PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 16, 2009 – As a youngster, I loved watching a movie titled, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. The low budget film was a comedy starring a comedy team named, Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo. Sammy was a clone of entertainer, Jerry Lewis. Sammy didn't have to try to imitate Jerry Lewis. The resemblance was remarkable. They could have been twins.
Jerry Lewis was never kind to Sammy Petrillo. Although Lewis did book Petrillo for a comedy spot on the Martin and Lewis Colgate Comedy Hour, Jerry Lewis also used his influence to bar Sammy from appearing on other NBC comedy shows. Lou Costello had to inform Sammy that his appearance on the Abbot and Costello, Colgate Comedy Hour was canceled, because Jerry Lewis complained to NBC that he didn't want Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo to appear on any subsequent NBC shows.
In November of 2008, Jerry Lewis tried to have Sammy Petrillo removed from his front row seat when he learned out that Petrillo was in attendance at a speaking engagement Lewis was starring in, in New York City. I was with Sammy Petrillo that night and Sammy was crushed, although he did not leave his seat. Sammy only wanted to enjoy the seminar conducted by the man who influenced his own career for such a very long time.
Sammy was a popular figure at scores of celebrity autograph shows throughout the years because of his appearance in the film with Bela Lugosi. Sammy was also a top notch comedian, appearing in night clubs across the USA beginning in the 1950s. Most importantly, Sammy was a gentle, kindhearted man who loved making people laugh. He also gave of his time freely to help needy people with legal issues, with his expertise as a trained paralegal.
Sammy Petrillo died as a result of Cancer on August 15, 2009. I was proud to represent Sammy, and honored to have him as a friend.
Rick Saphire
 But enough about me The Girl in the Abstract Bed
posted: February 4, 2010
1954
.
.
She rode in a British sports carriage
powered by her water-cooled mother, jane. 
She ate in a high-chair made of canvas and wrought iron.
Her tableware was stainless steel, from Denmark,
her porringer was pottery, from California, and her typical luncheon menu might have been: Chicken Livers en brochette, puree de petits pois, and Lait au lait. 
She played in a kidney-shaped playpen
built by her power-tooled father, DADA. 
There came the time when nicole learned to walk.
Her parents had the Leotard Service Send in a nice pair of ballet slippers, some horn-rimmed frames (the lenses could come later), and a checked wool shirt. 
.
.
How tranquilly things went! Whenever Nicole tired of walking,
they could put Little Bop Eep on the Hi-Fi, get out a book of Mother Proust stories, and she would lounge in the playpen, surrounded by her favorite toys. 
One summer day it became necessary to take Nicole to visit
her Reactionary Grandmother in the country. 
Grandmother saw the child and steamed like a teakettle,
jane clutched her daughter's hand, firm as a pharaoh, (her husband was unloading the car). But before the two ladies could so much as crackle the first crisp words, DADA called out to jane: 
"Honeypet, could you help me with the playpen?"
"Nicole P. Snow," rasped the Reactionary Grandmother,
grabbing at the glasses, "you are the most peculiar," shucking off the slippers, "baby that I ever saw." And she pulled away the shirt and leotards. 
Nicole rushed happily into the sunshine to play.
The Reactionary Grandmother braced herself ready for any battle, but to her astonishment DADA only smiled and said to jane: "Look, honeypet, 
our baby is primitive, after all."
.
copyright 1954, by Tobias Schneebaum and Vance Bourjaily.
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Robert Newman on Facebook
posted: January 30, 2010
Robert Newman Design is someone/thing you should become a fan of on Facebook. Terrific site. Newman's long been an advocate for illustration and great design. Here he gets to shower you with his favorites. A lot of the work he scans himself but he also directs you to outside links. The man has a great eye. Following are a few, a very few, examples of the type of stuff to be found on his Facebook fan page.
What are you waiting for? Go "friend" Robert Newman Design now.
Emory Douglas 2
posted: January 28, 2010
A while back Edel Rodriguez posted about Emory Douglas. While rooting through a drawer full of magazines this past weekend I came across a couple of issues of THE BLACK PANTHER newspaper which featured Douglas' work on the back page.
Album cover
The newspaper images here have been collected in Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas
Elaine Brown: Seize The Time is available on cd and/or mp3 download. Mark Alan Stamaty
posted: January 19, 2010
Mark Alan Stamaty's latest book is Shake, Rattle & Turn That Noise Down!: How Elvis Shook Up Music, Me & Mom and it's terrific. From the bookflap. "For his eighth birthday, Mark Alan Stamaty’s parents gave him his very own radio. Little did his mother realize that that innocent-looking plastic box would one day be the gateway for a new kind of sound that would “rock” her nearly out of her mind. . . .
