ALLEN DESIGNS NEW IDENTITY FOR ROSENBACH MUSEUM
The Rosenbach Museum & Library of Philadelphia started out as the private collection of book and antique dealers Dr. A.S.W. and Philip Rosenbach. Today, this small but priceless collection of extremely rare antiques and unique books and manuscripts is on display to the public. The Rosenbach is best known for being the home of James Joyce's original manuscript of Ulysses. Also found at the Rosenbach is the only surviving example of the first printing of "Yankee Doodle", the manuscript for Charles Dickens' Pickquick Papers, as well as Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim. During his research, Allen had the personal pleasure of going through the coorespondence between Marianne Moore and Joseph Cornell, as well as leafing through Oscar Wilde's manuscript for his play Salome, which included stage directions. Particularly thrilling was a personal letter tucked inside of an orginal edition of The Ballad of Reading Gaol, in which Wilde discusses his imprisonment with his old friend Bobbie Ross.
The Rosenbach also houses Marie Antionette's ivory canes, Josephine Bonaparte's collection of tiaras, and once even possessed Napoleon's penis (it's now in a private collection). The Rosenbach is also home to over 10,000 works by beloved illustrator and author, Maurice Sendak.
PLANKTON AT LA's CHARMICHAEL GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Susan is participating in "Delirium Tremens", a group show up from 10/20-11/1. Check here for more details.
PLANKTON AT EL CAMINO COLLEGE OF ART GALLERY, NOV. 19 to DEC. 14
The exhibition will comprise of three installations, and Susan will be participating in "Cry Me A River", a group installation involving 100 women artists' drawings on handkerchiefs with a ball point pen. Check here for more information.
WHERE ON EARTH HAVE WE BEEN? GLAD YOU ASKED.
First we should offer our apologies for the long absence. With the invaluble help of our friend Deb Lengyel, we've finally given the website a desperately-needed overhaul. We've ripped out all that pesky Flash, putting the emphasis squarely on the work. The site is now far more light and flexible; editing and updating the site is now much easier, so content will be updated regularly. In other words, it's a living site again. We still have plenty of new content to upload onto the site, but we'll have things in full form very soon.
Just in case you're curious--and since you're here, we assume you are--here's a summary of what has been afoot in the Land o' Plankton:
The biggest development of late is that Allen has become a literary busker--and, in a sense, his own design project. Bloomsbury has published a hardcover book that Allen wrote, edited, typeset, designed and illustrated called The Affected Provincial's Companion, Volume One. He's taken a temporary hiatus from full-time illustration, taking an odd assignment here and there, but mostly assisting Susan with gallery and animation projects when he isn't researching and writing. Many adventures have ensued, including a book tour, unusual facial hair, tartan suits, and appearances on European TV.
(And oh yes: Johnny Depp has bought the film rights to the book, and a screenplay is currently in the works.)
We've also moved into a new house/studio, appropriately dubbed The Greenhouse. Having luxuries like dishwashers and machines that actually wash and dry your clothes have been quite an adjustment after spending thirteen years living in an old army barracks. We've built a bog garden and a bat house, and the house itself is home to countless fish, giant silk moths, a one-eyed cat, orchids, carnivorous plants, and a shrimp.
Our largest gallery gig of late was a show with Tim Biskup and Dalek at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York.
New projects, you ask? Well, we've been working on some projects for the Smithsonian Zoo and an exhibit on mythical animals for The American Museum of Natural History, which is always good fun for aging nerds like ourselves. Susan has been designing gift cards for Target which have been consistent best-sellers. A show in Denver is coming this summer, new ideas for limited edition prints are being worked up, and we have new animations posted in the Moving Images section, some of which are deliciously bizarre. Enjoy.
Despite the changes that have taken place in the illustration and design business over the past decade, we're still thriving: We're still exploring exciting new directions, still working as hard as we ever have, and still going strong. Please visit us again soon--we'll be posting pretty feverishly from now on, and we have plenty of new work to share!
~ The Planktons
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