French Friday (5.0): French Horror Movie Posters!!!

In celebration of Halloween, I offer you: French movie posters of classic horror films!

Amusez-vous bien! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Apollinaire’s Calligrammes

The following biographical and literary information on Guillaume Apollinaire is extracted from the following website: An Introduction to Guillaume Apollinaire.

Guillaume Apollinaire (France, 1880-1918) was the author of a variety of different texts: prose fiction, drama, librettos etc., yet it could be argued that he published only two significant works during his lifetime: Alcools: Poèmes 1898-1913 (1913) and Calligrammes: Poèmes de la paix et de la guerre 1913- 1916 (1918).

As well as having a keen eye for the visual arts, the visual dimension of writing was extremely important to Apollinaire. Apollinaire took great care over the typographical layout of his work. Technical developments such as the phonograph, the telephone, radio and cinema had provided new ways of storing and diffusing language without recourse to the written word. For Apollinaire, writing no longer had the same role, its status had changed and Apollinaire was one of the first to interrogate this. I say `one of the first’, since the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé published his Un Coup de dès jamais n’abolira le hasard (1897) sixteen years before Alcools which included typography carefully orchestrated into a symbolic pattern with different sized words twisted into strange shapes performing a ballet-like movement within the monochrome limits of the printed page. For Apollinaire, as for Mallarmé before him, language was something to be experienced for its concrete and graphic shapes, for its potential to convey meanings in other ways. Apollinaire insists on the `materiality’ of language, that is to say, its existence as visual marks of white on black or as patterns of sound. Michel Butor claims that Apollinaire’s significance as a poet resides in:

“… la conscience aiguë qu’il a toujours gardée de la réalité physique du langage; on peut dire qu’il a fait retomber la poésie sur la terre dans son admirable incapacité d’oublier que les mots c’est d’abord quelque chose que l’on entend, et que l’on voit.”
M. Butor, Monument de rien pour Apollinaire

In his later collection of poems, Calligrammes, Apollinaire incorporated words, letters and phrases into complex visual collages. The black on white of the printed page became a new field of experimentation. He experimented with a poetry in which a simple reading along the familiar linear axes (left to right, top to bottom) was no longer possible. The page became a sort of canvas for experimentation with different spatial relationships and with the possibility of multiple readings along different axes.

Examples of some of Apollinaire’s most celebrated Calligrammes:

 

Saturday with Sycamore

Thanks to the Poppy Talk site, I just discovered a ridiculously creative letterpresser by the name of Sycamore Street Press, which you may access HERE. They offer everything from letterpress greeting cards to gift tags to calendars to bookplates — and all with a unique sense of humour. Here are some samples:

French Friday (4.0)!

I received a grant two summers ago (uh, that would be 2007) to conduct some dissertation research in Paris at the BnF. I spent six weeks living in the most charming and lovely little studio apartment that was literally around the corner from the Place des Vosges. And I visited museums at least three or four times per week. And I was right near the Picasso Museum, which pretty much became my church. Anyway, my whole point with this is: I miss it immensely… and, sometimes, painfully. Severe nostalgia lately. So, for this edition of French Friday, I thought I’d pay homage to some of my favorite French artists and their love of words.

Fernand Léger:

Pablo Picasso:

Juan Gris:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec:

Henri Matisse:

Wordshop Wednesday (2.0), baby!

Umm, I inaugurated the Wordshop Wednesday series back on October 1st, and then I kind of forgot about it. Oops. But I just remembered, so now it’s back with a vengeance, baby! I selected Crooked Letter Press for my inaugural wordshop. It was lovely. And today I would like to present a whole other barrel of loveliness, called…

☞ TYPORETUM

(Owned/Run by Justin Knopp, located in Colchester, UK)

You may find each of the following images/products on Typoretum’s magnificent website.

 

Rock, Scissor, Paper (aka, AWESOME)

ROCK, SCISSOR, PAPER is a wonderful website where you can find woodgrain items such as journals, greeting cards, calendars, and gift tags. You can also find non-woodgrain items that are equally as awesome. Want proof? Well then, I will comply.

WOODGRAIN WONDERS:

AND NON-WOODGRAIN WONDERS:

OWLS MAKE ME HAPPY:

(OK, so it was a little difficult for me to choose between all the ridiculously cute images… I may have gone a bit overboard.)

Too much of a good thing? NEVER!

Bunches of piles of collections of lettery lusciousness, in all different forms. Check your blood pressure and pour yourself a glass of ice water, please. You’re going to need it. Overstimulation on the way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

French Friday, Vol. 3!

For today’s installment of French Friday, I thought I’d present a mélange of French fabulousness, with no real underlying theme other than the fact that the images are all French-related, which means they’re all awesome.