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Blab!
Shag: A-Z: A BLAB! Storybook
by Shag
Shag: A to Z presents, quite simply, 26 original paintings corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. Each painting is accompanied by a short verse extolling the pleasures of a hedonistic lifestyle and the virtues of overindulgence. Shag has spent the last decade creating a body of work based on his idiomatic aesthetic preferences, a world of mid-20th-century modern architecture and design, populated by hedonists, supplicants, and indifferent women.
Shag: A to Z presents, quite simply, 26 original paintings corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. Each painting is accompanied by a short verse extolling the pleasures of a hedonistic lifestyle and the virtues of overindulgence. Shag has spent the last decade creating a body of work based on his idiomatic aesthetic preferences, a world of mid-20th-century modern architecture and design, populated by hedonists, supplicants, and indifferent women.
- GenresArt
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 24, 2008
7 people want to read
About the author
Shag
23 books3 followers Josh Agle, better known by his pseudonym Shag, is an American artist celebrated for his vibrant, retro-inspired paintings that blend mid-century aesthetics with modern irony and narrative flair. Born in Sierra Madre, California, and raised in Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Utah, Agle eventually returned to California to study at California State University, Long Beach, where he shifted his focus from economics to graphic design. While still in college, he gained early recognition as an illustrator for publications like Time, Forbes, and Entertainment Weekly, and began designing record covers for local bands, including his own, the Swamp Zombies—where he first signed his work as "Shag."
Shag’s breakthrough in the art world came in the mid-1990s when his tiki-themed paintings caught the attention of Billy Shire, founder of the influential La Luz de Jesus Gallery. His first gallery show sold out immediately, launching a successful international career. He has since exhibited widely across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, and opened SHAG Stores in Palm Springs and Las Vegas to showcase his art and merchandise.
Agle’s commercial projects include work for The Walt Disney Company, the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, and a mural for the Georgia Aquarium. His art often appears in books such as Shag: The Art of Josh Agle and Shag: The Complete Works, and has been featured in museum exhibitions including at the Laguna Art Museum and Riverside Art Museum. Known for his love of tiki culture, vintage design, and playful storytelling, Shag continues to produce work that is both nostalgic and uniquely contemporary. He lives in Orange County, California, with his wife and two children.
Shag’s breakthrough in the art world came in the mid-1990s when his tiki-themed paintings caught the attention of Billy Shire, founder of the influential La Luz de Jesus Gallery. His first gallery show sold out immediately, launching a successful international career. He has since exhibited widely across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, and opened SHAG Stores in Palm Springs and Las Vegas to showcase his art and merchandise.
Agle’s commercial projects include work for The Walt Disney Company, the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, and a mural for the Georgia Aquarium. His art often appears in books such as Shag: The Art of Josh Agle and Shag: The Complete Works, and has been featured in museum exhibitions including at the Laguna Art Museum and Riverside Art Museum. Known for his love of tiki culture, vintage design, and playful storytelling, Shag continues to produce work that is both nostalgic and uniquely contemporary. He lives in Orange County, California, with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2020
I would've avoided this if I had previously known this bidet-lamprey's work. The cover is not representative of the inside- the way he skews the scale of anatomy on NEARLY everyone else is annoying and tiresome. He also completely leaves out the stuff* you really expect to see in his chosen themes.
Art:
He picks fun and interesting people, places and things to draw but does so very poorly. I think it's his goal is to skew bodily features to clashing ridiculousness instead of reigning it in at sharp and cartoonie. It makes his potentially cool characters the eye-sore splattered on a snazzy background.
Story:
None. Out of 26 letters his four line rhymes were stupid most of the time and rarely interesting which was unbearable considering he had no parameters other than the first letter of the first word.
This dude's a prude. What kind of native-appreciating island-minded cocktail-culture enthusiast covers ALL his women's chests and nests? Even Venus/Aphrodite is hiding her three gems during a rhyme about always being completely nude!
Art:
He picks fun and interesting people, places and things to draw but does so very poorly. I think it's his goal is to skew bodily features to clashing ridiculousness instead of reigning it in at sharp and cartoonie. It makes his potentially cool characters the eye-sore splattered on a snazzy background.
Story:
None. Out of 26 letters his four line rhymes were stupid most of the time and rarely interesting which was unbearable considering he had no parameters other than the first letter of the first word.
This dude's a prude. What kind of native-appreciating island-minded cocktail-culture enthusiast covers ALL his women's chests and nests? Even Venus/Aphrodite is hiding her three gems during a rhyme about always being completely nude!
March 13, 2019
ReRead 13 March 2019
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I first read about Shag in a book on lowbrow art: a Los Angeles art movement influences by underground comix, punk rock and hot-rod culture. (Cribbed this description from Wikipedia.) I remember especially liking Shag's work in that book. His simple line-work and solid color choices caught the eye easily.
Months later I found this little gem in a Half-Price Books. Sold!
Shag: A to Z reminds me Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies in that both books show off the author's unique artistic style while going through the alphabet, each letter accompanied by a short poem. In the case of Shag: A to Z, each letter corresponds to a different icon of lounge/tiki/B-movie culture, and the overall aesthetic of the book is very reminiscent of the 50s and 60s.
Shag: A to Z is not the most politically correct book by today's standards but is an excellent nostalgia trip through kitsch culture of a bygone era. It's fun, and if nothing else, the rich colors and cartoon-y illustrations are a delight to view. I read somewhere that Shag's done work for The Walt Disney Company. I'm not surprised.
It's 40 pages, so check it out if you've got a few minutes to spare. And if nothing else, stop by my house. You'll most likely find it on my coffee table.
---
I first read about Shag in a book on lowbrow art: a Los Angeles art movement influences by underground comix, punk rock and hot-rod culture. (Cribbed this description from Wikipedia.) I remember especially liking Shag's work in that book. His simple line-work and solid color choices caught the eye easily.
Months later I found this little gem in a Half-Price Books. Sold!
Shag: A to Z reminds me Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies in that both books show off the author's unique artistic style while going through the alphabet, each letter accompanied by a short poem. In the case of Shag: A to Z, each letter corresponds to a different icon of lounge/tiki/B-movie culture, and the overall aesthetic of the book is very reminiscent of the 50s and 60s.
Shag: A to Z is not the most politically correct book by today's standards but is an excellent nostalgia trip through kitsch culture of a bygone era. It's fun, and if nothing else, the rich colors and cartoon-y illustrations are a delight to view. I read somewhere that Shag's done work for The Walt Disney Company. I'm not surprised.
It's 40 pages, so check it out if you've got a few minutes to spare. And if nothing else, stop by my house. You'll most likely find it on my coffee table.
September 3, 2016
lovely little rhymes. cool.
November 23, 2014
Cool man
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews