Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Disconnections & Distractions


Tony Meeuwisse

Just in case you worried about my sudden disappearance...
we just changed internet provider, and for a few days we had no connection.
I also idiotically lost access to my facebook account and had to recover it. 
Luckily, I took the opportunity to spend more time in the great outdoors, 
and embarked on some massive pruning and gardening projects.
It was actually a very lovely way to enjoy these last days of mild, 
wonderful autumn weather. I'll soon be back with lots of eye candy, 
in the meanwhile have a very Happy Halloween! 














Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Bat Beauty



 I like bats and appreciate having them around our garden, but I am quite afraid
 of them. When I was a child I was told that bats can tangled into your hair,
a thought which filled me with horror. Even now that I know it's not true,
when a bat flies inside our window, I have to duck under a blanket.
But in many of these portraits, bats actually look quite cute!
  
Biho Takashi, Bat before the Moon, ca. 1910, via the Brooklyn Museum

Edward Gorey




Charles L. Ripper, Bats, 1954, and Maurice Sendak, The Bat-Poet, 1963, 





 Vladimir Fedotov, Whose legs?, 1970, and D. Chaikin, thanks to polny_shkaf





Józef Wilkon, Nietoperz, 1994




Janell Cannon, Stellaluna




Saturday, October 20, 2012

Happy in the Sun



A very sweet 2004 video by Spike Jonze for Weezer,just because I'm in a very good mood!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Progressive Posters



The Great Depression was a very difficult period for many, and affected a large number of American artists
 and graphic designers due to the lack of commercial work. In 1935 the US federal government
 created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) with the aim to provide job opportunities
for the unemployed as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal
The fall of the same year saw the launch of the WPA Federal Arts Project, which enabled visual artists, 
musicians, actors and writers to support themselves and pursue their professional careers. 


A poster project was included, and around 2,000 silkscreen, lithograph and woodcut posters were commissioned 
to promote health and safety, cultural events, travel and tourism, educational programs and community activities. 
The posters were produced across the nation, with the greatest output in California, New York, 
Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.


Two posters by Louise Welsh


Two posters by Carken

In many cases, the flat color of silkscreen combined with influences from the European avant-gardes
to produce strikingly graphic, bold Modernist designs that contrasted with the realistic illustrative style
 prevalent in most American graphic communication of the time.

Mildred Waltrip

Sidney Jacobson

Frank W. Long


Two posters by Hugh Stevenson

Robert Munchley

Arlington Gregg 

Frank S. Nicholson

Sidney Jacobson

J. Hirt

All of these posters were created between 1935 and 1939, when the Federal Arts Project was discontinued.
Fortunately, this great art series has recently been rediscovered and appreciated by many artists and designers. 
And wouldn't it be great if governments could also be inspired to provide a similar opportunity
 to survive and thrive in a time of crisis to the young talents of today? 

Monday, October 15, 2012

We Are Family



Jean de Brunhoff, Babar and Zephir,1936


Elizabeth Cadie, The Cat whose Whiskers Slipped


Garth Williams, Little Fur Family, 1946, thanks to Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves



Maurice Sendak, Alligators All Around, 1962


Leo Lionni, Fish is Fish, 1970


Saul Steinberg


Ronald Searle


Květa Pacovská


Matte Stephens


 Louise Heugel, La Princesse Lâtchi Mà


Liz Mamont


 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, via 10 engines


 Yves LecoqMad Bunny at daughter's wedding

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Feather Collector




A big thank you to my student Federica for sharing with me this beautiful book
by the French illustrator Isabelle Simler. I really enjoy the elegant spareness 
of the compositions, and the interesting balance between realism and stylization 
of the illustrations. Together with a variety of birds and their feathers, 
in each spread we get a peek at a mysterious black cat. This possibly dangerous 
creature at the end turns out to be a feather collector, and his presence 
is sure to make the reading more fun and exciting for young children. 













 Plumes was published last May in France by Éditions Courtes et Longues.


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