The Ultimate Alvin Lustig Site
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So why mention Lustig here? He was the designer who came up with the ubiquitous UPA logo (below) which was seen on all the studio’s animated films and print materials. The Lustig site also has a couple images of the ultra-rare original UPA logo (above) which he designed in 1946. A rarely discussed aspect of UPA (United Productions of America) is how much conscious effort the studio put into projecting a modern image to the general public. They were the first animation studio that was built upon the foundation of Modern Art, and they wanted to make that fact obvious to everybody, which is why they commissioned an A-list designer like Lustig to design their logo. It’s also why they hired Modernist architect John Lautner to design their studio building.
NICE,having been a huge UPA fan for years, it’s nice to actually have another artist to associate to that era.
Comment by Gene Fowler — November 15, 2005 @ 11:04 pm
Any idea where the UPA building is now?
Comment by Ward — November 15, 2005 @ 11:22 pm
The building was razed to make way for a drab generic three-or-so story office building. That building contains the offices of Shamrock Holdings, Roy Disney Jr.’s company. Fortunately, next door, the Smokehouse Restaurant still exists and it’s a nice place to grab a bite to eat. That’s where all the UPA artists went to get drunk during lunch.
Comment by Amid — November 15, 2005 @ 11:36 pm
I thought I heard about that. That’s just crazy. Any shots of the building before it was torn down?
Comment by Ward — November 16, 2005 @ 12:41 am
Great link!
Comment by drazen — November 16, 2005 @ 6:29 am
Love the Lustig!
Comment by Will Kane — November 16, 2005 @ 7:51 am
Any idea where I could purchase any poster versions of his work? I looked all over and came up with nothing.
Comment by Lonnie Bruner — November 17, 2005 @ 11:51 am
Hi.
Love this Blog. Huge fan of 50s/60s style animation. Can’t wait for your book to come out. By the way there is a UPA McBoing Boing DVD coming out in Jan. Also I would like to see a UPA logo T-Shirt. That would be cool!!
Comment by Tom Sacchi — December 4, 2005 @ 1:11 pm