Artists Pay Homage to Wes Anderson’s Filmography in a New Book

In 2010, curator and gallery owner Ken Harman organized his first “Bad Dads” pop-up art exhibition dedicated to Wes Anderson and the father figures in his films. Shortly thereafter, Harman established the Spoke Art gallery in San Francisco and now, six years and several exhibitions later, he and the gallery are looking back and celebrating the show that started it all with the release of The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads: Art Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson.

The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads by Spoke Art Gallery featuring a foreword by Wes Anderson © Abrams Books, 2016

Published by Abrams Books, the book features hundreds of images of paintings, sculptures, prints, and other works of art from the annual exhibit (and 2015’s special pop-up show in New York City). There are works inspired by everything from Anderson’s 1996 directorial debut, Bottle Rocket, to his more recent films, including 2014's Oscar-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel. The 256-page hardcover also includes a preface by Harman, an introduction by New York magazine TV critic and RogerEbert.com editor-in-chief Matt Zoller Seitz, and a foreword by the man himself, filmmaker Wes Anderson.

“Wes and his entire team have been very supportive over the years,” Harman told mental_floss. “I believe he first found out about the exhibit in 2010 and we always try to send them an update whenever we put on a new show ... Wes does have a fair number of works from the show which he has collected over the years."

Anderson attended the New York City pop-up along with actor Jason Schwartzman, but he is not the only one of Anderson's collaborators who has shown appreciation for the work. “We’ve also been lucky enough to meet Tony Revolori (Zero in The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Kara Hayward (Suzy in Moonrise Kingdom),” Harman says. “Jared Gilman (who played Sam in Moonrise Kingdom) has quickly become a friend of the gallery and we see him pretty regularly whenever we do a show in New York, even when it’s not Wes Anderson-related.”

Rich Pellegrino, "Peter" Acrylic on panels

Doug LaRocca,"F is for Fantastic" Screen Print 10.5 x 13.5

Oliver Barrett, [names clockwise from top] Raleigh, Steve, Walt, Herman. Screen Prints 18 x 24 each.

Ruben Ireland, "Margot," Fine art giclée print

Matt Needle, "Rushmore," Fine art giclee print 18 x 24

Ivonna Buenrostro, "Le temps del’amour," Fine art giclée print

Harman says that designer Martin Venezky is the one who deserves thanks for the cover and interior art; Venezky worked on the previous installments of The Wes Anderson Collection, and was also responsible for selecting the art for the Bad Dads book.

“Looking at the way he laid everything out, it’s pretty apparent that there are a lot of similarities between book design and gallery curation,” Harman says. “The way individual works compare, contrast, or speak to each other across the two-page spreads and in segments throughout the book is very reminiscent to how we, as a gallery, decide which works go where.”

The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads: Art Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson is available today via Abrams Books and Amazon.

All images courtesy of Abrams Books.

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