Search - Don Van Vilet, Don Van (AKA Captain Beefheart) Vliet, Don Van Vliet :: Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh

Item Discriptions

J. S. Smith | Chili, NY | 07/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Includes an original, signed color etching. Van Vliet produced only 1,500 copies of the piece, one for each individually numbered copy of this Artist Ink Edition from Rhino Handmade.

Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart was a visual artist before he was a musician. As a young child he drew seriousaccolades for his animal sculptures and was offered a scholarship to study in Europe. His parents declined; and while continuing to create in the visual medium, Van Vliet turned his attention to music, within ten years forming the firstincarnation of the legendary experimental outfit Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. The following 15 years are music

history. But in 1983 Van Vliet retired from music to pursue painting and drawing, the focus of this extraordinary boxed set. RidingSome Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh, named after a painting the artist completed in 1987, provides an opportunity to own

one of his original, signed color etchings. Executed on paper and cataloged as Untitled (Self-Portrait), the work measures 6 5/8" x 9 1/2". The paper itself measures 7 7/8" x 10 1/2". Van Vliet produced only 1,500 copies of the piece, one for each individually numbered copy of this Artist Ink Edition from Rhino Handmade.

A deluxe 9 1/4" x 12 3/4" x 2 3/4" slipcase carefully houses the etching as well as two museum-quality books, a CD, and a DVD.

The first book, entitled Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh (88 pages), is a monograph of sorts, containing an essay by art historian Ben Watson and full-color reproductions of 60 of Van Vliet's paintings and drawings, some of them previously unpublished.

The second book, entitled Splinters (96 pages), features portrait photos of the artist by Anton Corbijn, along with a selection of personal archival material supplied by Don and Jan Van Vliet-including family snapshots, newspaper clippings, drawings, and sketches. None of this material has been seen.

The CD features the artist reading 11 of his previously unreleased spoken-word pieces, which are also reprinted in the Splinters book. Spanning 1977-1999, these readings have been personally selected by Don and Jan Van Vliet.

The DVD features Some YoYo Stuff, a 1994 filmed observation by Anton Corbijn."