Love for Charley Harper*

Posted on May 16, 2011 by | 10 Comments

*No, not Charlie Harper. Shudder. We shall mention that name no more.

This weekend, Brittney posted her new fantastic Charley Harper wall and reminded me just how much I love Charley Harper.

For those of you who don’t know and therefore don’t love Charley Harper yet (don’t worry, you soon will), Harper was a modernist artist famous for his simple, stylized and yet highly accurate illustrations of wildlife. The zoologist in me loves how precisely and perfectly Harper captured the essence of life with as few lines as possible, the fashionista in me loves the rich colors Harper used, and the goofball in me loves how much sass Harper could make everything from a raccoon to a Euglena have.

Most people know Harper for his bird pictures:

But I love Harper for how he took the animals most people don’t adore (grubs, lizards, waterstriders, etc.) and showed how beautiful they are.

I think the only thing better than having Charley Harper on your walls would be to have Charley Harper on your person (in a totally non-dirty way, of course). Design house Celine secured the rights to five of Harper’s prints and incorporated them into their 2009 resort wear collection. Biology and style, such a perfect combination!

The shoes have fish on them!

So what do you think? I’ve seen clothing inspired by Picasso, Monet, Polluck and Mondrian; does it work with Harper’s style? And who knows where I can find those shoes?

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10 Responses to Love for Charley Harper*

  1. Allison | May 17, 2011 at 7:01 am |

    I love the prints, both for walls and for dressing. I’m off to google Harper now… his animals would be a nice addition to my elephant, frog and polar bear prints.

  2. Chalkdust and Boots | May 17, 2011 at 7:11 am |

    I want all of it. ALL OF IT. Especially the penguin dress. And the flamingo bag and – no, I want all of it.

  3. Franca | May 17, 2011 at 8:01 am |

    I’d never heard of him before, but I love the graphicness and colour of these and am really coveting the Celine dress now.!

  4. illusclaire | May 17, 2011 at 9:05 am |

    Oooo

    I think it works pretty marvellously, actually!

  5. Clare | May 17, 2011 at 9:59 am |

    Woah. I mean, just…woah. I don’t think I was familiar with his stuff before, and I think I may now be obsessed with it.

    When you first said you wanted Charley Harper on your body, I started envisioning some INCREDIBLE tattoos, and now my mind-gears are a-turning with ideas…

    • Katie | May 17, 2011 at 10:14 am |

      I hadn’t thought of tattoos, but I love it! Not for me, indecisive non-committal that I am, but on other people? Perfect. Ah, and people have done it! Google image search “Charley Harper tattoo” and a whole bunch come up.

  6. Rebekah | May 17, 2011 at 10:21 am |

    What a groovy dude. I’m still not sold on grubs, but you’ve converted me otherwise.

  7. Dad | May 17, 2011 at 12:26 pm |

    It’s a bit like the work of Paul Klee, but with a lighter touch.

  8. jesse.anne.o | May 17, 2011 at 12:41 pm |

    I have the first bird one as a print in my office. It was a release for Migratory Bird Day! :)

    I love the clothing/accessories although I suspect I wouldn’t be able to afford them.

  9. kiwidutch | May 17, 2011 at 2:22 pm |

    I’ve never heard of Charlie Harper (either of them) but the artist is FABULOUS.
    The leaf floating on the water… simple image done brilliantly and pure pure magic!!!