Inspiring Artist – James Van Der Zee

One of the coolest things about the library, the bookstore, record store, or just stepping out into life is the happy mistakes. It’s when you find someone or something that you didn’t intend to find. Case in point, I was searching for one book the day I found another; the Book of the Dead by James Van Der Zee (1886-1983). I’m not going to go into the full history of the incredible photographer but you can look up videos or books about him. He took some amazing and haunting photos of soldiers, weddings, musicians, dancers, his city of Harlem, and the dead. Check out some of the photos I can find on a search. I still have 1 or 2 of his images in a sketchbook of mine from 15 or 20 years ago.

Inspiring Artist: This is a way for me to share some of the artists who inspire me both dead and alive. Check out their work.

The last artist I mentioned was Alberto Mielgo (Nsfw).