Mark first heard the howling thunder of Elvis Presley singing “Hound Dog” on the radio one lazy day and his life was forever changed. Soon he was styling his hair like the King and practicing his dance moves with a tennis racket as his pretend guitar in front o f the mirror. But his mother lived in constant fear that her son’s new love of rock ’n’ roll would turn him into a juvenile delinquent. Could Mark’s performance at his Cub Scout talent show change her mind?" This was a project born of love for Mark and it comes directly from his heart. Told in comic book form it's a story most of us can relate to, of being a kid in the insular world of our parents, family, school and then being knocked for a loop by some outside influence that shows us that there is a much bigger world out there, filling us with an insatiable curiosity and desire to explore it. This is a wonderful book for kids and adults. Mark is well known in certain circles for his impromptu Elvis impressions at various events throughout the years. Here's a great story about one of them. 
Stamaty performing as Elvis for President Clinton 1993
You did your Elvis impersonation for President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. How did that come about?
Our visit took place on Saturday, March 13th, 1993 in the midst of a huge blizzard that was burying Washington in heavy snowdrifts. We were a group of political cartoonists who were in the nation's capital for an annual cartoonists' dinner that was hosted by The Washington Post. It was a small group of about ten or twelve cartoonists, each allowed to bring one guest. Normally, we would meet for dinner on the 9th floor of the Post building. Normally in attendance, in addition to us, were the owner and publisher of the Post, the editorial page editor and a few well-known journalists from print and TV. Added to this each year were two currently prominent political figures - senators, cabinet members, etc. and their spouses. These were one-time invitees. Through the years, the special guests included Sen. Howard Baker, former VP Walter Mondale, Dick and Lynne Cheney (before Cheney had been VP), Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Al Gore (before he was VP), Sen. John Glenn, etc., etc. (The party had originally been started by the former managing editor of the Post, Howard Simons in the early '70s.) After the meal part of those dinners, the floor would be opened for any of the guests to say whatever he or she might like to say. But essentially this was the time when the cartoonists in particular were kind of expected to tell funny stories. I think this expectation might have originated from the fact that in the early years of this party, Jeff MacNelly and Mike Peters, once they got going, were two hilarious guys. And some of the others could, at times, be too. My political cartooning career started later than some of the other guys, so I got invited into the club after it had been going for a several years. And while on occasion I could come up with a funny story, the thing I could bring to the evening that no one else could was my Elvis impersonation which I had been doing since I was a kid. So, at the very end of every one of those dinners, I would be called on to do my Elvis impersonation to finish off the evening. Meg Greenfield, my editor at the Post, called it "the benediction." More details, please! The day of our White House visit it was just us cartoonists and our guests. Not everyone had been able to get to Washington on time because of the blizzard. Our group included these cartoonists: Jeff MacNelly, Jim Borgman, Mike Peters, Doug Marlette, and myself. Also with us was the legendary animator of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and creator of the Roadrunner, Chuck Jones, who had been a regular attendee since Mike Peters had befriended him and invited him into our group years before. Tony Auth might have been with us, but I can't recall for sure. So, first off, we got a tour of the White House and met Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin somewhere downstairs. He was very friendly and spoke with us a bit. When we finally entered the Oval Office, President Clinton was on the phone and seemed rather preoccupied when he finished and joined us. He was wearing a sweater. He seemed relaxed but rather low-key. We started talking about one thing and another. I asked him a question about health care reform. At some point, Al Gore came in and joined us all. After a while, the Vice President spoke up and said: "In his lifetime, Elvis only visited the White House once, but he's here among us today." I had actually known Al Gore since 1982 when he was in the House of Representatives and professed to be a fan of my comic strip WASHINGTOON that ran on the Washington Post op-ed page every Monday. So this was my cue to do my Elvis for the president, who, as I understand it, is an Elvis fan. Somewhere I'd heard that the president did an Elvis impersonation–I'm not sure if that was true–so I asked him to do his Elvis but he demurred. So I stood up, took off my jacket and tie, unbuttoned a few shirt buttons, turned up my collar and did my a cappella version of All Shook Up. What was Clinton's reaction? It seemed to go over quite well. The president liked it so much he sent an aid up to the closet of his bedroom to get an Elvis Presley necktie he had there, which he signed and gave to me. When we were all leaving and he shook my hand, he leaned in close to my ear and said quietly: "You made this day." As we were heading out of the office, the defense secretary and several other advisers were hurrying in for an emergency meeting about the situation in Bosnia. Read the full interview at Linda Davick: SHAKE, RATTLE & TURN THAT NOISE DOWN!: Interview With Mark Alan Stamaty 
Originally published in 1973, this is one of my favorite childrens books---ever.
