Wednesday 31 October 2018

IT'S HALLOWEEN! ROLL UP! ROLL UP!

A little Halloween treat from 1990 for my blog-readers...

THE AUTUMN PEOPLE : a musical fantasy

Music by DAVID HEWSON • Words by BRIAN SIBLEY

*Dedicated to Ray Bradbury in 1990 to mark his 70th Birthday*

Narrator and Voices of the Animals – Brian Sibley
Soprano – Jacqueline Bremar
Tenor – Richard Berkley-Steele
Flute – Georgina Roberts
Piano – David Elwin



HALLOWEEN BRADBURY-STYLE!


'HALLOWEEN'
from the portfolio Ten Views of the Moon 
Ray Bradbury and Joe Mugnaini

From a portfolio of ten color lithographs created by Mugnaini, with interpretive captions authored by Ray Bradbury. The prints were drawn on the plates by Mugnaini
and printed on an offset press by Kistler.

"From the sides of autumn barns rip sections of old circus posters, shreds of tigers' teeth, bits and pieces of shrieks and screams, glowers and grimaces - paste it all up on a frame, and go fly that kite, a wild bunch of boys for its tail!" 


Monday 22 October 2018

MUMMY-FIXATION

Iconic 1932 horror film poster in unbelievably pristine condition, radiant with vibrant colours and totally fantastic is predicted to fetch up to $1.5 million at Sotherby's Halloween auction.


The background...
"This auction offers the opportunity to acquire one of the rarest, most highly-coveted film posters in existence: an original copy of the poster for 1932’s horror classic The Mummy.

"A stone lithograph printed to promote the film’s debut in 1932, this exceptionally well-preserved poster is a seminal example of the graphic design pioneered by Hollywood studios at the time.

"Designed by Karoly Grosz, Universal’s advertising art director, the poster is an early representation of the aesthetics that continue to influence poster design to this day: vivid, painterly splashes of color, a dynamic composition, and minimal white space.

"Depicting Boris Karloff, in the title role that cemented his place as a film icon, and Zita Johann, the subject of his mummy’s desire, the poster was exclusively created for theaters’ promotional purposes and never made available to the public. 

"Given the ephemeral nature of posters from this era — most were pasted over or discarded after a film’s run — this piece is incredibly rare: it is one of only three examples known to still exist and remains in its original, un-backed state. After setting the record for the highest price achieved for a film poster when sold by Sotheby’s in 1997, this piece was included in the Whitney Museum’s 1999 exhibition The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-2000.

"Among collectors, the posters for horror films of the 1930s are revered as the most desirable of all. This period, known as the Golden Age of Horror, ushered in a new genre of cinema and a new approach to marketing movies. As silent movies gave way to talkies, horror films employed all the latest technological innovations to craft movies that shocked and provoked. Universal set the template for horror as we know it with a trio of films: The Mummy, Frankenstein and Dracula. These movies tapped into the fears and societal unrest between the World Wars, using Hollywood magic to transport audiences to fantastical worlds where good fought evil.

"Posters from this era played a key role in horror films’ impact, defining the images that would haunt audiences and loom in the cultural memory. Released ten years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb, The Mummy is not only an emblem of cinematic history but a relic of popular culture from the time. The film married the vogue for all things Egyptian with the allure of the supernatural, providing a snapshot of the nation’s fascinations. The Mummy was unique in utilizing ambiance and aesthetics to create a sense of foreboding, rather than relying on thrill-inducing gimmicks, which makes the poster such a landmark piece of design. Undoubtedly one of the finest posters produced during this groundbreaking era in Hollywood, and the single best-preserved example to ever come to market,The Mummy is an invaluable cultural artifact."

And, if you'll pardon the pun, that just about wraps it up!

Wednesday 17 October 2018

HELLO, DISNEY... HELLO, DALI!

I really thought I knew most of what there was to know about the associations between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali – but, somehow, I must have missed the fact that, in 1967, the artist included Walt in a suite of etchings entitled FIVE AMERICANS – the other four being George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

So, here's Disney as seen by Dali...