Podcast: Jack Kirby, King of Comics - Mark Evanier
Comic and television writer Mark Evanier was once assistant to Jack Kirby. Now he's compiled a monumental art book cum biography of the artist called "Kirby: King of Comics." Jack Kirby's dynamic aesthetic style and new ideas about how comic book characters should relate to each other and to their readers revolutionized comics. Download This Show (MP3)
Podcast: Tony Millionaire, creator of Maakies and The Drinky Crow Show
Tony Millionaire is the creator of the comic strip Maakies, which runs in alternative newspapers around the country. The strip has also birthed two television adaptations: a series of shorts that ran on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s, and now a new longer-form series which premiers later this year on Cartoon Network [adult swim]. The strips are known for their combination of distinctive and often complex line art and typically profane humor. The newest collection of Maakies strips is "The Maakies with the Wrinkled Knees."
File this one under "posts I would have made this weekend, only I was moving."
Imagine my surprise when I opened my New Yorker this week, only to see an illustration in the inimitable style of MaxFunster Ape Lad. I looked at the credits, and yes indeedy, it was our very own Floridian superfan. In The New Yorker's august pages, of course, he is known by his guvmint name, Adam Koford. Adam was the winner of a contest to re-imagine the magazine's venerable mascot, Eustace Tilley.
Above is the image that's reprinted in this week's magazine. Below is an image that was *also* a winner, but was not among the few featured in print. That makes Ape Lad a DOUBLE WINNER!
One of my favorite annual events in Santa Cruz is the UCSC Print Sale, which is coming up this weekend. Whether you live in the Monterey bay area, the south bay, or San Francisco, it's worth a trip.
Once a year, the art department at UCSC throws open their doors to sell student art. Some of it isn't to my taste, but every time I go, I come home with a few beautiful pieces. There are prints on paper, prints on fabric, block prints, lithographs, t-shirts, cards and a million other things. And the most expensive pieces are only thirty or forty dollars.
From where I'm sitting now, I can see three pieces that I bought at the print sale, and there are a few more in my closet (on clothes, of course). It's a wonderful event, and not to be missed. I reccomend driving down from the Bay Area for a morning at the print sale and an afternoon at the boardwalk or out on the beach. You won't regret it.
Below is Hopeful by Kristal Passy; above is Epic by LeeAnn Jacobs.
Mal Sharpe points us to this amazing series of photographs by Benjamin Donaldson. The series, called "Summerland," depicts people hypnotized into believing they are in the most beautiful landscape imaginable.
I Guess Today is Art Day: Arcadia in San Francisco
Another art event worth attending: Arcadia. It's an annual benefit for San Francisco's Friends of the Urban Forest. Every year they feature spectacular artist-donated pieces like the one above - "Fragment," by Josh Keyes. The work is auctioned off to support the great work that FUF does.
Keyes writes about how a cross-section of the eart reflects our alienation from the natural world:
This piece was a reaction to a housing development project I saw while traveling across the country. There was a clean separation or break between an area of dense forest and the barren stripped area of earth sectioned off for housing developments. The forest that was removed seemed surgical in appearance, and blind to the cohesive ecosystem that had existed there.
The event is Monday the 23rd in San Francisco -- but even if you don't go, you can bid on pieces in absentia, or simply visit the website and gawk at the beautiful work that artists have donated to help green San Francisco.
"Battle of the Heroes" by Brandon Bird (Click to Expand)
Our man Brandon Bird, the New Painter of Light, has this wonderful piece in the I Am 8 Bit exhibition at Gallery 1988 here in Los Angeles. I hit up the opening last night, and it was pure madness -- a line of maybe 150 people snaking out the door of the jam packed gallery, all there to see an art exhibition inspired by video games.
Interpretations and styles ran the gamut, though I noticed a particular fondness for Wario and Joust. If you're in LA, it's worth a visit, as the exhibition runs through May 12th.
I know I don't cover art much here, but I want to take this opportunity to highlight a gallery show in San Francisco. Christine Cariati paints spectacularly beautiful works, with dancing colors and a sort of music-box aesthetic that I find stirring. One of her paintings is in my bedroom, and I'm very proud to own it.
Christine's show "Private Lives" opens tonight at the Hotel Biron in San Francisco. The reception runs from six to nine PM, and the show runs through the end of March. Details are here.
Brandon Bird describes himself as a surrealistic, realistic pop artist. His often-hilarious paintings typically place psuedo-celebrities in bizarre and somehow banal situations. He talks about the potential he thinks pop art is missing, the role of humor in art and why popular culture is a perfectly reasonable subject for a fine artist.
This week on The Sound of Young America, we rediscover our sense of wonder.
Lawrence Weschler spent over 20 years writing for The New Yorker, often profiling the sorts of empassioned eccentrics who change the world. His new book, "Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences," examines the surprising overlaps in the world, and particularly in visual culture, as well as the meaning of those overlaps. (Seen to the left: Rembrandt's "The Anatomy Lesson" and Freddy Alborta's "The Death of Che")
Michael Ivins is the bassist (and more) of The Flaming Lips, a remarkable rock band who are perhaps more popular today than at any other point in their 20+ year history. Their sonic experimentation and melancholic comic touch are well known in the indie rock world, and so are their wild stage shows, which often include people in rabbit suits and members of the band rolling over the crowd in a giant hamster ball.
We also talk with and hear the music of Nico Muhly, who composed a song suite to accompany Kalman's book. Muhly, only 24 (same as me!), has already worked with artists from Bjork to Philip Glass. You can download our full interview with him (we only feature two brief clips in the show) here.
George Pelecanos is a wonderful writer of mysteries set in Washington DC. His writing reflects a side of DC that's rarely seen in the popular media -- the side that earned it the nickname "Chocolate City." He recently edited a book of short stories about every part of the District, called "D.C. Noir." He's also a writer and producer on the brilliant HBO series "The Wire," and we talk about writing what is essentially a novel for the screen.
"Rust, a fungus disease, sapped the
wheat crop. Production of durum wheat dropped from the 10-year average
of 31,547,000 bushels a year to 4,976,000 bushels."
. Her illustrations are both literal and figural (no pun intended). She talks with us about how a book about words can lend itself to images.
." He's also a writer and producer on the brilliant HBO series 
