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Chusid’s latest project, however, presents an artist with undeniable and unforgettable talent: the amazing illustrator Jim Flora. In the 1940s and ‘50s, Flora drew the most utterly bizarre and magnetic album covers for Columbia and RCA Victor. Childlike yet sinister, chaotic yet balanced, playful yet weird, Flora’s work was utterly unique in his time and now stands as a lasting influence on current "low-brow" artists such as Shag, Gary Baseman, and Tim Biskup. Unfortunately, his work was also considered to be "throw-away" art, made for hire and not meant to be saved. Why store original album-cover art when it was already printed on thousands of albums? It was meant to sell products, not hang in museums. Thus, just like the pulp cover paintings before it, much of Flora’s artwork was tossed into the trash. Consequently, the publication of Chusid’s The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora (Fantagraphics) is no small achievement. It’s the first comprehensive collection of Flora’s art ever, as Chusid bought or borrowed every published scrap he could find, from Flora’s student work for Little Man Press to his later commercial work for magazines. But it is his album covers that truly stand out, and almost every known example is included in the book. Chusid also includes interviews and profiles of the artist, and they reveal a truly inspiring life. The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora is the most important pop-culture art book to be published in the last several years. Here, Chusid tells us why outsider music (and outsider album art) is so important to him.
How did you first become interested in "outsider" music? Probably in 1978, when my buddy R. Stevie Moore played the Shaggs LP for me. He had an original copy, obtained from his uncle, Harry Palmer, who saw the group in Fremont around 1970. Of course, we couldn't stop laughing at the Shaggs' spastic arrangements and club-footed rhythms. It was funny, but we never doubted the group's sincerity. We also knew the story, from HP, so we had some insight in the album's creative process. It alerted me to the existence of this alternate musical universe–which was still two decades away from having a name. How do you go about hunting for these records, and what do you look for? I used to trawl second-hand culture for it–yard sales, National Council of Jewish Women thrift stores, flea markets, used record shops, my friends' unwanted sonic debris, abandoned collections. But I grew bleary-eyed sorting through tons of what I consider "landfill" to discover a few overlooked gems. Nowadays, thanks to my undeserved high-profile celebrity status as a free-form WFMU disk jockey and a hack author, people SEND me recordings of contenders. I get CDs and CDRs, vinyl, web links, MP3s and literature–some disconnected souls even send cassettes!–more than I can possibly review in a normal week. It's flattering and convenient to get this sort of solicitude. But it's also overwhelming, beholding shoeboxes of unreviewed submissions that clutter the apartment and compete for shelf space with essential kitchen appliances. I've got a 9"-high stack of 45s purchased at the last three WFMU semi-annual record fairs–and I never seem to have time to listen to them. Nevertheless, if someone has a particular outsider musician they'd like to call to my attention, they can contact me through the keyofz.com website. What
makes a particular album an example of "outsider" music, Some je ne sais quoi. You know it when you hear it–because you want to hear it again. There's always a fresh quality about it. The best outsider music has a distinct identity. Mediocrity, by definition, isn't distinctive.
Why do you think these artists are worth hearing? Passion, soul, idiosyncratic ideas, sincere self-expression, guilelessness. What was the first Jim Flora cover that you saw? "Inside Sauter-Finegan." I bought it in the early 1970s at a tag sale, strictly for the cover. Probably paid fifty cents for it, or a quarter. I took it home and hung it on the wall. To this day, I haven't listened to the record inside. What makes Flora different from other album artists of his day? A recognizable style, a great sense of mischief. Do
you think he considered his album work to be They didn't reflect the album content the way, say, David Stone Martin's urbane vignettes reflected the arc of jazz musicians in mid-flight. Flora's designs reflected–well, Flora. As the artist once confessed to an interviewer, "I had no idea of likeness at all. I always thought that they did their thing and it was my turn to do my thing. All I wanted to make was a piece of excitement."
Did
his artwork receive serious attention at the time, He was acclaimed in the field. There were articles written about him and he had gallery exhibits. He also had plenty of work as a freelancer during the 1950s. Album covers were just one of his pursuits. When
his style of illustration fell out of favor among art directors, By then he was writing and illustrating children's books. His style became less edgy, more mainstream. He was quite successful in the children's book field. How did you learn more about Flora? I met the man shortly before his death. I have also spoken to several folks who knew Jim–Angelynn Grant, Mike Bartalos, J.D. King, Jim's family, Gene Deitch. They all shared fond vignettes about Jim.
Did you work with him on the book, or did this occur after his passing? I started the web site while he was still alive–though he died before it went online. The book came about years later when my friend Barbara Economon began restoring the vintage album cover images in PhotoShop just to see what they'd look like cleaned up. Then my friend Ilse Driggs began working for Fantagraphics in 2003 and thought there would be interest in such a book. There was, from co-owner Gary Groth. By that time, Barbara had restored so many images that the book became a fait accompli. How
did you collect the graphics for the book? Flora lent me some images, gave me others–duplicates from his collection–and the rest came from eBay, tag sales, used record shops, vinyl conventions, and Flora fans who donated scans from their collections. Angelynn Grant had some one-of-a-kind sketches she lent us, and the Little Man Press publications were purchased from antiquarian book dealers–at exorbitant expense!
Were there illustrations you wished you could have included? Yes–the ones we haven't found yet.
Several current artists are influenced by Flora and the '50s commercial
design esthetic. It's always happened, not just now. Flora's influence has been persistent and timeless.
Why do you think what was once commercial art Styles change from generation to generation, and what was once common, or simply taken for granted, becomes scarce. People laughed at Ed Wood movies when the were made–no one took him seriously. Now, 50 years later, viewers are fascinated by his work. Not that there's any comparison between Flora and Wood–god forbid!–but decades on we tend to treasure more what no longer exists. It's part nostalgia, part respect for pioneers upon whom our current culture is based. Do you have any upcoming landmark preservation projects in the works? As a matter of fact: The Shooby Taylor Tapes
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