American Utopia

by David Byrne, Maira Kalman

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

David Byrne worked with artist Maira Kalman to translate his live Broadway show, American Utopia, into the printed matter. And, if there are any two people who can make our eyes jump as if we were at a concert, or Broadway musical, it’s Byrne and Kalman. Between the Spike Lee film version of the stage show AND this book, we will get to enjoy these artists’ world view. There is utter joy in seeing Kalman’s illustrations. She truly captures the David Byrne vibe. Together, they create a world where we take a step forward with a shimmy and go through life with a handshake.

From former Talking Heads frontman and multimedia visionary David Byrne and revered bestselling author, illustrator, and artist Maira Kalman—an inspiring celebration in words and art of the connections between us all.

Don't miss the Spike Lee film of the Broadway hit American Utopia—on HBO.
A Beat Most Anticipated Graphic Novel of Fall 2020

A joyful collaboration between old friends David Byrne and Maira Kalman, American Utopia offers readers an antidote to cynicism, bursting with pathos, humanism, and hope—featuring his words and lyrics brought to life with more than 150 of her colorful paintings.

The text is drawn from David Byrne's American Utopia, which has become a hit Broadway show and is now a film from Spike Lee on HBO. The four-color artwork, by Maira Kalman, which she created for the Broadway show's curtain, is composed of small moments, expressions, gestures, and interactions that together offer a portrait of daily life and coexistence.

With their creative talents combined, American Utopia is a salvo for kindness and a call for jubilation, a reminder to sing, dance, and waste not a moment. Beautifully designed and edited by Alex Kalman, American Utopia is a balm for the soul from two of the world's most extraordinary artists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635576689
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	29,139
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Byrne was born in Scotland in 1952 and is now an artist, writer, and musician who since 1974 has lived in New York City. He has a daughter and a grandson.
Maira Kalman was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and is now an artist, writer, and designer who since 1954 has lived in New York City. She has a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

In this frothy amuse-bouche of a book, snippets of Talking Heads frontman Byrne’s lyrics jump and skip across pages, illustrated with watercolor sunniness by Kalman (My Favorite Things). Readers could get all the way through without realizing it’s meant as a companion to Byrne’s Broadway residency American Utopia, and though the theatrical performance is purported to carry a narrative throughline of sorts—or at least some side chatter by Byrne between musical numbers—there is not much of an apparent organizing principle to this collaborative volume. A strain of low-key optimism runs throughout (“I’m not alone / and we’re all the same”, “everything changes / everything stops / every day is a miracle”) alongside the names of small towns (“Bullfrog, UT”), which is accentuated by Kalman’s cheery, loopy, randomized drawings. Her figures dance with the oddly giddy abandon Byrne made famous in “Stop Making Sense” (she also illustrated his children’s book, Stay Up Late). This bound-up collection of pretty marginalia is pleasant to leaf through, but more souvenir than standalone. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Uplifting . . . an argument for the reincarnation of hope in the American project." - NPR.org

“A comforting work of art in troubled times.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Like the Dadaists, Byrne often uses absurdity and humor to make sense of a chaotic world. With its themes of freedom, uncertainty, and inclusivity, American Utopia speaks to the present moment as Byrne calls for seeking common ground despite the world's miseries.” —Booklist

“This selection of Byrne's lyrics accompanied by Kalman's illustrations captures the spirit of the show. As readers page through the book and savor the words, the pictures fairly leap off the page. Byrne's afterword sums it up best: “Here is the hope and joy that I believe emanates from the show itself in something you can hold in your hands.” VERDICT Whether or not readers are fans of Byrne, they'll enjoy this colorful and playful presentation.” —Library Journal

“In this frothy amuse-bouche of a book, snippets of Talking Heads frontman Byrne's lyrics jump and skip across pages, illustrated with watercolor sunniness by Kalman.” —Publishers Weekly

"Spare lines from Byrne’s lyrics, spare gestural utterances from the body language of the choreography, spare micro-expressions on the faces of the cast come abloom as painted vignettes, tender and expressive, dancing with their own aliveness. What emerges is not a recreation of the musical world in book form but a luminous satellite of that world, intimate yet separate, removed by a degree of artistic abstraction yet reflecting the radiance of the same guiding star." - BrainPickings

"Paging through this book when your mood falters is sure to help cheer you up and make your day a little brighter." - Bookloons

"Has there been a more energizing creation in 2020 than David Byrne’s American Utopia? Spike Lee’s joyous film based on Byrne’s Broadway smash is both soothing and appropriately conflicted: an ideal concoction for these troubled times. The same is true of this hardcover collaboration between Byrne and artist Maira Kalman. It features the prolific musician’s lyrics alongside her vibrant, life-affirming illustrations. It is no exaggeration to say that each page is a delight." - The Film Stage

From the Publisher

07/01/2020

You may ask yourself, wasn't this the title of Talking Heads cofounder Byrne's 2018 album, his first solo effort in 14 years? It was, and it's also the title of a show he brought to Broadway last season, described by Rolling Stone as a "concert-theater-dance installation." The production features a number of songs from that album, some of his earlier hits, choreography by Annie-B Parson, a show curtain created by artist Kalman, and a multinational ensemble of musicians and backup singers led by the composer, songwriter, and singer, all of them barefoot and dressed in identical gray suits. This selection of Byrne's lyrics accompanied by Kalman's illustrations captures the spirit of the show. As readers page through the book and savor the words, the pictures fairly leap off the page. Byrne's afterword sums it up best: "Here is the hope and joy that I believe emanates from the show itself in something you can hold in your hands." VERDICT Whether or not readers are fans of Byrne, they'll enjoy this colorful and playful presentation.—Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago

Library Journal

2020-06-17
The companion volume to the author’s acclaimed Broadway production of the same name.

Conceived before the pandemic, Byrne’s collaboration with New Yorker illustrator Kalman proceeds through a series of sparsely rendered full-color images about connection and how it feels to be together even when we are each alone. The author opens with what seems like a statement of purpose: “Despite all that has happened, despite all that is still happening, I think there is still possibility—we are still a work in progress. We’re not fixed, our brains can change. Who we are thankfully extends beyond ourselves...to the connections between all of us.” It’s a slim, suggestive volume, with sparing use of words amid the stark imagery. At times, it feels like Byrne is channeling the aphoristic, sloganeering spirit of Truisms, the shifting-viewpoint series of maxims by conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. “I’m not alone and we’re all the same, and the world won’t end, it will just change its name,” reads the accompaniment to two drawings of a woman who appears to be very much alone, dancing. “We’re only tourists in this life,” says another. Taken together, all of the text would likely fit on one page, and the sketches can be flipped through in a matter of minutes. The book is not a substitute for Byrne’s music or the Broadway musical—which is scheduled to return in September and will soon become a documentary by Spike Lee—but it does share the same sense of artistic daring, naiveté, and childlike wonder. “Here is an area of great confusion / No more information now / This is my job,” reads a simple haikulike passage that accompanies a series of seemingly unconnected drawings that proceed to the assurance, “It is safe right where you are.”

A comforting work of art in troubled times.

Kirkus Reviews

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