tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post116221803574908838..comments2024-03-19T06:12:18.701-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: We're almost there!leifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-87725165619175959042014-02-27T14:21:05.220-05:002014-02-27T14:21:05.220-05:00It is very interesting to read through the comment...It is very interesting to read through the commentary on Falter. As a representative from the The Post archive, I can tell you behind Rockwell and Leyendecker the most merchandised goes to Dohanos and Falter. Their artwork hands down appears on product more than the others. Perhaps a comprehensive look at all the Falter covers would change everyone's mind?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-86313333411441218112007-09-19T13:15:00.000-04:002007-09-19T13:15:00.000-04:00Thanks for that, Ted - on your recommendation I wi...Thanks for that, Ted - on your recommendation I will definitely keep an eye out for more of John Falter's work. ;-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-88945907356258764272007-09-19T13:10:00.000-04:002007-09-19T13:10:00.000-04:00In my last post, I wanted to mention that I found ...In my last post, I wanted to mention that I found Falter one of my favorite illustrators of the era. I see that you may not agree. I have never been very fond of this piece (mostly because I distrust people who can't draw a car right; makes me think of some bad Steven Dohanos illustrations), but I admit it's got something special. It's very untypical of his work, yet. I think you should take a look at the Falter pages in the site I've already signaled ( http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/index.htm ), and what Chris Mullen says about him. You might change your mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-68229672423525288832007-05-11T04:03:00.000-04:002007-05-11T04:03:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162850853135034572006-11-06T17:07:00.000-05:002006-11-06T17:07:00.000-05:00I haven't seen the Falter documentary, but have a ...I haven't seen the Falter documentary, but have a couple of suggestions as to where you might find out about it.<BR/><BR/>The Curtis Publishing Co, publsher of the Sat Evening Post, is still around and presumably their licensing dept would have given the OK for any of Falter's Post illustrations used in the film.<BR/><BR/>The Museum of Nebraska Art did a Falter exhibition last year, maybe someone on their curatorial staff has the info.<BR/><BR/>Good luck in your search, Benton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162825222990103462006-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:002006-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:00Thanks for that Benton - perhaps someone who reads...Thanks for that Benton - perhaps someone who reads this will enlighten us - sounds like a pretty amusing anecdote! ;-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162791172354478802006-11-06T00:32:00.000-05:002006-11-06T00:32:00.000-05:00Some clarification on the Abe Linclon/nude thing....Some clarification on the Abe Linclon/nude thing...<BR/><BR/>If I remember correctly, the cover was a picture of someone's basement with all kinds of misc. junk in it.<BR/>In a corner somewhere, there was what looked like a portrait of Abe Lincoln's profile, but could also be interpreted as a nude woman. This was a little "Joke"<BR/>Falter put in, but it caused quite an uproar in the 50's.<BR/>I mention it mainly because I want to know if anyone else remembers or knows of the documentary. It was an "America Masters" type thing.benton jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756521475101955881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162470302217169152006-11-02T07:25:00.000-05:002006-11-02T07:25:00.000-05:00VERY interesting, marble river, in a chillingly fa...VERY interesting, marble river, in a chillingly familiar way: I witnessed a similar scene from a similar angle (thanks to the unique topography of my city) about twenty years ago. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for the link!leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162440726775380392006-11-01T23:12:00.000-05:002006-11-01T23:12:00.000-05:00Leif, here is a link to a photo of the beginning o...Leif, here is a link to a photo of the beginning of suburbia (as we know it) in my hometown of Hamden, CT, The picture was taken ca late 50's early '60s. The huge greenhouses are Krott Tomato Farm, and that is the brand new Knob Hill development at the top of the photo. Interesting, no? - MR<BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/y4utyfMarble Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02924095045890923733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162424827655671322006-11-01T18:47:00.000-05:002006-11-01T18:47:00.000-05:00Hey - thanks for the recommendation Robert, I'm go...Hey - thanks for the recommendation Robert, I'm goint to look up that book and educate myself a little further on the subject.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162421531669056472006-11-01T17:52:00.000-05:002006-11-01T17:52:00.000-05:00I'm looking forward to that week about suburban mi...I'm looking forward to that week about suburban migration in the 50s. Here's a book recommendation -- HOLY LAND: A Suburban Memoir by D.J. Waldie. It's Waldie's memoir of the creation of and his growing up in the enormous LA suburb of Lakewood. Think he may still live there.<BR/><BR/>And thanks to boing boing, whose like led me to your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162382417293248532006-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:002006-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:00Thanks for your comment, marble river. I spent my...Thanks for your comment, marble river. I spent my formative years in a 50's subdivision transformed by 20 years of maturation and even then it reminded me of the neighbourhoods in my Peanuts paperbacks. Like you, Schultz taught me to read - and how to draw, since copying Snoopy out of those paperbacks was my first lesson in what would one day become my career.