Invented Magazines – Duncan Hannah

I was only 14 (in 1967) when I saw the 1959 New Wave classic Breathless at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, intrigued by a cover story about Belmondo in Life magazine. It kicked off a passion for foreign films that has remained for over 50 years. The 70’s was a particularly good period for Euro-Cinema, and I would follow my celluloid heroes in the magazines, such as Continental Film Review (England), Cine Revue (France), Playmen (Italy) and many, many others. When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, I locked down in Cornwall, Ct. I needed a project to sustain me, since all my usual distractions and diversions had vanished. I opened my magazine collection trunk, and went through them, flagging possible subjects for paintings. I loved the European printing colors, the various typographies, the lay-outs, etc. Covers were always the best. I decided to start a series of highly subjective dream magazine covers featuring my favorite actors. A form of Pop-Art, relating to the series of classic Penguin paintings I did earlier in this century. “Paint what you love” has long been my motto. I often (but not always) used logos of real magazines (mostly now defunct) juxtaposed with my own cavalcade of stars, much as a juvenile (or “fan-boy”) would. ” – Duncan Hannah “What I love about the series is how the fantasy isn’t really about just this cinematic paradise and it’s gorgeous habitues. The magazine cover as a portal is what’s most important. Looking at these paintings makes me think about that specifically teenage feeling of yearning for the world through the newsstand. Which doesn’t really exist for kids today. Or anyone really. So the playful nostalgia is double and triple.” -Arthur Fournier Duncan, a frequent collaborator and good friend, died quite suddenly in the early summer just after finalizing the edit for this publication.