A journal by artist and designer John Coulthart.
Design
top: William Henry (1967); Victor Moscoso (1967).
bottom: Victor Moscoso (1967); Kelley/Mouse (1967).
Marvellous. Oldhandbills.com has a lot of this stuff, loads of designs I’ve never seen before. Via Arthur.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• The poster art of Marian Zazeela
Pushtorg (Fur-Trade) by Il’ia L’vovich Sel’vinskii (1931). Designer uncredited.
Tri veka (Three Centuries) by Dmitrii Dmitrievich Blagoi (1933). Designer uncredited.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The book covers archive
Detail from La Havane by René Portocarrero; photo by C. Marker.
This week’s book finds are a pair of titles I hadn’t come across before in these particular editions, another haul from the vast continent that is the Penguin Books back catalogue. Labyrinths I’ve had for years in a later edition (see below) but the cover of this one seems more suited to Borges (as much as he can be illustrated) than the somewhat bland Surrealism of illustrator Peter Goodfellow. René Portocarrero (1912–1985) was a Cuban painter with a post-Picasso style who specialised in hallucinogenic profiles like the one here. And it’s a guess but I’d bet the “C. Marker” who photographed the painting is French filmmaker Chris Marker (who I compared to Borges last year), director of La Jetée and Sans Soleil. Marker worked as a photo-journalist for many years and made a documentary entitled ¡Cuba Sí! in 1961.
Continue reading “Penguin Labyrinths and the Thief’s Journal”
Hypnotique by Martin Denny (1959).
In Waikiki, where I live whenever I get the chance, a bistro known as the Daggar Bar and its accompanying Bora Bora Lounge has for some time been the mecca of people who enjoy a new type of music. I’m one of the gang that gathers there to hear the fresh, clean tropical sounds of Martin Denny and his group.
By the time James Michener wrote the sleeve notes for Hypnotique, Martin Denny‘s fifth album, the composer was attempting to broaden his horizons and outpace his imitators by introducing strings and vocals to augment his “fresh, clean tropical sounds”. This perhaps explains the curious jumble of objects on the album sleeve (a rifle?), my favourite among the wonderful covers Liberty Records’ art department supplied for Denny’s work. The best of these feature model Sandy Warner who appears in a variety of guises, shown here as a cross between a Japanese temptress (if we take the paper mobiles as a cue) and a precursor of Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams. The art direction was by Bill Pate with photography by Garrett-Howard.
top left: Exotica (1957); top right: Primitiva (1958).
bottom left: Afro-Desia (1959); bottom right: Exotica vol. III (1959).
Sandy Warner appeared on 16 album sleeves for Denny and was even persuaded to record an album of her own to capitalise on her renown as “Miss Exotica”. In design terms, these sleeves are some of the more successful products of the late Fifties’ fad for tribal kitsch. Other covers were crazier or more garish—and few could resist flaunting a bikini-clad woman—but Bill Pate showed more care with his layouts and Sandy Warner’s alluring presence went a long way towards conjuring the required mystique. Denny’s records aren’t too bad either although when it comes to tiki-fuelled easy listening I tend to prefer his rival Arthur Lyman, especially Taboo from 1958.
Large copies of the covers shown here can been seen at Shellac.org. There are many more sites with galleries devoted to this style of music and sleeve art; Space Age Pop A Go-Go and 317x are two of the better ones. And let’s not forget Dana Countryman’s Virtual Museum of Unusual LP Covers or LP Cover Lover (check the great blogroll) or the Retro Records Flickr Pool…
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The album covers archive
Pier table for Cardinal Rezzonico (c. 1768).
This ostentatious object is on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in an exhibition devoted to Piranesi’s work as a designer. Piranesi (whose work adorns the current {feuilleton} header) is far more well-known for his Carceri d’Invenzione and Vedute di Roma prints than for his furniture design, of course, so this exhibition addresses a side of the artist/architect which is rarely explored outside the more extensive books about his work. I’d seen this table before in black and white photographs in John Wilton-Ely’s substantial monograph, The Mind and Art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1978) but those photos don’t fully convey its lavish (some might say gaudy) effect.
The exhibition runs from September 14, 2007–January 20, 2008. From the Cooper-Hewitt site:
This exhibition examines the artist’s role in the reform of architecture and design from the 18th century to the present. This is the first museum exhibition to show Piranesi’s full range and influence as a designer of architecture, elaborate interiors and exquisite furnishings. On view will be etchings, original drawings and prints by Piranesi, as well as a selection of three-dimensional objects. In addition to his better-known architectural projects, Piranesi also designed fantastic chimneypieces, carriage works, furniture, light fixtures and other decorative pieces. The exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Sarah E. Lawrence, director, Master’s Program in the history of decorative arts and design, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and John Wilton-Ely, professor emeritus, University of Hull.
Diverse Maniere…, Open to Chimneypiece: Griffon Monopods on the Jambs (1769).
The original table design appeared in Diverse Maniere, a collection of prints showing design for clocks, furniture and fireplaces. Many of these are the most bizarre and detailed inventions in Piranesi’s corpus, especially the elaborate Egyptian-themed fireplaces. Very few of these confections were built at all but a number of the prints are in the exhibition and can be seen at its very elegant website.
• NYT feature on Piranesi and the Cooper-Hewitt exhibition
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The etching and engraving archive