On May 7th, 2011 the doors opened at Gallery 1988 for Olly Moss’ very first solo art show entitled “Paper Cuts.” This revolutionary art show featured over 200 silhouettes of popular characters from all areas of pop culture, including cartoons, movies, television, comic books and video games. So many different genres were included, and the show, like everything Olly touches, was a raging success! Before the show opened no one knew what Olly was working on, and I can remember being glued to my computer waiting for the first photos from the gallery to pop up on the internet. “Paper Cuts” quickly sold out and the art world couldn’t stop talking about Olly totally unexpected show.
The Blot’s been a huge fan of Olly’s work since his very first Threadless design, and I’m lucky to say I own a number of his limited edition screen prints. While I can’t really explain why his minimalistic style is so powerful, his “Paper Cuts” show is a perfect example of how he can do so much with so little! Thankfully, even those of us unable to attend the show can now relive the experience over and over again by reading Olly’s new hardcover book from Titan Books, Silhouettes From Popular Culture.
The minute I heard Silhouettes From Popular Culture was being published I knew I had to have a copy! This beautiful 144 page hardbound book includes most of the silhouettes from Moss’ first solo show and honestly, the cover alone is worth the purchase of the book! I love its textured feel and gold embossing. But the real fun comes in when you start flipping the pages and realizing you can identify each character in the book solely off of their all black (or white) silhouette.
Olly’s definitely turned the Victorian art of silhouette portraits on its head! The last time I saw a proper silhouette was probably when my parents had one made of me at the age of 4. Do they even still do that anymore? Even though I’m a diehard Olly Moss fan, I can honestly say this book is fun for anyone that’s a fan of pop culture. It’s exciting just to see what characters Olly chose to turn into a silhouette and from what genre they came.
Silhouettes From Popular Culture by Olly Moss goes on sale October 30, 2012. You can pre-order it through Amazon for just $10.71 here, but keep your eyes peeled on The Blot Says for a very special giveaway later today! One lucky reader will win the book before you can even buy it!
