Tornado Design & Von Dutch

I can’t stand the Von Dutch subject anymore. I’m sick of the marketing that made the brand mainstream. I’m tired of the underground that spouts Kenneth Howard chants. I’m absolutely angered by the ignorance of the whole thing. It’s just an exhausted story.

It’s for those reasons that I almost balked at reviewing the latest book by Tornado Design titled The Art of Von Dutch. Don’t get me wrong – I think there have been some great books on this very subject, but as sad as it sounds I almost get nauseated at the very mention of the man’s name… “Why in the hell does the world need yet another book about an artist that has garnered half his legacy from hollywood marketing?”

In the end, my love for all things related to traditional hot rods won over my skepticism and I took delivery of the book. I’m glad I did. If there is one book that goes down as the historical record of the life of Dutch and his work, The Art of Von Dutch will be it. It’s a 1.5″ thick brick of a book that features just about every piece of art that Dutch is known to have produced backed by essays provided by his friends and associates. You simply couldn’t dream of more comprehensive coverage.

The content here alone is worth the price of admission ($75), but the folks at Tornado didn’t stop there. I don’t know that I have ever seen a book in this industry that is so artfully, thoughtfully, and creatively laid out. Just from a design perspective, this book is brilliantly done and that is pretty hard to pull off when the primary subject is art itself. It’s art covering art.

You can get yours for $75 right here.