Mark's early works don't lend themselves well to the internet. His images are often very dense and filled to the breaking point with characters and detail. Brilliant stuff. I encourage anyone reading this blog to seek out his work and behold it in all it's printed page glory. 
opening page drawing and signature on my copy of WHO NEEDS DONUTS?
Don't despair if you don't already have a copy (and everyone should have a copy). As the button reads, back in print and available here
Greenwich Village
This is one of two centerfold spreads that ran in the Village Voice in '77 and '78. I remember standing on the sidewalk in front of the Voice offices on University Place back in 1979 obsessively studying these images. They were available as posters and used to hang in the window there. I have a signed copy of the Times Square poster but for some odd reason didn't pick-up the Village one. Something I regret to this very day. Maybe they were sold out.
To view them larger and marvel as I did and do Greenwich Village 1979 Times Square 1979 
The posters proved to be so successeful that VOICE art director George Delmerico offered Mark his own weekly strip. To me it's a masterpiece full of hallucinatory tangents, wildly inventive imagery and a story line that just couldn't be bothered with sticking to a consistent narrative.
The long view.
A doodle on the title page of my copy of MacDoodle St.
From MacDoodle Street, this is one my favorite comics panels ever. I remember seeing this in the VOICE while still living in Pennsylvania and it just cracked me up. Who can't relate to a comic that wakes up on a beautiful spring day and decides to ditch the weekly narrative in favor of hanging out in the park?
I've always admired Mark's insight into capturing the feel of New York City. As much as Marks drawing here is about his personal style it is also keenly observed. The people in his park, and NYC images in general, live and breathe. 
In 1981, Meg Greenfield, who was the editorial page editor of the Washington Post, asked Mark to create a weekly strip about Washington for the paper's op-ed page. “Washingtoon” was published in the Washington Post, the Village Voice and syndicated in about forty-five other newspapers for twelve-and-a-half years. It was then picked up by TIME magazine where it ran for another two years.
Brought in by Steven Heller, Mark did a lot of work for the The New York Times Book Review from the nineties into the 2000s including the brilliant back page comic BOOX. Here's some work from the book review of record era.
Stamaty's been devoting himself to writing of late and has several books on the shelves including ALIA's MISSION. From BOOKLIST's starred review, "The story of Iraqi librarian Alia Muhammed Baker, who, fearing looting and bombs, hid more than 30,000 books prior to the invasion of Iraq, is so compelling that two author-illustrators have retold it: Jeanette Winter, in her parable-like picture book The Librarian of Basra, and Stamaty, in this graphic novel. Sequential panels concisely depict complex sequences of actions and emotions, allowing Stamaty to pack more detail into 32 pages than is possible in a traditional picture book. Stamaty's black-and-white ink, graphite, and wash artwork is equally nuanced; one can even discern the eerie, flickering shadows cast by the burning library across townspeople's faces. Younger readers will be instantly drawn by the story's anthropomorphic book emcee, but this sophisticated and timely work will also appeal to adult admirers of Spiegelman's Maus books and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis memoirs..."
Shake, Rattle & Turn That Noise Down! (back cover)
This has been a hop, skip and a jump through Mark's career. For more check out his official website at Mark Alan Stamaty
Jerry Lewis Stuff
posted: January 5, 2010
Collection of Jerry Lewis stuff related to illustration and design. I've been a fan of Lewis over the years and over the years people would give me Lewis memorabilia found at flea markets. Here's some of what i've accumulated over those years.
Jerry Lewis Hand Puppet 
Dean Martin Hand Puppet 
The Jerry Lewis Book of Tricks and Magic: Endpapers
David Levine: Caricatures
posted: January 1, 2010
Set of four David Levine buttons. Copyright 1970 New York Review of Books.
In the late 1970s, I certainly put in my time imitating David Levine's caricature style best I could for the college newspaper. I often revisit his work through the several books I have in my collection.
