SPEAKING OF PICTURES: A VINTAGE GRAPHICS BLOG

VALENTINES IN VINTAGE GRAPHICS

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Jim Clark


An old pop song runs, “Love is a many-splendored thing;” and we have the testimony of a vast array of graphic art to establish how varied loving relations can be.
One of the more challenging but also. I think, more rewarding takes on that romantic love which Valentine’s Day accents, is the legend of Beauty and the Beast, given a great homage by Jean Cocteau in his film, La Belle et la Bete (1946).   Continue reading →

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THE LADY VANISHES, BUT THE POSTERS DON’T

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Jim Clark


In 1938, Alfred Hitchcock (later, settling in Hollywood, to become widely known for classics like Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window and Psycho) put together a “comic thriller,” called, The Lady Vanishes. Very much in the throes of anxiety about the rise of fascism, it features a spy in the form of a cute old British lady, being waylaid by a sinister Germanic doctor and his associates, including a black leather-coated Italian circus impresario and a woman dressed as a nun.  Continue reading →

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MORE UZELAC, MORE MARVELS

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Jim Clark


Even now, on Sundays, all around Paris, street musicians strive to keep alive the affection and wit of the City’s Belle Epoque and avant garde heyday. They pass around the lyrics of their songs to a loyal following; and, for a few minutes, the heart and soul, the promise and difficulty of modern experience comes to life. Continue reading →

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STEFAN SAGMEISTER’S DESIGN OVER THE TOP

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Jim Clark


Rolling into the Design Exchange is the first instalment of a long-overdue revitalization of this Toronto facility. The initiative leads off with New York graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister, and his take on the heartbeat of design practice, which he calls, “The Happy Show.” Pictured above is the entryway to the show, whereby viewers click out a gumball from the dispenser at the level (running from 1 to 10) of the happiness magnitude that seems to cover their state of affairs. Continue reading →

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BAD TASTE/SUBLIME LITHOGRAPHY: A SUITE OF ILLUSTRATIONS BY UZELAC

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Jim Clark


In France, during the art deco era (1910-1939), there was an amazing output of lithographically illustrated books. A great example of this treasure is the grand format (20″ x 15 1/2″)    accompaniment, by Milivoj Uzelac, for a limited edition of “20 Chansons [Songs, Poems],” by Albert Willemetze, dating from 1933, which we are so happy to possess (instance 194/350) and share with you.
The text  (“en douce”— “with gentleness”), for the first plate, runs, “…I was born I don’t know how. I didn’t know my mama…”
Willemetze’s program is suffused with the dark side of the City of Light (Paris). But it is—a bit like the dark side of Charlotte in the recent film, The Paperboy—a process of “bad taste” being at the same time “good faith.” The aura of fecund gentleness is well captured by the supernal features of the lithos. Continue reading →

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THE SEAGRAM MUSEUM: A SHORT BUT VERY SWEET DREAM

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Jim Clark


In the early 1980′s the Seagram Corporation developed a beverage museum on the premises of the first Seagram Distillery, in Waterloo, Ontario. This was a cavernous structure for ageing the spirits, replete with barrels in place as they were in the 19th century. Continue reading →

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PIERRE BONNARD AND THE BELLE EPOQUE

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Jim Clark


Not terribly unlike the situation for daring artists today, attempting to garner a critical mass of enthusiasts from out of a populace rabid for dubious sensations, Pierre Bonnard found himself on a slippery slope. Continue reading →

Posted in Art Nouveau/Belle Époque Posters&Graphics, Avant-Garde Posters&Graphics, Illustration Art, Poster&Graphic Artists | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

DJANGO UNCHAINED (NOT WHAT YOU THINK)

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Jim Clark


Is there such a thing as a crazily violent movie that beckons an audience to the farthest reaches of reflection? Continue reading →

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THE LITHOGRAPHS OF PIERRE BONNARD

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jim Clark


Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and print-maker acutely committed to avant-garde efforts as commonly designated Art Nouveau. His special take upon the matter became known as Les Nabis, a concentration upon delicate minutiae of figures and settings, and the play of light and color, as evoking a hushed, pristine energy. Continue reading →

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PAUL DELVAUX, MASTER OF SURREALIST GLAMOR

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Jim Clark

When I was in High School, I came upon—by way of Time Magazine, of all things—the paintings of Paul Delvaux. Continue reading →

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