This event premieres on November 9, at 6pm PST/9pm EST
REGISTER/PURCHASE BOOK
$32 includes a book with signed bookplate (shipping included and books ship week of October 19)
From former Talking Heads frontman and multimedia visionary David Byrne and revered bestselling author, illustrator, and artist Maira Kalman–an inspiring celebration in words and art of the connections between us all. The Spike Lee film adaptation of the Broadway hit American Utopia airs on HBO in Fall 2020.
David Byrne is a Scottish-born Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and co-founder of Talking Heads. He has been the recipient of many awards, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe. The author of How Music Works, Bicycle Diaries and The New Sins, Byrne lives in New York City. He has a daughter and a grandson.
Maira Kalman is an illustrator, an author, and a designer. She is the author of And the Pursuit of Happiness and The Principles of Uncertainty. She is the illustrator of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules and the bestselling edition of William Strunk and E. B. White’s The Elements of Style. Kalman’s work is shown at the Julie Saul Gallery in Manhattan. She lives in New York City and has a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren
Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. After making a bunch of cool things for the internet, he now writes books and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
“This selection of Byrne’s lyrics accompanied by Kalman’s illustrations captures the spirit of the show. As readers page through the book and savor the words, the pictures fairly leap off the page. Byrne’s afterword sums it up best: “Here is the hope and joy that I believe emanates from the show itself in something you can hold in your hands.” VERDICT Whether or not readers are fans of Byrne, they’ll enjoy this colorful and playful presentation.” ―Library Journal
A joyful collaboration between old friends David Byrne and Maira Kalman, American Utopia offers readers an antidote to cynicism, bursting with pathos, humanism, and hope–featuring his words and lyrics brought to life with more than 150 of her colorful paintings.
The text is drawn from David Byrne’s American Utopia, which has become a hit Broadway show and is soon to be a documentary from Spike Lee. The four-color artwork, by Maira Kalman, which she created for the Broadway show’s curtain, is composed of small moments, expressions, gestures, and interactions that together offer a portrait of daily life and coexistence.
With their creative talents combined, American Utopia is a salvo for kindness and a call for jubilation, a reminder to sing, dance, and waste not a moment. Beautifully designed and edited by Alex Kalman, American Utopia is a balm for the soul from two of the world’s most extraordinary artists.