Thursday, January 14, 2016
Art of Benier
All of the chapter header art by Benier, as featured in John O'Grady's "Aussie Etiket, or Doing Things the Aussie Way" published in Australia in 1971 by Ure Smith, Sydney. A super fun and very funny art style that really livens up the bulk of this humorously helpful collection of "down under" info.
I like the BBQ one :)
ReplyDeleteMan, I love the color of the cover (and the texture, too--a shame the whole book couldn't have been printed on cloth like that). I think my very favorite here is the stout guy who is writing toilet paper letters on the "correspondence" header. But the weirdly predatory waiter in the "dining out" illustration is also really compelling, as is the demonic road-rager on the "motoring" picture.
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff.
It's hard for me to pick a fave, as each and every one of them has something special happening, but most definitely BBQ, and Motoring are up there, along with Picnicking, Pie Eating, Funerals, and Dress 😊 thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteLooks like Crocodile Dundee wasn't the first caricature of Australians, though caricaturing one's own culture is meant as harmless fun instead of insulting or stereotyping.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know Australians can laugh at themselves, its a healthy culture that can laugh at its own foibles and folly.
O'Grady and Benier teamed up for like 10 more books as well with titles like Survival in the Doghouse, Gone Troppo, Aussie English, It's Your Shout Mate!, Gone Gougin' and more! Just check eBay --I know I'm gonna be spending some money there myself to acquire more Benier mini masterpieces!
ReplyDelete