Comics + Papercutting = Art The Work of Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik

“You did WHAT to my comics?”
Fine Art Mash-up ∙ New Work by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik

Opening Reception at Brave New World Comics
on Saturday, September 11, from 7 to 10 pm

Show Open from September 11 through October 9

Brave New World Comics
22722 Lyons Avenue
Newhall, CA 91321
661-259-4745

Michael Kontopoulos' sculptures that almost tip themselves over

Machines that Almost Fall Over
from Michael Kontopoulos on Vimeo.

[Thanks, Boing Boing!]

Rockwell Rolls Over In His Grave:"Freedom From Want" Parodies

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and since you, the Toner Mishap audience, have enjoyed my Edward Hopper posts so much, I've decided to share with you a collection of parodies based on Norman Rockwell's painting, "Freedom From Want," from his "Four Freedoms" series. It's that famous Thanksgiving painting -- you know the one:



Here it is in its original poster form:

And here are a bunch I've been collecting for your viewing pleasure (feel free to click on any of them for a larger view).

MAD Magazine


Zombies


Muppets


The Simpsons #1


The Simpsons #2: Sideshow Bob


The Simpsons #3: Flanders


Sausage Party


Redneck Thanksgiving (with all due respect to rednecks)


Raw Bar


Pizza


The Bush White House


A Sketch from Tiny Toons


Lilo and Stitch


Justice Society of America


Skrulls! Flee! (Once DC did it, Marvel had to, right?)


More Jellyfish, Please


CNN


At An Airport


Island Feast


Hollywood


Family Photo #1


Family Photo #2


Dessert!

Simpsons and Fine Art:A Compendium

Poorly structured, but incredibly thorough -- a must-see for all fans of The Simpsons and/or art history. It shows SO MANY references in The Simpsons to fine art -- with little JPEGs of them all. Lots of work went into this site.

Click here.

UPDATE

To see a comparison of Simpsons scenes with famous movies, check this out.

Everyone's a critic.

On a recent trip to New York, I was in an art gallery, enjoying Saul Steinberg's "The Collection" -- which I can't share with you here, as no image can be found on the web, and photography was disallowed in the gallery -- when a security guard in the room came up to me, followed my gaze for a moment, and remarked,

"I think if you or me had done that
it would be a lot better."

Graphic Design vs Fine Art

LA denizens should check out the small art gallery at REDCAT (the theater attached to the Disney Hall downtown). Now through April 6 you can see the work of acclaimed design superstar Ed Fella and rising star Geoff McFetridge.

Why? One would think Fella's recent work is recent enough, but the truth is that there's just TOO MUCH in the gallery to enjoy in one viewing. It's his older work that astounds the visitor familiar with his recent typographic forays... because once upon a time Fella was just a commercial artist doing exactly what everyone else was doing. Or so it seems.

The McFetridge side of the gallery is fresh and exciting, and showcases his fine art as well as "hired gun" graphic design work. A few samples to whet the appetite:






Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to six pm, for free -- check out the website for more details.

Legoland, Part 6:Art

Legoland features a section devoted to recreating some of the world's most famous art -- paintings, mostly, but also some sculpture (imagine a life-size replica of Rodin's "The Thinker" made entirely out of gray lego bricks). Here are three to whet your appetite (I won't bother to identify the originals; it should be pretty obvious). The third one is the most ridiculous... Incidentally, you can click any of them to see a larger image that reveals more detail.

My Daughter, The Artist

First, let me clearly state that this is the work of one of my three daughters, all of whom are talented artists. But this sketch my middle one (six years old) drew of a Giacometti sculpture we saw at MOCA just blew my mind.

Just Looking Redux

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), painter, sculptor, architect and engineer

Jack and Chandira played along and provided comments that I slightly edited from the "Just Looking" post below, which I have pulled and put front and center. Also, as promised Annabell gave us her thoughts while creating the art.

Below are our impressions of the art.

Jack's Shack said...
It reminds me of an entrance to a kitchen in a diner or coffee shop. I like it.

Chandira said...
I like her style, and that they both have a very different feel, and evoke different emotions. That bottom one reminds me of a nice comfy nook in a Starbucks somewhere, on a cold autumn day, after a long walk around the lake. The top one is far less 'comfortable', and I like that, too. I love the colours. That brown/purple mix is always fascinating. Was hoping for a bigger version if I double-clicked, but I like that the smaller version remains mysterious to my fuzzy eyesight. ;-)

The Misanthrope said...

