'The Adventures of Jodelle'. English-language version.
Guy Peellaert was a Belgian illustrator, pop art painter, photographer, animator and comic artist. He gained cult fame with his glamorized portrayals of rock stars, spearheaded by the book 'Rock Dreams' (1974). Peellaert designed album covers for many musicians, most famously David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' (1974) and The Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n 'Roll' (1974). He was also a prolific film poster artist, particularly for Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders. Early in his career, Peellaert also drew a few psychedelic comic series: 'Les Aventures de Jodelle' (1966), 'Pravda, La Survireuse' (1967), 'The Game' (1968) and 'SHE and the Green Hairs' (1968).
Early life and career
Guy Louis Peellaert was born in 1934 in the Belgian capital Brussels. His father worked was a businessman within the coal mining industry. Despite being born in a rich, bourgeois family, Peellaert favored becoming an artist. He studied Decorative Arts at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, where he excelled in mural paintings. Peellaert was a rebellious teenager, who didn't conform to his father's strict upbringing. At age 13, he was deliberately sent to a Jesuit boarding school to be disciplined, but through negotiation by his mother, he was able to study Decorative Arts at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, where he excelled in mural paintings. Still, he dropped out in the fourth of the required seven academy years. In 1953, when Peellaert and his father had a serious argument, he at a certain moment hit his father in an emotional impulse, left home and broke all ties with his family.
In 1953, Peellaert joined a voluntary military mission to fight during the Korean War (1950-1953). The war was already ending by the time he arrived in Korea. In February 1954, he saw a live performance by Marilyn Monroe for the U.S. troops. He and his fellow soldiers also visited Japan. Back in civilian life in 1955, he worked as an assistant set and costume designer in the Belgian National Theater in Brussels, helping out fashion designer Denis Martin on the side. From 1957 on, Peellaert was active for the Belgian branch of Max Factor make-up products. Here he learned how to make pictures of models more more appealing, techniques that would later become useful in his own art. In 1960, Peellaert quit his monotonous job, because it limited his creativity. He decided to become an advertising illustrator. In 1963, Peellaert designed the annual calendar of the Belgian national airline company Sabena. Peellaert additionally made many designs for the Walloon public TV channel RTB, most of which promoted broadcasts of jazz concerts.
Pop art style
Like so many people in the West who had been liberated by U.S. military forces after World War II, Peellaert was very receptive to its myth as the "land of opportunity". He embraced the U.S. flood of trendy fashion, large cars, Hollywood movies and promotion of consumption society. Paging through U.S. magazines like Collier's Weekly, Life, National Geographic and the Saturday Evening Post was like entering a different, more exciting world. He loved the publicity photos, but also marvellous illustrators, like Thomas Hart Benton and Reginald Marsh, and painters like Edward Hopper. Apart from the U.S., Peellaert also admired the art of German artist John Heartfield, French poster artist Raymond Savignac and, from his own country: René Magritte.
Peellaert particularly loved film posters, which he often saw on display in local theaters. In France, the government tried to regulate this influx of U.S. pop culture, but in Belgium these restrictions didn't exist. Peellaert could therefore watch many Hollywood pictures in Antwerp and Brussels film theaters that didn't play in France. In fact, a majority of film posters distributed all over the world were produced by Belgian illustrators. The stylized, glamorous artwork was often better than the actual movies they promoted. Film actors were given an otherwordly, mythical appearance. The lifestyle depicted in the artwork had a dreamy quality. Likewise, Peellaert identified strongly with the freedom of movie characters to do whatever they wanted and go on thrilling adventures. He even named his son Orson, after Hollywood actor and film director Orson Welles.
In the late 1950s, Peellaert discovered time was at his side. A new exciting musical style emerged from the U.S.: rock 'n' roll. Just like film stars, rock musicians were also elevated to divine status through thrilling publicity photos and concert posters. The loud, upbeat sounds of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and others were a soundtrack to his urge to break with conformity. Almost simultaneously, pop art elevated all the "low brow" art Peellaert loved into "high art". Artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein reproduced the familiarity of advertising products and media stars in an ironic context, emphasizing the artificiality of the imagery. Soon, he too adapted the pop art style, making airbrush and pastel paintings and illustrations. By 1967, he moved to Paris, where he was active as advertising illustrator and set designer for the local Casino and the cabaret 'Crazy Horse'. In 1969, he also worked in Germany, after which he finally moved to the United States for several years.
