Tag Archives: illustration

Antonio Lopez – Style Icon

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Antonio Lopez (February 11, 1943 – March 17, 1987) was a fashion illustrator whose work appeared in such publications as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Interview and The New York Times. Several books collecting his illustrations have been published. In his obituary, the New York Times called him a “major fashion illustrator.” He generally signed his works as “Antonio.”

Antonio Lopez is the Picasso of fashion illustration. Mostly known as just plain ‘Antonio’, he was a giant in the field of fashion illustration. He captured the pulse of style from the 60s to the 80s, and is still revered as the most inspiring illustrator by today’s practitioners. He worked with a variety of materials including pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, watercolor and polaroid film. His work appeared frequently in Vogue, Harper’s bazzar, Elle and Interview.

Recording and predicting contemporary style trends, Antonio also used his immense versatility to adopt a broad range of art movements, from Pop Art to Surrealism.

For Antonio, life – bestial and sublime – surpassed any fiction. His illustrations and photographs capture the beautiful people who are part of celebrity folklore, and who were more often than not his friends: Jerry Hall (to whom he was engaged), Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Audrey Hepburn, Andy Warhol (with whom he worked on Interview magazine), Paloma Picasso and Marlene Dietrich.

Packed with previously unpublished material, this is a thrilling retrospective about an artist who is represented in major collections from the Metropolitan to the Louvre. Even posthumously, Antonio has not relinquished his grip on the fashion world: his style and quest for beauty live on.

Paul Klee – Style Icon

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NAME: Paul Klee
OCCUPATION: Educator, Painter
BIRTH DATE: December 18, 1879
DEATH DATE: June 29, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH: Münchenbuchsee bei Bern, Switzerland
PLACE OF DEATH: Muralto, Switzerland

BEST KNOWN FOR: Paul Klee is a Swiss and German painter whose highly individual style is best known by an often childlike perspective and spidery hieroglyph-like symbols.

Paul Klee (18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually mastered colour theory, and wrote extensively about it; his lectures Writings on Form and Design Theory (Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre), published in English as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are considered so important for modern art that they are compared to the importance that Leonardo da Vinci‘s A Treatise on Painting had for Renaissance. He and his colleague, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the German Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. His works reflect his dry humour and his sometimes childlike perspective, his personal moods and beliefs, and his musicality.

A museum dedicated to Klee was built in Bern, Switzerland, by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. Zentrum Paul Klee opened in June 2005 and houses a collection of about 4,000 works by Paul Klee. Another substantial collection of Klee’s works is owned by chemist and playwright Carl Djerassi and displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Klee suffered from a wasting disease, scleroderma, toward the end of his life, enduring pain that seems to be reflected in his last works of art. One of his last paintings, “Death and Fire”, features a skull in the center with the German word for death, “Tod”, appearing in the face. He died in Muralto, Locarno, Switzerland, on 29 June 1940 without having obtained Swiss citizenship, despite his birth in that country. His art work was considered too revolutionary, even degenerate, by the Swiss authorities, but eventually they accepted his request six days after his death. His legacy comprises about 9,000 works of art. The words on his tombstone, Klee’s credo, placed there by his son Felix, say, “I cannot be grasped in the here and now, For my dwelling place is as much among the dead, As the yet unborn, Slightly closer to the heart of creation than usual, But still not close enough.” He was buried at Schosshaldenfriedhof, Bern, Switzerland.

Today, a painting by Klee can sell for as much as $7.5 million.

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Keith Haring – Style Icon

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Keith Haring is someone whose work you know.  You have seen it everywhere from MTV in the early days to yesterday on the side of a bus.  His influence and legacy are far-reaching with no visible end in sight.  I remember I bought a Keith Haring shirt one summer in Traverse City Michigan, it must have been 1990. It depicted a snake getting cut in half with the words “End AIDS” running under it.  I loved that shirt, it made me feel powerful and involved and it gave me a voice.NAME: Keith Haring
OCCUPATION: Painter
BIRTH DATE: May 04, 1958
DEATH DATE: February 16, 1990
EDUCATION: Ivy School of Professional, Art School of Visual Arts
PLACE OF BIRTH: Reading, Pennsylvania
PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York

BEST KNOWN FOR: During his all-too-brief life, artist Keith Haring became a sensation in the art world with his bold, cartoon and graffiti influenced works during the 1980s.

