Bookshelf: Which books inspire everyone's favourite illustrator Kyle Platts?

Date
26 November 2013

When we look back in years to come we’ll all slap our hands to our foreheads and realise that in his crass, Beano-ish drawings Kyle Platts was actually the Pied Piper of an enormous movement in illustration. His meticulous, often hilarious work spills out of his head, past his eyes, and on to the page at such an alarming rate that it’s genuinely hard to keep up. So what books inspire a man who is fast becoming one of the most well-known illustrators in London? Read on to find out.

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Ollie Schrauwen: My Boy

Ollie Schrauwen: My Boy

I came across this book at ELCAF, the publisher told me that the author Ollie Schrauwen was an interesting character and very precious with his work. So with intrigue I bought this book and was in no way disappointed. I can’t think of anyone else who could deliver beautifully rendered stories with surreal violent content whilst maintaining a very sweet sentiment.

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Sean Cliver: Disposable 

Sean Cliver: Disposable

This is basically a catalogue of all the best skateboarding graphics ever made, starting with the early Powell Peralta and Santa Cruz boards and ending up at Chocolate and Real boards. A big chunk of my influences are in this book. Graphics by Sean Cliver and Marc McKee still make me gawp, I always enjoyed how they marry explicit content with a bright cartoon aesthetic.

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Charles Harrison and Paul Wood: Art in Theory 1900 – 2000

Charles Harrison and Paul Wood: Art in Theory 1900 – 2000

My dyslexic brain is pushed to its limits every time I pick this thing up. I have been chipping away at this for a while now, it’s one of those essential books on your reading list when you go to art college, except I never would have read this when I was at art college. I find it fascinating to discover how movements in art were conceived and what their respective principles are.

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Yayoi Kusama: Tate Catalogue 

Yayoi Kusama: Tate Catalogue

The Kusama retrospective at Tate cemented her as one of my favourite artists. I wish I had one of her Infiniti Net paintings in my house – I would get lost in there. This catalogue is the next best thing for me to get lost in. Her work has an obsessive nature and her motifs are often based on repetition which is something that has always resonated with me. Her new body of work has just been shown in New York aged 84, she’s a great inspiration as she demonstrates what a great volume of work you can create in one lifetime.

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Paper Rad: Pig Tales/Cartoon Workshop 

Paper Rad: Pig Tales/Cartoon Workshop

When I think about it, Paper Rad have had a pretty big influence on me. I got their book_ B.J. & da Dogs_ out of the college library and fell arse over tit into their abstract narratives and vibrant colour schemes. I don’t have that particular book now though, I just have this one which is a bit smaller and not as good. Years ago I saw one of their exhibitions here in London, which was exciting at the time because I had just moved here and I had never seen a show that distilled so much fun and humour in art.

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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