CARTOONS Without Words - by Luc Vernimmen

It's always a great pleasure to attend a book presentation. If it's a brand new cartoon book,it's an even bigger pleasure. Yesterday I was invited at Luc Vernimmen's cartoon book presentation and cartoon exhibition in Antwerp (Belgium). Luc is a Belgian cartoonist and graphic artist with an impressive list of national and international awards on his behalf, including major prizes at the Knokke Heist Cartoon Festival and that of Kruishoutem. The book contains a selection of his award winning cartoons from the past ten years.

I way pleased in 3 ways.

First of all: the location. Luc lives in Antwerp, in a district called Zurenborg. In the southern part of this district you find many of the most beautiful art nouveau houses in Belgium. Especially the Cogels Osylei (lei = street),  where the event took place in number 73 - Zaal 7 is a pleasure to walk through.

Lovers of architecture should watch this YouTube slide show of the houses I talk about. Before the event I took some time to walk around and enjoy the buildings...

The exhibition, Cogels Osylei nr. 73.

Luc Vernimmen

Second: the introduction. After a fine classical concert by the Helix Strijkkwartet  (with Luc's son Jeroen playing violin), mr. Marc Schillemans, a friend of Luc, actor and director, gave a more then outstanding speech about the meaning, the respect and the praise of the cartoon, the cartoonist and the cartoon book. Congratulations Marc! This was one of the best essays about cartoons I ever heard.

Marc Schillemans - great speech!

Third:The cartoons. Last but not least it must be said that the cartoons are excellent. All just little colourful paintings. This is something you have to figure out for yourself of course... take a look at Luc's website to enjoy more of his cartoons.

21 cm x 21 cm, 80 cartoons, 82 pages, full color, soft cover:

Learn more:
www.lucvernimmen.be
Buy the book
Luc Vernimmen : bio

Halbritters Halbwelt Die Besten Karikaturen von Kurt Halbritter (Kurt Halbritter - 1924-1978)

I found this book one eBay Austria. It's a compilation of drawings by the german cartoonist Kurt Halbritter published within a period of nine years in the magazine Pardon and fragments of the ten books Halbritter published. Enjoy the versatility of the artist and take a look at the very nice website dedicated to the artist.

Learn more:
www.kurt-halbritter.com
More about Halbritter on ECC Cartoonbooks Club

Vladimir Kazanevsky

I was pleased to attend the opening of the exhibition of the great Ukraine artist Vladimir Kazanevsky in the ECC on 27 September.

Rudy Gheysens and Vladimir Kazanevsky

The exhibition gave me the answer to the question why Kazanevsky portraits so many headless people in his drawings. There is a philosophy involved:

'People with their own heads are supposed to be happy, healthy and intelligent. There would be no more wars, drugs, prostitution ... But they have deliberately turned their heads away. They have decided that the soul was in their heels or in their hearts, their gallbladders or their stomachs, but not in their heads. This is how they began to live. They no longer know how to think for themselves, and a government without a head does not know where it is going. If you look around yourself, you notice this results in a 'headless' society.'

That evening, I had the opportunity to buy two books of the artist. One of them is Homo Gibber (Daedalos Verlag, Basel, 2007, ISBN 978-3-905774-02-3). As with the drawings and cartoons of Kazanevsky, this is again a very odd book, "a novel without words". It's about the hunchback.
On the back cover of the book we read:

"The hunchback -ancient mystical symbol for folded angel's wings as well as for dark passions, hidden sins and human confusion- is used in the 'novel without words' as a characteristic feature of a creature that does not dare or care to use its highest human potential. Vladimir Kazanevsky's manifesto is a compelling one: Hunchbacks of the world - straighten up!. The gorgeous and humorous drawings will leave nobody untouched."

drawing a dedication for me...

Learn more:
Kazanevsky at Cartoon Gallery
Best Cartoons: gallery

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather exhibition in Plugstreet (Sept 19 - Dec 24 2014)

A few weeks ago I got this kind invitation:

Mr. Gilbert DELEU, Mayor,
Mr. Didier VANDESKELDE, Chairman of "Plugstreet 14-18 experience", Deputy Mayor for Cultural Affairs,
Mr. Luc DE GEEST, Deputy Mayor for Tourism,

are delighted to invite you to the lecture proposed by Tonie and Valmai HOLT, and the inauguration of temporary exhibition "Captain Bruce Bainrsfather, the Creator of Old Bill and the Better 'Ole".

Last Friday I attended the excellent lecture given by Tonie and Valmai Holt. We all learned some interesting facts about the artist and his character Old Bill. Tonie showed us some trench and other maps to locate the places, farms and cottages  where Bruce Bairnsfather (BB) spent his time during his short stay in Belgium and where he was a witness of the Plugstreet Christmas Truce in December 1914.

I was delighted to hear that the famous BB, until the end of his life in 1959, was a very kind, amiable and cordial person. So are Tonie and Valmai Holt who gave the lecture. I was happy to see them again after we met in 2009 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dead of BB.  The temporary exhibition shows a (small) part of the impressive BB collection owned by Tonie and Valmai: Grim wades, trench art, glass slides, jigsaw puzzles, cards, postcards, prints, magazines, etc.

Surprise of the evening was the unveiling of... the original Better Ole cartoon. A top of the art collector's item and a masterpiece of BB: the most famous cartoon of WWI.

Valmai with original Better Ole cartoon

If you like the work of Bruce Bairnsfather, then follow this tips:

1. learn more about BB on our blog or on Mark Warby's  BB website

2. like The Bruce Bairnsfather Society on Facebook (you can even join in)

3. fill in the petition to give Bruce Bairnsfather the recognition he deserves for his immeasurable contribution to boosting morale during WW1. The petition has been started by Tonie and Valmai Holt, who are proposing that a leading member of the Government should make a statement in the House that Bairnsfather's contribution during the war should be retrospectively recognised.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/the-captain-bruce-bairnsfather-recognition-2

before the lecture, I took this picture at Prowse Point cemetary

Crazy Movers!

Next weekend I have to move my daughter to the city of Leuven where she is going to study at the university. Moving is hard labour. Fortunately I have this little cartoon book to inspire me how to move ...

This book was published for the 100th anniversary of the Arthur Pierre - professional movers company. Cartoons are by the Belgian cartoonist Ploeg.