Art recommendations around town, colorful Oscar and falling B’s.

~ ARMIN ~

If the Oscars were more colorful this year it was thanks to Brett Davidson, the in-house “IT Guy” of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who beat the odds and dozens of posh outside agencies with his submission for the official poster for the 77th edition of the Oscars. In a “blind” judging of the submitted posters, Brett’s colorful, Saul Bass-inspired, Frutigeresque- and Impact-clad poster stood out and was unanimously selected. [Thanks to Felix for the e-mail].

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Who says graphic design can’t kill you? Fine, semantically speaking, graphic design can’t kill you, but really big and heavy Eurostile can.

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Samuel Alderson, inventor of the crash-test dummy, passed away last week. His legacy leaves us with the Hybrid III, the de facto crash-test dummy, dozens of ads featuring crash-test dummies and a band who has nothing to do with crash-test dummies.

~ M. KINGSLEY ~

Enthusiastic recommendations of four shows in New York:

1. Tim Hawkinson transformations detritus into magic at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

2. A select few text works by Jean-Michel Basquiat at Cheim & Read Gallery. Unfortunately, the catalog is full of poor reproductions.

3. Across the street from the Basquiat, Logical Conclusions: 40 Years of Rule-Based Art at Pace Wildenstein. Better than the current shows at MOMA; and without the $20 entrance fee.

4. This Is A Science Fiction Show, curated by noted illustrator Vincent Di Fate, at Andrea Rosen Gallery, in Gallery 2. Originally shown at the New York Academy of Sciences; it features several fond memories from my childhood… and Murray Tinkelman!

~ JASON A. TSELENTIS ~

Peter Palazzo, art director for newspapers and innovator of journalistic design, passes away. [NY Times Obit by Seven Heller]

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