The Monday Tilley Watch Takes A Glancing Look At The Art & Artists Of The Latest Issue Of The New Yorker
The Cover: Bruce McCall downsizes the Chrysler Building. Here’s a link to a brief Q&A with the artist (bonus: within this Q&A there’s a link to his current exhibit of work at The New York Historical Society).
The Issue: It’s the “Technology Issue” — you can tell by the large red type sitting atop the Table Of Contents. I suppose special issues now automatically mean that the classic Irvin typeface semi-disappears on headings and bylines. Why this is so only the “tinkerers” know. For me it’s like mixing apples and gravel. A sample:
The Cartoonists:
Eighteen cartoons, nineteen cartoonists (Roz Chast, as mentioned here yesterday, has a “Sketchpad”; there’s one duo…the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). No newbies.
The Cartoons:
Among the cartoons in this issue that caught my eye is Joe Dator’s gem, “…some of you are cows” on page 66. Bravo!
Also lotsa clapping for Tim Hamilton’s Pinocchio drawing (page 58), Ken Krimstein’s “…sit…” drawing (page 78), Liana Finck’s “…raised by wolves” (page 32), Barbara Smaller’s “looming” drawing (page 48), and last but never least, (the great) Sam Gross’s rat drawing (page 35).
The Rea Irvin Talk Masthead Watch: No dice this week — the unfortunate redraw of Mr. Irvin’s iconic design remains in place. Here’s what we’re missing:
To read more about the Talk Masthead switcheroo back in the Spring of 2017, go here.
Since Mr. Irvin’s been mentioned several times in this post it’s seems right to include his Spill A-Z entry:
Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) *Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art editor, holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title. Irvin became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn succeeded Harold Ross. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time.
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A 1957 Edward Frascino Drawing Is Found
In a New York Times front page article, published October 22, 1957, under the headline “Throngs Acclaim Queen And Prince On Visit To City” the paper reported that “cheering throngs of more than a million and a quarter New Yorkers lined miles of streets and jammed a score of functions from early morning to midnight for a look at the Queen.”
Among the millions was a fluish cartoonist, Edward Frascino, whose drawing, done on scene that day is shown above. Mr. Frascino, despite feeling ill, roused himself out of his home and out onto the street to watch the motorcade pass by.
Talking about the drawing, Mr. Frascino told the Spill via email that he recently “came upon it in an old sketchbook, and with the Royals in the news decided to post it.” Lucky for us! It appears here with his permission, and my thanks.
Mr. Frascino began contributing to The New Yorker in 1965. He was recently the subject of an Ink Spill interview.
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Bishakh Som’s “Apsara Engine” Wins LA Times Best Graphic Novel/Comics Of 2020
Congratulations to Bishakh Som who began contributing her work to The New Yorker in 2018 for winning The L.A. Times award for Best Graphic Novel/Comics Of 2020.
Apsara Engine’s publisher website.