Last Gasp at APE — Booth 320-323
This weekend (Oct 16-17) we’ll be at the Alternative Press Expo right here in our backyard.
The show is one of our very favorites, with an abundance of artists, small press, cartoonists, zine-makers, and creators of all types. If you have any kind of interest in the arts, you should definitely come check it out!
Signings with Junko Mizuno, Joe Ledbetter, Buff Monster, Ron English, Camilla d’Errico (See schedule below)
Plus all the newest books, imports, rare stuff… Our booth is #1616.
2-print set. Edition of 60. Debossed digital offset.
Thursday
Camilla d’Errico – 2pm-3pm
Junko Mizuno 4:30pm-6pm
Friday
Junko Mizuno noon-2pm
Ron English – 2pm
Joe Ledbetter – 3pm
Buff Monster – 4pm
Junko Mizuno 5pm
Saturday
Junko Mizuno 11am
Todd Schorr: Designed for Extinction
Opening reception: June 26, 4-7pm
Book-signing for Schorr’s latest monograph American Surreal hosted by Last Gasp.
Designed for Extinction is a solo exhibition featuring the paintings of Los Angeles-based artist Todd Schorr, a leading figure in the world of “pop surrealism” and “lowbrow.” Schorr is undeniably inspired by Renaissance masters such as Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, and Salvador Dali, as well as the early animated cartoons of Walt Disney and Max Fleischer, underground comics best exemplified by Zap, and classic films from the 1930s such as King Kong and Frankenstein. His highly polished, fantastic paintings are intricate narratives about evolution and the plight of man
Music by GLUE ONE, food by Rasta Tacos, and limited edition Todd Schorr designed T-shirt provided by Hurley.
Otis College of Art and Design
9045 Lincoln Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Show runs June 26 – September 11, 2010
Thanks Janelle!
Four decades • 300+ comix • 250+ books • A Who’s Who of Lowbrow Art
Last Gasp turns 40 this year and to celebrate, we are throwing a party and art show at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco.
The Last Gasp 40th Anniversary Art Show assembles a top-drawer lineup of artists – the haut monde of lowbrow. Over the past four decades, Last Gasp has published hundreds of artists in the underground comix, kustom kulture, pop surrealism and street art movements.
Artists in the show include:
Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Glenn Barr, Mark and Vaughn Bode, Robert Crumb, Richard Corben, Rob and Christian Clayton, Guy Colwell, Ron English, Tony Fitzpatrick, Christopher Felver, Camille Rose Garcia, Justin Green, Charles Gatewood, Bill Griffith, Rick Griffin, Ed Hardy, Jay Kinney, Frank Kozik, Joe Ledbetter, Carol Lay, Adrian Lee, Michael Manning, Chris Mars, Mats, Paul Mavrides, Scott Musgrove, Albert Morse, Junko Mizuno, Liz McGrath, Laurenn McCubbin, Mitch O’Connell, Annie Owens, The Pizz, Mark Ryden, Michael Rosen, Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez, Dori Seda, Winston Smith, Stanislav Szukalski, Larry Todd, Eric White, Robert Williams, Basil Wolverton, Attaboy, Aye Jay, and many more to be announced.
Writers, including San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane DiPrima will do a reading.
Design radicals GAMA-GO will produce a limited edition tee shirt for the event.
21 + over; Free and open to the public
When: April 1, 2010, 6pm until late
Where: 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 974-1719 www.111minnagallery.com Contact: Jay Howell
About Last Gasp
Last Gasp is one of the largest and oldest publishers and purveyors of underground books & comics in the world, as well as being a distributor of all sorts of weird ‘n’ wonderful subversive literature, graphic novels, tattoo and art books.
Last Gasp was founded in 1970 by Ron Turner. Last Gasp’s first publication, Slow Death Funnies #1 came out on the first “Earth Day,” April 15, 1970. Subsequent comics included the all-women’s comic It Ain’t Me Babe, and Skull Comics. Over the years they have published, and in some cases brought to light, some of the most respected and talented artists working today, including such luminaries as R. Crumb, Mark Ryden, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Frank Kozik, Todd Schorr, Winston Smith, Spain Rodriguez, and Robert Williams to name but a few.
Ron Turner’s enthusiasm for underground comics, and in particular their autobiographical aspect, has been the driving force behind many groundbreaking publications. Last Gasp published Justin Green’s highly acclaimed confessional Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary in 1972, a book that became an inspiration to many artists now working in the autobiographical style. “Art Spiegelman, who won the only Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, has said he would never have started to do the autobiographical story of his family (in the graphic novel Maus) unless Justin had done it first. And Robert Crumb said the same thing,” said Turner.
Today, Last Gasp publishes 12-20 new titles per year, focusing on Lowbrow and Pop Surrealist artists, as well as graphic novels. The company has 18 full and part-time employees and is based in San Francisco. In addition to publishing, Last Gasp distributes for large and small publishers worldwide, providing a steady countercultural stream of books and other printed matter that spreads over six continents.
Last Gasp books have been glowingly reviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Juxtapoz magazine, The Guardian (UK), Hi-Fructose magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Austin Chronicle, American Book Review, and The Los Angeles Times.
Co-publishing partners include La Luz de Jesus / Billy Shire Fine Arts, Porterhouse Fine Art Editions, San Jose Museum of Art, Grand Central Art Center, Smokemuse, JaPress, Moulinsart, Presspop Gallery, Ignition Publishing, NewSkool/Analog, Laguna Art Museum, and many more.
The readers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Last Gasp the Best Local Publisher in 2009.
First publications: Slow Death, 1970 (comic); Breather’s Guide to Invisible Air Polution (book) 1970
