I was first made aware of Nick Cave's band The Birthday Party after they'd disbanded - I suppose one might say I was late to the party, if one was inclined to employ cheap punnery. I, however, would never stoop so low.
Regardless it was an important discovery for me and introduced me to the wiry and sinister guitar sound of the late and unarguably great Rowland S Howard and the primal theatrics of inimitable vocalist Nick Cave. After absorbing the Birthday Party's catalog I delved into the canon of Cave's follow up project, The Bad Seeds.
Throughout the Bad Seeds' lifespan Cave has evolved greatly, having honed his considerable talents as a songwriter and even a balladeer. His lyrics reveal a literacy and introspection that is nearly without peer in popular music frequently referencing the Old Testament and a displaying keen knowledge of among other things American blues and gospel.
Cave's evolution as an artist has been a long one and decidedly nonlinear. He's tried his hand at acting, screenplays, film scores. He's written two novels in addition to publishing several books of poetry.
I was contacted over the summer by Mr Sam Kinchin-Smith of Silkworm Inc. Seems he was aware of the album covers I'd been producing for globe-spanning rock-n-roll quartet Sour Jazz and hoped that I would be interested in producing a piece for his upcoming project: a 'multi-disciplinary Nick Cave reader' to be entitled 'Read Write (Hand)' ( a cheeky play on "Red Right Hand', arguably Cave's best-known song ). Sure, I said, I'm interested. His only direction was that the piece showcase Cave more as a literary figure than a musician . After supplying Mr Kinchin-Smith with a preliminary sketch he waxed enthusiastic and it was ultimately decided that my piece would be used as the cover art.
...and here it is.
After many delays, hiccups and hitches the book is available now at multiple outlets (click here for the list). But before you start making room in the Nick Cave section of your bookshelves be aware that this number is available only as a space-age 'e-book'.
No Way Out But Forward Go!
A few images to mark the new year. Some from life and a couple from a project in progress tentatively entitled 'Fried Pie For Easter Tuessday'
I was recently awarded the opportunity to interview one of my all-time favorite artists for the current issue of 3x3 magazine: Mr A Richard Allen. I set about my task in my typical fashion- procrastinating until the pressure became just one hair above unbearable, then hastily scrawling something overly poetic, obtuse and self-referential. Finally I managed to pin down the elusive Mr Allen at his seaside manse and grill him relentlessly until he reluctantly coughed up a few vague details about his life and times. I took these few gems, polished them up and actually managed to - hold for self-congratulatory testimonial- craft a fairly accurate and interesting article.
This from the 3x3 website: 3x3 is the first magazine devoted entirely to the art of contemporary illustration and the only one published in the United States. Twice a year we take an in-depth look at art and environment of three illustrators. We explore their influences. How they work with clients. How they got their first big break. Each article is written by a fellow illustrator who knows exactly what our audience wants to hear. From the U.S. to Europe, Asia, or wherever, we’ll stay tuned to what’s going on the world of illustration.
Whether or not I "know exactly what our audience wants to hear" is your call, but know this: the current issue of 3x3 also includes articles about Drawger's own Alessandro Gottardo aka Shout and collage artist Stephanie Wunderlich. WIth a cast like that it's a 'can't miss'.
Above image of the cover by Shout and is naturally copyrighted. I stiole it off the web. You're not supposed to do that.
'Overdrive'- AD'd by SooJin Buzelli (natch) for Plansponsor
Funny how ones interests can border on obsession and one day- after excessive study, relentless collection, borderline pathological fandom - simply disappear into the ether. Such was the case with my Japanese pop-culture phase.
Somewhere in the early 1990's my appreciation of city-trampling behemoths and platter-eyed pixies took root and blossomed into an all-consuming aesthetic overthrow. I was compelled to watch almost naught but bootlegged Japanese movies, most of relatively poor quality and in a language I hadn't even the faintest understanding of. Monthly I would board a shuttle bus to Fort Lee, NJ with a gaggle of Japanese grandmothers and golfers to explore the tiny paradise that was Pony-Toy-Go-Round. PTGR was a 300 square foot shop nestled in between a stationary store and a golf boutique. Attached to an enormous supermarket and food court, this was Yaohan Plaza- a strip mall catering (almost) exclusively to the greater NYC area's homesick Japanese population. Reflecting now on the obscene amount of money I spent on imported vinyl toys makes my teeth clench but the folly of youth is well-documented and foolish expenditures are rite of passage. Or so I console myself as I envision the $350 flocked plastic Mothra toy that now molders unseen and unloved in the attic.
Some good came of my ruling passion, however. I began studying anime and kana and incorporating what I learned into my work. I developed a typestyle influenced by Japanese letterforms and began employing dramatic shading and highlighting in an obvious nod to Anime (as seen in the promo postcard pictured here). Luckily I was in tune with the zeitgeist and the demand for my anime-inspired work was amazing: album covers and merchandise for several major record labels, logos and lettering, skateboard decks and my first Los Angeles Times Magazine cover ('first' implies there were subsequent covers. Alas, there were not). I was riding the wave, but soon anime and manga-inspired art became ubiquitous in American pop-culture design and I simply petered out. The toys and figures and VHS cassettes were unceremoniously filed into boxes and stashed out of sight.
Behold! The Mighty Atom in all his two-color glory!
Some of the survivors of the phase, however, were art books. One in particular set my imagination ablaze- the Art of Mighty Atom by Osamu Tezuka, Japan's own 'God Of Manga'. This book compiles much of the artwork form the 1950's manga series. Tezuka was a masterful page designer and a peerless comic illustrator and remains one of my favorites to this day. But what stood out most was the unusual printing technique spotlighted in this edition as a solution for cheap pulp printing - the sole use of blue and orange inks.
I tried without success to mimic this technique for some time but my inexpert Photoshop skills left me floundering. Finally I realized my goal in the Astronaut image seen here. When SooJin Buzelli called me with a simple directive - 'overdrive' - the image of a man piloting a giant robot immediately came to mind. It seemed fitting in this case to refer back to the great Osamu Tezka and the Mighty Atom pulps of the 50's.
Neither the NY Mets or the NY Knicks EVER looked this cool in blue and orange!
