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Dear Puffin,
James Hance of Relentlessly Cheerful Art has been at it again, this time with a series of mashups of Up! and Star Wars. I LOVE IT!
Are you ready to choke up a little bit?
And here’s one from his original Wookie the Chew series that I had never noticed before.
Dawwwww!
Enjoy Puffin
Love
MacGuffin
Dear Puffin,
I’m normally not a fan of College Humor. It’s juvenile and usually pretty horrible. But they do occasionally hit one right out of the park, like these travel posters for the lazy, very much in the style of the Steve Thomas work I’ve featured before.
Well done College Humor. Well done.
Love
MacGuffin
Other poster posts:
Poster roundup: Pixar Posters, Minimal Fairy Tales and Captain Sam the Extremely American Eagle
Art Nouveau Slave Leia, sinful Disney princesses, and more
Dear Puffin,
Here on the east coast we’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane. So I thought it might be a good idea to talk about some of the less well known disasters in our nation’s history. Such as The Menacing of the East River Bridge.
Or the Great Pittsburgh Zombie Outbreak.
Or the attack on Boston Harbor by the Beast from the Unknown.
Or the destruction of the Washington Monument.
Although officially known as the Washington Monument since plans for the magnificent obelisk were underway while the first President was still alive, the name is something of a misnomer as the currently standing tower is actually a replica. The first Monument, completed in 1862, was attacked and destroyed soon after by “Potomac Patty,” the local river monster who had been won over to the secessionist side of the Civil War by promises of “fresh fish flesh” from the Confederate Army. As photography was scarce during the war, this is actually a photo of the re-completed Monument with an artist’s likeness of Patty grappling with the tower.
Or, for that matter, the original design of the Statue of Liberty. As we all know, Frédéric Bartholdi first envisioned not a shining beacon of freedom featuring Lady Liberty, but a dire warning depicting Krgyyx threatening the world, as he was wont to do.
All of these edifying prints by Matthew Buchholz can be purchased on Etsy.
These are so going in my foyer.
Love
MacGuffin
Other posts tagged as Art:
Renaissance Celebrity Portraits
Dainty China Dolls of Horror and Gore
Art Nouveau 2: The Ladies of Firefly ad Battlestar Galactica
Doctor Who meets Le Petite Prince
Art Nouveau 1: Slave Leia, sinful Disney princesses and more
Dear Puffin,
I can’t really think of anything clever to say about these figurines by Jessica Harrison, aside from the fact that they are awesome and I want one.
There are a few more figures at Jessica’s site, along with the rest of her work. Her work reminds me so much of Barnaby Barford, who makes fantastically macabre pieces like this:
Finally, you wanna see something really macabre? Try a cuppa from the Hitler teapot. What is this I don’t even…..
OK, in mitigation, this is part of a series called Delft Disasterware by artist Charles Krafft. I’m going to go collapse on my fainting couch until the memory of the Hitler teapot has left me for good.
Love
MacGuffin
Other posts categorized as Art:
Renaissance Celebrity Portraits
Christopher Jonasson’s Photography: A Guessing Game
Created Equal: Mark Laita’s diptych photography
Dalek Propaganda Posters and Doctor Who Miscellany
Dear Puffin,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my fianceè, the love of my life, the inspiration for 80% of my worst ideas, Richard Handl. Richard and I planned to be wed next month, but his pending incarceration in Sweden put a hitch in our plans. We also considered eloping, like Pete and Haylea (congrats you two!!), but the opportunity to throw a depression-era hobo themed wedding (seriously, follow that link, it’s mind blowing) was just too good to pass up. Sadly, of course, we have had to postpone the development of our nuclear family due to Richard’s arrest:
(08-03) 08:33 PDT STOCKHOLM, (AP) –
A Swedish man who was arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen said Wednesday he was only doing it as a hobby.
Richard Handl told The Associated Press that he had the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his apartment in southern Sweden when police showed up and arrested him on charges of unauthorized possession of nuclear material.
The 31-year-old Handl said he had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.
Only later did he realize it might not be legal and sent a question to Sweden’s Radiation Authority, which answered by sending the police.
“I have always been interested in physics and chemistry,” Handl said, adding he just wanted to “see if it’s possible to split atoms at home.”
