the most important one is missing...
this book is really well done, apart from the fact that there are a lot of covers shown from saul steinberg, but his MOST IMPORTANT one, the view from 9th ave westwards, is missing. this is a clear draw back of this book, and hence, since it's title is "cutting-edge covers", i think it only deseverves two stars.
A family heirloom
I,m very much an avid fan and collector of New Yorker cartoon and illustrator art. Whilst this may bias my opinion it also, I think, makes me nerdishly critical. However, I have been completely won over by the beauty of this book. The quality of the reproduction is first class. It does focus on the 90s covers. However, I now have a renewed respect for Tina Brown et al for introducing a sharper commentry edge to the cover. I also like the rather individualistic choice of covers and the personal perspective of Francoise Mouly. I think we can allow her a little bias towards Art Speigelman - her partner (also he did after all produce the most profound cartoon book of all time in Maus). This is one of those books which raises a paradox - it will be thumbed through by old and young alike. There will be debates around its coffee table home about the relevant merits of this cover or that. But it is also a book which its owner (me!) wants to keep in pristine condition. A family heirloom indeed.
A fitting supplement to The Complete Book of Covers of NYer
This is a fitting supplement to the granddaddy of New Yorker cover books: The Complete Book of Covers of the New Yorker, put out by Knopf, which covers the NYer through 1989. This new volume mostly includes covers from the 90s, and many of the reproductions are big, sharp, and colorful. Covers are often grouped thematically (say, New Years covers), which lets you ponder the NYer's evolving style over the decades. There's even a section with a half dozen pull out covers, suitable for framing.Some quibbles: editor Francoise Mouly is a bit precious in her introduction and conversation with Lawrence Weschler. Her take on the history of the NYer is a bit off in places; the book omits listing the arrival of EB White and Katherine White in its timeline(!), and she gives perhaps too much play to her husband/artist Art Spiegelman. One interesting aside, noted by others who have this volume: the old covers (mostly from the 30s) that she prints side-by-side with the work she commissioned in the 90s is almost always superior to these newer covers. A few new artists, such as Sempe and Spiegelman stand out; but most run a distant second to the likes of Arno, Thurber, and Steig from an earlier era. --robert luhn
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