cover image The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Art of Alan Aldridge

The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Art of Alan Aldridge

Alan Aldridge, . . Abrams, $35 (239pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-0596-2

Mr. Love Pants, the Gnole and England's Conservative cabinet led by Ted Heath have one thing in common: they provided fertile ground for the bizarre imagination and singular artistic sensibility of British artist Alan Aldridge. This book showcases both Aldridge's art and his larger-than-life personality. Aldridge lied his way into his first job, but eventually became the fiction cover art director for Penguin Books. But it was his concept to illustrate the lyrics of the Beatles that sent his career into the stratosphere. Vignettes from a charmed life crawl their way through 421 four-color illustrations—a mélange of psychedelic album covers, racy advertisements, boisterous children's books and memorable logos. In a series of brief autobiographical sermons, Aldridge describes extraordinary encounters with every kind of prophet, from Paul McCartney to an Indian guru. In one particularly vivid tale, Salvador Dalí challenges him to a drawing duel in an airport bar. The book's cacophonous design complements Aldridge's wildest creations and is suitably constructed to inspire newly minted designers, wannabe pop-art apprentices and fans of psychedelia. (Mar.)