Art Attack!: Dadadreams UPDATE

I just wanted to share with all of you this nice token of Michelle Lanter's (aka Dadadreams) appreciation that I recently received. She sent it as a "Thank you" for an earlier post I did exclusively featuring her and several examples of her unique body of collage artwork.

I'm pretty sure the collage piece is simply titled, 'Elephant Girl'. I totally adore her, and she's a great addition to the growing circus family around here!

What do you think? Pretty cute, huh?!

Thanks, again, Michelle! You're a cut ('n' paste) above the rest!

Art Attack!: Acclaimed artist/writer, genius... Graham Rawle

Graham Rawle is such a neat guy... I know, because I've met him! And right before I got to meet him and request to have a quick snapshot taken (about which he was very gracious, btw), I attended a presentation Graham gave discussing his latest work, 'The Wizard of Oz'. The text of the book is actually L. Frank Baum's original story, but all of the imagery is 100% classic Rawle.

Here, take a gander...






This beautiful book cover only hints at
the visual delights that await you, inside!







It looks like Toto is about to be a bite-sized
snack for the Cowardly Lion, here. But we
all know that's not the case, not with his
BFF, Dorothy, around. Besides, even if
Dorothy wasn't nearby, that little dog could
"Toto"-lly kick Lion's ass all by himself!







Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...
Oz is but a dream.

(Or, IS it?)







Here, we see a scene with a completely
different take, Rawle's take, on the
Wicked Witch o' the West's flying monkeys.

(I really dig Graham's sense of humor!)







And speak of the devil, here's
the WWoW, now! Weird as
she looks (and despite how we
expect her to appear because of
the MGM classic movie), my
understanding is that this is
actually much truer to how
she's described in Baum's
original book.





That was but a Whitman's Sampler, if you will. The rest of it is just as yummy for your eyes! So if I've piqued your interest, go ahead and pick up a copy of 'The Wizard of Oz', illustrated by Graham Rawle. You won't be disappointed.

Another creation of his, that I absolutely dig with a passion, is his book, 'Woman's World'. He both wrote and illustrated it, however, most of the "illustration" inside of the book is actually all cut 'n' pasted text and embellishments from old women's magazines of the 1940s. If you can believe it, Graham spent 5 years working on this book, and most of that time was spent cutting, collecting, organizing, pasting and basically assembling every word of the story... one by one. Hearing Graham talk about the process in his presentation was absolutely fascinating. I mean, the organizational system, alone, which he devised for the project was so impressive (if not a bit confusing) you could tell that this guy isn't just arty; he's also a smarty. I guess one could say he's an "arty-smarty"! Well, I will anyway...

Check out some of the stuff I'm talking about, below...







This is the cover for the
hardback edition.

(The one that I have.)







And this, here, is the wonderful
paperback/graphic novel edition.

(I want it, too! That cover appeals
to all of my kitsch-y sensibilities!)







This is just a glimpse into the madness...
Graham spent an average of 17 hours a
day, 7 days a week for 5 years sitting here
clipping 'n' pasting. Altogether, a total
of 40,000 fragments of text from vintage
women's magazines was assembled to
tell this unique and strangely charming
tale.









And, here, you can see the fruits of
his obsessive, slave-type labor.
You might suspect that it would be
hard to read, but it isn't! In fact,
Graham worked at figuring out just
the right formula, or words-to-page
ratio, that would be easiest for a
reader to tolerate. And it works!





As for the story to this intricately composed novel, let me share with you what the dust jacket says. It gives away just enough to set the scene and pull you in...


"Norma Fontaine lives in a world of handy tips and sensible advice. Whether it's choosing the right girdle or honing her feminine allure, she measures life by the standards set in women's magazines. But Norma discovers that the real world is less delightful-and more sinister-than the one portrayed in the glossies. When dark secrets threaten her brother's blossoming romance, Norma must decide whether to sacrifice life in a woman's world for the sake of her brother's happiness. As her decision is slowly revealed, readers realize that, like life in the magazines, Norma isn't quite what she seems."


Intrigued? Good.
Now, go find a copy and read it!
I think you'll be glad you did.







Look! It's Graham with
little ol' me! Like we're
"buds", or something.

(Yeah, right... I was lucky
he agreed to stand next
to me for the photo.)





I don't want to go on FOREVER (and believe me, I could), so I'll cut this one kinda short. I didn't even get to talk about Rawle's 'Diary of an Amateur Photographer' (one of my top faves), or his long-running 'Lost Consonants' series. Oh, well. I guess I'll cover those in a follow-up edition... Really, this man's work is quite prolific, plus everything he does is smart, clever, and funny! I just can't seem to say enough good things about the guy.

I know, how's this sound?
Graham Rawle... ARTISTIC GENIUS!

Yep, that about covers it.



