Media Release Contacts: Marshall Reid
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Nin Truong
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MANIK SKATEBOARDS PRESENTS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PETER BAGGE Launch Party on Saturday, May 17 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
Seattle-based Manik Skateboards continues its innovative artist-in-residence approach to skateboarding culture with the release of a new line of skate decks and related merchandise by acclaimed local cartoonist Peter Bagge. The launch of this new product line begins with a display and reception for the artist on Saturday, May 17 from 6:00 - 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Georgetown.
Now in it 6th year of operation, Manik Skateboards instituted their artist-in-residence program in 2004. Past participants have included accomplished artists in a variety of media including Maya Hayuk, Andrew Pommier, Charles Peterson, Craig Wetherby, and Jeff Proctor, among many others. Peter Bagge continues this tradition of provocative graphic design with a regional flavor.
Seattle's Peter Bagge is one of the most influential and admired cartoonists in the world. His grunge-era imagery is ideally suited to the skateboarding subculture. At once hilarious and poignant, Bagge's work of this era went beyond satire, and helped fashion both the attitudes and aesthetics of Seattle's only significant indigenous youth movement. Manik partner and designer Nhon "Nin" Truong explains, "Since our inception, Manik has been devoted to preserving our region's cultural heritage. From the anachronistic architectural anomalies of the ‘Aurora Avenue' series, to the jazz and blues legends of the ‘Jackson Street' edition, we've made an effort to expose a new generation to Seattle's cultural legacy. Like Charles Peterson's photographic series of skateboards, Peter Bagge represents an amazing era in our history." Manik partner and promotions director Marshall "Stack" Reid" (a former staffer at Fantagraphics) adds, "I was exposed to Bagge's comics at a very early age, and this series is like reliving my childhood."
The launch party is open to the public of all ages. The artist will be available to sign boards and books. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) in Seattle's lively Georgetown district. Phone 206.658.0110.
A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information, feel free to contact Nin Truong or Marshall Reid at numbers above.
Listing Information Manik Skateboards Peter Bagge series launch party Saturday, May 17, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 1201 S. Vale St., Seattle (206) 658-0110 Admission free. All ages.
Bill Mauldin costs $27.95. Willie and Joe costs $65.00.
To reserve your signed copies of these titles visit VirtualBookSigning.net or call (312) 944-3085.
One of Mauldin's most famous cartoons, depicting the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial holding his head in his hands, appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The original printing plate of this historic sketch was saved from the waste basket by a Sun Times editor, and now is reproduced as a special limited edition of 650 prints:
Thanks to Jean Albano Gallery, Virtual Book Signing will feature that original printing block during the May 8th program with Todd DePastino. The Limited Edition hand-pulled print, from that historic plate, measures 17.5 x 14 inches.
"Weeping Lincoln" costs $500.00 unframed, or $750.00 in conservation framing.
If you wish to order this special limited edition please use this order form, or call (312) 944-3085.
In this exciting debut graphic novel, Ray Fenwick has pioneered his own medium of storytelling, one best described as "typographical comics." [See this excellent NATIONAL POST feature on Fenwick from last month for more info.] HOBK is presented as a handsome, found journal written by an unnamed voice, referred to only as "The Author." Little is known about him. He clearly fashions himself a genius, writing with a faux-aristocratic air. Each page features pearls of "wisdom," lettered in an elegant, almost obsessive fashion, bedecked with Ionic columns and fleurs-de-lis. Only at the end does The Author's true story become clear. The ensuing journey is a riotous tour through the narrator's ego and id, part graphic novel, part art object, part satire, and part puzzle. Elegantly designed and printed with rounded fore edges and belly band.
RAY FENWICK is an artist, illustrator and typographic thing-maker living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A former improv comedian and theater school dropout, he now occupies himself making drawings, comics and patterns for people like Blue Q, CMT, Nickelodeon, Urban Outfitters, and others. He contributes regularly to the comics anthology, MOME.
"Fenwick has taken a high-brow route to the art of comedy. Hall of Best Knowledge is several things rolled into one: a bizarre self-help book; an eccentric college text; a guide to life from the unlikeliest of guides. It's hard to categorize (typographical novel? graphic metafiction?), even harder to explain." - Mark Medley, National Post
PUB. DATE: MAY 14, 2008 • 168 pp. • ISBN 978-1-56097-910-4 • $19.99
Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack” Spring Offensive Continues with a Blast on Saturday, May10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Seattle'’s liveliest cultural adventure continues with the May 10 installment of the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack. This monthly event, a production of the Georgetown Merchants’ Association, is intended to draw attention to the creative industrial arts district of Georgetown in an effort to foment public sentiment in favor of preserving this historic civic asset. More than 50 galleries, nightclubs, boutiques, studios, and individual artists participate in this colorful celebration of aesthetic diversity.
Coinciding with the Art Attack is the first exhibition of Georgetown Independent Artists in the Engine Room of the enchanting old brewery building. Organized by painter John Ohannesian, the show features recent work by Augie Pagan, Doug Parry, Diana Pharoah, Angielena Chamberlain, Dave Mazak, Steve Wright, Mike Poetzel, Dave McGranaghan, Lance Mercer and many others. While these artists frequently exhibit throughout the region, this exhibition acknowledges the fierce independence of Georgetown’'s working artists, who largely reject the stifling restrictions imposed by traditional gallery representation. Other highlights include: “We Make Our Own Luck,” mixed media encaustic paintings by Joseph Wackerman at Georgetown Tile Works; an exhibition of illustrations and prints by Los Angeles artist Jordan Crane at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery; Georgetown artist Sherri Scott at George; musician Anna Coogan performing at Full Throttle Bottles; free musical performances at neighborhood nightclubs; exotic dining, drinking and shopping experiences in the charming Bohemian enclave of Georgetown.
