Blow'd Up

Crazy night at the Society of Illustrators in NY on September 10, 2010. Tomer Hanuka, Yuko Shimizu and Sam Weber were all featured in an exhibition called BLOW UP. I only realized why it was called Blow Up when I got there.

One, the place probably could have blown up, since the amount of people in there made it hot enough to start a fire from all the friction. Two, each of the artists' selection of paintings and drawings were "blown up" to be larger than life. It's a really neat sight, considering that most of these illustrations are only seen in magazines, where the biggest image you might glance is no larger than 8.5x11. It's really cool to see each illustrators' work this large.

The basement floor of the Museum of American Illustration displayed some of the illustrators' sketches and preliminary processes when it comes to composing such wonderful images. Also exhibited was Weber's, Shimizu's and Hanuka's sketchbooks, tools and references. I think I liked that part the most. Seeing all the steps necessary to create something that seems so flawless and inventive. (And seeing that "wonderfulness" doesn't appear out of nowhere is reaffirming.)

While the Air Force exhibition was upstairs, and it was considerably more comfortable, temperature-wise, it was not as populated as the event on the main gallery floors. The art upstairs was just as excellent as the stuff on the walls on the first floor. I appreciated it. Both exhibitions provided me with the same amount of inspiration. That's all I can say.

The one thing I noticed when it came to the three illustrators featured in Blow Up is Hanuka's larger-than-life prints. They didn't necessarily translate as well to a larger size, compared to the smaller sized environments in magazines and other editorials.

At the end of the night, or by the time that I had to go, I wish I could have seen more. Or maybe just spent more time with the prints. Maybe I'll go to a Sketch Night @SI sometime soon. Anyone up for it?