The great American philosopher Jerry Lewis once said that the greatest gift one can give to any performer is a spotlight and a stage so here are a few links to sites that feature Levine's caricatures.
The New York Review of Books: David Levine Gallery: includes 2,500 illustrations dating as far back as 1963. David Levine magazine covers David Levine: Film Stars of the Silent and Early Talkies Era Daily Beast: A Gallery, David Levine 1926-2009 Robert Newman Selects Some Favorite David Levine's Guardian Cartoonist Steve Bell's Tribute: 'David Levine's caricatures were art' A Fundraiser for Pedro Bell
posted: December 29, 2009
Album-cover artist Pedro Bell, the prophetic penman of P-Funk liner notes, satirical satyr of South Side Chicago, and one of my personal heroes, has been enduring health and money problems for years. We need to show him some love.
The Black Rock Coalition is sponsoring a benefit show for Pedro Bell this Saturday night (January 2) at Santos Party House in downtown Manhattan. Doors open at 7 p.m. The price is $15. Pedro’s friends and fans were stirred to action by a November article in the Chicago Sun-Times. If you can’t attend the fundraiser but would like to help Pedro in his time of need, follow this link to PayPal and donate to the Pedro Bell Benefit Fund.
original content from Undercover Black Man
16 Magazine
posted: December 26, 2009
When I was a kid, each month my sister would buy 16 Magazine at Werley's Store in Guthsville, Pennsylvania. The covers are as distinctive as any I can think of
here's some more work mining similar territory.
1954 
1964 
1950
1970s
1962 
National Lampoon 1970s artist: Randall Enos 
tintype--circa 1890s-1910
A special thank you to Mark Newgarden, Randall Enos and Jonathan Green for their invaluable assistance in putting this post together.
All of the 16 MAGAZINE images were downloaded from the internet. Here are some of the original sites. The others I lost track of.
The Ward-O-Matic I'm Learning To Share Flickr: 1960's "16" Magazine Bobby Vee Bobby Sherman's Official Website! 
A brief history of the magazine: The Sixties Remembered: Gloria Stavers and 16 Magazine
Redd Foxx album covers
posted: December 21, 2009
Robert Newman came up with the idea that he and I should do posts in tandem to celebrate Red Foxx's birthday on December 9. He was to post magazine covers and me record album covers. He posted his on the appointed day and they can be seen here. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control prevented me from keeping up my end of the bargain. Here then, better late than never, are some album covers from my record collection plus a few more culled from the internet. Happy Holidays one and all!
And while you're at Robert's site check out his extensive and ever growing archive of classic and contemporary design. The man knows his stuff.
The same art was used on a series of albums.
Another series of albums using the same art. They came in a variety of colors.
And still another series that used different colors for different titles.
This set of lp covers scanned by Zettwoch's Suitcase. You may want to stop by the blog to see his print commemorating Redd Foxx performing "Fred G. Sanford's famous heart-attack pantomime."
Ad found at Plaidstallions.com
|
| Sammy Petrillo, the comedian who was often mistaken for entertainer Jerry Lewis in the 1950s, has died in a New York hospital |
Sammy Petrillo with Suzan Lewis, the Daughter of Jerry Lewis, in of 2009.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
My personally autographed copy of MY SON, THE PHONE CALLER
I don't know what sort of impact Sammy had on illustrators but he was/is beloved by many cartoonists and animators. Mark Newgarden gave me MY SON THE PHONE CALLER as a gift some years ago. It's been in the family vault ever since to be passed down to future generations of Kroningers. Sammy was a friend. I saw a lot of him back in the late eighties and early nineties while he was living in New York. Great guy
Cynthia von Buhler kids book
posted: August 17, 2009
Cynthia von Buhler's working blog for Who Will Bell the Cats?
In addition to having written this story, I was also the painter, sculptor, interior decorator, mason, gardener, and plumber of the sets. The rooms were built by hand from wood. The stone walls were formed from plaster. The floors are handmade from inlaid wood, mother-of-pearl, and plaster. The characters were painted in oils on gessoed paper, then cut out and placed in the sets. I photographed the scenes with a Nikon D300.
