Monday, February 6, 2012

FROM OUT OF LEFT FIELD

The unsinkable Amelie Mancini, expatriated French artist who came to America in 2006, settled in Brooklyn and discovered baseball, has done it again.

Left Field Cards, a side project obviously concocted to take her mind off the on- and off-field troubles of her adopted team (the New York Mets), has just released its second series of linocut cards that feature an appealing whimsy that's deployed with a tongue-in-cheek primitivism.

The new set is called "Edible All-Stars," and while a few of these players don't quite live up to the noun, they all fill the bill adjective-wise.

More details on Mancini's conversion to baseball can be found in an engaging essay/interview with the artist that appeared late last year on the Mets360 web site. She quickly realized that her allegiance with the Mets was something of a Faustian bargain:

"I finally understood the rules and that the team I picked wasn't an easy choice. (I mean, really, Amelie, how could you not pick the Royals??) By then it was too late, I'd already gotten a Mets tattoo."

Mancini has also completed a series of baseball paintings, but for those of us in the 99% category, owning a complete set in her Left Field Cards is probably the most practical approach. It's hard to go wrong with these colorful cards, which come five to a pack, ten to a series, and are strangely, wonderfully satisfying.

As enjoyable as these first two series have proven to be (the first one, still available, is entitled "Bizarre Injuries"), we must admit to waiting with rapt interest for the release of what's touted to be Series #5, which is entitled "Men With A Van."

I'm sure she'll knock that one out of the park, too. Let's Go, Amelie!