Not wanting to feel left out, I’m adding my 2 cents on Damien Hirst’s new skull. It is a platinum cast of a human skull, with real teeth, studded with 8.601 diamonds, the forehead set with a 50-karat stone. At a reported production cost of £8-10 million and a sales price around £50 million, the…
It seems almost auspicious that American cartoonists Tom Hart (Hutch Owen) and Matt Madden (99 Ways to Tell a Story) decided to do a comics version of Jørgen Leth and Lars von Trier’s film The Five Obstructions just as the former was turning 70. Go check out their little game of constraint – it’s both…
Til særlig vore norske læsere, vil jeg anbefale at checke denne uges udgave af Morgenbladet, hvori undertegnede har en anmeldelse af David Bs Epileptisk. Men først og fremmest vil jeg anbefale jer at læse Epileptisk – et af den moderne tegneseries mesterværker. Udgiveren, No Comprendo Press, har i øvrigt også udsendt David Bs lille mesterlige…
It’s incredibly sad to hear of the death of pop culture journalist Daniel Robert Epstein’s sudden death at the way-too-young age of 31 a couple of days ago. Epstein was a hugely prolific journalist specializing in interviews with an astonishingly broad range of artists and pop culture personalities. His interviews were engaging and to the…
Well, I absolutely adore legendary poet, filmmaker and sports commentator Jørgen Leth, so today is a great occasion to celebrate the man and his works. Mr. Leth himself will talk to his audience in Cinemateket in Copenhagen later today, go meet him! At the same time, the first part of a brand new dvd compilation…
Bogmarkedet meddeler, at der i disse timer bliver skrevet dansk forlagshistorie; Egmont-forlaget Aschehoug har netop købt Bonnier Forlagene, der blandt andet tæller Lindhardt og Ringhof, Børsens Forlag, Akademisk Forlag og Carlsen. Bonnier Forlagenes hidtige direktør Morten Hesseldahl forlader storforlaget, der fortsætter under navnet Lindhardt & Ringhof. Hvorvidt Egmont Serieforlaget og Carlsen vil blive sammenlagt ved…
This is the collected edition of my four-part review from last month of the Madrid Tintoretto show. Everything is now here, in one place, for you reading leisure, and – hopefully – pleasure.
Danmarks ældste og bedste filmtidsskrift Kosmorama er ude NU, med et stort temanummer om animationsfilm. Bladet – eller retteligt: bogen – er spækket med spændende og indsigtsfulde artikler om det gamle og det nye, om det kendte og det obskøne, det fede og det, der bare er forgæves. Sidstnævnte tager denne skribent sig bramfrit af…
Commercial break: The latest issue of The Comics Journal, issue #283, contains my in-depth, career-spanning interview with master cartoonist Lewis Trondheim. It’s probably going to hit stores within the next few weeks, depending on where you are, so be sure to check it out! In the meantime, there’s an excerpt up on the Journal website.…
In more sad news, Darma Beck passed away yesterday. She had been married to art historian James, who died on Saturday, for 51 years. Makes you ponder the vital interdependence between us people. Deepest condolences to the Beck family.
As you may have noticed, our daily celebration of Hergé’s centenary is on hold (we deeply apologize for any inconvenience!). Instead we’d like to offer a great link, leading you to a clever conversation in which The Smartest Cartoonist on Earthâ„¢ – why, Chris Ware of course – discusses Tintin, Hergé and ligne claire. The…
This tongue-in-cheek blog post links to some amazing 19th-Century Japanese cartooning – woodcuts showing allegorical battles between octopi, insects, fish and fruit, multi-user fart duels and the like. There’s some amazing character design involved here, and some truly funny mise-en-scène. Thanks to Dirk for the heads-up.
A goat rising on its hind legs to eat from a tree, depicted moment-to-moment around the circumference of a 5.000-year old drinking goblet from Persia, discovered at the site of the Burnt City in the Sistan va Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran. The picture is small, but there’s no denying the efficient and charming cartooning…
In the wake of the closure and demolition of the Youth Community House ‘Ungeren’ at the address Jagtvej 69 in Copenhagen a little of two months ago, there has been an explosion of political and politically motivated graffiti and street art around Copenhagen. Klaus Køhl, of Rapspot has been around town with his camera and…
Dr. James Beck, Professor of Art History at Columbia University and one of our preeminent scholars of the Italian Renaissance, died on Saturday at the age of 77. This is a great loss, both of an extraordinary scholar and a controversial curmudgeon to the field. Always outspoken, he courted controversy throughout his career – most…