Print magazine talks to Art Director Michael Gross

It would be such a shame if you guys missed out on The Cutting Humor of Art Director Michael Gross, so here we are pointing you in the direction of Print magazine so that you don't. Michael Gross also made the kill this dog cover, often referenced here in Adland be it via failed lamb hoof ad agency mailings or when I parodied it when a magazine spelled my name wrong, and he also created the "If Ted Kennedy drove a VW" ad.
Gross and the crew at the National Lampoon reigned supreme with their skillfully executed parodies and sharp wit, that looked the part every time. Sadly, Gross says there's been a decline in ideas as of late, and I can only agree with him.

Print: What else is going on with you?
Michael Gross: I’m currently unhire-able as a designer. Seems ideas are not needed these days. It’s all about style over substance. And as you might guess, I’m hard to pin down or categorize when it comes to style. But that’s okay. I’m mostly retired, I consult on scripts—making movies is way more fun than print is these days—and I lecture and paint. And photography is my newest love.

The cover image he created for Print is an instantly recognisable work injury any art director of yore will be familiar with, and might even have some scars left from. The "don't bleed on the boards!" joke in Art director wisdom is, like waxing the galley, something millennials may not be familiar with but how us old farts actually did our work back then. These days, when satire and parody magazines are an extremely dangerous place to work, like the Charlie Hebdo offices, we no longer have a National Lampoon to lampoon politicians. Mocking politicians and satire are taking to streets, like artist Sabo, where x-acto knives, wheatpaste and social media blog posts are the new magazine stand to reach the audiences. The art of sharp wit isn't dead yet, long live the x-acto knives.

Full interview at Print magazine.