Picture Book
To see or not to see
By Audra Schroeder, Fri., Dec. 4, 2009
Monsters: Pro and Con
by Jad FairIt's a Beautiful Day
by Jad FairJump for Joy
by Jad FairManor's resident alien isn't just out there tending to the horses; he's a paper factory. Three new books of paper cuttings – what Fair does when he's not performing with Half Japanese or touring or recording or exhibiting – explore his obsessions through hand-cut intricacy. It's painstaking work, the kind you have to really look at, let your eyes soften, like for a Magic Eye poster. Monsters, a Fair favorite, features a dizzying number of vaguely menacing/cute black and white cuts, while Jump for Joy's colorful heart-shaped prints achieve inspirational folk art. (The Three Stooges one is choice.) It's a Beautiful Day is the better half of Monsters, filled with square-eyed birds, wavy vines, and flat-footed dogs, no doubt inspired by his range life. Put them all together, and it's like the inside of Fair's brain came tumbling out. www.jadfair.com.
