Fake ID: 01.05.09

"Fake I.D. was founded in 1999 by Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees.

Fake I.D. is an independent graphic design practice that develops projects for cultural contexts (exhibitions, games, performances, publications, social media, websites, and workshops). Fake I.D. initiates collaborations between artists, brands, and institutions, and works with companies to expand the cultural dimension of their communications through the origination, motivation and support of thought-provoking activities and productions.

Currently in its tenth year, Fake I.D. has produced a diverse range of work, recognized in numerous books and magazines, including commissions from Aiwa, Anthropologie, COLORS, Emigre, The Face, Giant Robot, GLBT Historical Society, Harmony Korine, IdN, MTV, Nike, Sony, Urban Outfitters, Venice Biennale, Wieden+Kennedy, and Zune Arts, among others.

Martinez and Trees have shown their work at international venues including La Panaderia in Mexico City, Ynglingagatan 1 in Stockholm, Galleri Christian Nagel in Cologne, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, American Fine Arts in New York and the Venice Biennale. Fake I.D.'s work is featured in the permanent collections of Design Museum in London, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York. They have lectured and taught workshops at California College of Art, Centro Culturale Candiani, Dutch Art Institute, Fabrica, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, London College of Communication, UCLA, and the Valand School of Fine Art.

Trees is an associate lecturer at the London College of Communication, and adjunct faculty at Art Center College of Design. Additionally, Trees and Martinez are visiting faculty at the San Francisco Art Institute."

Fake I.D. are an independent graphic design company from the US, made up of Joshua Trees and Yvan Martinez. They are now in their 10th year. Their lecture is about language, contractions, speech and writing.

Burger chef: created a revolutionary menu concept in which a toy was added to children's meals. These were known as a "fun meal".

The 4th wall: The 4th wall is an invisible barrier between the audience and the performer. Ernie Kovaks was the first performer to "break the 4th wall" and would play about the the concept of the show.

Placa: this word means insignia of order. It is the sign of a gang. Also known as bario calligraphy, which is writing on walls.

LSTN: language, sound, text, noise.

Joshua Trees began his career by carrying out an undergraduate degree in Graphic Design and a masters in New Genres, which was a mix of conceptual, social and performance. Where the line between art and life blur.

Yvan Martinez grew up in Venzuela and did an undergraduate degree and a masters degree in mathematics. After working within this profession for a few years, he moved to San Francisco, where he met Joshua, and began making art.

They have to draw a line between commercial and independent work but it's always the same approach. They find it important to create work, even if nobody asks for it, and I get the feeling that they do not create art for money, they do it because they enjoy it.

In all honesty, I did not like this lecture. I didn't understand who they were or what they were talking about. Although I think it was good that they decided to give a lecture on their independent work, they should have at least gave an introduction to their commercial work so we knew who they were, as I, personally, had never heard of them until today.

Visit their website: FAKE ID