As a former art student, I can't tell you how tedious (and typically batshit insane) the attention-junkies behind these sorts of political "art" statements can be, as well as the professors who encourage them. All I wanted to do was learn how to paint, draw, and illustrate. Instead, I got 3 years of forced indoctrination. UItimately, I had to transfer to a tech college and get an electronics degree in order to clear my brain.

[Link: Close Cover Before Striking]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 7:39 AM | Permalink

So long, Dave, and many thanks for introducing me to Ms. Bettie Page, via your greatest creation, The Rocketeer.

UPDATE: more eloquent, better-illustrated tributes here and here.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

His special effects were astonishing for their time, employing simple, in-camera optical effects, flawless stop-action animation, and live-action to produce stunningly beautiful imagery that looked as if it came straight out of an engraving by Gustave Doré. His work has inspired Terry Gilliam of Monty Python, and Wes Anderson, among many others. Anderson paid homage to Zeman in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and Gilliam even went so far as to remake Zeman's film, The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (AKA Baron Prášil), with decidedly mixed results.

Zeman's Munchausen is an unqualified masterpiece of fantastic cinema that is, inexplicably, unavailable in the US on DVD, and extremely difficult to find everywhere else. Fortunately, several clips are available on YouTube, so do yourself a favor and spend some time watching them. You'll be glad you did.

[Link: The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (review)]
[Link: Baron Prášil Clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
[Link: The Special Effects of Karel Zeman Part I and Part II]
[Link: Karel Zeman Short Subjects]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:37 PM | Permalink

UPDATE: one of my sharp-eyed readers located the artist's signature at the bottom lefthand side of the illustration. After looking at it under high magnification, I've determined that it's "G. Durand", a 19th-century engraver who did indeed work for Harper's.

[Link: Vintage Oceania gallery]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Acclaimed British-Indian author, Indra Sinha, talks to Flipside Magazine co-founder, L.A. punk in-crowder, and outsider artist, X-8, about his life, music, and artistic aesthetic. X-8 was one of my best friends through most of high-school, and it always amazes me how little I really knew about him back then. His vision isn't for everyone, but you've gotta admire him for the way that he tackles his demons head-on [Link].

Posted by MrBaliHai at 5:09 AM | Permalink

My friend, The Cartoonist, has amassed quite a collection of humorous sketches over at Konstantin's London Leben 'blog. I'm not quite sure why so many people had to die to make them though.

[Link: London Sketches]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:32 PM | Permalink

One aspect of Polynesian Pop that I really enjoy is the way it's revitalized an interest in Oceanic arts, particularly in the area of wood carving. Some carvers stick to the traditional representations of Tikis, while some go for a more contemporary interpretation. Quite a few maintain 'blogs where you can follow the progress of their work. Two such artists are Greg Fairclough (AKA GMAN) and Fred Kroner (AKA Finkdaddy).

[Link: Ocean and Island Arts]
[Link: The Leeward Lounge]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 9:39 AM | Permalink

If Beachbum Berry is the Messiah of Tropical Mixology, then Sven Kirsten is his Moses, leading the lost children of the Trader and the Beachcomber out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land flowing with Mai Tais and Puu-puu Platters. Kirsten's first tome was the Book of Tiki: the Ark of the Covenant, Ten (or more) Commandments, and veritable Pentateuch of Polynesian Pop. An essential, if not the essential, addition to the library of any Tikiphile, it almost singlehandedly rescued Tiki from near-total oblivion, and transformed a kitsch pastime for parental squares into, dare-we-say-it, highbrow lowbrow art for the most discerning of tastes.

After an interminable interval, Kirsten has announced the imminent arrival of his second work, Tiki Modern, a look at the artistic connections between PolyPop and mid-century Modernism of the 1950s and '60s. Slated to ship next month, Sven has graciously provided a sneak preview of his new masterpiece in this Tiki Central thread. I've got my copy pre-ordered!

[Link: Tiki Modern Sneak Preview]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

[Link: Monsterfetish]
[Link: Sarah Ray]
[Link: The Creep]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 4:38 PM | Permalink

Misterhaitch gives us a fascinating glimpse into the world of Argentinean artist, linguist, and Catholic occultist, Xul Solar.

[Link: Xul Solar]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 7:07 PM | Permalink