tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post3654344252648962793..comments2024-03-18T11:06:05.506-04:00Comments on ILLUSTRATION ART: BERNIE FUCHSDavid Apatoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-67343410181732323882014-12-15T09:37:20.481-05:002014-12-15T09:37:20.481-05:00Bernie the man.
His influence on other illustrator...Bernie the man.<br />His influence on other illustrators reads like a who's who of late twentieth century artists.<br />As a teacher at the Illustrators Workshop, back in the day, he was insightful, honest and fair.<br />God could he draw!<br />Years later as a mentor, he was always available.<br />When we would meet over the years he always had a big smile and a good story to tell.<br />With him I learned to be a real student of life.<br /><br />eric fowlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-14925550314269037662014-01-16T21:24:14.149-05:002014-01-16T21:24:14.149-05:00 Bernie was an artists artist. For many years I wa... Bernie was an artists artist. For many years I was haunted by his work, starstruck by his talent and genius. The first time I saw his work I was in art school and and youknew that you would somehow never be the same again. Ive even had to reaccess everything Ive learned and knew in art. A towering talent. We miss you Greatly. knewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-92050799961124017452013-07-30T14:52:55.172-04:002013-07-30T14:52:55.172-04:00Mr. Apatoff, I think I read somewhere that you wer...Mr. Apatoff, I think I read somewhere that you were putting together a book on Bernie Fuchs. I just picked up a piece from 1963 at the recent Illustration House auction. If you want pictures for your book, let me know. Thanks!<br /><br />-John A. FryeFryewerkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13956426025889986112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-64777352405174205992013-03-14T23:12:06.759-04:002013-03-14T23:12:06.759-04:00I was reading some of the comments on using photog...I was reading some of the comments on using photography in art. Most all illustrators I knew used it, and still do. A lot of people don't know what an amazing photographer Bernie was. His compositions and point of view were amazing. He certainly did not just copy a photo. He did thumbnails, sketches, and some color comps, earlier in his career before photos or starting to paint. He might like the pose of a figure in one shot, but redraw the head and hands to fit what he was trying portray in the composition and sometimes redrawing the whole figure. His "finishs" were far removed from his photos. Rick McCollumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18280514817560453466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-61741794629624526542013-03-11T12:53:51.766-04:002013-03-11T12:53:51.766-04:00Hey David,
very profound commment, that last one. ...Hey David,<br />very profound commment, that last one. great post!sebastianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03860383181844488952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-78964441415895032662011-04-26T22:01:50.799-04:002011-04-26T22:01:50.799-04:001)Illustrations weren't merely works of art! T...1)Illustrations weren't merely works of art! Their purpose was to capture the casual page flippers attention, to lure him/her into reading that article, by distilling a moment created by an author! 2) < The compositions with large areas of emptiness and lots of detail huddled together> Illustrations needed to provide space for titles and text blocks. Bernie achieved this by using dynamic silhouette and positive space. 3)Photography was an essential tool for illustrators who were working on tight schedules with modeling agencies that charged the heavens! <br /><br />Bernard Fuchs was a giant who, as all great artists have, absorbed styles, art techniques and philosophies from artists throughout history. <br /><br />I believe Bernie drew and painted for me and you, as did Bob, Norman, and Michelangelo.Mark J. Stanczykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10692918951434246334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-55804726598867376592011-02-17T23:48:03.967-05:002011-02-17T23:48:03.967-05:00I grew up shy, and I will always remember spending...I grew up shy, and I will always remember spending Christmas at Bernie and Babes. They where my mothers best friends, and I never told Ethel how much I would have rather stayed home with my new toys then go to Westport. Bernie always made me feel at home, it was almost like he knew that I didn't feel like I fit in with the other kids. Bernie Fuchs was by far one of the kindest, most talented people I have or will ever know. I will never forget him..I will always respect him.<br />JGjudinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-84030852684019039212010-05-31T21:50:21.403-04:002010-05-31T21:50:21.403-04:00He was one of the truly great illustrators and art...He was one of the truly great illustrators and artists of our recent time, and will forever in my mind represent what great illustration was in the pre digital era. You simply do not see his kind of page stopping visuals anymore-it really was a golden age when illustrators of his caliber blanketed the covers of the great magazines of that era. I was an art director, and illustrator back in the back in the day, and whenever I would see a Fuchs piece on any number of the magazines he did, or any of the society of illustrators annuals that he won awards in. I would just be amazed at the mastery that Bernie Fuchs had. Bernie Fuchs was truly one of the greats artists of his time and set the bar for the rest of us.<br />R.I.P. Bernie, and thanks for the inspiration.John Takakura Palmersheimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-68210182329448732452010-01-19T11:08:53.371-05:002010-01-19T11:08:53.371-05:00I'm searching for an illustrator who can carry...I'm searching for an illustrator who can carry off a series of illustrations that is closely reminiscent of the 60's car ads that Bernie Fuchs,Tom McNeely and their peers produced with such grace and flair. The project is ready to book so if anyone is applicable or have recommendations please let me know asap.<br /><br />Best, StanOUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08548774359901581187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-23176407740863552232009-10-06T10:31:02.778-04:002009-10-06T10:31:02.778-04:00I was crushed to hear of the passing of Bernie Fuc...I was crushed to hear of the passing of Bernie Fuchs. As a young newspaper illustrator in the 70s I clipped every magazine that held a Fuchs piece. His work, along with that of Heindel, Peak, English and others defined an era and provided bucket loads of inspiration for the up-and-comers at that time, myself included. Bernie was my favorite of that famed group. I remember when I saw my first original Fuchs in a gallery in Atlanta. I had the same feelings as when I saw my first Monet and van Gogh. It was a thrill. I pored over every inch of the canvas. The illustration/fine art world has lost a great, original. Rest well, Mr. Fuchs.Don Cokerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17335521134714022999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-1372252407133978722009-09-25T12:38:43.829-04:002009-09-25T12:38:43.829-04:00Jeez, Rob Howard...what an ass!
