A Journey Round My Skull

Two by Massimo Scolari

2013-02-26T12:17:00.001-05:00

Massimo Scolari, The Sick Square, 1971

See my Scolari post on But Does it Float. I'm looking forward to the recent book collecting these works (Amaz link) -- these come from the old book (most b/w).

Massimo Scolari, Sardinia North East, Cape Boi, 1973

Weltkrieg

2013-02-24T12:16:00.001-05:00

Willi Geiger, 1914

See the new post on recto-verso: Weltkrieg: German Artists Respond to the Great War

Bettina von Arnim

2013-01-23T00:42:00.000-05:00

Manhole, 1972

La ligne jaune, 1972

Labyrinth, 1980

Auf Polls Spuren, 1976

Die Eisenbahnen haben einen Schnupfen, 1983

A, 1976

Most of these works by Bettina von Arnim (b. 1940) come from Galerie Poll, though I have trouble navigating to them directly from their website. The rest come from expired auction listings. I gave titles when I could find them. I would love to see more of her work (and proper reproductions).

Not related (as far as I know) to previous poster-boys of this blog, Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim (unlike this Bettina von Arnim).

update: Thomas Kümmel (@klbkultur on twitter) left a comment about the artist. Thank you!

Bettina von Arnim (born 1940 at Zernikow) is related to the widely branching noble lineage "von Arnim" although it is not easy to trace her roots.

She is the daughter of Friedmund and Clara von Arnim. Her parents managed the family estate "Gut Zernikow" until it was expropriated by the Soviets. They then fled Eastern Germany for West Berlin in 1945.

Her father, Friedmund von Arnim, was a great-grandchild of Ludwig Achim and Bettina von Arnim (German writer and novelist, Countess of Arnim and sister of Clemens Bretano). Friedmund von Arnim died as a prisoner of war in Russia in January 1946. Her mother, Clara von Arnim, died on May 7, 2009 at the age of 99.

The Future Is Now, 1984

2013-01-16T22:47:00.000-05:00

Filmstudio Limelight / Space Girl
(Schlieren / Schweiz; 1984)
www.vannutt.ch

Click for larger versions at Micky the Pixel's flickr (his light show company is Vannutt)

Those Tinderbox Eyes

2013-01-13T20:43:00.007-05:00

Axel Mathiesen's illustration for H. C. Andersen's "Tinderbox," circa 1928 via twincovercollector.

I apparently can't get enough of bug-eyed dogs...perhaps because the Boston Terrier runt of my teenage years was crazy bug-eyed. See these previous posts: one, two, three.

In the land of dwarfs

2013-01-10T17:13:00.002-05:00

BibliOdyssey mentioned this one way back in 2008 but I keep coming across it and had to feature it. The scans are by flickr user Tomasz and the book is called... W Krainie Karzełków, which Google confidently translates as "In the land of dwarfs." I can't find a date. 1940s? And the sig... Ajo?

Book collector Arthur van Kruining cleared up the mystery: "This book is of Dutch origin. The title is DWERGENLAND (1923). "Ajo" was the pseudonym of Henriëtte Fox-Borel. Unfortunately her books are quite rare." Thanks Arthur!

Google translates "Dwergenland" as "Dwarf Country." See more Ajo here.

Staring Contest

2012-11-27T00:58:00.001-05:00

I'm winning. Tintype from the collection of Frank Suvari via John Demetrick.

The Bookworm

2012-11-17T18:38:00.002-05:00

Alexander von Salzmann, Der Bücherwurm, 1916 (from Jugend)

Gösta Adrian-Nilsson

2012-11-17T17:45:00.003-05:00

Illustrations by the Swedish artist Gösta Adrian-Nilsson, also known as GAN (1884–1965).

The Scheherazade illustrations (last few) date from 1916 and the others (from "Swedish Folk Songs") seem to be from around the same time.

See a group of paintings by GAN on feuilleton. All of these images come from expired auction listings.

More French drugs

2012-11-15T16:55:00.004-05:00

Leftover from a big post of 1930s French pharmaceutical ads on 50 Watts.
Collection of Jérôme Dubois.

Frank Mechau Jr.

2012-11-13T18:34:00.002-05:00

"Frank Mechau Jr. (1904-1946) was a well-known Colorado artist who often painted scenes depicting the Western Colorado mountains he loved."

Stumbled on this artist while googling another Frank Mechau, one who illustrated a book by Aldington in 1931.

See Frank crouching in front of a mural sketch.

Secession

2012-11-11T20:21:00.002-05:00

Things I want based on the cover: "Secession" by Frances Stark

Marvel and misspell

2012-10-30T22:40:00.001-04:00

During the hurricane (not so bad in Philly) I posted some NASA photos of past storms on But Does it Float. (Unusually topical for me, I know.) I used a Goethe quote found in Auden's A Certain World: A Commonplace Book. Here's the full quote:

Many years ago, as now, my mind strove with eager delight to study and discover the creative life of Nature. It is eternal unity in manifold manifestation; the great is little, the little is great, and everything after its kind; ever changing and yet preserving itself, near and far, and far and near, and so shaping and re-shaping itself—to marvel at it is what I am here for.

