Customer Reviews

As I See: The Fantastic World of Boris Artzybasheff

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Boris Artzybasheff was best known for his magazine work -- both cover illustrations and, especially, advertising art. Single original pages of his ads from Time and Life, dating from the 1940's through the early 1960's, regularly sell on eBay for $10 to $15. To the best of my knowledge, though, the only book ever published that consisted entirely of Artzybasheff art was his "As I See."

For a long time, this volume has been nearly impossible to find, and when found, tended to demand an astronomical price. It has now finally been reissued in a remarkably inexpensive edition.

To describe Artzybasheff's style as "surreal" is to oversimplify. I suggest you do a Google image search to see examples of his work. Then jump on this new edition of "As I See" before it goes out of print.

If you like Basil Wolverton, early Mad, M.C. Escher, surrealism, the Marx Bros.,and out-of-the-ordinary genius, you really need this book; cheap at the price!

Boris Artzybasheff was born in the Ukraine, fought with the White forces in Russia and moved to the US in 1919. In the early days here he illustrated books (over 50), including Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji, which won the Newbery Medal in 1928. "As I See" was originally written by Artzybasheff, and used copies sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. This superb re-issue is sure to become a collector's item when it no longer is in print.

I grew up with Artzybasheff's art without actually knowing that it was his art. We subscribed to "Life", "Fortune", and "Time" and he illustrated many of the covers, including more than 200 "Time Magazine" covers between 1941 and 1965. He illustrated many advertisements' I remember ads for Xerox, Shell Oil, Pan Am, Scotch Tape and Parker Pens. And, as a stamp collector I was so impressed with his R. Buckminster Fuller stamp that I bought a full sheet in 2004.

Artzybasheff writes in the Introduction from As I See: "I am thrilled by machinery's force, precision and willingness to work at any task, no matter how arduous or monotonous it may be. I would rather watch a thousand ton dredge dig a canal than see it done by a thousand spent slaves lashed into submission. I like machines."

His images of people have a mechanical aspect while retaining the essence of the subject's personality. Even more impressive, his images of machines often have a human character. One World War II image that sticks in my memory shows a cringing bomber with its engines "clenched" like fists, while a grinning fighter plane dives down, machine guns sharp and gleaming from its wings.

I've included a short bibliography in the first Comment; search Google images for Artzybasheff to see for yourself. If the images don't enchant you, nothing I can write will convince you to purchase this book. Otherwise, don't miss it.

Robert C. Ross 2008

If you are an artist with an interest in surrealism, or a cartoonist who would like to see examples of translating the most complex intellectual concepts into pictorial form then this is a must see...

The work is staggeringly competent and intellectually complete. Such a shame that this man worked in the commerical world rather than the rarified air of the fine arts as he will probably remain obscure as a consequence.

I got hooked on Artzybasheff's art during World War II, when he was lambasting the Axis dictators in many of the books and magazines then circulating. Tried to save all of them, but most got lost thru bugs, flooded cellars, and other natural disasters. This book recaptures the fun I got from his unique take on humans and machines. I recommend it for the novice Artzy collector and for those who may have otherwise missed getting his earliest works. I also encourage you to get many of his color advertisements now available online from many sellers ... they will truly give you a better appreciation for his artistry. Keep collectin' Artzy. Ed Lane

I've been a fan of Boris Artzybasheff ever since I can remember, so I was very excited to see that this book had been reprinted. It is a real treat to see so much of his work in one place. However, I was disappointed that nearly all of the illustrations are reproduced in black and white, since I have seen some of these same illustrations printed in color in other publications. If these illustrations were reproduced in black and white in the original 1954 edition, then I have no strong complaint, since otherwise, this book is a class act. For the wish list: a collection of Artzybasheff's work that includes his later advertising work, featuring detailed studies of hands (for writing pens, I believe), his phenomenal Lycoming powerplant renderings, and his numerous Time magazine covers . . . in color, of course.

This is the definitive book of Boris Arzybasheff's work. I have a copy of the original edition from 1954 which is a difficult book to come by. This reprint does a fine job of capturing the exquisite details and technique of Artzybasheff's illustration style as well as displaying his rich and free wheeling imagination. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in 20th century illustration, cartooning and caricature. Artzybasheff is certainly an overlooked master. His work transcends mere illustration to the status of fine art.

This is a fairly inexpensive hardcover and I really enjoy this artist's work.
Some of the images are reproduced well enough but the full page illustrations are plagued with moire patterns. It's tempting to point a finger at the printer, but the production team may also be to blame for this.

The "fantastic" in the title covers both the amazing fantasy in the art as well as the quality of the drawings. I have already gone slowly through the book twice.

Amazon sent me a "new" copy of this book with covers seriously bowed. I recommend Artzybasheff, but suggest seeing this book before buying. Buyer beware.