<BR/><BR/>I really appreciate everyone's comments and I'm glad the topic has struck a chord for so many people. I've been thinking about doing a week on the 50's migration to the suburbs, and the response here has given me the inspiration to follow up on that - so stay tuned for next week! ;-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162356789637284272006-10-31T23:53:00.000-05:002006-10-31T23:53:00.000-05:00Charles Schultz could say more with a few lines of...Charles Schultz could say more with a few lines of India Ink than many artists could with a gallon of oil paints. I lived (happily) through those years and Schultz nailed the mood with artistry and humor. He also taught me how to read! Life can be tedious in SoHo, North Beach or Oshkosh. Life is what you make it. Leif, thank you for your incredible contribution to the preservation of mid-century American illustration. MRMarble Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02924095045890923733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162354612968769012006-10-31T23:16:00.000-05:002006-10-31T23:16:00.000-05:00No doubt that may have been, anonymous - I wasn't ...No doubt that may have been, anonymous - I wasn't there and it sounds like you were so I bow to your first-hand experience. But this isn't reality, its an artist's interpretation. Falter had the opportunity to illustrate whatever kind of "reality" he wanted to - and he chose the most mundane reality in every possible way so...leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162348921862102262006-10-31T21:42:00.000-05:002006-10-31T21:42:00.000-05:00There aren't any "involving decorations" because t...There aren't any "involving decorations" because this illustrates Halloween in 1958. It was nothing like what it is today. I lived in England in the 80s and coming back to America in the 90s I was stunned at how much Halloween had grown even over that one decade. For instance there were no "halloween lights" for sale in the stores in the 70s. At the most you would have seen an aisle with plastic masks and a few packaged costumes. In the 50s far less so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162335262227766032006-10-31T17:54:00.000-05:002006-10-31T17:54:00.000-05:00That's beautiful. It's interesting how the mother ...That's beautiful. It's interesting how the mother is wearing a mask, too. Paging Dr. Freud??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162332557811936532006-10-31T17:09:00.000-05:002006-10-31T17:09:00.000-05:00a real sense of the time, but those masks just loo...a real sense of the time, but those masks just look so fake. painted on, as it were....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07456063965758478370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162331942965131252006-10-31T16:59:00.000-05:002006-10-31T16:59:00.000-05:00No doubt, Robert - and your opinion about it is as...No doubt, Robert - and your opinion about it is as valid as any. I'm filtering my opinion through a bias agains subdivisions and your is coloured by fond childhood memories.<BR/><BR/>I've read that Falter grew up in a small town in Nebraska in the early 1900's - long before the concept of suburbia existed. His memories of his own childhood environment would have been quite different than this. Whether he felt the subdivisions of the 50's were a good or bad thing - or if he cared at all - is anybody's guess.<BR/><BR/>But I like to think he was expressing an opinion about it through his choice of composition and placement here: middle horizon, flat-on, festive decorations almost completely absent, and body language suggesting very little excitement.<BR/><BR/>That's just how I read it. :-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162331118999280732006-10-31T16:45:00.000-05:002006-10-31T16:45:00.000-05:00I don't get a sense of tedium or dispirited nature...I don't get a sense of tedium or dispirited nature of suburbia. Rather think that Falter painted what he saw. That suburb is probably new, that's why it looks flat and unlandscaped. If you were to visit it now, you'd see a more lived-in landscape.<BR/><BR/>I see the mom-in-mask as more slyly humorous than just "doing her job." As someone who is roughly a contemporary with the ilustration, and who grew up in a smalltown suburb, this picture rings my deja vu bells. <BR/><BR/>And I can tell you that kids can make an adventure out of -- and transform -- even the "sheer tedium" of a newly-born suburb.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for reprinting this piece!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162299099026927332006-10-31T07:51:00.000-05:002006-10-31T07:51:00.000-05:00Mike; Thanks - and don't dispare - there are actu...Mike; Thanks - and don't dispare - there are actually quite a few off beat SEP covers (which we will look at now and then)<BR/><BR/>Benton; Abe Lincoln and a naked lady portrait?! Are you playing a trick on us for Hallowe'en...? ;-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162269932761521092006-10-30T23:45:00.000-05:002006-10-30T23:45:00.000-05:00Anyone remember a John Falter documentary decades ...Anyone remember a John Falter documentary decades ago on PBS? I remember the told a story about an illustration he did that had a picture of a portrait that could be read as either Abraham Lincoln, or a nude woman.benton jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756521475101955881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162250414908934592006-10-30T18:20:00.000-05:002006-10-30T18:20:00.000-05:00Nice to know that at some time some editor at SEP ...Nice to know that at some time some editor at SEP picked a real offbeat piece of art for the cover. Thanks, as ever, for this, Leif.Mike Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589354018554341768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162230502617977622006-10-30T12:48:00.000-05:002006-10-30T12:48:00.000-05:00Thanks for your comment, q. - actually I think the...Thanks for your comment, q. - actually I think the pumpkin head lantern, with its minimalist design, is another fabulous confirmation Falter is giving us of the dispirited nature of the suburbs. No involving decorations here - just this one blockhead lantern stuck up in the corner of the garage.<BR/><BR/>Truly, the more I analyze it, the more I come to appreciate the subtlty with which Falter expressed his opinion of suburban living.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162226370054571792006-10-30T11:39:00.000-05:002006-10-30T11:39:00.000-05:00I agree, Leif. I think Falter captures the sheer t...I agree, Leif. I think Falter captures the sheer tedium of the life in suburbia (then and now) with it's flatness and predictibility. The mother with the mask is just doing her job totally without inspiration or excitement. I want to believe that the owners of the house the group is travelling in front of have some personality due to the whimsical pumpkin head/ lantern hung in front of the garage. Your thoughts?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170992834048618605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-1162224678937342882006-10-30T11:11:00.000-05:002006-10-30T11:11:00.000-05:00I can't disagree with any of what you say there, n...I can't disagree with any of what you say there, neil - I think you're dead on. Normally that's what turns me off about a Falter piece, but as I wrote, its that mundanity that I think works so exceptionally well in this particular case. ;-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.com