The police raid took place in late July, but police have refused to comment. If convicted, Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison.
Although he says police didn’t detect dangerous levels of radiation in his apartment, he now acknowledges the project wasn’t such a good idea.
“From now on, I will stick to the theory,” he said. (Via.)
The story doesn’t mention his motives, but I finally feel comfortable revealing the true story. In a desperate bid to pay for our $60,000 hobo wedding, Richard attempted to create fissionable material in the kitchen. And you know the worst part? He ruined my Kitchen-Aid mixer.
It’s really too bad the hobo wedding kids didn’t also decide to stick to theory. I mean seriously, look at this:
On Memorial Day weekend 2011, my groom and I joined hands, entwined bootlaces and shared a single bean in matrimony at what very well may be the first hobo-themed wedding. We invited our friends and family to share in our happiest of days, wear their shabbiest, drink moonshine, eat their fill of BBQ and pie, dance to a live jug band and howl at the moon.
We got to work researching the Depression era and hobo culture. As we prepared to make everything for our wedding, we collected feed sack dresses and old work boots, antique hand-stitched quilts and jug band instruments. After reading that the word “hobo” may be a syllabic abbreviation of “homeward bound,” we fell in love with the notion!
Dear, if you fell in love with the notion then your research is probably incomplete.
Things I see here: an overabundance of well fed, clean, healthy people. Things I don’t see here: crushing poverty, a total lack of healthcare, grinding struggles against social injustice. Starvation. Lice. Bedbugs.
One of the comments on the Etsy blog kind of struck me: “What a memorable wedding for you two and all that attended I am sure… so very creative and oh so comfortable!! very best wishes for many years of happiness.” Yes…. comfortable. I’m sure that’s why hobos dressed the way they did. It was all about comfort. Sure. I do have to say though, what a god awful way to start your marriage. Any time anyone asks these two about their wedding the conversation will go something like this:
“So what was your wedding like?”
“Well, we threw a Depression era hobo themed shindig….”
“Oh that’s…. unique”
“Yeah, it was actually really pretty, but we spent the first month of our marriage at the center of an internet firestorm. In retrospect it maybe wasn’t a good idea”
While I think these two were pretty insensitive and unintentionally offensive, I do wish them the best in life. I hope you two are happy together, I actually do.
Obviously, though, these kids never heard the William Shatner and Joe Jackson cover of Pulp’s Common People.
She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge,
she studied sculpture at Saint Martin’s College,
that’s where I,
caught her eye.
She told me that her Dad was loaded,
I said “In that case I’ll have a rum and coca-cola.”
She said “Fine.”
and in thirty seconds time she said,“I want to live like common people,
I want to do whatever common people do,
I want to sleep with common people,
I want to sleep with common people,
like you.”Well what else could I do -
I said “I’ll see what I can do.”
I took her to a supermarket,
I don’t know why but I had to start it somewhere,
so it started there.
I said pretend you’ve got no money,
she just laughed and said,
“Oh you’re so funny.”
I said “yeah?
Well I can’t see anyone else smiling in here.
Are you sure you want to live like common people,
you want to see whatever common people see,
you want to sleep with common people,
like me.”But she didn’t understand,
she just smiled and held my hand.
Rent a flat above a shop,
cut your hair and get a job.
Smoke some fags and play some pool,
pretend you never went to school.
But still you’ll never get it right,
cos when you’re laid in bed at night,
watching roaches climb the wall,
if you call your Dad he could stop it all.You’ll never live like common people,
you’ll never do what common people do,
you’ll never fail like common people,
you’ll never watch your life slide out of view,
and dance and drink and screw,
because there’s nothing else to do.Sing along with the common people,
sing along and it might just get you through,
laugh along with the common people,
laugh along even though they’re laughing at you,
and the stupid things that you do.
Because you think that poor is cool.Like a dog lying in a corner,
they’ll bite you and never warn you.
Look out.
They’ll tear your insides out.‘Cause Everybody hates a tourist,
especially one who thinks
it’s all such a laugh.
Yeah, and the chip stains’ grease
will come out in the bath.
You will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere left to go.
You’re amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright,
while you can only wonder why.
You’ll still be my best man, right Puffin?