This working blog gives you a glimpse into the process of how I created the sets and characters. I made this blog for my editor and designer so they could view my progress, but now I have opened it up for all to see. Enjoy! - Cynthia von Buhler
This working blog gives you a glimpse into the process of how I created the sets and characters. I made this blog for my editor and designer so they could view my progress, but now I have opened it up for all to see. Enjoy! - Cynthia von Buhler
MJ Drawger Show/Japan
posted: August 5, 2009
from the current issue of Japan's ILLUSTRATION magazine: "Once the news of Michael Jackson's death was announced, the illustrations show of him got started. It is like the guerilla exhibit of Michael spreading in a really fast pace. Stephen Kroninger is behind this Drawger show of Jackson illustation. Now there are more than 80 illustrators participating.
One of the participating artists Kyle T. Webster said, "If you are an illustrator, you must have drawn Michael Jackson at least once."
Michael is the king of illustration as well."
a very special thanks to Yuko Shimizu for scanning the page, sending me the page and for providing the english translation.
One of the participating artists Kyle T. Webster said, "If you are an illustrator, you must have drawn Michael Jackson at least once."
Michael is the king of illustration as well."
a very special thanks to Yuko Shimizu for scanning the page, sending me the page and for providing the english translation.
I originally thought the Michael Jackson Drawger Show would top out at about twenty images. The hundred and twentieth image was posted today.
The Michael Jackson Drawger Show
The Michael Jackson Drawger Show
100 Abandoned Houses
posted: August 1, 2009
Magical Misery Tour
posted: July 28, 2009
National Lampoon, October 1971. This Beatles parody, a collaboration between writer Michael O'Donoghue and artist Randall Enos, was mentioned in an earlier post about the late Heinz Edelmann. Here it is.
Yellow Submarine comics
posted: July 24, 2009
Bill Morrison (Dark Horse 1999)
Here are links to two Yellow Submarine comic book adaptations based on Heinz Edelmann's designs for the film. The first was published in 1968 with the release of the film, the second remains unfinished and unpublished. It was commisioned as part of the publicity for the 1999 DVD but it was pulled in the middle of the project. According to the comics creator, ""From what I understand, the executive at Apple Records who oversees the Beatles merchandise had a change of heart. I heard that he only wanted to do really high-class merchandise for this roll out and he suddenly decided that comic books didn't qualify." You can read all about it and see more images by clicking the link below.
YELLOW SUBMARINE (Gold Key 1968)
YELLOW SUBMARINE (Dark Horse 1999 unpublished)
1993 Interview with Heinz Edelmann about Yellow Submarine
YELLOW SUBMARINE (Dark Horse 1999 unpublished)
1993 Interview with Heinz Edelmann about Yellow Submarine
Gold Key 1968
I just remembered my copy of The Official Yellow Submarine Magazine. I acquired this when I was in fifth or sixth grade. Still have it. If memory serves I bought through the Scholastic Book Club at school. I always liked the design and imagery of Yellow Submarine. It wasn't until later that I learned that it owed no small nod to the Push-Pin aesthetic. Anyway. the bulk of the magazine is a fully illustrated retelling of the movie with the rest being generic write-ups about the fab four.
front cover
spread
back cover
There was also the fully illustrated paperback. I still have this too. Different artists and the style is more faithful to the look of the film. Much of it seems to be reproduced from the movie's original artwork.
Rackham's Poe
posted: July 23, 2009
One of the many joys of Fatherhood is passing down my books to the kids. Recently one of my daughters has been on a Poe kick. This is no family heirloom or anything but it is chock full of fantastic (literally) illustrations. I love that she's putting this stuff into her ten year old brain. This is isn't their first taste of Rackham, they have several other books illustrated by him. Originally published in 1935, this book is a reprint that was given to me as a gift back in the seventies so the reproductions are probably a faint echo of the first edition. Nevertheless, here are some scans.
The Imp of the Perverse
A Descent Into The Maelstrom
The Premature Burial
King Pest
Hop Frog
Hop Frog
The Pit And The Pendulum
MS. Found In A Bottle
The Murders In The Rue Morgue
The Murders In The Rue Morgue
endpapers
Satire Was More Than Funny
posted: July 20, 2009
Tom Wilkes, Album Cover Designer, Dies
posted: July 18, 2009
front cover
When I was a kid I was huge fan of the Rolling Stones. I remember seeing this original lp cover art for Beggar’s Banquet reproduced in a fan mag. It had been nixed by the label but to me it epitomized the Stones' defiant attitude and snotty reputation as well as Peter Blake’s cover for The Beatles Sgt. Pepper perfectly captured that band's giddy psychedelia. I loved it. Anyway, the Times reports today that its designer Tom Wilkes has died. I thought his death shouldn’t go unremarked on Drawger. And that’s the way it is.
