Faux Nostalgia With Bruce McCall

At 33rd Square we take our futurism pretty seriously. That said, we love a good laugh too. (If you don't believe that, don't check out our spin off humor blog.)  The art of Bruce McCall is so wonderful for us, because it combines a look at the future, from the vantage of 'Retro Futurism,' with a tongue-in-cheek humorous approach.

Born and raised in Canada, where he was a high-school dropout, McCall is a largely self-taught artist and writer who returned to his first love, humor and satire, after careers in commercial art, journalism, and advertising.  A longtime contributor to the New Yorker, McCall's best-known work draws on the big-shouldered hubris of the middle 1920s and the early 1950s to create future paradises where the skies are fllled with zeppelins and every car has wings. He's a wry observer of contemporary life and a witty writer.

 McCall began his career as an illustrator for car ads -- by his own account not a very good illustrator. He'd left the field and became a copywriter when, on a whim, he and a friend sent some humorous drawings to Playboy (at that time, 1970, it was a legit career move). He soon connected with the founders of the National Lampoon, a pioneering humor magazine, and went on to create some of their most enduring images -- finding in the 1970s countercultural media a rich audience for his satirical take on the Atomic Age. He's now working the same magic at the New Yorker. His latest book is called Marveltown, and is exactly what it sounds like. McCall's latest book is called 50 Things to Do with a Book.

Here is a sampling of McCall's work, and don't miss his TED presentation embedded below.

All images Copyright Bruce McCall