I see books. The dark blueish spot appears as door handles to me. The three small squares toward the right remind me of windows that let the light in to the reading room, which gives it that yellow glow.

Annabell explains:

Study #4, 1997

Collagraph, Acrylic plate, ink, pastels In this piece one of a series of studies. I began with a piece of acrylic, taped off the work area, selected a more earth tone color palette while still maintaining a bright overall feel. The process involved applying the inks to the plate, then laying the rice paper, wooden spoon is then used to rub the ink onto the paper. Using more inks and pastels to further develop the shapes and colors. The colors I use are heavily influenced by my Latin heritage. I chose to play with basic shapes (circles, rectangles, squares, lines) to create a sense of harmony with activity. The results can be interpreted as a bit dark, yet playful and inviting. This study brought joy and general happiness to me.

Hide and Seek in the Forest of ChouChou:Gary Baseman at Billy Shire

My wife celebrated her birthday on Bastille Day (as usual) and allowed me the pleasure of taking her to the Gary Baseman opening at the Billy Shire gallery last night in Culver City -- awesome evening!

Baseman is known for his pervasive art (I'm pretty sure he coined the phrase, and plies his trade alongside fellow artists such as Tim Biskup). He is everywhere, not just with fine art but also vinyl toys, textiles, prints, books, soda cans... he blurs the line between low and high art, between fine art and commercial product. Not the first to do so, but certainly one of the more successful, and so quickly! I love his style and his various mythologies, many of which are very character-centered.

The "ChouChou" exhibit is an example of such, and we were able to chat with him at the opening and hear from the artist himself some of the ideas that went into it over the year he spent developing the concept. It was incredible to hear him describe the parts he had worked out and the parts that he still hadn't quite figured out, though he's already painting them...

Baseman is a guy I've been enjoying for a while, especially given our similar backgrounds: we both grew up in LA, both went to kindergarten at Laurel Elementary, both attended UCLA and had the same job there (years apart), both friends with my mentor Arvli Ward... and he has the type of success I'd like for myself.

Hopper Rolls Over In His Grave

Have you all gotten this in the mail yet? AOL's embarassing (mis)appropriation of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting, "Nighthawks"?



I received the advertisement from AOL a few months ago, and put it aside, thinking I would one day use it as an example of the crass and inappropriate commericaliziation of a great work of art.

Mind you, I have no problem with the use of art to sell things -- make money while you can, I say (even if you're dead and your estate gets all the cash). But to so dramatically change the painting gives me the shivers (not to mention the fact that the loneliness of Hopper's original work runs counter to the idea of the constant connectedness that AOL represents).

Anyway, I have since been accumulating examples of similar parodies of "Nighthawks." and I decided to share; aren't I generous? Below you'll see some small reproductions of the parodies; just click them to see the larger images.


The original parody, with which many people are already familiar (the case has been made that more people know this version than the original), is a painting by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. He substituted James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley for Hopper's isolated diner patrons.


Andreas von Baudissin is a German freelance graphic designer, and he created this barnyard interpretation of "Nighthawks" as part of his "Joe Haflinger & Chickenduck" series.



What Hopper enthusiast wouldn't be pleased to see the Dark Knight incorporated into "Nighthawks"? None that I know! This parody is from Fanzing, and is called "Knighthawks."


What is Cowboy Bebop? I don't know. Some cartoon, maybe? I don't even have enough interest to Google it.


Another fine find from Flickr; this parody turns the diner into a McDonald's. Obviously.


Steve Martin's movie "Pennies from Heaven" (which, incidentally, is awesome and you should go rent it) includes a number of scenes built on paintings and photographs from the Depression and post-war eras. This scene features Steve Martin (in the fedora) and Bernadette Peters (with her trademark hair).


Alexander Rinesch painted his "Nighthawks" with an elephant. To each his own, I suppose.


D'oh! Homer Simpson is eating donuts in "Yummy's Donuts" in this modern take on Hopper, while Chief Wiggum and Edna Crabapple munch nearby.


The "Nighthawks" diner becomes a truck stop in this obviously-named "Nighthawks at the Truck Stop." Note the butt cleavage on the trucker.


Michael Bedard painted this parody, with more animals. The recurring theme in his work is "sitting ducks," and I think the crocodile is supposed to be checkin out his next meal... hence the title, "Window Shopping."


Again, corporate giants take over the world of Edward Hopper (again, courtesy of Flickr); this one changes the diner into a Starbuck's, but to be more accurate it should probably have another Starbucks across the street.

UPDATE
I found more more Hopper homages and posted them here.