Friday, July 8, 2011

Meet the Author(s)



Proudly introducing an opportunity to meet your favorite Green Apple blog author, me! One time only, the 27th of this July 2011 I'll be at Pegasus books in Berkeley! To be fair though, taking all of your questions, concerns and complaints will come secondary to my primary reason for being there- to observe author, illustrator and artist, Anders Nilsen presenting his soon-to-be released (August 4th) book Big Questions.

A decade long endeavor, I've personally been waiting for the Big Questions series to be collected for quite a few years myself, and although I'm not quite sure how a visual presentation of a graphic novel is structured (read a word balloon, pass the book around so everyone can see the picture?) Nilsen's long resume of accomplishments leaves me assured that any attending will be in for a unique event. Big Questions itself is a drifting, philosophical journey hazily reminiscent of Aesop's fables (talking animals) or a Greek epic filtered through a bizarre lens lent by modern trappings. His installation art has never been short of visually stunning, and furthermore the dude is a pretty good skater.

A link to more information via Peagasus Books can be found HERE.

Below (and I guess above too) I've included only the tiniest taste of Mr. Nilsen's work, if not to get you to go to the event itself, then at least enough to prompt you to start exploring a bit on your own.


The cover to the upcoming Big Questions collection.

An installation by Anders Nilsen composed of buttons, each with individual illustrations or photographs on them.


Anders Nilsen's depiction of Richard Brautigan

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Think TYPE...Think TASCHEN...

Welcome to the world of TYPE...care of TASCHEN!

Everything you could ever want to know about printing letters and numbers! Looking back as far as man's first efforts to communicate with visual signs and drawings, Letter Fountain is a completely unique typeface handbook: in addition to examining the form and anatomy of every letter in the alphabet (as well as punctuation marks and special characters), the book cross-references type designs with important works of art and art movements from Gutenberg's times until today. Further attention is given to the esthetics of the digital age and typographical recommendations such as the choice of the right typeface for a job. Rounding out the guide are an in-depth comparison between sans-serif and serif typefaces, an essay about measuring systems and indications, advice about typographic rules, plus a manual for developing digital



















TYPE Volumes 1 and 2 - Between the two volumes you have overview of type history from 1628-1938. Both volumes come with a keycard, allowing you access to jpegs of the images.


Celebrated printer and type designer Giambattista Bodoni set the standard for printing the alphabet with his Manuale Tipografico (1818). The two-volume set—published posthumously in a limited edition of 250—features 142 sets of roman and italic typefaces, a wide selection of borders, ornaments, symbols, and flowers, as well as Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, Phoenician, Armenian, Coptic, and Tibetan alphabets.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011