Love
MacGuffin
PS: Wish me luck everyone, round one of big scary dental surgery starts at 3pm. If anyone sees me making a run for it please apprehend me and return me, kicking and screaming, to the dentist’s office.
Dear Puffin
DeviantArtist Mr Bluebird has done some lovely minimal Pixar posters! We have the Sunnyside Daycare and Al’s Toy Barn from Toy Story.
Everyone remembers the Pizza Planet truck, right? The 1978 Gyoza pickup truck that shows up in every Pixar movie? And Insuricare is the company that Mr. Incredible works for while trying to be a normal-type person in The Incredibles. I still love that movie.
This one is my favorite. I loved Ratatouille, and this poster just nailed the movie’s aesthetic. Well done Mr Bluebird.
I also found some great minimal fairy tale posters by Christian Jackson of Square Inch Design. For sale here.
Disney has done a neat little cross-promo, putting Sam the American Eagle in Captain America’s outfit. Via Comicsalliance.
I won’t be writing tomorrow Puffin, since I’ll be bitching my way through a house move. Fortunately I’m moving out of a 6th floor Manhattan building with a flukey elevator, and not into one. Thank god for small mercies.
Love
MacGuffin
Dear Puffin,
I have received a communiqué from one of our reporters in the field. Bigwig, of The Album Project and Animal News; The Podcast has been working in South Korea for last year or so, and has finally managed to smuggle out a dispatch hidden, as is traditional, in the navel of a lady who is beyond reproach and unlikely to be groped by the TSA. I decoded it for you Puffin, and here it is:
Dear MacGuffin and Puffin,
As a huge fan of your blog, I’ve been keeping my eye out for contributions to it. I love your Asshole stamped posts, and I really enjoy the internet tourism, but by far, my favorite is the various Art related posts that you guys do. So, when I stumbled across Tommervik’s Picasso inspired cubist Star Wars paintings, I knew that I had to send it in.
Look, I love Star Wars. I love the Original Trilogy. I appreciate the intent of the prequels. The iconic visuals of the series are actually embedded in my brain. I remember when I made my first home movies, I purposefully aped the whole thing. So, whenever I see the mask of Vader, or the lightsaber, or R2, I feel my body get involved.
This is why this was such a cool find. Picasso and Star Wars together?
Really, all of them are pretty damn beautiful, but my personal favorite is the Yoda one. I would love to get a print of that for my wall.
Anyway, hope you guys liked these as much as I did, and I hope you guys like this letter. It’s not as good as yours, but it’s words!
Bigwig
PS. If it is cool for me to plug my stuff, I’d love it if your readers would check out my podcast, The Animal News or my music blog, The Album Project. Thanks!
Well Puffin, what do you think? I think Bigwig has stumbled on something quite wonderful. I checked out Tommervik’s site, and there are more Picasso Star Wars pictures as well as some really neat sports paintings. He has a lovely expressive way with curves, which works well with the already exaggerated body shape of football players in their padding. The Star Wars ones would be golden purely for their nerd-cred, and I’m no art critic, but I think these are pretty damn fine art. Certainly a worthy addition to my over-crowded bathroom nerd shrine. Why the hell do I keep my nerd art in the bathroom anyway Puffin? I must move them all at some point.
Love
MacGuffin
Dear Puffin,
As you know, I’m kind of an art nerd. Hence my obsession with poster designs and stuff. I’m also deeply enamored with mashups. I love the idea of combining two totally unrelated but somehow complimentary things. So this was right up my street: Modern Renaissance, renaissance portraits of modern celebrities (although plenty of these stray far fat away from the renaissance). Some of them don’t really work- either they’re too photohopped, or the expression isn’t right, or whathaveyou. But there is an awful lot of awesome hanging around in there, and I’ve picked a few of my favorites. I chose some because they were just plain cool, some because the execution was especially good, and some just because I liked them. But go poke around in the galleries, there are tons and tons more to see. So the challenge: merge the faces of modern celebrities with the kind of art you’d see in a museum.
Challenge accepted! (Click on each image to see the original)
General Neil Patrick Harris, by Katdamage; based on Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington. Neil Patrick Harris, if you ever read this, I hereby demand that you have a copy of this made, put in a gilt frame, and displayed proudly in your home. Normally that would be an Alex Rodriguez level of douchery, but in this case sir, rock on.