For additional information contact GMA chair Kathy Nyland or Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery curator Larry Reid. Website: www.georgetownartattack.com
Listing Information
Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack Saturday, May 10, 6:00 – 9:00 PM.
All City Coffee, Artcore Tattoo, Art at the Top of the Stairs. Backstage, Bella Vitale, Belle & Wissell, Black Market Studios, Bolte Creative, Calamity Jane's, Catherine Gill Studios, A Dog's Dream Natural Pet Supply, Equinox Studios, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, Fruit Cocktail Collectibles, Full Throttle Bottles, George, Georgetown Art Center, Georgetown Liquor Company*, Georgetown Records, Georgetown Tile Works, Great Stuff, Hangar Café, Jules Maes Saloon*, MIX, 9 Lb. Hammer*, Smarty Pants Restaurant*, Squid and Ink, The Stables, Stellar Pizza & Ale, Two Tartes Bakery, 24 Karat, and more. * Indicates 21 + with valid ID
THREE BRILLIANT ART STARS SHINE ON CONSECUTIVE SATURDAYS IN MAY AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY!
Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery springs into action in May with a succession of events featuring three of the country’s most celebrated cartoonists and remarkable illustrators. The public of all ages is invited to join us in an exciting series of exhibitions featuring Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24.
Los Angles artist Jordan Crane’s evocative and bittersweet meditations on the human condition in comics and illustration have gained him an enthusiastic following among art aficionados of all ages. His economical narrative observations have been published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, including two issues of the comic book series Uptight, and graphic novels The Last Lonely Saturday and The Clouds Above, recently issued in trade paperback. His exhibition opening Saturday, May 10 includes exquisite limited edition prints and original artwork from his comics. The reception, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, serves as the after-party for exhibitors and guests of the Emerald City Comicon, where Crane is among the featured artists. The opening also coincides with the lively Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack, featuring art, music and more at over 30 locations throughout the enchanting Georgetown neighborhood.
Seattle’s Peter Bagge is one of the most accomplished and admired cartoonists in the world. On Saturday, May 17 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore will host the launch party for a line of skateboards and related product produced by Seattle-based Manik Skateboards. On display will be the debut of skateboard decks drawn from the pages of his landmark comic HATE. Bagge’s grunge-era imagery is ideally suited to the skateboarding subculture. At once hilarious and poignant, Bagge’s work of this era went beyond satire, and helped fashion both the attitudes and aesthetics of Seattle’s only significant indigenous youth movement. In the opinion of Fantagraphics Books’ resident curator Larry Reid, “Peter Bagge’s HATE is the most fully conceived and executed comic book series ever published.” These delightful boards remain as funny and compelling as his comics of the 1990s.
SHAG (Josh Agle), of Santa Ana, CA, is the Andy Warhol of the new millennium. His distinctive artwork is characterized by a deceptively simple fluid line quality and contemporary interpretations of mid-century Americana. His work is simultaneously fresh and familiar, drawing on oddities of American popular culture both past and present. SHAG’s imagery resonates with audiences worldwide, and over the course of the last decade he has become a cottage industry – certainly one of the most prolific and successful artists working today. For good reason. The exhibition opening and book signing on Saturday, May 24 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM will feature work from his new book, SHAG: A to Z, published by Fantagraphics Books, natch. The book is comprised of 26 original paintings corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. Each piece is accompanied by a short verse extolling the pleasures of a hedonistic lifestyle and the virtues of overindulgence. Join us in welcoming this extraordinary artist.
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle’s Georgetown district. Open daily, 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110. A selection of imagery in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information, please contact Larry Reid.
LISTING INFORMATION
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
Jordan Crane Book signing and art show Saturday, May 10, 6:00 – 9:00 PM (Emerald City Comicon after-party) Exhibition continues through May 21
Peter Bagge Manik Skateboard launch party Saturday, May 17, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
SHAG: A to Z Book signing and art show Saturday, May 24, 6:00 – 9:00 PM Exhibition continues through June 25
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1201 S. Vale Street. (at Airport Way S.) Seattle, WA 98108 206.658.0110 Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
Fantagraphics was in full effect at the 2008 Stumptown Comics Fest. Your humble reporter was only there for Saturday of the two-day event, but had a smashing time (and went 200% over budget buying comics, art & t-shirts — yikes). Here's a brief video clip of our table:
Paul Karasik sends along photos and reports from last weekend's event in Brooklyn:
Well, it happened. Karasik and Newgarden in the same place at the same time. Tears of joy were wept by those in attendance. Tears of sorrow were wept for those who were not. An exhibit of Garbage Pail Kids rejects and Fletcher Hanks' student work remains on display at Desert Island in Williamsburg, a very fine book store.
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery’s resident curator Larry Reid presented a very engaging and informative slide lecture on the topic “WEIRDOS: Seattle’s Alternative Comics Culture in the Context of R. Crumb’s Underground” at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle last night. Stay tuned — we'll be adapting Larry's presentation into an online feature here on the website in the near future.
