Steven Heller

1 week ago | printmag.com | Steven Heller

Frank Frazetta (1928–2010) was not just a horror magazine artist whose purpose was to create fantasies that scare the bejesus out of the average mortal. He was an artist first, and storyteller second. His art is reminiscent of late 19th-century European symbolism, notably that of the French Odilon Redon and the Austrian Alfred Kubin—but Frazetta’s paintings express an American essence similar to Norman Rockwell (had Rockwell decided to paint menace instead of tranquility).

1 week ago | printmag.com | Steven Heller

The first formal interview I conducted with my old friend Brad Holland was for my 1986 book Innovators of American Illustration (Van Nostrand Rhinehold). It was intended to feature a new wave of conceptual artists whose work was expressive, personal and political, with hints of Surrealist and Expressionist inspiration. The entire book was dedicated to Robert Weaver, who had died in 1991 but was virtually blind when I interviewed him.

1 week ago | printmag.com | Steven Heller

A native of Texas, Eric Madsen began his design career in Houston before moving to Minneapolis. Following two early partnerships there—Frink, Casey & Madsen, and Madsen & Kuester—he founded The Office of Eric Madsen. Here we discuss why these hyper-realistic drawings and watercolors were so emotionally intense for him, and the reason he crafted such a high-quality book. Who was Carlyle and why does his tool collection get such grand attention? Carlyle was my father-in-law.

1 week ago | printmag.com | Steven Heller

Modernism lost a little-known talent. Last Sunday Lora Lamm—the “grande dame” of Swiss design—died at 97 years old. “With her passing, we lose a designer who made a significant contribution to a new way of communication in the 1950s,” states her friend, the designer Peter Vetter. “[She created] lyrical illustrations and posters for the famous department store La Rinascente in Milan, Italy, which she shaped and gave international prestige.

2 weeks ago | printmag.com | Steven Heller

Photos courtesy Giang NguyenGiang Nguyen is creative director at Behalf Studio in Vietnam, which is currently working for Project RENEW in an effort to remove the dangerous remnants of the costly war in his country. Giang explains that the 17th parallel in Quang Tri province once marked the political and physical divide between North and South Vietnam, beginning on July 21, 1954.