back cover
"On August 24, 1968, the story first broke nationally that both Decca and London flatly refused to to release BEGGAR'S BANQUET in a sleeve 'glorifying' Barry Feinstein's photograph of a graffitied toilet wall. Similarly, Jagger flatly refused to allow it to be released in anything but this cover He insists: "I don't find it at all offensive. Decca has put out a sleeve showing an atomic bomb exploding (ATOMIC TOM JONES). I find that more upsetting." ...Though Decca intimated that once the matter of the sleeve was settled it could be on sale within the week. Jagger refused to give ground.
A week later, Jagger suggested that as a compromise, both album and sleeve could be shipped in a brown paper bag with "UNFIT FOR CHILDREN" stamped on the outside. Decca rejected the idea.
The job of the record company," barked Jagger, " is to distribute. All they've got to do is put it in the shops, not dictate to people what they should and should not have." On November 9 Jagger admits that he lost interest in the situation. "It's a complete waste of time," he concedes.
Seven days later, both Jagger and Decca confirm that a compromise has been worked out and in doing so, the final nail is banged into the coffin of the never too harmonious Stones/Decca relationship."---THE ROLLING STONES, an illustrated history by Roy Carr p.54
A week later, Jagger suggested that as a compromise, both album and sleeve could be shipped in a brown paper bag with "UNFIT FOR CHILDREN" stamped on the outside. Decca rejected the idea.
The job of the record company," barked Jagger, " is to distribute. All they've got to do is put it in the shops, not dictate to people what they should and should not have." On November 9 Jagger admits that he lost interest in the situation. "It's a complete waste of time," he concedes.
Seven days later, both Jagger and Decca confirm that a compromise has been worked out and in doing so, the final nail is banged into the coffin of the never too harmonious Stones/Decca relationship."---THE ROLLING STONES, an illustrated history by Roy Carr p.54
AP-Fairey gets Interesting
posted: July 16, 2009
The AP-Fairey Case Just Got Even More Interesting
The American Lawyer reports that "freelance photographer Mannie Garcia, represented by Boies, Schiller & Flexner partner George Carpinello, filed a memorandum of law in federal district court in Manhattan seeking to intervene in the dispute that so far has pitted The Associated Press against artist Shepard Fairey." Garcia claims that he (not the AP) owns the copyright in the photo.As Marquette's Bruce Boyden noted back in February, "it all comes down to whether [Garcia] was an [AP] 'employee' at the time he took the photo." In his filing, Garcia says he is "an independent, freelance" photographer and worked for the AP "for approximately five weeks." He "worked from his apartment and his car and used his own equipment," and he "selected what photographs to take." He was "not eligible to join the union" and "received no health, vacation, unemployment or other benefits." He was "free to -- and did -- work for other individuals and corporations while working with the AP."
In a statement, the AP says it is "evaluating Mannie Garcia's position, but remains confident in AP's ownership of the copyright because Mr. Garcia was an employee of AP when he took the photo."
Back in February, Boyden commented: "How in the world could this happen? How could an organization like AP not ensure that they have the copyright over the material that they publish? ... [I]f it did happen, it strikes me as a bizarre lapse on AP’s part."
He has a new post this afternoon, which says, first, that "Garcia’s motion will very likely be granted. He claims ownership of the photo, and this litigation will, among other things, determine AP’s ownership rights in the photo and whether Fairey infringed it. Not only is he a mandatory intervenor under Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a), but he’s likely a necessary party under Rule 19(a)(1)(B)(i)." He also says that "it seems that Garcia has a pretty good case that he was not an AP employee at the time he took the photo" and, therefore, "[u]nless AP can produce some sort of writing, I think they may be in trouble."
Gilliam on Kurtzman
posted: July 13, 2009
MJ Drawger Show News
posted: July 9, 2009
Philip Burke
I just got word that the Michael Jackson Drawger Show is going to be featured in an upcoming issue of Japan's ILLUSTRATION magazine. Keep your eyes open for that. If you're in the show you may be in the magazine. According to Drawger's own Yuko Shimizu, "Illustration Magazine is THE magazine of our industry in Japan. It has a history of about 30 years, all the professionals, ADs, aspiring illustrators and the likes read this." It's a great publication.
The show is open as long as Drawger is in operation so feel free to submit artwork at any time. Thanks to all who already have.
