Sunday Reading: George Lois and Ralph Bakshi
By Mark Kaufman
This is becoming a regular occurrence and a regular Monday morning feature. It seems that every damn week in the New York Times, there is a nice piece on design, or illustration or animation and cartooning, giving these disciplines the same respect as the traditional arts and business coverage of fine art, architecture, literature, film and theatre. It is a very positive trend. In yesterday’s Sunday Times there were two articles to talk about, one on George Lois and one on Ralph Bakshi, both of which were great influences on me. Mr. Lois of course the legendary adman and designer of New York Magazine and Esquire covers, in addition to infamous work for the likes of OTB, Maypo and MTV. Mr. Bakshi the maverick animator that directed the film versions of Fritz the Cat, Wizards, Lord of the Rings and mid 60s Terrytoons. Both men had their largest cultural impact in the 1960s and 70s, and their bodies of work certainly drew me into my present career.
2 Comments
Drew
April 28, 2008Oh wow, I was a freak for Wizards! The Vaughn Bode influence helped set it apart! would come home and pop it in my top loader VHS and watch it every day after school.
Mark Kaufman
April 29, 2008Yeah, Bakshi caught alot of crap over the years, lousy stories, cheap animation, derivative…but in my drug-fueled teen years I thought his work was AMAZING!
mark