Any credibility o...Jeez, Rob Howard...what an ass!<br /><br />Any credibility or worth you had (at least for those who have heard of you) you managed to flush down the potty in just a few paragraphs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-10633505208130720952009-05-18T17:05:00.000-04:002009-05-18T17:05:00.000-04:00Laurence, I used to share some of your concerns bu...Laurence, I used to share some of your concerns but as I delved into it I found myself coming out in a very different position. Since the invention of photography, it is hard to find many significant artists who did not make use of the new tool. Most realistic painters like Eakins and Bellows and Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish used photography a lot. Rockwell (like Fuchs) had the technical skill to paint quite accurately from scratch without photographs, but found photography convenient, and wrote a very persuasive chapter on his thought process in his autobiography.<br /><br />Putting aside realistic art, artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Degas, Bonnard, Picasso and Duchamp also found photography useful as well. In hindsight, it's hard to see how an artist with any intellectual curiosity could resist picking up the new tool, examining it, playing with it, and deciding what it was useful for. The great Austin Briggs also wrote an excellent essay on the ways photography enhanced art and how it served as a crutch for the less talented. A later generation of artists such as Warhol and Rauschenberg put photography center stage in their artwork. <br /><br />While all this was going on, photography graduated to the status of an art form by itself. If you think that Steichen or Ansel Adams make art, then artists who take their own photographs and paint, such as Fuchs or Ben Shahn, should be no less artists. <br /><br />I do think one has to subtract points for the technical skill of a particular painting where photography was used as an aid, just as you have to subtract points for technical skill where computer programs are used (which today is almost everything). But people began attaching less weight to technical skill ever since the camera began competing with the painting. The question is really what Fuchs has to offer besides mere technical skill. I think the answer is "plenty."David Apatoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-56723806047113814442009-05-18T05:32:00.000-04:002009-05-18T05:32:00.000-04:00I was very impressed by Bernie Fuchs when i first ...I was very impressed by Bernie Fuchs when i first saw his work as an art student aged 18, in illustration annuals of the 1970s. I even tried painting like that for a while. Seeing them again though after so many years, i just think... it's not that hard to trace over a photograph. and they are obviously traced over photographs (or slides projected onto the art surface). His loose rendering style is very pretty, but is basically taken from Whistler/Degas (as Kev has already noted above). The compositions with large areas of emptiness and lots of detail huddled together (usually near the top) is basically taken from the photo-secessionists, a brief period of soft-focus painterly-affected photographers from the turn of the century headed by Edward Steichen and Clarence White. In a way he was quite postmodern (and therefore ahead of his time) by his canny use of earlier sources. I'm not saying his images aren't appealing. they are. but when you know how they're done (tracing photographs) and when you check all of the original sources, they seem a bit facile.Laurence Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11988700485839219253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-15088896553894243132009-05-01T18:09:00.000-04:002009-05-01T18:09:00.000-04:00Karen, I am honored and flattered that you stopped...Karen, I am honored and flattered that you stopped by my little blog. I am a great admirer of your husband's work. He was famous for his innovation, and he partnered with all the best illustrators in meaningful ways to make Sports Illustrated an artistic showcase.<br /><br />I agree with you 100% about the work of Bernie Fuchs, of course. It was Bernie himself who told me that story about your husband saying, "I don't want that shit you do for McCalls." Thinking back on that moment, Bernie had a great big smile. I gather he has gotten over the blow by now, but it was pretty clear that your husband's message shook him up at the time. I can only guess that in Bernie's view, it was for the better.