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Korero Books: Kustom Graphics
Hot Rods, Burlesque and Rock 'n' Roll

By Ian C. Parliament

Ger Peters. Initially imagining that corporate life was for him, Ger went to business school in The Netherlands and then had a stream of jobs, never quite fitting in - "the last time I got sacked I realised I wasn't exec material. The fact that I always got itchy fingers around a box of crayons and a piece of paper made me realise the glaringly obvious: illustration was the way to go".
He founded the aptly named Dutch Courage Graffix studio and hasn't looked back. His work is firmly in the tradition of Kustom Kulture and gravitates around automotive themes. His heroes are the usual American suspects: Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Ed "Newt" Newton, Rick Griffin and Robert Williams, but he has developed what he terms a highly individual "cartoony" style.
Now based in "the very small Dutch town" Heythuysen, Ger sometimes works in oils, enamels, ink, acrylics and markers. But the major tool is Photoshop and Illustrator on the Mac.


Sleeve text: Over the past 15 years, the art of kustom kulture has seen an explosion of energy and imagination, fuelled by a crossover of genres. Hot rod artists are now creating work for rock'n'roll bands, t-shirt designers are using the body as a canvas and creating amazing tattoos, tattoo artists are embracing tiki motifs, music poster screenprinters are adopting the raunch of burlesque in their work and skateboard artists are embracing the spirit of hot rods.
The emergence of lowbrow is a global phenomenon. The 40 top artists represented here come from East Coast, West Coast, Mid-West and Southern USA, Canada, Japan, England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Mexico and Argentina. Now highly collectable, their work can be seen in cult galleries such as La Luz de Jesus, Copro Nason and Gasoline in L.A., Roq la Rue in Seattle, the Rabbit Hole Gallery in Atlanta and the Bape Gallery in Tokyo, as well as at numerous shows around the world.
Seen together in Kustom Graphics, the sheer visual power and concentrated energy of this work comes out at you. Kustom Graphics is essential for anyone into hot rods, burlesque or rock'n'roll; without it your visual education is incomplete. With it, we believe, you have the most inspiring collection of artists ever between two covers, whether you're a designer, tattooist, print maker, t-shirt creator or just passionately into any of the scenes contained within.

Featured artists:

Johnny Ace and Kali Verra
Jorge "Dr." Alderete
Paul Barrow
John Bell
Tom "Big Toe" Laura
Michel Casarramona
Keith "Keiffer" Ciaramello
Johnny Crap
"Dirty Donny" Gillies
Etienne "Empire32"
Marcus "Dang! Industries" Evans
Daisuke "Fudemae" Maeda
Minoru "Mr. G." Goto
Grimb
Peter "PG" Gustafsson
Hiro "Wildman" Ishii
Jim "Too Bad Jim" Johnstone
Ken The Flattop
"KRNPX" Kurono
Felix La Flamme
Michael Leonhard
Makoto Kobayashi
Alex "So-Cal" Maldonado
Tyson Mcadoo
Jan Meininghaus
Mitch O'Connell
Sergio "Palami" Palamidessi
Ger "Dutch Courage" Peters
The Pizz
Vince Ray
Rockin' Jellybean
Rob Schwager
Chaz Royal
Sol Rac
Theo Terror
Märt "Ultra Bazar" Infanger
David Vicente
Mark Wasyl
Keith Weesner
Derek Yaniger

Cover-art: Peter "PG" Gustafsson
Introduction: Julian Balme
Compilation: Yak El-Droubie
Text: Ian C. Parliament
Kustom Graphics Cover
Kustom Graphics page 1
Kustom Graphics page 2
Kustom Graphics page 3
Kustom Graphics page 4
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