~All pics via Google Images, except last personal photo of Anthony w/Graham, courtesy of Tommy Kovac.~

Art Attack!: Collage artist, Dadadreams, is sometimes warped, and always entertaining!

'Strange Ritual' by Dadadreams



Where DO I begin with this delightfully funny and greatly talented Cut 'n' Paster? I guess that telling you how I first discovered Dadadreams and her wonderful artwork would be a good place to begin. So there I was, new to flickr, just pokin' around checking the place out, when somehow or another I stumbled across artwork by a self-taught collagist who goes by the name of Dadadreams (her real name is Michelle Lanter) and lives in Houston, Texas. You could almost say that, for me, seeing her work was love at first sight...






'Bad Hare Day'
~By Dadadreams

She should have known that
trying out a new hare-style
was a hare-brained idea.




Since I'm a big fan of witty puns and word-play, I was won over by that angle alone pretty instantaneously. Which reminds me, I must clarify that for the entirety of this post any captions you see underneath Dadadreams' images are also written by her... I wish that I could take credit for them, they're so clever! Another thing that I love is vintage and retro-type imagery, and that's almost exclusively what she works with when creating her masterpieces. In fact, there's a part in her flickr profile that reads, "I have an ever growing collection of vintage ephemera, mostly magazines, books and encyclopedias from the '40s, '50s and '60s." Boy, I could just sit contently for hours and hours sifting through her collection! I think another reason her pieces visually appeal to me so much is the overall color palette she uses when putting them together. I find that verrry pleasing. It may not even be intentional on her part, I suppose it could just be total serendipity... Whatever the case, it works!






'Jello Possum Surprise'
~By Dadadreams

A tasty treat your family is sure to enjoy!







'Jams and Jellies'
~By Dadadreams

Timmy does great in school
because he fuels up with a
good breakfast. A big part of
that is yummy jams and jellies.
His favorite? Unless he pulled
an all-nighter and needs an
extra charge, the ones without
stinging tentacles.







'Peep Show'
~By Dadadreams

What do you do with all those
leftover Easter Peeps? Have a
Peep Show, of course!




Regarding the process of her work, Lanter says, "Collage is a way for me to give these images new life. I love being able to combine images and turn them into something completely new and different. For me, collage is a form of play. I love to spread the ephemera (my toys) on the floor and rearrange them until an image comes together. I work intuitively and lose all track of time when I'm collaging."






'Best Friends'
~By Dadadreams

((No caption for this one, but I say it's brilliant!))




Lanter is specifically fascinated by squids, dinosaurs, medical imagery and retro food. So those images often find their way into her work. The artwork directly below is a terrific example of one of her squid pieces...






'Squidware Party'
~By Dadadreams

I'm pleased to present the newest
piece of Squidware. It has a unique
design and a beautiful pink color.
Best of all, it has the same super
sucker suction lid that you've come
to expect in Squidware.
Get yours today!







'Pie in the Sky'
~By Dadadreams

((Again, no caption for this, but I
love the literal interpretation!))







'The Normals'
~By Dadadreams

I'd had enough of the oversized shoes
and the tiny cars. As I was packing my
bag to head off to accounting school,
Mom came in my room. I'll never forget
the look on her face. Choking back tears,
I said, "Goodbye, I am running away to
join the normals."







'Bed Head'
~By Dadadreams

Futons are popular. Waterbeds
are so 70's. Tempurpedic is nice,
if a little high-end. For me, I
prefer the traditional box spring
style bed head.








'Photo Op'
~By Dadadreams

Some people are just dying
to get the perfect shot!







'Domestic Goddess'
~By Dadadreams

She cooks, cleans and entertains
effortlessly. She is the inspiration
for all who keep up a home. She is
the Domestic Goddess.




This Dadadreams mini-gallery is exactly that. It's just a very small representation of Lanter's entire body of work, and only begins to scratch the surface. If you've enjoyed what is on display here, please, go and visit the official Dadadreams' Photostream on flickr to see even more of her wonderful art. It's really neat and convenient how she has her work organized into different themes like 'Beauty and Fashion', 'Kid Stuff', 'Retro Housewife', 'Land of the Lost', etc. Aaand if you see anything that makes you think, "Gee, but I'd sure be delighted to own something like that!", just go and visit the Dadadreams' Curious Collage Creations shop on Etsy. There's some great stuff there, from original art pieces to hand-made jewelry to vintage ephemera. I've been itchin' to make a purchase there, myself!

Well, that'll do it for today's Art Attack! edition. Thank you for "pop"-ping in to check out this artist. We hope to continue featuring such fantastic artists as Dadadreams in future Art Attack! editions, so be sure to stay tuned...

Later, clowns!


~All artwork copyright Dadadreams (aka Michelle Lanter)~