'Pravda, La Survireuse'.
Comics career
Between 1966 and 1970, Peellaert made several comics serialized in François Cavanna's controversial French magazine Hara-Kiri (the predecessor of Charlie Hebdo). At the time, Hara-Kiri was notorious for their black comedy and anti-authoritarian stance: the French government banned it in 1960 and 1966. Yet Peellaert's comics had a different approach. They were made in a contemporary psychedelic and pop art style evoking the free-spiritedness of the decade rather than just break taboos.
Les Aventures de Jodelle
In 1966, Peellaert's first comic strip, 'Les Aventures de Jodelle' was serialized in Hara-Kiri, scripted by Belgian journalist Pierre Bartier (7 October 1945 - 2006). The title character and overall style were obviously inspired by Jean-Claude Forest's 'Barbarella'. Like Barbarella, Jodelle is a young, sexy, long-haired woman who enjoys adventures in strange environments, with lots of gratuitous nudity and eroticism. Peellaert modelled Jodelle's looks after French singer Sylvie Vartan. True to the counterculture of the time period, the comic satirized symbols of the more old-fashioned and repressive mainstream culture, such as Pope Paul VI, Jesus Christ and presidents Charles De Gaulle and Lyndon B. Johnson.
'Les Aventures de Jodelle' was published in book format by Eric Losfeld. The comic was also translated in English, German and Italian, receiving excellent reviews by none other than novelist Umberto Eco (of 'The Name of the Rose' fame) and film director Federico Fellini, who described Peellaert's oeuvre as "the literature of intelligence, fantasy and romanticism". Pierre Bartier would later gain additional fame as co-scriptwriter of Picha's animated features, including 'Tarzoon - The Shame of the Jungle' (1975).
Pravda, La Survireuse
Between January and December 1967, a new psychedelic comic by Peellaert was serialized in Hara-Kiri, but with a different scriptwriter, journalist Pascal Thomas (who'd later gain fame as a film director). Titled 'Pravda, La Survireuse', the comic was a sequel to 'Les Aventures de Jodelle', made in the same style. Again Pradva is an attractive sexy young woman whom the reader follows on a series of surreal adventures. Peellaert modelled Pravda's looks after French singer Françoise Hardy, while her name nods to the Soviet newspaper Pravda (Russian for 'Truth'). However, since Peellaert felt 'Jodelle' was "too sentimental and derivative", he made 'Pravda' more experimental and provocative. Pravda goes on a road trip to the U.S., meeting bikers, transforming into a black panther and having more erotic encounters on the way.
'Pravda, La Survireuse' was also published in book form by Éric Losfeld and translated in Dutch, German, English and Italian. Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger was photographed with a poster of Pravda in the background. Film director Jean-Luc Godard once expressed interest in adapting 'Pravda' to the big screen. In 1980, Peellaert would draw a sequel, 'Le Retour de Pravda La Survireuse', published in the first issue of the magazine Virus.
Images from Peellaert's comic 'Pravda' have been featured on the cover of 'Back From World War III' (1999) by the rock band Jack Meatbeat and the U.G.S. and 'Make It Happen' (2000) by Play Group. Fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac incorporated 'Pravda' imagery in his fashion collection 'Physical Graffiti' (2002).
Additional comics
Hara-Kiri published other comics by Peellaert, namely 'The Game' (January-September 1968) and - in collaboration with Roger Wolfs - 'SHE and the Green Hairs' (1968). Both were followed up by the story 'Carashi!' (August 1969 - March 1970) and the one-shot comic 'Martha Benton' (June 1970). All stories were compiled in the book 'The Game - Stories 1968-1970' (Prairie, October 2018).
'The Adventures of Jodelle'. English-language version.
