Modern Graphic Design Inspiration BlogGreat graphic inspiration blogs are aplenty, but you’ll find fewer as well maintained, interesting, and informed as Grain Edit.
From children’s books, to bottle labels, from calendars to maps the Grain Edit team tracks down the greatest stuff to inflame the creative mind.
The site is constantly updated with newness and the archives could take days to explore – but it is worth the time, so start digging and enjoy!
Music As LiteratureThese clever, funny, and amazingly rendered albums reinterpreted as novels are fantastic! There are so many great ones, but of course a science fiction cover for Purple Rain ranks among my very favorites.
London designer Christophe Gowans has also done a bang up job reinterpreting classic art as classic album covers. Just check out that Black Sabbath/Nude Descending a Staircase mashup. Genius!
Thanks to Will from The Stencil for posting these on FB…
Which in turn posted a link to these Pelican Book versions of classic albums.
These pretty much made my day.
Amazing Collection of Children’s BooksOh my goodness I am in LOVE with the blog Atelier Pour Enfants, in love. I can’t read a word of it, but who needs to with all the adorable, interesting, beautiful artwork.
I’ve spent hours looking through the entire archive getting all kinds of inspired. In fact, I’ve started a whole new project with all the new ideas these wonderful books have inflamed in my brain.
An absolute must for lovers of illustration or really anybody that enjoys looking at cute, great design. I would love to find some of the books for Mr. Van – will have to keep an eye out.
Found this site through another great site (and previous Brix Pick) called Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves.
at the Grand Palais In Paris Through June 23, Guest Written by Shaun:Just got back from Paris and saw an overwhelmingly massive installation by Anish Kapoor at the Grand Palais titled Leviathan.
Leviathan seems to stray away from his general use of reflective mirrored surfaces and this time the material is canvas and rubber blown up into three connected balls.
The first part of the exhibition enters inside the structure where pinging noises can be heard bouncing around. It’s dark and bloody from the inside, then you are directed outside of the structure and into the Grand Palais where you see the full size and scope of the piece.
It is pretty much impossible to describe how large this piece is, but if you happen to be in Paris, the installation is up till the 23rd of June.
Auction GoodnessSince I love the Christie’s website, I’ve had the iphone app installed for some time but only just tried it out. It’s great!
With one thumb I can peruse the latest auctions, view all the items in an easy viewable grid format, see full size images, and email to friends.
Here are just a few favorites from the upcoming Latin American Sale (oh, to be a millionaire – that Botero would be hanging in my wall).
Daily Purchase Drawings, Etc.The idea of seeing one person’s daily purchases may sound a bit boring, but with the whimsical hand of Kate Bingaman Burt, it’s enchanting. Even corporate logos look interesting when hand drawn, plus it makes you think about your own consumption and will inspire you to draw more.
Her project was published as a book called Obsessive Consumption and her unique style has graced the advertising of companies like Target and Madewell. She’s at the forefront of the handmade mini revolution.
at The New Museum through May 8My friend Jessica directed me to the George Condo exhibit at the New Museum. I felt like a bad art student for not recognizing the name, but am glad to learn about the prolific artist now. The exhibit begins on the 4th floor where an onslaught of his work greets you. It’s actually an appropriate way to confront his manic work that ranges from dark Bacon-esque portraits (including one of my favorites, Man with Three Arms) to bright, almost slap dash paintings that look, and I mean this in a good way, like artwork from an insane asylum.
The next floor offers a series of paintings that merit more individual examination titled “Melancholia”. These disturbing, funny and sad portraits of archetypes with bloated faces and confused disembodied smiles were the most captivating of the show. Next were more provocative excessively sexual works entitled “Manic Society” and even if it makes me sound like a prude, I found their crassness uninteresting. “Abstraction” is the final room in this retrospective and featured huge layered canvases. Some of my favorites revealed small intriguing overlapping sad faces once you took a closer look.
Also on display in the other galleries is the work of sculptress Lynda Benglis. Some of her stuff is pretty cool. I liked the glowing neon blobs suspended out of the wall, but frankly it was harder to have enthusiasm for a big stick with glitter on it or pink paper mache with gift wrap sticking out of it. Too many memories of Freshman year art projects I guess.
Thanks to Jim for doing Van duty which allowed me a night out. The museum is open til 9 on Thursdays and to my happy surprise, it was free too. An even happier surprise? Birdbath has opened a cafe in the lobby!
Fashionable BunnyOh how I love anthropomorphic drawings and when they’re matched with high fashion you get the adorable Fifi Lapin. You just have to love it! I’ve been browsing the site lately and it’s getting me excited about Spring – ah Spring, when it will be warm enough to take the baby out for long stretches, eat in sidewalk cafes, and wear cute clothes again!
Really, getting dressed nice is the biggest thing I miss from my pre mothering days. But, once it’s warmer, Van’s a little bigger, and I’m a little slimmer I am not embarrassed to say that I’ll be stealing some sartorial ideas from this fictional little bunny (thick black tights with an all white ensemble?, tiny jacket on top of an over-sized dress plus a fur hat? yes yes yes!)
Fifi adorns lots of merchandise too if that’s your thing. I personally wouldn’t say no to a cute pin for my tweed blazer. I love that you can look up previous posts by designer and that the blog is consistently updated.
“I am trying to draw every person in New York.”I adore Every Person In New York (the site that is, maybe not in the literal sense). A charming experiment where artist Jason Polan is “trying to draw every person in New York. I will be drawing people everyday and posting as frequently as I can. It is possible that I will draw you without you knowing it. I draw in Subway stations and museums and restaurants and on street corners.”
The simplicity of his drawings reminds us how much emotion and personality can be conveyed with a few lines. Once you’ve browsed through the substantial number of sketches, you can get more of your Jason Polan fill by visiting his website that features books, prints and other goodies to buy including a life size giraffe drawing and a thirteen dollar bill.
Click here for the rest of Every Person In New York
directed by Orson Welles (1974)Orson Welles‘ (mostly) documentary film, F for Fake, is a kinetic, meandering, stimulating experiment in story telling that would be a great watch for anyone interested in the art of editing and inventive movie making. While it doesn’t hit one hundred percent of the time and can take a little bit for the viewer to get into the pace and tone of it all, it’s very interesting.. or as Jim put it more succinctly and probably better “it’s fun to watch a master just fuck around”.
The story Welles’ is fucking around with here is one of fraud. Elmyr De Hory is the world’s greatest art forger. We see him create Matisses and Picassos on camera (which he burns) and his work has fooled the greatest “experts” and museums in the world. Clifford Irving is the man fascinated with the man and writing a biography of his exploits.. but it seems Irving has a few of his own fakeries going on. Welles touches on his own greatest fraud/work of art the radio program War of the Worlds, a story of Pablo Picasso and a beautiful lady (with an even more beautiful wardrobe that you can see in the stills below/after the jump) and ultimately the innate element of lying whenever anyone creates something.
As Welles’ last film, it was sadly a total failure upon its release in the US. Its avant garde style was largely frowned upon but is now considered highly influential. Criterion released the film a few years back and it’s currently available on netflix instant.
Click here for the rest of F for Fake