posted: May 22, 2007

I wasn't going to post John Heartfield since he's well represented on the web but Dale Stephanos asked me to so here are some of his works.
 These only scratch the surface. Heartfield has an amazing body of work. Any library worth it's name should have at least one good book collecting his works.

posted: May 21, 2007

“Zhitomirsky was considered the foremost artist of Russian political photomontage. During WWII his anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets, that were printed in editions of up to one million, reached vast numbers of German soldiers.” ----Robert Koch

“What deserves special attention is the fact that Alexander Zhitomirsky established a completely new aspect of photomontage, different from mine and Berman’s. By so doing, he proves great possibilities in the development of photomontage. The difference in our creative handwriting is explained by the time and place it occurred, mainly in that Zhitomirsky’s photomontages, though born in war time, like ours, were born during the very fire of war and therefore have a clearer function.” ----John Heartfield

posted: May 21, 2007

Mieczyslaw Berman attended the School of Decorative Art, in his hometown of Warsaw, Poland, developing an interest in Russian constructivism and its applications in the graphic arts. As a commercial artist, Berman's powerful political convictions were nurtured by the political tenets of Dadaism. He encountered the photomontages of John Heartfield and shifted his constructivist work entirely to realist montage, studying Heartfield's AIZ magazine covers. Berman's satirical political message imparts ideological impact by playing on association and metaphor. Unlike Heartfield, he highly simplifies his statement via symbols and signs, without developing complicated secondary plots----Sarah Dawson

posted: May 15, 2007

Wikki Wikki Wikki Wikki. Patrick Flynn called and asked me to create three break-dancers for “Rethinking Education.” I spent the last three days listening to lots of classic hip-hop-----Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-DMC, Afrika Bambaataa, Fat Boys, UTFO, Kurtis Blow, Newcleus, ESG, The Sugarhill Gang, the soundtrack to Wild Style etc. Good stuff. I realize through my eight-year-old daughters that break dancing is back in vogue but this will always be the music of breakdancing to me. Back in the early eighties I used to spend a lot of time at The Roxy watching the break dancers and listening to Afrika Islam, son of Bambaataa mixing the discs. There was also a late night AM radio show back then that invited DJs to come on and do what they did into the wee wee hours. Those hours were and are my favorite time to work. These pieces were completely improvisational, working to the music and letting instinct, memory and my scissors go where they may. I even did a little tape collage. A technique I developed directly out of listening to and thinking about hip-hop. Looking for the perfect beat. Patrick just reminded me that back then in the early eighties he said, “Kroninger, how can you listen to that crap?” I sent him a mix tape of favorites and, what do you know, he was hooked. Great music. Anyway, Patrick, thanks for the Madeleine.

posted: May 11, 2007

Guy Maddin's BRAND UPON THE BRAIN

New York Times article

Guy Maddin shooting "Brand upon the Brain"

Maddin's short film THE HEART OF THE WORLD

Guy Maddin - Sissy Boy Slap Party Director's Cut

A Trip To The Orphanage (2004)

Guy Maddin - Hospital Fragment

posted: May 9, 2007

Some selected images from Tomi Ungerer’s long out of print HORRIBLE from 1960. After I showed this book to Hanoch Piven he scoured the earth until he finally found a copy for himself. Great stuff. As Edel would say I would say, “It’s a classic!”

posted: May 7, 2007

GALLERY

posted: May 3, 2007

These are faces that I do and then put in a drawer. I’m starting a gallery for them. I’ll post some new ones from time to time as they accumulate.