Beauty's Embarrassin'! The Art of Wayne White

Ever since discovering that he was responsible for one of my favorite record covers of all time, I've been a huge fan of Wayne White.  He gets a lot of comparisons to Ed Ruscha, and the compliment is deserved.  White shares Ruscha's iconic use of text, especially in the juxtaposition with starkly non-lingual landscapes.  He scavenges cheap 70's thrift store lithographs and deftly inserts bold, colorful typography—words and abstract phrases that appear as though they live within the landscapes, and yet stand out conspicuously and abstractly from the surrounding scenes.

There is something utterly striking about his work. And he has quite a background as well: he's done cartoons for The New York Times, worked on Pee Wee's Playhouse, and provided art direction for the videos for "Big Time" and "Tonight, Tonight."

Here are a few more of his pieces:

For a limited time, you can purchase an Altoids tin featuring White's art from the New Museum.