BOOK PICKS!
I am a printed matter nerd - books, zines, magazines... i fucking love em...and im guessing if your on this blog you might like zines, art, books etc as well...so what this column will be is a showcase and glimpse into peoples personal art book libraries, a look and celebration of art books they love, and why.
There will be two Picks - one is a personal favourite book that might be rare, that you might have to hunt around to get a copy...and the second pick is a book that is highly reccomended and that you should be able to get quite easily (with links provided)...make sense? I hope so! I also hope you like it and if you feel inclined please leave in the comments sections about anything you'd like to see on this blog and/or your own book picks...OK for the first one, i picked the closest book nerd at hand - ME!
Pick One - Classic
Andromedary SR1
by Hans Stempel & Martin Stempel with illustrations by Heinz Edelmann.
1970.
This is my mums book (although now its 'found' its way onto my shelves), and i've been looking at it since i was a kid (and some might see some subliminal / not too subliminal references in my work because of this early influence). My mum also had Norman Mailers 'The faith of Graffiti' (aka watching your name go by)...so my mum is mad cool, and absorbing these books from the age of around 6 has had a steep impact on me.
Many people will compare this with The Yellow Submarine, and with good reason....Heinz Edelmann...one of the most visually important and distinctive late sixties illustrators (along with Glaser, Peelleart, Aldridge and crumb - to name a few), who did the illustations here, and also The Yellow subamrine. Candy coloured rainbows, Spatz shoes, awesome animals, Art Deco influence...all his trademarks (and through influence the cannon of sixties illustrators) are here and dripping with coloured paint.
printed in a mix of full colour and black and white, these large pages instantly take you on the best space pyschedelic trip you will encounter this side of 2001. Every page is amazing, striking, beautiful and fantastical. One of those books that taken me on a mind trip for twenty odd years, and i have a feeling it will never be too far from my side (hopefully) for the next twenty years.
Robert Crumb Sketchbook Volume 1 (1964 to mid 65)
Available here
I think there were 9 volumes of sketchbooks released, and each are essential, not just for Robert Crumb fans, but also for fans of great illustration. I add volume one as a representation of all nine, and i also had to put this here as they are fastly dissapearing and therefore the prices (if you can grab them) are increasing, so if you can get any, get them now!
Robert Crumb is one of the greatest illustrators of our time, and part of his success is due to his constant sketching...im talking everyday day...for him, it is not just a job, or even a passion, but a neccesity...and all nine volumes show Crumbs style evolving and its interesting to see major characters and themes shine out...this volume shows his fascination with women, automobiles and it shows his first renderings of Fritz the Cat.
I think that Crumb is a great artist to study for all inspiring illustrators as he shows how easy and difficult it is to construct something complex or beautiful with what is essentially black lines...so basic - white paper, black lines...awesome. Also, going back to the point of his constant drawing...its inspiring and crazy to see so many books with so much width of themes, complexities of images (from detailed pieces to minimal sketches) and style...to see someone evolve so much and to create so much work...and then you read the covers and see that it all happened over such a short period of time...all because he was always drawing
No comments:
Post a Comment