The Wiki:

Born on May 4, 1958, in Reading, Pennsylvania. During his all-too-brief life, Keith Haring became a sensation in the art world with his bold, cartoon and graffiti influenced works during the 1980s.

Growing up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, he spent many hours drawing with his father. Haring was fascinated by the popular cartoon art of Walt Disney and Charles Schultz.

Haring briefly attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh after graduating high school in 1976. He dropped out after two semesters. In 1978, Haring decided to return to school, moving to New York City to become a student at the School of Visual Arts. With its thriving underground art scene, New York seemed to be the perfect fit for the young artist. He began using the city as his canvas, making chalk drawings of barking dogs and babies in subway stations. He also befriended such other emerging artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat and helped organize exhibitions at nightclubs and other alternative locations.

In 1982, Haring had his first New York one-man show at the Shafrazi Gallery. Not only did he create paintings and sculptures for the show, he engulfed the entire gallery with his bold color choices and frenetic designs. A critical success, he soon became one of most popular artists of the time with exhibits in Japan, Brazil, and many other countries.

Haring collaborated with other artists and performers, including Andy Warhol and William Burroughs.

Wanting to make his art more accessible, Haring opened Pop Shop in New York City in 1986. The store sold posters, t-shirts, and other items baring his artwork and designs. He was also interested many social causes, painting an anti-drug mural that same year. In all, he did more than 50 public works and held numerous workshops for children. In 1988, Haring discovered that he had AIDS. The next year he created the Keith Haring Foundation to support AIDS organizations and children’s programs.

Haring died on February 16, 1990, of AIDS-related complications. His works continues to be exhibited around the world and many are owned by such prestigious museums as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Polaroid by Andy Warhol

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James Thurber – Style Icon

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NAME: James Grover Thurber
OCCUPATION: Illustrator, Author
BIRTH DATE: December 08, 1894
DEATH DATE: November 02, 1961
EDUCATION: Ohio State University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Columbus, Ohio
PLACE OF DEATH: New York City, New York

BEST KNOWN FOR: James Thurber was an American cartoonist best known for his contributions to The New Yorker magazine.

James Thurber (born Dec. 8, 1894, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 2, 1961, New York, N.Y.) U.S. writer and cartoonist. He attended Ohio State University before moving to New York City in 1926. He was on The New Yorker staff from 1927 to 1933 and thereafter remained a leading contributor. His drawings illustrated his first book, Is Sex Necessary? (1929; with E.B. White), and his cartoons became some of the most popular and recognizable in America. In 1940 his failing eyesight forced him to curtail his drawing; by 1952 he had to give it up altogether as his blindness became nearly total. His writings include My Life and Hard Times (1933), Fables for Our Time (1940), and the children’s book The 13 Clocks (1950). He is noted for his vision of the befuddled urban man who, like the hero of his short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1939; film, 1946), escapes into fantasy.

An annual award, the Thurber Prize, begun in 1997, honors outstanding examples of American humor. In 2008, The Library of America selected Thurber’s New Yorker story “A Sort of Genius” for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime.

Two of his residences are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places: the Thurber House in Ohio and the Sanford-Curtis-Thurber House in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Thurber was a great lover of dogs, and competed widely in dog shows with several poodles.

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Herb and Dorothy Vogel – Style Icons

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If you have not seen “Herb and Dorothy,” please do.  It is a wonderful story about “ordinary” people being extraordinary.  It will inspire you to surround yourself with beauty and to be passionate about what inspires you and to not be discouraged.

Herbert Vogel (born 1922) and Dorothy Vogel (born 1935) are American art collectors. Herbert Vogel was the son of a Russian Jewish garment worker from Harlem.[1] He never finished high school and worked as a clerk for the United States Postal Service until retiring in 1980. Dorothy Faye Hoffman was the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish stationery merchant from Elmira, New York. She holds a masters degree and worked as a librarian in the Brooklyn Public Library. Herbert and Dorothy married in 1962 in Elmira, New York. Early in their marriage, they both took painting classes at New York University and rented a studio at Union Square, but gave up painting in favor of collecting.