Rock 'n' roll art
Peellaert is most famous for his airbrush paintings of rock legends. Between 1970 and 1973, he made over 125 canvases depicting iconic rock and pop musicians in fantasy situations. The artwork is often based on publicity photos, which Peellaert cut out of numerous magazines. The pictures were then enlarged and modified into collages. In the best pop art tradition, the imagery in his paintings borders between being "cool" and ironic. A prime example is a still from the movie 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964) of The Beatles running, to which he added a policeman chasing them. Other paintings bring musicians together who never met one another (all in the same place). Some paintings references specific songs (Otis Redding literally "sitting in the dock of a bay"). Yet sometimes Guy Peellaert puts them into situations that, like real dreams, are just surreal and don't tie in with anything remotedly associated with their public image at all. The Rolling Stones, for instance, are depicted in Nazi uniforms, standing among naked prepubescent girls. Paul Anka is featured in an advertising comic, titled 'Overweight? Out of Shape? A Failure With The Girls?', promoting bodybuilding techniques to improve one's physique. And Ray Charles is shown behind the wheel of a classy car, with a sexy girl resting on his chest.
Peellaert's paintings reached a worldwide audience after being compiled into the book 'Rock Dreams' (Popular Library, 1974, reprinted in 2003 by Taschen), with texts by British rock journalist Nik Cohn. The book was a global bestseller. John Lennon framed its cover, depicting him sitting in a diner with other rock icons. Hollywood actor Jack Nicholson bought several of Peellaert's original paintings. Peellaert gained such a cult reputation that in 1974 Elle Magazine named him the "Michelangelo of Pop". One painting, depicting Frank Sinatra as a newspaper article with the headline 'Frankie Goes Hollywood', would later inspire the name of 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, best-known for their hit song 'Relax'. Another well-known musician who expressed his love for 'Rock Dreams' is Elliott Murphy: "Rock Dreams is still a “must” for anyone who takes this music to heart. To this day, I have a copy in my bookshelf (or at least it was there before we began renovating my apartment last summer and my wife packed all my precious stuff away into boxes) and I can’t resist pulling it out and perusing through it each time I pass."
Throughout his career, Peellaert would make many similar paintings, compiled into prestigious coffee table art books. For 'Vegas. The Big Room' (1986), Peellaert travelled to Las Vegas for inspiration. It struck him how this glitzy city is essentially one fake dream. Interviewed by John May for The Guardian (22 October 1986), Peellaert said: "(...) In Vegas I made a list of about 300 people who made a city and finally there's no miracle because it's like a big hotel lounge where everybody comes in, out, with their luggage. their problems, their dreams. They all went there and so they are somehow tied to each other." Some of the celebrities depicted in the book are Liberace, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles and gangster Bugsy Siegel, who founded the city. Originally musician Tom Waits was approached to write texts for 'Vegas. The Big Room', but eventually he passed the honor to journalist Michael Herr.
With 'Dreams of the 20th Century' (1999), Peellaert and Cohn collaborated again, this time depicting 20th-century politicians (Richard Nixon), activists (Muhammad Ali) and socialites (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) in surreal combinations. Peellaert's final art book was 'Fashion Dreams' (2008). Made for Next, the cultural supplement of the paper Libération, 'Fashion Dreams' glorified musicians like Madonna and Tina Turner.
Album cover art
On the waves of his cult fame as "rock illustrator", Peellaert became much in demand as album cover illustrator. He designed the cover of David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' (1974), depicting the rock chameleon as a dog hybrid. The image was inspired by a publicity photo by Terry O'Neill, depicting David Bowie seated next to a dog jumping up. In his painting, Peellaert depicted Bowie-the-dog with a nonchalantly portrayed penis, which freaked out the record company so much that they airbrushed the genitalia from the original print. Peellaert felt the executives' unwanted and pathetic castration of his work was "very sad", but the controversy did attract more attention for the album. Decades later, Peellaert also designed Bowie's 'Bowie at the Beeb' (2000). Other artists who designed record covers for Bowie have been Neon Park and Derek Boshier.