Here's a favorite take on Michael Jackson's Bad by John Oswald of Plunderphonics fame.
The show is open as long as Drawger is in operation so feel free to submit artwork at any time. Thanks to all who already have.
Here's a favorite take on Michael Jackson's Bad by John Oswald of Plunderphonics fame.
Jay Bevenour
Bill Plympton
Robert Risko
Marcos Chin
Joe Fournier
The Art of Harvey Kurtzman
posted: July 9, 2009
Just picked this up today at Strand books.
Harsh Realism
posted: July 8, 2009
Dick Tracy or in the text Dick Trace
Inspired by Tim's Chuck Brown post, and in between waiting for sketches to be approved and going to a final, I scanned in these pages from NATIONAL LAMPOON PRESENTS THE VERY LARGE BOOK OF COMICAL FUNNIES published in 1975. The title of the piece is "Harsh Realities." The artwork is by Wayne McLoughlin and the text by P.J. O'Rourke (not that you'll be able to read all of the text here). I didn't scan the entire image of each because to do so would have meant breaking the binding on my pristene mint copy of this issue. That's a sacrifice I was unwilling to make.
Henry
Popeye
Little Orphan Annie
He also illustrates the WARRIORS series of books which if you have kids of a certain age you're probably very familiar with.
Michael Jackson Drawger Show
posted: July 6, 2009
Robert Risko
Yet another invitation to add your Michael Jackson drawings, painting, sculptures etc to the Michael Jackson Drawger Show and also an excuse to post this clip of the Trinity Wall Street church organist Robert Ridgell playing a medley of Michael Jackson's hits at the conclusion of services.
Philip Burke
Jorge Mascarenhas
Michael Greaney
Sendak on Illustration
posted: July 2, 2009
Maurice Sendak talks about what being an illustrator means to him, in a DVD by the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. The DVD, "There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak: A Retrospective in Words and Pictures" explores the masterful storytellers extraordinary career through his own words as the author talks about his favorite characters and the many influences and settings of his richest stories. Get the DVD at www.rosenbach.org.
Alan Aldridge/Gig Posters
posted: June 10, 2009
Tomorrow Never Knows, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, Delacorte Press, 1969
Two recent book purchases that may be of interest to visitors of this blog and just in time for Father's Day or that summer vacation. The first is The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Art of Alan Aldridge
I first came across Aldridge's work back when my Mother bought me a copy of his The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics. The books, volumes one and two, are filled with a who's who of sixties-era illustrators interpreting the lyrics of Beatles songs. Pretty eye-popping stuff for me back in the sixth grade and still is today.
Sexy Sadie, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, Delacorte Press, 1969
nbsp"Kaleidoscope Eyes" is filled with plenty of examples of Aldridge's work over the years and stories of his adventures with Lord Snowden, Princess Margaret, The Beatles (he was the house artist at Apple Corp.), The Rolling Stones, The Who, Cream, Elton John and Colonel Tom Parker as well as many others.nbspOne of the more amusing tales concerns Aldridge being challenged by Salvador Dali to a drawing run-off in an airport bar.nbspHe was art director for Penguin Books in the sixties, he's created successfull children's books and has even designed art for a pinball machine. It's a great read for illustrators. As he highlights the ups and downs of his 40 year career you'll find that, although his specifics may be different, many of the stories will have a familiar ring for many of you.
There's A Place, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, Delacorte Press, 1969
spread from The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, Delacorte Press, 1969
Across The Universe, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics Volume Two, Delacorte Press, 1971
Aldridge's poster for Andy Warhol's "Chelsea Girls," 1968
The second book is Gig Posters: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century which is just what it says it is. A large format volume filled with terrific examples of contemporary band posters as well as short bios and interviews with all of the artists. Of particular interest to me are the lists of their influences.
Visit their website gigposters.com and prepare to be overwhelmed.
Visit their website gigposters.com and prepare to be overwhelmed.
TV on the Radio, Designer: Brad Klausen
Modest Mouse, The Decoder Ring Design Concern
Scissors Sisters, Dan Stiles
Pretty Girls Make Graves, Methane Studios
Ween, Gregg Gordon
The Donnas, Amy Jo
Kanye West, Invisible Creature
Andrew Bird, The Small Stakes
Tadanori Yokoo
posted: June 8, 2009
"Tadanori Yokoo" poster for the "Persona" exhibition, 1965
This post is by no means meant to be definitive. These few images only begin to scratch the surface of Yokoo's long, prolific and inspired career.