The reason why I prefer the society of nature to any other is that nature is always right and the error, if any, can only be on my side. But if I hold converse with men, they will err, then I will, and so on forever, and we never get to see matters clearly.

Everything factual is, in a sense, theory. The blue of the sky exhibits the basic laws of chromatics. There is no sense in looking for something behind phenomena: they are theory.

On the next page Auden gives a fun Lichtenberg aphorism:

If nature be regarded as the teacher and we poor human beings as her pupils, the human race presents a very curious picture. We all sit together at a lecture and possess the necessary principles for understanding it, yet we always pay more attention to the chatter of our fellow students than to the lecturer's discourse. Or, if our neighbor copies something down, we sneak it from him, stealing what he himself may have heard imperfectly, and add to it our own errors of spelling and opinion.

Image: Hurricane Dean, 2007, NASA

Gee Chan

2012-10-28T01:23:00.001-04:00

Wonderful work by Gee Chan. Found as one of Andrew Ohlmann's Cargo Team picks.

Zhang Handong

2012-10-26T01:46:00.002-04:00

Harmony Music, 1998

Southern Region Series -Static Cloud, 1998

Southern Region Series - Nocturne, 2000

Magic Dance, 1998

Fairy, 2002

Bio of Zhang Handong from Ravenel auction house (where I spend way too much time):

Chinese, b. 1964 Born in the hometown of prints, Yunnan in 1964. Zhang is a talented painter. He graduated in fine arts department from Yunnan Arts University. He had been vice-director in fine arts department of Yuxi Normal University, he is currently the vice-principal of Nieer Arts University. His way of creating is passionate but conscientious and careful at the same time. The style is simple but touching. He constantly conveys the characteristics of people, events, places and objects that he'd experienced vividly through his tactful academic skills. No matter in China or abroad, we could find his gorgeous work in many significant architectures. He's one of the artists whose works are quite popular for collection. Zhang is still in his summer of life, won several important art prizes in these years. All reveals his infinite artistic potential. In 1998, his oil painting works participate in "Art Taipei 98", in 2004, Zhang participated in the first Gallery Fair in Beijing. In 2006, he's one of the invited artists of Munich oil paintings exhibition and held "Revitalized Homeland-Zhang Handong Solo Exhibition" in Taipei.

Bat Woman

2012-10-24T15:17:00.003-04:00

In case you thought Fini's Cat Woman from my previous post was strange, I present this 1968 Turkish film poster (from the Efraín Barradas collection)

Cat Woman

2012-10-23T01:27:00.002-04:00

Leonor Fini, Cat Woman

I found this on a Polish auction site (where the painting was titled "Kobieta kot") and realized I've never featured Leonor Fini (1907–1996). And I fucking love Leonor Fini.

Slow Lorris

2012-10-20T21:20:00.002-04:00

check out Bryant Devlin Molloy's animals

Jack in the box

2012-10-20T12:30:00.000-04:00

"Boekillustratie voorstellende een duveltje uit een doosje"
[psychotic jack-in-the-box] 1920ish
via Geheugen van Nederland

1900-1940 also via Geheugen

Endochondral Ossification in Knee Joint of Kitten

2012-10-20T02:08:00.001-04:00

circa 1916, classroom drawing (no memory of where I found this)

Jan Toorop's 1924 calendar

2012-10-19T01:36:00.001-04:00

Via the Wolfsonian. The image right above is my fave.

Also see Folkert's Toorop post on But Does it Float

Artuš for Adults

2012-10-12T01:02:00.000-04:00

Some freakier leftovers from my big 50 Watts post of

Early-twentieth century illustrations by Artuš Scheiner (1863 Benešov – 1938 Prague)

compliments Josef Skrhola

Izas, Rabizas y Colipoterras

2012-08-30T13:16:00.000-04:00

Photos by Juan Colom from Izas, Rabizas Y Colipoterras (1964) by Cela

Via Galderich found while working on Catalonian Book Fetishists 3

Illustrated by Fish

2012-05-13T17:31:00.001-04:00

From "The Noah's Ark Book" illustrated by FISH (1918)
via Full Table and Animalarium

Santa Claus delivers a new child into a world of violence and death

2012-05-07T21:35:00.002-04:00

China Sketch, January 1937
"Santa Claus delivers a new child into a world of violence and death"
Illustrator: Zhu Jin-lou

Modern Sketch, November 1935

China Sketch, November 1936
"China as sleeping giant. 'Give me Liberty or Death.'"
Illustrator: Li Xuan

"A Typical Chinese," 1936 photomontage

"Assorted Pictures from the North," 1934
Photomontage artist: Fen Zi-li

Here's a small addendum to my big 50 Watts post "Shanghai Expression: Graphic Design in China: 1920s to 30s." These felt perfect for MY SKULL. Via the book Chinese Graphic Design in the Twentieth Century.