Bowie was first introduced to Peellaert's work when he visited Mick Jagger's house, who owned several original canvases. When Jagger told Bowie that he had commissioned Peellaert to design an album cover for them, Bowie instantly rushed to contact Peellaert too and let him create the cover for 'Diamond Dogs', so he could release it first. Interviewed in Playboy (1975), Bowie reflected: "Mick was silly. I mean, he should never have shown me anything new. I went over to his house and he had all these Guy Peellaert pictures around and said, “What do you think of this guy?” I told him I thought he was incredible. So I immediately phoned him up. Mick’s learned now, as I’ve said. He will never do that again. You’ve got to be a bastard in this business." Peellaert's design for the next Rolling Stones album, 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' (1974), depicts the band among a crowd of adoring women and children in ancient robes, while descending the stairs of a Greek temple. Other artists who illustrated Rolling Stones album covers have been Steven Thomas, Andy Warhol and their own drummer: Charlie Watts.
Peellaert also livened up record sleeves for Willy DeVille ('Horse of A Different Color, 1999) and Astor Piazzolla ('Tanguedia de Amor', 1989). For French bands and musicians, he designed album covers for Guy Béart ('Béart Chante L'Espace', 1968), Étienne Daho ('Pour Nos Vies Martiennes', 1988), Jacques Loussier ('Jeu de Massacre', 1967), Second Sex ('Petite Mort', 2008) and Les Variations ('Café de Paris', 1975). He also illustrated the cover of 'Wandatta' (1996) by Portuguese-Belgian singer Lio.
Cover art for David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' (1974) album. Bowie's dog-like genitalia were notoriously airbrushed out on some prints.
Film posters
By the mid-1970s, Peellaert started creating film posters too, among others for Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' (1976), Francis Ford Coppola's 'One From The Heart' (1982) and 'The Outsiders' (1983), Stephen Frears' 'My Beautiful Laundrette' (1985) and Robert Altman's 'Short Cuts' (1994). The majority promoted the pictures of Wim Wenders, including 'Der Amerikanische Freund' ('The American Friend', 1977), 'Paris/Texas' (1984) and 'Der Himmel über Berlin' ('Wings Of Desire', 1987). When Wenders and Peellaert first met, the director said that much of the imagery in 'Der Amerikanische Freund' was directly inspired by Peellaert's use of Americana in his art.
Graphic contributions and recognition
Peellaert animated the opening titles and other cartoons for Alain Jessua's film 'Jeu de Massacre' (1967). In 1982, he designed the end credits for the film discussion show 'Cinéma, Cinémas' on the French TV channel Antenne 2.
In 1969, Peellaert's first exhibition was held in Frankfurt am Main. His art has been exhibited all over the globe, in galleries in New York, Havana, Paris and Tokyo.
Final years, death and legacy
Despite his global fame, Peellaert wasn't as revered in his home country. Serious art galleries considered his work too kitschy and commercial. Only two months before he died, the Belgian sister magazines Focus Knack and Le Vif commissioned him to make 10 portraits of iconic Belgian musicians. Peellaert picked out Bobbejaan Schoepen, Soeur Sourire, Arno Hintjens, Jacques Brel, dEUS, Plastic Bertrand, Front 242 and 2ManyDjs, among others. The portraits were printed in the 24 September 2008 issues.
Already having transplanted his two kidneys in 2003 and 2005, Peellaert was diagnosed with cancer, from which he succombed in 2008, at age 74. Only then was his work exhibited in his home country for the first time. When asked whether he feared death, Peellaert replied: "I'm not bothered about death. Not having any passion while you're alive, that's the terrible thing."
Guy Peellaert's pop art comics inspired Dutch authors Lo Hartog van Banda and Thé Tjong-Khing's psychedelic and sensual comic strip 'Iris' (1968), widely considered the first Dutch graphic novel. In Brazil, Peellaert's comics also inspired Daniel Azulay's 'Capitão Cipó' (1968-1969), Jim Rugg, Jacques Tardi and Wakana Yamazaki. 'Pravda' was also parodied by Christophe Blain in the comic strip 'Une Fille' (2008).
From the cover of 'Rock Dreams'. From left ro right: Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and David Bowie.