Together they built a large and impressive contemporary art collection on their modest incomes. Dorothy’s income covered their living expenses and they used Herb’s income to buy art. Though their focus is conceptual art and minimalist art, the collection also includes noteworthy post-minimalist work. They amassed a collection of over 4,782 works, which they kept in their one-bedroom rent-controlled New York City apartment. In 1992, they decided to transfer the entire collection to the National Gallery of Art. More recently, in late 2008, they launched The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States along with the National Gallery of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The program donated 2,500 works to 50 institutions across 50 states and was accompanied by a book with the same name. In 2008, an award-winning documentary about their story, Herb and Dorothy, was released.

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I am quite sad that you are ill

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Today I bring you a vibrantly illustrated ‘Get Well Soon’ note – presumably coloured in such a way so as to cheer up its recipient – sent to renowned French poet Jean Cocteau in 1916 during a short period of bad health. The letter was sent to him by his friend, Pablo Picasso; a man who needs no introduction.

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A translated transcript follows.

My dear Cocteau

I am quite sad that you are ill. I hope that you will be well soon and that I will see you. At Montparnasse next Wednesday’s festivities in honor of the musician I hope to see you. I have good ideas for our theater story – we shall talk about it.

Best wishes

Picasso

via Letters of Note: I am quite sad that you are ill.

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Inspirational?

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After a week of only posting marriage equality issues, I figure I owe everyone (including myself) a light-hearted post.

This photo was part of a series of motivational posters from the 70′s in a Seattle Weekly article this week. I find it so hilarious, I made it my desktop wallpaper. Since I can have several desktops, I chose the second one for another wallpaper. I seriously laugh every time I see them. How are they helping?

What is the Purpose? Exactly. What is the purpose of this poster? Depression? Did she hurt her ankle?

Know and Accept Yourself. Even if you have hella freckles and daydream about horses.

After viewing both posters, R made an observation: “Seems like more people had freckles in the 70′s.” Maybe freckles were the big stigma of the 70′s? I just love how the kid is staring right at me when I open my computer.

You can see the full articles:

PHOTOS: 14 Amazingly Disturbing Classroom Posters from the ’70s – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly.

EXTRA CREDIT: 10 More Disturbing Classroom Posters from the 1970s – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands

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Here is my submission for the “Weekly Photo Challenge:  Hands.”

All I can think of us the Ting Tings‘ song “Hands.” I’ll see if there’s a video.

These are photos of mannequin hands I have taken over the last few years.

Creepy.

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Hands:

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George Tsutakawa – Style Icon

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George Tsutakawa (1910–1997), sculptor and painter, was born in Seattle, Washington. Tsutakawa spent much of his childhood in Okayama, Japan. He returned to Seattle at the age of 16, where he attended Broadway High School before earning a BFA at the University of Washington. One of his early mentors was sculptor Dudley Pratt. Tsutakawa served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a Japanese language instructor at the Army’s Military Intelligence School.

Following the war, Tsutakawa returned to Seattle to marry Ayame Kyotani and continue his studies. Tsutakawa earned an MFA at the University of Washington and went on to join the faculty (teaching both in the School of Art and the Department of Architecture) where he served until his retirement.

Tsutakawa’s works include oil and Sumi-e paintings and over 75 bronze fountains in public spaces in the United States, Canada and Japan.

George and Ayame Tsutakawa had 4 children: Gerard, Mayumi, Deems and Marcus. Gerard Tsutakawa apprenticed under his father and is himself an accomplished sculptor.

Dearest Andy

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Letters of Note: Dearest Andy.

Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor waited 14 years to acquire her own, personal version of the Andy Warhol silk-screens in which she featured; an iconic collection of pieces that were in many ways an extension of Warhol’s infatuation with the star. One can only imagine how much this subsequent letter of thanks, written by Taylor, meant to the artist.

Transcript follows. Image courtesy of Gareth W. Many thanks to Adrian Arratoon for the tip.

Elizabeth Taylor

March 21, 1977

Dearest Andy

I’m so proud I finally have your “Liz” and thank you for signing it so sweetly to me.

I do love you.

Elizabeth or Liz

(of A.W.’s fame)

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