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Just
Like Frank
poems by David Crystal
illustrated by Ian Pollock
awarded a commendation by
the National Art Library Illustration Awards 2002
Just
Like Frank brings together the poems of David Crystal with
the artwork of internationally renowned illustrator Ian Pollock
for a journey into the world of London’s low-life, tapping
and twisting familiar sights and sounds until they resonate. In
poems by turns tragic and tender, harrowing and absurd, the human
spirit shines through as Crystal’s characters live out their
small, strange lives againts a backdrop of pubs, betting shops and
bedsits; memorably
individual, but universally recognisable.
The poems are perfectly matched by the savagery and wit of Ian Pollock’s
black and white illustration which provides a surreal evocation
of the bleakness, futility and pathos at the heart of Crystal’s
work.
‘The best work I’ve done for years,’ says Ian Pollock
of his illustrations for Just Like Frank.
‘When asked if I’d be interested I said I’d love
to provided they could trust me do what I wanted without the clawing
interference typical of overzealous and nervy art editors. My terms
and condition were met wholeheartedly and with enthusiasm. I now
had to produce a body of serious work with only myself to answer
to: doing what you want is easier said than done but must look easier
done than said. I had no problem identifying with Crystal’s
world.
I felt we were starting from the same point, the same call for “last
orders”.
What I particularly enjoyed was the liberation into black and white.
It is rare these days to be working in the absence of colour. I
have always thought in black and white, it is the viper’s art,
the knee jerk, the wit. Full credit to Two Rivers Press for allowing
me this opportunity to be myself again, a student, an illustrator;
and may this dedicated small press go from strength to strength.’
Ian Pollock
Ian Pollock’s work has been described as ‘an inspiration
to a generation’. Since leaving the Royal College of Art in
the 1970s Pollock has been at the forefront of contemporary British
Illustration. His anarchistic and uncompromising approach to his
subject matter has made him a highly respected illustrator both
in the UK and the international arena.
He has worked for most major magazines and newspapers on both sides
of the Atlantic: Rolling Stone, Playboy, Penthouse, New Yorker,
Talk, Esquire, GQ, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Elle, Country
Life, Radio Times, New Scientist, Creative Review, Design Week,
Stern, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer,
the Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph amongst others..
Other commissions include Posters for the Royal Shakespeare Company
and a set of postage stamps, Tales of Terror, for the Royal Mail.
He has numerous illustrated books to his credit, most noteworthy
being an illustrated cartoon version of Shakespeare’s King
Lear, for Oval Projects, and Milton’s Paradise Lost for the
Folio Society.
He has lectured in colleges of art throughout the country and has
enjoyed numerous one-man exhibitions most recently “The Miracles
and Parables of Christ” at the European Illustration Collection
Gallery Hull (EICH Gallery).
David Crystal
David Crystal was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland in 1963. He has
worked as literary editor of DOG, a magazine of new writing and
had his work featured in the Body and Soul exhibition at the ICA.
Just Like Frank is his second collection for Two Rivers Press.
Just Like Frank
ISBN 1 901677 30 3
price : £9.99
96 pp illustrated b/w
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