MADE YOU LOOK™ | BABEL

Pictured: Babel. Photo sniped from our pals at YouWorkForThem.

The book Babel, which collects Philadelphia artist Jim Houser's astounding and unique artwork, is by no means new. However, it is one of my picks for best art book, scratch that, book of the year. By nature, Houser's work is so intimate that just looking through this book makes you feel like you're having a personal and candid conversation with someone.

A word from the publisher: Self-taught mixed media artist Jim Houser's creative journey began as a child when he started drawing in sketchbooks brought home to him by his father. Over the years, driven by impulse and inspired by words as well as the perspective that his childhood drawings provide, Houser developed a style combining words, phrases and existential story fragments with crisp, colorful paintings on surfaces ranging from canvas to walls to skateboards and more. Houser forces us to re-examine these often well-worn words and discover their lost, faded and even alternate meanings amidst visions of ten gallon hats, snaggletooth snakes, preternatural beings and visualized natural elements. Jim Houser is a Philadelphia-based artist who was a founding member of the collective Space 1026 and an avid skateboarder who designs skate decks for Toy Machine.

Related links
Space 1026
Ginkgo Press