<br /><br />I think the "golden age of illustration" is just undergoing a necessary metamorphosis. Just as with Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and NC Wyeth, who are now exhibited regularly in museums, the illustrators of the 1940s - 1960s and later will graduate into fine art when enough time has elapsed that people stop getting distracted by the commercial origins of their work.David Apatoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-7593343903636676202009-04-21T13:24:00.000-04:002009-04-21T13:24:00.000-04:00Thank you, David, for writing about Bernie's great...Thank you, David, for writing about Bernie's greatness as an artist. He is in a class by himself!!! Even though the Golden Age of illustration may be a memory, Bernie's work continues to be brilliant and relevant. He's created so much: ground-breaking illustration, exquisite fine art (Italy never looked more seductive), and now even children's books (which I read over and over for the art). And he plays the trumpet!! <br /><br />My husband, Dick Gangel, loved working with him, especially sending him on wonderful assignments and then waiting to see what magic Bernie would bring back. He never disappointed!! The paintings were always awe-inspiring in their light and beauty. (There are many wonderful stories about Bernie's Sports Illustrated assignments.) I've heard rumors (all baseless, of course) that Dick could be somewhat difficult at times, but working with Mr. B was always a pleasure for him. Dick admired him so, both as artist and friend.<br /><br />Knowing Bernie over the years has been very special. After all the success and adulation, he remains so modest about his matchless talent.<br /><br />There exists on certain afternoons what I call "Bernie's light"--that gorgeous dappling of the sun's rays falling in just such a way. In fact, Bernie does it even BETTER than Mother Nature, I think!!<br /><br />Keep writing!!! Thanks, Karen GangelKaren Gangelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-22298676726503452512009-04-07T09:02:00.000-04:002009-04-07T09:02:00.000-04:00great post,i always love the artists list presente...great post,<BR/>i always love the artists list presented...<BR/>does anyone know if this artist http://thomasfuchs.com/index.php<BR/>bears any relation to bernie fuchs?<BR/><BR/>looks like he is filling large shoes with digital feet,<BR/>D.H.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-12919211590153923132009-04-04T03:33:00.000-04:002009-04-04T03:33:00.000-04:00Thanks David! I just loved this post, the illustra...Thanks David! I just loved this post, the illustrations are beautiful and the story and your insights are inspiring, as always!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-40437915919814855302009-04-03T15:32:00.000-04:002009-04-03T15:32:00.000-04:00Kyle, I don't think that the modern art market str...Kyle, I don't think that the modern art market stream has to do with Fuchs; I think it is the proverbial brick from the other joke.David Apatoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-52355213604349388142009-04-03T13:28:00.000-04:002009-04-03T13:28:00.000-04:00Can I just ask what has Fuchs go to do with the Mo...Can I just ask what has Fuchs go to do with the Modern Art market? Fuchs was an illustrator in an illustration industry that periodically renewed itself.He's still working and selling and contemporary illustration has moved on. Fashions change. The Art market is similar, influenced by collectors and dealers in the same way that illustration was influenced by publishers and advertising. A lot of really talented people that would have been illustrators 50 years ago are working in animation, concept design and special fx, what's the big deal? There are some very reactionary views being presented here."Modernist garbage"? Such a lazy observation.Kylenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-20492771189059333772009-04-03T10:52:00.000-04:002009-04-03T10:52:00.000-04:00I agree with Robert Cook that I generally like the...I agree with Robert Cook that I generally like the early works with thick paint and visible strokes more than the later, softer work but that painting of Branch Rickey is wonderful. So is the painting of the trees. What a talented artist!<BR/><BR/>AliceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-73193819828142534972009-04-03T10:35:00.000-04:002009-04-03T10:35:00.000-04:00I remember looking at Fuchs at collage and not rea...I remember looking at Fuchs at collage and not really taking too much notice, but at that time most of us (students) were looking and gushing over those illustrators whose work matched with our own particular style, maybe in some sort of attempt to justify our own work. Ah, the insecurities of youth... Wish i could go back to that time, with the knowledge I've gained since (not that I am now all knowledgable and wise).Matthew Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954050440829792514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-28686483548488094642009-04-03T10:28:00.000-04:002009-04-03T10:28:00.000-04:00I'm actually not such a fan of Fuchs. I cannot den...I'm actually not such a fan of Fuchs. I cannot deny his great talent, and I bought the recent issue of ILLUSTRATION magazine that was devoted to his work. His early stuff I quite like, but it was his later development that turns me off. As someone here said, it seems (too obviously) based on photos, and the soft-focus hazy blurry quality of it doesn't appeal to me. It seems mannered. I like more angular, hard edged stuff. Two of my favorite classic illustrators are Mitchell Hooks and Sanford Kossin. Also, Richard Powers, whose science fiction illustration I love, did great covers for Ballantine Books' paperback reissue of the Tarzan novels back in the 60s.