French Boys Do It Better
March 19th, 2007 Posted by V
And by French boys, I mean the team behind Clark Magazine. Being an avid Fluokids’ hound, I kept finding snippits of Clark, but had zero success in obtaining it. How could this amazing magazine that hosted weekly parties and had a shoe collaboration with Le Coq Sportif in the works be so difficult to get my greedy paws on? I pondered this and came to two conclusions. Either 1) Clark is fairly obscure in France or 2) The U.S. is again, culturally behind. At any rate, I finally convinced a nice French internet lad to send me a copy. I think I will make it my personal mission to get Clark carried on U.S. soil.
I’m a huge fan of the Picasso of Graphic Design, Parra. Parra’s typography, figures, use of color and witty slogans are a constant inspiration for me, and a great example of how modern illustration can be hip and simple, but also more complex than skulls and antlers (see my Death to Design rant). Parra is the Art Director for Clark Magazine and pretty much the entire reason I spent the better part of two months attempting to track it down. As far as content goes, I cannot read French but Clark seems to be along the lines of a Beautiful Decay or Anthem type magazine. Vinyl toys, artist features, lots of musician profiles, etc. Clark is your standard hipster art & culture magazine, wrapped up in a well-illustrated little Parra blanket.
…and Judging by their myspace page, the Clark boys know how to throw a party. I’d quite like to roll up in that shit VIP style.
Tagged: Art, Clark Magazine, culture, fashion, fluokids, France, mag.nificent, magazines, parra, streetwear
10 Comments Add your own
1. brad | March 19th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
looks like a dope mag you let me know if you get it into the states. thx.
2. Tait | March 20th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Glad to see that art direction actually means ‘direction of art’ inside the pages of Clark. Beautiful magazine, wish I could read French.
3. J. / Onemancult | March 20th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Clark is an excellent magazine, I’ve had the chance to flip through a couple of issues and it is simply a treat to take in.
Maybe I should learn French…. would also help with all
the interviews in my Purple magazines that I can’t ever read.
(Especially the recent piece on one of my favorite directors/poets/icons, Pasolini !)
4. V | March 21st, 2007 at 8:45 am
Yeah I’ve been thinking I should learn French too, as well as Japanese.
How is Purple? I was browsing it online and thinking of picking it up for the blog. (Especially since a recent issue had a feature on Vincent Gallo.)
5. J. / Onemancult | March 21st, 2007 at 7:18 pm
You should have been reading Purple since a long time ago, Ms. X. Get on it!
6. Miami | March 22nd, 2007 at 9:14 am
Hey evrybody. Just to let you know that Parra is not the permanent AD for Clark. He just designed the issue you can see here.
The latest issue cover is designed by french genius Akroe and can be bought online here :
http://www.arcademode.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=254
Thanks for your support. Vive la France !
7. V | March 22nd, 2007 at 9:23 am
Thanks for the correction Miami!
I can’t read French at all.
And thanks for the link….I will DEFINITELY be picking up more issues in the future!
8. okat | March 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Parra’s work is beautiful. I had the pleasure of collaborating with him on one of our t-shirts: The Finger
and I’m pleased to say he’s in town (Miami) this evening for a private showing. I’ll try and post pics this week of his exhibition. Cheers.
9. yottoy | March 23rd, 2007 at 7:59 am
love it! i actually got someone to buy it for me after you mentioned it some time ago
10. mag.nificent » More&hellip | April 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
[…] A few weeks ago I wrote up the French magazine Clark and guest Art Director—and one of my favorite artists of the moment— Parra. Blog reader Okat of Are You Generic? was kind enough to send in some images from a small Parra showing recently at Arrive in Miami. I am totally adoring the Fuck the System piece. I can never decide whether I appreciate Parra’s illustration style or wit more. They definitely compliment one another perfectly. […]
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