Weekend links 8

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Another label design of mine for the Adur Brewery. Much as I like Otto Weisert’s Arnold Böcklin typeface it’s something I’ve been reluctant to use in the past due to its lazy deployment by UK shop sign makers. The ribbon motifs and the hops are adapted from one of my Art Nouveau reference books, however, so it seemed appropriate in this case.

Dead Fingers Talk: The Tape Experiments of William S. Burroughs, a forthcoming exhibition at IMT, London, “presenting two unreleased tape experiments by William Burroughs from the mid 1960s alongside responses by 23 artists, musicians, writers, composers and curators.” Related: get a Naked Lunch t-shirt (or another cover design) at Out of Print clothing.

Ronald Clyne: American folk modernist. Rediscovering the album and book cover designer.

Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Jones. A documentary about the work of artist Jeffrey Jones. Related: Mike Kaluta appears in the trailer and Golden Age Comic Book Stories has pages from Kaluta’s illustrated Metropolis (1988), a novel by Thea von Harbou.

• “I imagined myself as a giant penis launching off from earth like a spaceship.” WFMU’s Beware of the Blog explores Cary Grant’s use of LSD. Related: Orange Sunshine – The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World, a book by Nicholas Schou.

• Britain’s armed forces have a lesson for the US: “Only 10 years ago, the Army was expelling soldiers for homosexuality. Now gay weddings get the regimental blessing.” A very modern military partnership.

Cassette tapes and their growing curiosity/fetish value. Related: Michael Stipe and Maison Martin Margiela’s sterling silver microcassette charm.

• Another week, another theremin link: Detergent bottles become theremins.

• “Edinburgh is a city built on the production of books”.

The National Archives UK’s photostream at Flickr.

Typographic playing cards.

• A song for Cary Grant: The Trip by Park Avenue Playground, an obscurity from 1967. And These New Puritans have a new video for Attack Music.

Jugend, 1898

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Continuing the delve into back issues of Jugend magazine, the German fin de siècle periodical of “art and life”, this post covers the year 1898. As before, Jugend was so copiously illustrated that the selection here can only scratch the surface. Anyone wanting to see more of these graphics is advised to explore the bound volumes at the Heidelberg University archive. The two books for 1898 can be found here and here.

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Continue reading “Jugend, 1898”

Albrecht Dürer’s Triumphal Arch

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Albrecht Dürer’s Triumphal Arch (1515), a wall-sized print produced by 192 separate print blocks. I had a good look at this the last time I was the British Museum. The Museum’s site has some sample details of the work but the size of them isn’t so good, unfortunately. This is one of those pictures you either have to see in situ or find a huge digital copy to scrutinise in order to fully appreciate its incredible detail.

The Triumphal Arch is one of the largest prints ever produced. It was commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519). The programme was devised by the court historian and mathematician, Johann Stabius, who explains underneath that it was constructed after the model of ‘the ancient triumphal arches of the Roman Emperors’. (More.)

The Triumphal Arch at The American Institute for Conservation | An overview of the prints and some good views of the full scale of the work.
The Triumphal Arch at Backtoclassics.com | A large view and some details.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
The etching and engraving archive

inevitable undeniable necessary by Bharti Kher

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left: confess (detail) (2009–2010); right: indra’s net mirror 1 (2010).

Works from inevitable undeniable necessary, a solo exhibition by Bharti Kher at Hauser & Wirth, London. Kher was born in Britain but lives and works in New Delhi, India. This is her first solo exhibition in London and it runs to May 15, 2010.

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the great chase (2009–2010).

Weekend links #7

The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (and sporting my design inside and out) is now in print. The grotesque creatures on the jacket and inside are from a celebrated set of prints by Arent van Bolten.

• More VanderMeeria: my cover for Jeff’s novel Finch continues to garner attention. Artist John Picacio selected it as part of his contribution to this discussion of genre cover designs (thanks John) and io9 followed up by choosing it from SF Signal’s selection.

• Graphic design: the Ballets Russes at BibliOdyssey; Julian Montague’s “books from an invented intellectual history” at A Journey Round My Skull; Women, Snakes and Stalkers, book covers from the PK (Indo-Iranian languages and literatures) section of the University of Chicago’s Regenstein library (also here); I want this book: Arabesque – Graphic Design from the Arab World and Persia.

• Photography: Richard Davies’ documenting of Russia’s wooden churches; Dave Walsh’s fata morgana mirages in the Arctic.

• Illustration: Jacob Escobedo at Sci-Fi-O-Rama; Mahlon Blaine reprinted.

• The gays: Oliver Frey (aka Zack) has originals of his erotic art for sale; 100 is the third book of erotic portraits from photographer Dylan Rosser.

Silent Porn Star is back. Related: Susie Bright praises sexual expression.

• The Libel Reform Campaign is trying to reform England’s egregious libel laws. Sign their petition here.

• RIP: Victor Arwas, art collector, writer and scholar; Alex Chilton, musician and record producer.

• The record sleeve that’s also the record player.

• Song of the week: Guess I Was Dreaming by The Fairytale (1967).