This offbeat collection of whimsical illustrations gently plays with our preconceptions. As we browse this selection of illustrated jests, we enter the artistas absurd and child-like world. Seemingly simple, these spare images are complex in their implications. Odd juxtapositions make us laugh and then think. As Marc Johns himself remarks afinding the humor in things often means finding the truth.a

Interviews with Comix and Graphix artists. Fourteen of the most provocative, vital and boundary-breaking comix artists of today candidly discuss their lives, art and experiences. Includes Art Spiegelman, Dan Clowes, Julie Doucet, and more.

Nathalie Du Pasquier started drawing as soon as she met her husband George Sowden in 1979 in Milan. She was introduced to the world of design and shortly after, in 1981, became a founding member of the iconic postmodern design movement Memphis. From 1981 to 1987 she didn't stop drawing. Every day she would draw a whole new modern world, from very small items like jewelry to entire cities. This world only existed in her head but would eventually be developed into real pieces for the Memphis exhibitions. This unique book is the first and definitive compilation of all the unpublished drawings from those years, which had been sitting in the drawers of Nathalie's studio for over 30 years. Organized by the smallest objects to the biggest and divided into chapters, each with a text by Nathalie, it has been carefully edited and designed by Apartamento magazine's co-founder Omar Sosa together with Nathalie Du Pasquier. Don't Take These Drawings Seriously is an excellent reference for future generations and a welcome document of an important period in modern design.

Where and who do we want to be? How might we get there? What might happen if we stay on our current course? In The Future of Serious Art, Bidisha uses her personal journey through novels, TV and film to mirror the seismic changes that have occurred in culture and its industries in recent years. The digital revolution has brought all of TV, cinema and music into the palms of our hands. It’s easier than ever to bring stories to life, but what happens when artistic work is rebranded as 'content creation'? Where does this leave literary novelists and arthouse filmmakers? What about those auteur-directors who make mainstream but thoughtful films for the big screen? As a storyteller herself, and a woman of colour who isn't a millennial, Bidisha asks who is taken seriously as an artist, what is taken seriously as art now and how that might change over the next century. This brief but mighty book is one of five that comprise the first set of FUTURES essays. Each standalone book presents the author's original vision of a singular aspect of the future which inspires in them hope or reticence, optimism or fear. Read individually, these essays will inform, entertain and challenge. Together, they form a picture of what might lie ahead, and ask the reader to imagine how we might make the transition from here to there, from now to then.

Combining an economic perspective with sociological and historic insights, this book investigates the separation of ‘popular’ and ‘serious’ art over a period of almost two centuries. As the boundaries between our perceptions of established art and popular become more porous, Abbing considers questions such as: Who benefitted from the separation? Why is exclusivity in the established arts so important? Did exclusivity lead to high cost, high subsidies and high prices? Were and are underprivileged groups excluded from art consumption and production? How did popular music become so successful in the second half of the twentieth century? Why does the art profession remain extraordinarily attractive for youngsters in spite of low incomes? The book also discusses the evolution of art in the twenty-first century, considering for example how the platform economy affects the arts, whether or not the established arts are joining the entertainment industry, and the current level of diversity in art. Written from the dual perspective of the author as an artist and social scientist, the book will be of interest for cultural economists and academics as well as artists and general readers interested in art.

Caldecott Medalist Allen Say presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan's premier cartoonist DRAWING FROM MEMORY is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn't understand his son's artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his "spiritual father." As WWII raged, Allen was further inspired to consider questions of his own heritage and the motivations of those around him. He worked hard in rigorous drawing classes, studied, trained--and ultimately came to understand who he really is. Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, DRAWING FROM MEMORY presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. With watercolor paintings, original cartoons, vintage photographs, and maps, Allen Say has created a book that will inspire the artist in all of us.