Space Oddity, The Book by Andrew Kolb

Funny enough, Alex has started moving away from the Spacesuit of the Week a bit and then I run into a funny little spacesuit related gem. It’s a book from Andrew Kolb, which is basically a children’s books adaptation of David Bowie’s song, Space Oddity. It’s a great song filled with wild imagery, and Andrew’s interpretation is spot on. The story has sort of a 2001 kind of vibe, but mixed with something you may have seen a in a Golden Book story from long ago. I think it’s a real crime that this isn’t published yet, what parent wouldn’t buy this for their kid?

P.S. You may have seen Andrew’s work on the site before, he did this beautiful poster inspired by The Walking Dead television show.

Bobby

On Retromania And The Present Obsession With The Past

I was catching up on old issues of New York Magazine that I had piled up on my desk a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a really great book review that really struck me. The review was for Simon Reynolds newly released book, Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction To Its Own Past.

While I’ve only read a review of the book, talk of people being obsessed with the past, tied to constant references in art to the past, and an inability to create something new is something that has recently been on my mind. As someone who works as a writer concentrated around entertainment, I contribute to a lot of different sites and networks, all of which are great and super fantastic outlets for Internet conversations. Some of them, however, are seemingly entrenched with the notion of childhood and what was cool “when we were little.” There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia or a shared cultural memory of things we adored growing up. That is fine. That is great. I love talking about how much I loved Sister Act and the Spice Girls! Give me a tiny soapbox and I will preach about those two pop cultural moments at length.

The problem that we are running into though is that we’re sinking in this conversation. What this talk sounds like is, “Oh, wasn’t it great to be young? That was fun.”, when the conversation actually sounds more like, “Oh, wasn’t it great to be young? I wish I was still young.” The difference is somewhat terrifying and that’s what’s been haunting me. While at work, I was working on Twitter and couldn’t help but notice that the only items trending were Keenan and Kel, All That, and Clarissa Explains It All. I was wondering why other things weren’t trending but realized what was going on: the seemingly well-intentioned–and something I supported when the press release was announced–90s Are All That was broadcasting.

Continue reading On Retromania And The Present Obsession With The Past…

The Imagination Series By Champion Papers

In the creative and print industries where long term is often as short as a few months and short term is tomorrow first thing in the morning, it is remarkable that the Imagination book series produced by paper manufacturer Champion Papers was able to succeed and flourish for over two decades from 1963 to 1986. During that time, 26 issues were produced and acclaimed designers, such as Carl Regehr and James Miho, brought their talent and innovation to the pages.

Initially in the early 1960s, Champion Papers began to idle with run-of-the-mill Dunder Mifflin-like marketing where its main focus was on paper sales and order volume instead of the inventive ways paper could be used by the creative industry. But starting in 1963, Champion Papers made a game-changing decision by electing to adopt a different business approach after a survey showed it was virtually unknown to designers, art directors, and creative printers at the time. In response to the findings, Champion Papers became determined to reach out to that elusive market. This effort resulted in the production of Imagination, an annual print publication targeting the design community and showcasing the varied creative uses of paper in stunning ways.

Each Imagination book has a distinct theme beautifully executed through the use of photography and illustrations richly printed on a diverse range of paper grades using a number of different printing and finishing techniques, such as fold outs, die cuts and specialty bindings. Enlightening and educational text exploring the theme often accompanies the images. For example, the theme of Imagination 25 (shown above) is “Fun and Games,” where the text investigates the toys and recreational pastimes of numerous cultures and the value placed on play by ancient and contemporary societies as a means to learn and recreate. Other Imagination themes include a wide range of topics, such as ships, flight, and time.

Creating an issue of Imagination involved a great deal of resources and effort. A single book often took almost a full year to complete. The material used in the series was deeply researched and the design concepts carefully considered so that they would be long-lasting and classic with each issue building on the one before it. Sometimes an issue consists of just one bound book. Other times an issue comprises a set of individually packaged publications in custom carriers. Whatever the format, however, the editions of the Imagination series became long-lasting paper reference tools for creative professionals, many of whom safeguarded their copies over the years due to the unique presentation and engaging content.

photo credit: Robin Benson for his images of Imagination 2 1963  ”Flight”, Imagination 8 1965  ”Ships & Boats”, Imagination 24 1983 “About Time”, and Imagination 25 1985 “Fun and Games”

Cirrus

Missouri School Bans Slaughterhouse Five, Help Fight Censorship

I received a Google notification this morning saying that io9 had posted an article citing something from TFIB. Unfortunately I was in an orientation this morning and didn’t have a chance to really read the article, only seeing that io9 had decided to use the poster that Frank Chimero had created for the old Kitsune Noir Poster Club created way back when, which is how I got looped into this. Sadly, it seems that the school board of Republic High School in Missouri has banned the book from the school, citing a complaint from Missouri University professor Wesley Scroggins. Here’s what he had to say:

This is a book that contains so much profane language, it would make a sailor blush with shame. The “f word” is plastered on almost every other page. The content ranges from naked men and women in cages together so that others can watch them having sex to God telling people that they better not mess with his loser, bum of a son, named Jesus Christ.

All I have to say is that’s fucking stupid.

So in response, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is giving the 150 students who were effected by this decision a free copy of the book, effectively fighting the ridiculous censorship imposed by the school board. Not only that, but Frank Chimero will be donating 100% of the profits from the poster he created to the Memorial Library to be able to ship more books out.

Please join me in supporting the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, Frank Chimero, and freedom of speech by either purchasing Frank Chimero’s Slaughterhouse Five poster on Society 6 or by donating directly to the Memorial Library. It would also be helpful to spread the word about this and contact the school board and superintendent directly about this. Banning books is and will always be wrong.

Bobby

‘Reverence Library – Volume One’

A few weeks ago those wonderful folk over at Sing Statistics published their third book entitled Reverence Library – Volume One. Following on from their 2009 publication We Are The Friction (which Bobby wrote about here), Reverence Library see the publishers once more teaming up with an amazing group of writers and illustrators to explore the relationship between words and pictures.

Reverence Library is the first in a series of abridged pocket encyclopedias, which founders Jez Burrows and Lizzy Stewart describe as being ‘inspired by fact and reworked by fiction’. Volume One comes in three parts and features interpretations and collaborations by writers and illustrators on the subjects of Galleons, Nikola Tesla and The Trans-Siberian Railway.

Over the last few days I’ve been breezing through my copy and, as you can see from the images above, it’s an absolute beauty. Amongst the 18-strong contributors you’ll find the likes of Always With Honor, Joshua Allen, Meaghan O’Connell and Damian Correll (above – Tesla). I particularly love Luke Pearson’s piece which you can also see above. It tells the tale of a 16th century fire ship told from the point of view of the ship itself. The book costs just £10 (roughly $16) and can/should be bought here; it comes highly recommended.

Philip