Hasta La Ideas

A new book of eye-popping art from revered designer Tristan Eaton

When Tristan Eaton isn’t designing toys or reworking brand identities as head of Thunder Dog Studios, he can be found collaborating with an array of today’s exciting artists. An incredibly talented designer in his own right—with works in the permanent collections of both the Cooper Hewitt Museum and MoMA—Eaton has been an advocate of street culture since his time at Kid Robot. In the forthcoming “3D Art Book” from Prestel, Eaton curates over 100 hundred eye-popping illustrations from a cast of influential graphic designers, painters and clothing brands.

Eaton’s love for stereoscopic images emerged at age 19, when as an apprentice at Detroit’s famed screen-printing shop Highway Press, he began silk screening 3D posters. Less than a decade later through his breakthrough solo show, “3D Happy Action Fun,” Eaton introduced the aesthetic into the concrete art gallery world. His work was so strongly received that shortly after he began working on a 3D project with a small group of artists including The London Police, Superdeux and Jeff Soto.

Eaton was inspired by reviving what was merely novel technology during the ’60s and seeing how it is reflected today, saying “When you compare the artists in this book, you will see that we share nostalgia for the good old days of alternative art and pop culture; when you contrast us, you will see how each of us outsiders have re-envisioned these references in our own unique ways.”

Taking four years for completion, works featured in the 224-page book include those from revered artists like Bill McMullen, Cey Adams, Dr. Revolt, Pose, Tara McPherson and Ron English. “3D Art Book” will be released in April 2011 and will include two pairs of retro 3-D glasses. The book is available for pre-order from Amazon and Powells.