Drawings of faces by Kanzaki Junji

In the past, I bought quite a few original drawings of manga pages. Somehow, I bought more of the originals of Ai to Fukushuu no Banka (Eternal song of love and revenge) Crime Yakuza story drawn by Kanzaki Junji.

Partly, I like how he draws faces, giving them so much space on the pages, and in the same time, leaving the faces quite empty but still effective. 

Here, here and here are the links to the posts of my previous acquisitions.

"Creative Quarterly"

I just received the 100 best 2020, a new issue of Creative Quarterly, The Journal of Art & Design. Three of my poster designs for JDP Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia are featured in it.

You can see more of my poster designs for JDP here.

 

Croatian newspaper "Jutarnji list"

My interview in the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list.

"10th Festival Miroslav Krleža" poster and billboard design

Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981) is the most celebrated Croatian writer. For the 10th Festival Miroslav Krleža, in Zagreb, I was asked to create a poster and billboard design.

I decided to draw Miroslav Krleža’s profile wearing his very characteristic hat. Because one of his most famous novels is titled Zastave (The Flags) I made his profile out of all incarnations of Croatian flags during his lifetime.

More here.

Corridos Perrones, No. 211

A couple of years ago, I came across some Mexican adult comics covers. I was totally fascinated with them. Not because they are totally politically incorrect with their grotesque, violent and sexual content, but how they are well-drawn and skillfully rendered.

 
In researching them, I came across this website. And to my astonishment, I discovered hundreds and hundreds of them.

 
Recently, I managed to buy an original illustration for one of the covers pencilled by Oscar Bazaldua and gouache-painted by Ivan Santillan. Probably two of the most talented artists that worked on the covers of these comics. When I got the original, I was a little bit puzzled on why the artist decided to awkwardly hide the feet of the female character. When I managed to find the cover the art is used for, I discovered that the feet are covered by letters. Time management.

 

Vladimir Mayakovsky and Alexander Rodchenko

 

I got myself a little present.

A little booklet Sergeiu Eseninu (To Sergei Esenin) of poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky. This is the first edition that published in 1926. The booklet was designed by Alexander Rodchenko, and it's also including his photomontages.

Mayakovsky's lyric and angry elegy is written in response to fellow poet and provocateur Sergei Esenin's suicide with Rodchenko's arresting visual contributions.

 

 

"Fake For Real"

I just received a catalogue for the show Fake For Real, A history of Forgery and Falsification. The show is on display in the House of European History. It's a project of the European Parliament.

One of the posters from my collection of posters for the Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition in Belgrade in 1941 is included. It's part of the show titled A Fake Conquers The World, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Here is a short quote of the organizer explaining the show:
"In the routine of daily life, the sensational, spectacular and supernatural are sweet seduction. They allow us to escape the ordinary. But the game of deception is only fun when we have agreed to it. When we are deliberately deceived, we are on the losing side in many regards, losing our money, credibility, integrity or even our existence.

While the current quantity of (dis)information is unprecedented, the problem is an ancient one. History is filled with countless examples of fake masquerading as real. The Trojan Horse, a mythological archetype of deception, symbolically links ancient history to very contemporary problems of the internet-dominated world.

From the lessons of the past, a roadmap can be pieced together: one that lets us wander into the realm of the fantastical and fabricated when we want to, while providing an exit strategy for when we are ready to return to reality."