J is for James: limited edition print

J is for James limited edition print
a photo by Stan Chow on Flickr.

The Evolution of James Bond, a limited edition of 250 Giclée Print. All six Bond’s lined in a row, the second from left is George Lazenby who turned down a seven-movie deal because his agent believed that the role would be seen as archaic in the liberated 1970s.

All prints on 100% Cotton Matte Archival 315gsm paper. A3+ (13″x19″). are signed and cost £250. Very nice indeed Miss Moneypenny.

More here from Stanley Chow

Jon Klassen: the Burst of Beaden

My new favourite illustrator is Jon Klassen, an LA-based Canadian who has recently worked on Coraline, the new stop-motion (ie not digital) animation based on a novella by Neil Gaiman. Klassen worked on the film’s visual development and did some drawings for the sets and props. You can see more of his work on his website, the Burst of Beaden.

Lots of influences in his work, 50s animation and surrealism, for sure, and something of Friz Freleng, the Warner Bros animator who created the animated version of the Pink Panther (thank you Anna). Interestingly, Klasson lists his influences as Pieter Breughel (the elder), the musicians Harry Nilsson and Burl Ives, as well as the great Stanley Kubrick. The picture you can see (above) is actually inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel, The Road.

You can buy prints of his work right here.

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Alexandros Vasmoulakis: the brightest buckle in the graffiti belt

This summer I took a train from London to Istanbul and back again. As you cross the alps, from Austria to Slovenia say, you notice how much graffiti is painted on the walls of the big cities. It’s almost as if you hit the graffiti belt somewhere south of Graz.

Most of it is despoilingly ugly, especially in Athens where the streets around many of the ancient monuments have been ruined with the most moronic of daubings. But then again there’s also the delightful work of Alexandros Vasmoulakis whose delicate, fantastic murals enliven the city marvelously.

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Contemporary gig posters rival the medium’s late-sixties heyday

The art of the concert poster has experienced a revival in recent years. Contemporary work by the likes of The Small Stakes, Little Jacket, F2 Design and Methane Studios has begun to rival the great gig posters of the psychedelic era, such as the work of Wes Wilson and Rick Griffin.

Andrew Lindstrom, a freelance web designer based in Vancouver, has collected the 50 best contemporary designs. He says, “nowadays, the majority of indie bands have a growing collection of poster art that is just too incredible to simply throw away once the show has ended. Not surprisingly, this has led to the gig poster being something of a collectors item for music fanatics everywhere.”

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Gez Fry: contemporary Japanese illustration crosses over the bridge of dreams

Gez Fry is a Tokyo-based illustrator whose client-list contains everyone from the Royal Mail to Marvel Comics. Fry originally trained as a diplomat, but relocated to Japan to live with his future wife, where his work clearly took on the influences of Japanese Manga. But what is so special about it is that there’s something else in there as well: notice the level of detail and realism in his work, but also the child-like quality of the stars in the sky outside the window.

The rest of his portfolio is equally admirable. This recent work, for example, shows an influence of ukiyo-e traditional woodblock-printing, although the subject matter is clearly that of contemporary Ginza, a rich quarter of central Tokyo. There is a trend in contemporary illustration that is taking Japanese pop culture and producing something that is both more subtle and surreal than the super-flat images we have grown accustomed to. I would say that Fry’s work is comparable with the other leading lights of this floating world. The work of the likes of Yuko Shimizu, Kozyndan and Yuji Moriguchi mixes contemporary influences with historic painting styles. It is more interesting to me than almost anything in contemporary painting.

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Yuko Shimizu: the high art of illustration

I am so fond of the work of Yuko Shimizu, the New York-based Japanese illustrator who is not to be confused with her namesake, the creator of Hello Kitty. Her work straddles the worlds of advertising and magazines and includes portraits of world leaders, including Aung San Su Kyi (above centre) , the celebrated Burmese political prisoner. The way she magically mixes traditional techniques with contemporary pop culture reminds me a lot of Kozyndan.

Meet Eric Tan, new movie poster boy captures the classicism of the past

A bit of visual candy: Disney designer Eric Tan makes posters for new films in the old style. Taking inspiration from the work of the artists of the German UFA studios of the 1920s, Tan’s posters are used within Hollywood (The X-Men poster was produced for Stan Lee’s birthday), but have yet to be given a full theatrical release.