The thing about illustrator Norman Saunders was that he was so good at almost every form of commercial art he tried his hand at, and his style constantly evolved and changed with the times he was reflecting in his artwork. From pulp magazines to paperback book covers to comic books to men's adventure magazines to trading cards, his work spans a wide array of ephemeral print media, and he left his signature on some of the most memorable covers in every field he worked in.
Remember the Mars Attacks trading card series of the 1960's? Tim Burton did, and he made a movie out of them decades later. Norman Saunders created them.
How about those super-cool '60's Batman trading cards, or an illustrated history of the Civil War in a trading card set, or a card collection of the American Presidents? All work by Norman Saunders.
And if that wasn't enough, Saunders was the hand behind another cultural phenomenon of my youth - Wacky Packages! A brilliant satirical take on the rampant consumerism that was consuming our culture and our country, Saunders' art brush skewed the contagion of popular brands and branding with gems like "6up" soda pop, "Cap'n Crud" cereal, "Crust" toothpaste or "Jerkson and Jerkson's BAND-ACHE Strips (off skin)" band-aids.
Here is a loving photograph of Dad, fairly late in his life, that son David Saunders included in the book.
Looks like a pretty cool guy in his denim jacket; kind of a blue collar style befitting an artist who was one of the most prolific and imaginative creators of commercial art in his era.
You can get a copy of NORMAN SAUNDERS here.
Enjoy!
william
Wow I just had an amazing flashback to the 60's and those batman trading cards triggered it. Thanks for that :)
Posted by: margie oomen | May 06, 2009 at 04:43 AM
Thank you again Billy!
I enjoy learning more about Norman Saunders.
Elsi :)
Posted by: Elsita :) | May 06, 2009 at 08:56 AM
Norman Saunders art it's pretty iconic, his sense of pop art changed the whole industry a few years ago.
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