card-carrying member of Team Perez, and have been to New York City during Fashion Week. Am I this way simply for fun? Hell no, I'm a designer. What good would I be without knowing the new trends in pop culture? Now I am not saying that these resources are the end-all be-all definitions of artistic creativity, however they are excellent resources when it comes to fashions and trends, not to mention they are full of current designs and advertisements. Sure I am also an artist who strives for something more than the world of corporate graphic arts has to offer and I like to be an individual but everything in design feeds off of something else. We are all just riding the same creative wave that has been flowing since the first caveman put blood to stone. I am a mere acorn bobbing up and down in the ripple of artistic time. Sure I make my own unique splash but without the water around me, there's no fuel for my fire. We're all different notes jamming in the same song. The sun, the stars, and the earth, the moon, sky, and the tide... ya dig?

So how does this apply to my buddy Joe? Well whether he knew it or not, by creating a wallet out of paper in order to achieve identity, he hit the societal nail smack dab on the head. Just as the movie Cloverfield's huge success rode on the coattails of post 911 New York and the Youtube age of cell phone videos, Joe slapped all his identification and money into an insecure paper-thin billfold thus tapping into the wildly popular culture topic of identity theft. The crime of identity theft is in the media everywhere. He bounced everything off of what is very current by putting his own spin on the topic and created a really sharp and witty piece. It wasn't a ripoff, it wasn't a clone, it was something fresh, new, and very top drawer. I have had my identity thieved and let me tell you it was not a fun experience. Logging into my bank account and viewing transactions happening a thousand miles away was a real fucking treat. Thanks a lot assholes! But the cool thing was, my bank was on top of it and my scratch was refunded in no time flat. So how New Media, new aged, and on the hot button of now was Joe's idea? I would say that although he presented last to very little fanfare, his creation was, hands down, bar none, totally to the max, the best in the class.

So to you, Mr. Habshey, A++, sir.