Books, Design and Culture
Vintage Books (US) recently announced Vintage Shorts, a series of stories, excerpts and other short pieces exclusively available as eBooks. The bold, geometric ‘covers’ were designed by the talented Joan Wong.
And, in case you were wondering, the typeface is Agenda, designed by Greg Thompson for Font Bureau. Apparently it was inspired by Edward Johnston’s typeface for the London Underground, so no wonder I like it!
From its abstract roots in Cubism to the political and counter culture movements of Dada and Punk, collage has always been a product of its environment. With the rise of 24 hour media cycles, social networks and search engines, contemporary culture has effectively rendered print media obsolete, creating a virtual boom in discarded paper ephemera for collage artists to examine and reinvent. Through these discarded remnants collage artists have become the archivists and activists of this post modern age, paralleling the frenetic pace in which we live while exposing the voyeuristic and often disjointed nature of popular culture.
If you’re going to be in New York at the end of this month, you might want to check out All That Remains, an exhibition of international collage at the Ugly Art Room in Brooklyn. Among the exhibitors is one John Gall, art director at Vintage/Anchor Books. You can read my interview with John about his collage here.
UGLY ART ROOM PRESENTS: ALL THAT REMAINS
October 21st – November 19th, 2011
Ugly Art Room (via Picture Farm)
338 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Opening Reception: 7-9pm, Friday, October 21st, 2011
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Author Jennifer Egan discusses music, Proust and, of course, her Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Visit From the Goon Squad with Eleanor Wachtel for CBC Radio’s Writers & C0mpany:
CBC RADIO WRITERS & Co. – Jennifer Egan
The paperback cover for the US edition of A Visit From the Goon Squad (pictured above), was designed by the talented Jamie Keenan.
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