Tomi Ungerer, All in One (Installation View)

The Drawing Center is currently honoring pioneer illustrator Tomi Ungerer, with an ambitious look at his expansive career of diverse themes and motifs.  Born in Alsace shortly before World War II tore through Europe, Ungerer moved to New York in 1956, where he published his first series of works.  Although his divergent artistic interests led him to compile a comprehensive oeuvre from advertisement campaigns for publications including the New York Times to graphically striking illustrations criticizing the politics of his time, Ungerer came to prominence in the U.S. as a children’s books author. His objection to this type of categorization eventually led him to move to Nova Scotia with his wife, later followed by another relocation to Ireland, where he currently resides. (more…)

Jayson Musson, Sculptural Allegory for a Specific Cultural Sphere (2014), via Osman Yerebakan

Jayson Musson first came into prominence with his online personality Hennessy Youngman, a character commenting on different topics related to art from a wry perspective, while satirizing the clichés of the art world and the hip-hop culture at the same time.  Played by Musson himself for his Youtube series Art Thoughtz, Hennessy Youngman can be seen comparing the dance style of Yvon Rainer to the moves in A-Ha’s Take On Me video or flirting with Carolee Schneemann. Similar to Musson’s articles for his short-lived column Black Like Me on Philadelphia Weekly, his online persona/alter ego Hennessy Youngman is an outpost of the artist’s investigation of racial stereotypes and the making of sub-cultures in today’s society. (more…)

Artist Raymond Pettibon is interviewed in The Guardian this week, and discusses his recent work, his stance against the US government, and his thoughts on his logo design for Black Flag being one of the most tattooed images of all time.  “I don’t know which is worse sometimes… I’ve never encouraged anyone to get one. I don’t know how those things work. Some things become iconic for whatever reason and people have the logo on their arms, or wherever, but a lot of them don’t even know their music.” (more…)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge (1892), courtesy The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection is currently displaying a series of nineteenth-century French drawings and prints by a variety of Realist, Impressionist, and Post-impressionist masters, made possible by the Florence Gould Foundation.  Exploring the varying approaches of figuration, depiction and ornamentation throughout 19th century drawing and prints, the exhibition is on view through June 16th.

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