Christopher W. Mount, Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York: "...We are bombarded on a daily basis with all types of data relayed to us not only from the print media but also the electronic media, television, computers and even electronic billboards.
The graphic work of Tadanori Yokoo is unique in the clarity with which it chronicles the pace, complexity and chaos of this contemporary phenomenon. His extremely intricate, dreamlike designs are analogous to a late-modernist and surreal expression of the incursion of technologies on our visual consciousness . Yokoo's posters are beautiful portraits of the turbulent times we live in and his great talent lies in the ease and fluidity with which he makes consonance and finds harmony in what most others find as apparent disorder.
To fully understand Yokoo's place in the history of the graphic arts and to comprehend his prominence amongst contemporary designers, one must first look briefly at the history of graphic design during the twentieth century.
Early graphic designers were primarly illustrators, then in the mid-twenties avant-garde designers introduced the use of collage and added photographic elements to their works piecing them together with type. These early pioneers, like the later work of Yokoo, relied on a juxtaposition of elements to create dynamic compositions. This tradition of the graphic designer as assembler has continued, and Yokoo's place in this legacy is notable. He has elevated, during his thirty year career, the technique of collage and thus the practice of graphic design to new heights of complexity, stretching its imaginable limits to an almost conclusionary extreme of intricacy both stylistically and technically" (excerpted from the introduction to Tadanori Yokoo's Posters, Idea Magazine Special Issue 1994).
This post is by no means meant to be definitive. These few images only begin to scratch the surface of Yokoo's long, prolific and inspired career.
Christopher W. Mount, Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York: "...We are bombarded on a daily basis with all types of data relayed to us not only from the print media but also the electronic media, television, computers and even electronic billboards.
The graphic work of Tadanori Yokoo is unique in the clarity with which it chronicles the pace, complexity and chaos of this contemporary phenomenon. His extremely intricate, dreamlike designs are analogous to a late-modernist and surreal expression of the incursion of technologies on our visual consciousness . Yokoo's posters are beautiful portraits of the turbulent times we live in and his great talent lies in the ease and fluidity with which he makes consonance and finds harmony in what most others find as apparent disorder.
To fully understand Yokoo's place in the history of the graphic arts and to comprehend his prominence amongst contemporary designers, one must first look briefly at the history of graphic design during the twentieth century.
Early graphic designers were primarly illustrators, then in the mid-twenties avant-garde designers introduced the use of collage and added photographic elements to their works piecing them together with type. These early pioneers, like the later work of Yokoo, relied on a juxtaposition of elements to create dynamic compositions. This tradition of the graphic designer as assembler has continued, and Yokoo's place in this legacy is notable. He has elevated, during his thirty year career, the technique of collage and thus the practice of graphic design to new heights of complexity, stretching its imaginable limits to an almost conclusionary extreme of intricacy both stylistically and technically" (excerpted from the introduction to Tadanori Yokoo's Posters, Idea Magazine Special Issue 1994).
Poster for the dance performance "A La Maison de M. Civecawa" by the modern dance troupe Garumera Shokai, 1965
Poster for the book "The Wonders of Life on Earth," 1965
Poster for the serialized magazine essay "The Aesthetics of the End" by Yukio Mishima, 1966
Poster for "John Silver," theatrical performance by Jokyo Gekijo, 1967
Poster for 'Koshimaki-Osen" (Loincloth Hermit), performance by the underground theatrical troupe Joyko Gekijo, 1966
Poster for the Word and Image exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1968
Poster for the "16th Exhibition of Japan Advertising Artist's Club" 1968
Poster for the "6th International Biennial Exhibition of Prints in Tokyo," 1968.
"...This poster is also noteworthy as it represents the first time color markings were retained at the top as an integral part of the graphic design." (Best 100 Japanese Posters 1945-89, Toppan Printing Company Ltd. 1990).
"...This poster is also noteworthy as it represents the first time color markings were retained at the top as an integral part of the graphic design." (Best 100 Japanese Posters 1945-89, Toppan Printing Company Ltd. 1990).
Poster for the movie "The Trip", 1968
"New York," Hinode Arts and Crafts gallery poster, 1968
Poster for a demonstration by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "War Is Over," 1969
Poster for IDEA magazine, 1969
Poster for the bunraku play "Chinsetsu Yumihan-Zuki, 1971
