RALPH MCQUARRIE TRIBUTE

Art Pioneers celebrates the great Ralph McQuarrie with this 5-part Tribute to a Master documentary. McQuarrie is best remembered for his inspired concept art for the Star Wars universe. Keep your eye out for interesting and warm reflections from George Lucas, Marc Gabbana, Doug Chiang, Steve Sansweet, Lorne Peterson, Dennis Muren, and others. Enjoy!

FEDERICO FELLINI

Happy Birthday to Federico Fellini! Born on this day in 1920, Fellini transitioned through the Italian Neo-Realism movement to revolutionize cinema by freely weaving memory, dream, and fantasy into film narrative. Essential works: La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, Juliet of the Spirits, Amarcord. Below: the director on the set of 8 1/2 (1963). Images by photographer Tazio Secchiaroli. 

MUSIQUE CONCRETE

Art Pioneers celebrates Musique Concrete with this educational look at the BBC documentary The New Sound of Music (1979). Doctor Who fans take note!

BOWIE STYLE

Illustrator Helen Green celebrates eery Bowie hairstyle from 1964 to 2014 in a new GIF posted on Slate here. Chart form image below. Enjoy!

DAVID BOWIE

Happy Birthday to David Bowie! Like many teenagers in early 1960s England, Bowie was inspired by American blues and R&B. He took up the saxophone and guitar and formed a string of bands that played blues and rock covers for parties and local entertainment. As a keen student of graphic design, art, and mime (!), his Mod beginnings transformed over the years as he explored areas of musical and theatrical production that we can now recognize as genre-defining outings (1960s Mod, folk-poet, 1970s glam, soul, experimental avant-garde, electronic, dance, 1980s pop, cyber punk, jungle, etc). If an artist is always in the state of becoming, Bowie has spent a lifetime pioneering the outer limits and sending back transmissions of things to come.

David Bowie stayed in the fast lane for forty years, releasing albums and pursuing his acting career, until a heart attack on stage in 2004 made him take stock. There was a nine-year hiatus with few appearances, and it looked like the limelight had been traded for quality time as a stay-at-home dad. He surprised everyone in 2013, however, with an outstanding new album called The Next Day, which was released during a flurry of Bowie-related art shows and a massive retrospective at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A exhibit celebrating his career in music, fashion, graphic arts, fine art, and set design was captured in the illustrated book David Bowie Is. Now Bowie is 68- many happy returns! If his health is up to it, I hope to see him back on stage and recording new material. Collage illustration below by IFAN BATES.

Essential Current Video from The Next Day:

Related post on my Spy Vibe blog: Bowie Spies Berlin. My Bowie-Art image archive on Pinterest here. Essential Bowie: 

Movies: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Hunger (1983), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), Labyrinth (1986), Basquait (1996), The Hunger (tv/1999-2000), The Prestige (2006).

Concerts/Videos/Docs: The Best of Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, Reality Tour, Storytellers, Under Review 1976-1979 The Berlin Trilogy, David Bowie Is Happening Now.

Albums: Hunky Dory (1971), Ziggy Stardust (1972), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), Heroes (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (1980), Baal (1981), Outside (1995), Earthling (1997), VH1 Storytellers (2001), The Next Day (2013), Nothing Has Changed (career compilation/2014).

HAYAO MIYAZAKI

Happy Birthday to Hayao Miyazaki. Born on this day in 1941, Miyazaki has become one of the most respected artists in Japan. The film director and comic creator has an unparalleled gift at writing strong female characters and his ability to weave magic realism (and often environmentalism) into deep coming-of-age stories has made him the most beloved storyteller around the world. Suggested viewing: My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howls Moving Castle. Collage below: key female characters from Miyazaki's most celebrated projects. Learn more: Studio Ghibli Museum, Starting Point, Turning Point, author page. Enjoy!

LAURIE ANDERSON: MACH 20

Laurie Anderson performs "Mach 20" from United States Live (1984) on a short-lived program called The New Show. Her ability to use science as societal lens and story-generator is endlessly fascinating. Her performance art has often used science as form, kind of proto-Ted Talks about nature, behavior, anxieties, and life-changing experiences. Like cartoonists Roz Chast and Gary Larson, who also have scientific and sociological interests, Anderson's observations can be insightful, hilarious, but also haunting. Enjoy!