Honda was changing motorbike sport and transportation, formerly dominated by the ‘burly’ Harley crowd. Honda made biking a middle class, desirable, acceptable way to get around. The ads so effective, I spent several afternoons doing trial runs, mainly at the dealer’s lot, trying out a 50cc bike. Never got one, to my regret, but maybe furthering my safety and extension of the illustrator biz!

Via one of my favorite troves: Today’s Inspiration

July 27, 2010

“Get me Bert’s man at the Wall Street Journal”

Well, today, that would be me:

When you see copywriter Peggy Olson swilling scotch with her new blue-eyed layout designer Joey, flirting and pitching Ham ads on the premiere episode of the new season of “Mad Men,” you are actually witnessing a recreation of a revolution in advertising. Up until the 1960’s, advertising was considered a written medium. The most successful ad campaigns, it was believed, had the most convincing argument. An agency’s creative powers were stationed squarely in writer’s room while art directors were considered subordinate “lay out men.”

‘Mad Men’: The Promiscuous Mingling of Art and Copy at the WSJ

July 13, 2010

“Wasn’t until years later that I realized you were the only person I could remember that time with.”

“What do you want to remember?”

“What I was like at that age. Paris before the war. Eating in cemeteries. People were jumping out of windows and we were on vacation.”

1:58am | 53 notes | roger sterling | Illustration | mad men season 3

Cover of the Saturday evening post, 1962.

* On Art: “The prevailing art of the time, the gallery art of the United States, did not interest me. This was the period of almost universal infatuation with abstract art. And there I was, painting real people and pigeons and boats and things. I could, sort of, intellectually see [abstract art’s] importance. But it bored me! I thought art required skill, and I had the skill.” — Mid-Century Illustrator, Robert Weaver.

*Here’ a little Shirley Jones for your tired eyes.

*This is a look at our little known ‘negro aristocracy’ (thanks to cijimcb)

*Weaver’s heavenly set of non-abstract art can be seen here.

via - Today’s Inspiration.

1:01am | 13 notes | Illustration | modern art

October 26, 2009

“She’ll have one of those lovely wines.”

1962 Gallo wine ad by Illustrator Coby Whitmore.

8:20pm | 16 notes | advertising | drinking | Illustration

September 22, 2009

Illustrator Bernie Fuchs, who’s work I only recently came to know about and adore, has died.

Here’s a snippet from The Awl piece where we talked about Bernie:

Illustrator Murray Tinkelman, who also worked at Cooper’s Studio, gave an interview about the first time he saw Fuchs work: “It was gorgeous” he said. He conferred with the other two superstars of Cooper Studios, Joe Bowler and Coby Whitmore. Bowler and Whitmore arrived together to inspect the new painting. Whitmore was “speechless,” Bowler said: “I don’t know who the hell did this, but the business is never going to be the same.”

And here is the NYT obit.

September 10, 2009

Charley Harper in 1958.

Ah, Birdie.

4:44pm | 21 notes | illustration | charley harper

Throughout last season and this season there are framed Morton Salt ads in most everyones offices. In the last episode an ad is shown in Peggy’s office that is illustrated by Charley Harper (I’ve been waiting to see it for nearly a year!).

Harper was an illustrator for Procter & Gamble, Ivory, Morton Salt and Ford Times magazine. You can see his lush commercial work here. In the sixties he moved to drawing minimalist nature scenes and created a style that is defined the Modernist Mid Century: sleek lines, loud colors, and the fewest amount of visual elements. He called the style ‘minimal realism’.

When asked to describe his unique visual style, Charley responded:

“When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe.”

• footnote - by Jim Hughes

4:30pm | 22 notes | charley harper | illustration | advertising

September 7, 2009

”How much do you need — to live?,” Chuck asked.

So I said, “Well, at least ninety dollars a week (Which was ridiculous. It was just a figure that jumped into my head, it was way too low).”

Chuck said, “All right, I’ll put you on a ninety dollar a week ‘draw’.”

A ‘draw’ was a payment against income I was supposed to generate for the studio. Except I didn’t generate any income! So I’m going deeper and deeper in the hole. And Chuck never, ever said, “Where’s the money… when are you gonna pay me” … nothing like that. At all. There’s gotta be a heaven for Chuck.”

Murray Tinkleman, illustrator, on Chuck Cooper, “The Boss” of Cooper studios.

2:15am | 2 notes | Bert Cooper | Illustration | Advertising

Sal lamented that over the past 10 years he watched his career get washed away.

“Every one wants photography.”

He was right, of course, by the mid sixties advertisers used photography rather than illustrations. But before that abrupt shift in the consumer landscape there was a company called Cooper Studios who revolutionized old illustration concepts through the use of perspective, dimensions, and color in their drawings.

Here is a fascinating interview with illustrator Murray Tinkleman. Murray worked in the Cooper studio bullpen in the late 50’s. He talks about what it was like to work at a cutting edge ad agency for $90 bucks a week with a pregnant wife at home.

2:03am | 20 notes | Sal Romano | Bernie Fuchs | Illustration

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