Pinocchio…”I’ll be back” May 11, 2009
Posted by leskanturek in Comics, Graphic Novels, Pinocchio, Puppets, Summer Reading Project, Visually Cool & Relevant.Tags: Pinocchio, Vincent Parannaud, Winshluss
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Like the Terminator he seems to reference, Pinocchio is back, this time channeled through well known French comix artist Winshluss. His retelling of the classic children’s story was awarded the Fauve d’or (best comic book prize/ Gold Fauvre) at the 37th Angoulême International Comics Festival in France this year. Winshluss, is the pen name of Vincent Parannaud who might also be familiar to some as co-director with Marjane Satrapi on her animated film Persepolis.
Winshluss has created a wonderfully dark, comic noir interpretation of Carlo Collodi’s classic children’s story. The artwork is primarily done in pen and ink, and watercolor but switches to paint for larger splash panels. He references a terrific range of illustrative styles and history in the story from late 18th century pen and ink, to early French film pioneer Georges Méliès , through early Disney (don’t ask what indignities Snow White endures within these pages), and underground comix.
Disney’s 1940 animated Pinoccho seems to have become the definitive version here in the U.S., Winshluss work is much closer to Collodi than Disney in spirit. Like Collodi’s originally serialized story of the wooden marionette, Winshluss updated version was first published as serialized chapters in Ferraille Illustré, a French comics journal. Winshluss’ graphic novel is an adult noir movie that at times is both comedy and tragedy. The narrative begins with a shooting, and then flashes back to Pinocchio’s creation (he is now a robot like android) and his subsequent adventures. Collodi’s original story, which is also darker (Pinocchio is hung, Jiminy Cricket is killed…) than Disney’s version and was first intended as an adult story. Both versions portray Pinocchio going from one manipulative situation to another. Winshluss has also injected politics into his story which also played a part in Collodi’s original.
The Angoulême site described the book as an “Opera”, which it is in it’s visual lushness and drama. For the most part the book is wordless, with multiple character’s points of view all adding to the sum of Pinocchio’s story. Jiminy Cafard (Cafard translates as cockaroach as well as hypocrite and a feeling of severe depression), Pinochio’s companion provides the most talking in the book which seems appropriate, and provides comic relief.
Most of his appearances are rendered in black and white. As of now Winshluss’ Pinocchio is only available in French (which won’t stop you from enjoying it even if you’re not a French speaker) and through overseas online merchants . Hopefully it will be distributed in the states in the near future.
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All images © Winshluss and or Les Requins Marteaux
Boak Who? May 2, 2009
Posted by leskanturek in Student Post, Uncategorized.Tags: Dick Boak, Martin Guitars art, pen and ink, Victoria Salvador
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By Victoria Salvador
Dick Boak is a long time guitar builder who works for Martin Guitars. He’s currently the director of ‘Martin Guitar Artist and Limited Editions’, which is a series of beautifully crafted instruments that are uniquely made through collaborations. He is better known and famous for working for Martin Guitars, finding artwork of his from the 70s was not easy. I know of Dick Boak because I sit in front of his lithograph everyday at my desk, and yet- I have never chose to really explore his work. His pen and ink drawings as well as his lithographs are impressive, imaginative, and extremely detailed.
(Above) Elephants, 1976
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Reading through an interview I found in Modern Guitars Magazine with Boak, I found out that graphic art was his original profession:
Modern Guitars Magazine: Life before Martin Guitar?
Dick Boak: I started out as an illustrator and art teacher. One of the teachers at the Blair Academy, a private school that has about 400 students, up in New Jersey, was having some difficulty reaching the right rapport with his students. They weren’t responding. He asked me to work with him in order to connect with the students better and that lasted for about two years.
* In the interview, Boak speaks about getting hired with Martin, was let go, and then asked to come back. He began illustrating again in his free time.
MGM: You returned…
DB: The guy who fired me kept it a bit of a secret. Fortunately, when everyone found out about it, they wanted me back. Frank Martin, his father “Mr. Martin” and his grandson Chris (Christian Frederick Martin IV) and the guys in the production shop didn’t know I’d been fired. While I was “on sabbatical”, I worked on an illustration of a D-28 and eventually published it. My artistic interest or specialty is to make very detailed, highly intricate drawings through a method artists call pointillism. I thought of it as hippie art, sort of San Francisco art nouveau.
Anyway, I was hired back during the strike and worked final assembly, and through the years I’ve worked in a lot of different areas at Martin, learning from the ground up.
(Above) D-28, 1977
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Boak’s illustrations are distinctive in style and visually delicate. His line work is hair-line fine, and his use of pointillism is a complimentary contrast to his flat white backgrounds he employs. Looking over his work, I see a strong resemblance to M, C . Escher’s work, even if this was unintentional. His subject matter, symmetry, and attraction to illusions gives me this impression.
(Above left) Wheel Of Balance, 1974 by Dick Boak (Above right) Angels and Devils By M.C. Escher
(Above) The Vine of Harmonics designed by Boak. Ivory inlay on a 12-string Cutaway Martin. The harmonic locations of the strings on the frets are marked by the vine pattern
The interview witth Modern Guitars Magazine : http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/000500.html
Dick Boak’s art is ©Dick Boak and from : http://www.dickboak.com/website/Art.html
The Lexicon of Comicana September 3, 2008
Posted by leskanturek in Books, Comics, Uncategorized.Tags: Grawlixes, Lexicon, Mort Walker
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Did you know there are names for all those shorthand marks that cartoonists employ to show say motion in an object or person, or the misc. symbols that convey a character is cursing up a blue streak?
Cartoonist Mort Walker who draws Beetle Baily, and Hi and Lois among other strips, has also published a lexicon that attaches names to all the visual symbols that cartoonists employ to indicate motion or dizzyness, to name a few.
The misc. type characters that are used to denote a character spewing curses are called Grawlixes according to Mort. So, read the lexicon, impress your professors, and come off as the erudite art scholar you knew you always were.
Pimp My Drawing July 22, 2008
Posted by leskanturek in In class assignments, Pimp my drawing, Student work, Uncategorized.Tags: Buck Marshall, Class mural, pimp my drawing
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Pimp Mural from Fall 2005 (left) detail
Each year I hold a “Pimp My Drawing” session which usually is a lot of fun and lets off some academic steam while transforming your original drawing into something …else. It’s always interesting to see what happens. Each year really approaches it differently. Sometimes it’s a very orderly affair, and other times a chaotic free-for-all. The parameters are that it be done with in the 2 hrs and 40 minutes of class time. A not so easy accomplishment.
Alice In Wonderland, Pimp Fall 2006
Pimp Spring 2008
The mural done in the spring 2008 class was titled “Buck Marshall: Range Detective” and was based on a 1930’s comic strip. It was starting to feel like a narrative, with some nice depth and space developing.
