Gary Baseman (born 1960, Los Angeles) is an interdisciplinary artist who investigates history, heritage, and the human condition—especially love, longing, and loss. Through unique iconography and fantastical visual narratives that celebrate “the beauty of the bittersweetness of life,” his work brings together the worlds of popular culture and fine art. Recent projects include collaborations with COACH, Dr. Martens and Lladro; a documentary film “Mythical Creatures” about his family heritage; and an international traveling retrospective The Door is Always Open that featured hundreds of his paintings, photographs, videos, and toy and costume designs. Baseman’s multifaceted career includes illustration for clients including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal and the bestselling board game Cranium. Baseman is the creator and executive producer of Teacher’s Pet (ABC/Disney), a multiple Emmy and BAFTA award-winning animation series and feature film. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences on graphic and multidisciplinary arts and visual communications.

Gary Baseman and Blackie the Cat.

Gary Baseman offers you a nostalgic and eerie tribute to one of America’s favorite holidays through his personal collection of vintage Halloween pictures. 

In Nightmares of Halloween Past, Gary Baseman presents for the first time his unique collection of found vernacular Halloween-themed pictures collected over the last 20 years. Here, you can discover photos he has gathered at flea markets, garage sales, and thrift stores, all presented in this dark and eerie photobook of adults and children on All Hallows’ Eve.

The photos compiled here speak a thousand words and inspire a thousand more questions. What might first appear scary will soon become endearing when you realize that the people under the ghoulish masks and macabre costumes are smiling and having fun. 

SPECIFICATION

•  Cover: Hard cover with selective varnish
•  Interior paper: Conda Matt 150 g 
•  Pagination: 288 colors pages with selective varnish
•  Format: 7.7 × 9.8" / 196 × 250 cm

The book features over 300 photographs from the past and 20 of Baseman's paintings inspired by Halloween, including some never seen before that he created especially for the book.

Table of Contents.

It also includes three new texts written by Gary Baseman and two exclusive essays:

The Story of Halloween Costumes by Phyllis Galembo (Artist and Guggenheim fellow, photographically documents cultural, religious traditions and the transformative power of ritual dress in Africa and the Americas.)

Masks and Exposures: Halloween Snapshots from the Baseman Collection by Catherine Zuromskis (Associate Professor Photography and Visual Culture at Rochester Institute of Technology.)

What a better month than October to fund such an incredible Halloween project? 

In addition to this magical and unique book, we are offering you the opportunity to acquire two products designed by Gary Baseman and 3 original drawings only available during this campaign.

A set of 3 enamel pins which represent 3 of Gary's favorite Halloween characters : a skeleton, a pumpkin, and of course a black cat. (Final design to be revealed)

A beautiful 70 cm (27.5") cotton scarf made in France. (Final design to be revealed)

3 original drawings done specially for the campaign by Gary Baseman (colored pencil on paper, 7 × 5”, 2021. Unframed).

5 Books pack for booksellers and retailers.

Everyone who pledges for a copy of the book will also receive bonus rewards if the campaign reaches certain funding targets. 

We ship worldwide! ⚠️ Shipping + eventual countries/states taxes will be charged via the pledge manager after the campaign.

All rewards will be sent out at the same time (both signed and unsigned). However, if there is a very high number of backers, please keep in mind that it will take us a few days to work our way through packaging all the rewards.

Risks and challenges

Gary Baseman is an international renowned artist who has worked and continues to work with dozens of companies around the world. TwoFauns is a new publishing house that was created by world renowned editors and artistic directors, each with ten plus years in the business. Over those years, they have collaborated with some of the greatest contemporary artists of our time to produce books, toys, and personalized objects. Rest assured that with their industry knowledge and expertise, especially regarding the printing world, the book Nigthmares of Halloween Past will quickly become one of the treasures of your library. Please feel free to ask all your questions at publishing@twofauns.com