King Connery I, by MarcusAurelius; based on the portrait of King Edward VII by Sir Samuel Luke. It is a goddamn shame that this is not, in fact, reality. King James Bond? Oh I think so. See also King Connery VIII.
Mr Bean, aka Rear Admiral Sir Bean, by potikare; based on the portrait of Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, by Lemuel Francis Abbott. See also Sir Horatio Wilson. Yes it’s Owen Wilson, yes it’s awesome.
Harrison Ford, by oilcorner; based on the Portrait of John William Mackay by Alexandre Cabanel.
Jack Nicholson is a mother fucking badass, by Toothfairy; based on ”Self-portrait of the artist in the guise of a mockingbird“ by Joseph Ducreux. And yes, this also came up as the fisticuffs meme. Remember this one?
Save Us Gary Oldman!, by Silkenfairy; based on Portrait of a Knight of Malta, by Caravaggio. See also, this.
This makes me uncomfortable on a lot of levels. Ozzy, by Carol Coelho.
Hugh Laurie, by Mandrak (yes, again. He did a lot of these). Based on a self portrait by Jaques-Louis David. This is just really really good.
Johnny Depp by Ziaphra; based on Willem Coymans by Franz Hals. I feel like this could very well be an accurate depiction of Johnny Depp’s life.
Robin Williams, by mandrak; based on Albecht Dürer’s portrait of Jakob Muffel.
On the left: Kevin Bacon, by mandrak; based on Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington. On the right: George Clooney, by Silentjonny;
The Death of Mr Bean, by Stadsman; based on The Death of Marat by Jaques Louis David. In some ways I think this is the best of the bunch.
I will leave you with this…. picture.
Justin Bieber, by Scott Cecil, who has a really sick sense of humor. I need some eye bleach immediately! Based on Bia de Medici, by Angelo Bronzio.
I put a couple more interesting pics behind the cut. I hope you like these Puffin. You’d better, since this post took forever to write.
Love
MacGuffin
Other posts tagged as art
Christopher Jonasson’s Photography: A Guessing Game
Art Nouveau Slave Leia, sinful Disney princesses, and more
Dear Puffin,
Remember the Firefly travel posters I have in my nerd shrine bathroom? And the art nouveau Doctor Who posters from Bill Mudron, that I talk about constantly? Well, everything seems to have come together. Megan Lara has just released this incredible series of art nouveau, Alphone Mucha style Firefly posters.
I’ve often felt that you can learn a lot about a guy by which Firefly girl he goes for. 99% go for Inara or Kaylee, the occasional one goes for River, but I’ve never once heard a guy go for Zoe. Clearly, none of you have ever been with a warrior woman!
You can buy them all here.
I also found some art nouveau versions of Starbuck and Boomer, from Battlestar Galactica, by Deviantartist Moon-Pookah.
Mudron’s got a new piece out too, although it isn’t art nouveau. It’s more of a Japanese woodblock print knockoff, featuring Madame Vastra and Jenny battling a pair of Cybermen. And it’s awesome! Click to embiggen.
And finally, a little piece of whimsy to brighten this horribly hot and sticky day: The Doctor and the Little Prince, by Deviant artist JaviDLuffy.
Love
MacGuffin
Other posts about Poster Art
Art Nouveau Slave Leia, sinful Disney princesses, and more
Late Breaking Doctor Who Art News!
Star Wars Propaganda posters, redux. Also Doctor Who, Mad Men, Battlestar, etc
Variations on a theme: Game of Thrones
Poster art roundup: Ghostbusters, Narnia, Tron etc.
Dalek Propaganda Posters and Doctor Who Miscellany
Vintage Star Wars Posters (its a compulsion, OK?)
Dear Puffin
What do you suppose these are photographs of? Try to guess. They’re by Norwegian photographer Christopher Jonasson, and they sure are beautiful. Can’t guess?
I thought they were planets.
My dad thought they were pearls.
David thought they were old lightbulbs.
My mom thought they were old marbles.
Everyone was wrong. They’re old frying pan bottoms! You can buy prints from his website here. These are so cool! I want to frame these and hang them in my kitchen.
Love
MacGuffin
Other posts categorized as art:
Created Equal: Mark Laita’s Diptych Photography
Food for Thought: The Value of a Dollar Project
