Phantasmaphile

Metamorphosis!

Ohhhh, yes.  Jon Beinart, of the glorious Beinart International Surreal Art Collective, has just published a book called Metamorphosis.  It features the work of 50 surreal and visionary artists, and is one of the few existing comprehensive volumes of its kind.  It features pieces by such Phantasmaphile favorites as Carrie Ann Baade and Laurie Lipton.  Can't wait to get my copy!

David Hochbaum show!

David Hochbaum

I cannot recommend David Hochbaum's show, "Fool's Paradise," more highly.  I've been a fan of his work for a long time, but was entirely unprepared for the majesty and scale of each piece in person.  These photo montages are enhanced with such finery as elaborate lettering, intricate frames, and metallic paint.  Magnificent.  Go to McCaig-Welles Gallery in Williamsburg by May 2nd, so you can experience these giant dreams for yourself.

Panda Bear/Agnes Montgomery

Panda Bear's new album Person Pitch has been showered with critical praise, and rightly so.  It's rare to hear music that seems at once modern and nostalgic, and without so much as a trace of irony.  This is a lush layer cake of harmonies and startlingly lovely textures.  And while Noah Lennox's voice does have some similarity to Brian Wilson's, this is no Beach Boys throwback.  This is the sound of Tomorrowland.  As an added bonus, the miraculous cover art is done by Agnes Montgomery, whose collages look like childhood viewed through a warped kaleidoscope. 

Billy Collins animated poetry

Some of Billy Collins' poems have been animated, resulting in small marvels of linguistics and line.

Via

Alix Soubiran

Alix Soubiran

I am overjoyed by the work of Alix Soubiran.  It feels hip yet whimsical and utilizes the most luscious color palette.

Women Who Run with the Wolves

I just finished the 500+ page opus that is Women Who Run with the Wolves.  I can't recommend it enough.  It is, in essence, a blueprint for rekindling one's creative and spiritual fires by viewing life through the lens of age-old stories.  As author Clarissa Pinkola Estes puts it:

"Fairy tales, myths, and stories provide understandings which sharpen our sight so that we can pick out and pick up the path left by the wildish nature.  The instruction found in story reassures us that the path has not run out, but leads women deeper, and more deeply still, into their own knowing...When women reassert their relationship with the wildish nature, they are gifted with a permanent and internal watcher, a knower, a visionary, an oracle, an inspiratrice, an intuitive, a maker, a creator, an inventor, and a listener, who guide, suggest, and urge vibrant life in the inner and outer worlds."

Right on.

Peter Horridge

Peter Horridge 

I love Peter Horridge's calligraphic illustrations.  Such embellishment and simple elegance at once.

Richard Colman Show!

Richard Colman

The divine Richard Colman will have a new show up at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in LA.  It's up April 21st - May 19th.  Colman also has out an absolutely stunning new book of his work, so be sure to check that out, too.

Marco Voss

Marco Voss

Marco Voss makes eery sculptures of children in ambiguous suburban settings.  The white-wash makes them seem like apparitions.