<BR/><BR/>As for talk of "modernist garbage," what is being referred to? There's much modern art that is wonderful and exciting, and much that is dross...as in any era of art.Robert Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951286299515983901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-13410692733359058402009-04-03T08:02:00.000-04:002009-04-03T08:02:00.000-04:00Fuchs is great. Does anyone know where that pictur...Fuchs is great. Does anyone know where that picture of the trees is now, and whether it is for sale?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-15129172733853586922009-04-03T05:56:00.000-04:002009-04-03T05:56:00.000-04:00Thanks for the post, I love his work. I will alway...Thanks for the post, I love his work. I will always remember his Kennedy portrait, its brilliant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12506134594638782749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-36063961170587578272009-04-02T15:58:00.000-04:002009-04-02T15:58:00.000-04:00That's why nobody paints for Mr. Average Joe. All ...<I>That's why nobody paints for Mr. Average Joe. All of his taste is munching a Big Mac.</I><BR/><BR/>Sorry guy. Sargent, Sorolla, Arkhipov, Zorn, etc. all painted the average Joe, not to mention Leyendecker, Rockwell, Fuchs, etc. It's nice to see you think that average people are dunces. Most of them can do stuff you can't eve dream of, but I bet a lot of them can copy photography if properly trained.<BR/><BR/><I> Far more interesting is really understanding how the dynamics of branding, the art of pricing and a variety of marketing skills that allow Aston-Martin cars, Audemars Piquet watches and Louis Vuitton luggage to sell for considerably more than good ol' Average Joe's Chevy, Timex and Samsonite. Hey, the Chevy goes forward, reverse, right and left, the Timex keeps good time and the Samsonite holds your clothes on that trip to DisneyWorld.</I><BR/><BR/>Wow, you're so full of venom for real people its amazing! For somebody so "accomplished", you seem to have a fragile ego that needs to be inflated by deriding others. Now I see your angle--"Don't disagree with me, or I'll tell you all about how I am more wonderful than thou". What a waste of time.<BR/><BR/>You need to explain to me how collectors went from outbidding one another for Sargents and Sorollas to outbidding one another for modernist crap. How did the aesthetics change almost overnight? Or are the rich and elite you so fondly want to lump yourself in with just apish dopes susceptible to branding, ala the Big Mac or Disneyworld?<BR/><BR/><I>Your fuming about "garbage" and "rigged" seem like petulant foot-stamping compared to what really happens in selling a work of contemporary art. This is the Wild West of financial instruments and it comes with societal clout and acclaim attached. It's like a trophy wife that increases in value.<BR/><BR/>You're making moral judgments and, if you'll permit, it's Joe Six-Packs morality. What's afoot is a game of which you can scarcely conceive and one which you are using the wrong yardstick as a measure.</I><BR/><BR/>It is gargbage and it is rigged. You've said nothing to refute my claim that the top 5% of the market controls and sways 90% of the rest. And if you're going to tell me that the big money doesn't collude together to control the markets, you know nothing about cartel capitalism or economic history. That's what the big boys do and always have done.<BR/><BR/>I also don't need your condescension regarding my intellect. I can tell very well what is going on, and I'm probably smarter than some high school graduate with some trade school skills. If you think that you're wonderful because you can paint from photos, then join the other 10,000 people who can do that as well.<BR/><BR/>The top of the art market is rigged, and the fact that it doesn't follow the trends of a truly free market is the proof of that. Modernism never falls out of favor, the values never drop, and there is absolutely no transparency in this market at all.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the silly response, Mr. Howard. Not only did you manage to avoid answering the economics that point to a rigged market, but you also managed to insult me and other regular people in order to stroke your ridiculous and fragile ego.<BR/><BR/>There's plenty of talent out there--nobody needs to wait for a Golden Age. The young lads simply need a way to get it going. And that is almost completely gone today, because the illustration market is gone, portraiture is governed by photo-copying hacks, and the top of the realist and modernist markets are RIGGED! People are buying not the good stuff, but what is rigged to inflate in value, like the internet stocks of yesteryear. And the mass of artists and galleries just trying to make a living simply follow the trend, as do financially circumspect collectors. Its easy to rig a market. The question is what does a rigged market do to quality and the real talent.<BR/><BR/>David, you want a good artist to profile, look at Rose Frantzen at www.oldcitygallery.com. Now there's somebody who can paint fabulously and makes far less than she should because of the RIGGED art market.Briannoreply@blogger.com