Wednesday 27 December 2023

INDEX 2023 and Fifty-years of creativity 5/5





































I've always thought of Kit Hinrichs as one of America's greatest print designers, so much so that a few years ago I started to collect his work. I have several books, Potlatch Paper Annual Reports their paper samplers, and Los Angeles Art Center material. Now, with the publication of this stunning book, I can see all the stuff I missed.

The book is divided into ten chapters, with several hundred examples of Hinrichs work, each showing an awareness and discipline that created designs that look just right. All the ingredients on one of his spreads in a publication just fall perfectly into place.  The book's back pages include some examples of his extensive American flag collection and a visual timeline of his career, starting in 1960 through to 2023.

The book, needless to say, is a beautiful design job by Hinrichs studio, printed with a two hundred screen on lovely matt art paper. A well-deserved fifty-year celebration.

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Sunday 10 December 2023

Snow business in the smoke 3/5












Despite the fascinating subject, this book is so amateurish. The photos, from picture agencies, have just been dropped into the pages. There is no sequence and no page numbers, despite a back page using them for the credits. It would have been more interesting if the photos had been arranged historically, from the thirties onward, or maybe everybody enjoying the snow in the various park photos (there are lots of these) or workers doing their jobs or street scenes like the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Whitehall et cetera. Looking at the photos it's clear that London actually doesn't get much snow, whatever the year. The book could have looked so much better with a bit more editorial thought.

US
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Saturday 9 December 2023

See how the professionals do it














Though the book information says 1986 the book was published in the mid-1950s. One of Walter Foster's art titles (forty-eight are listed inside the back cover) that were mostly sold in craft shops. This book is forty large pages, thirteen by ten inches, has a soft cover and starts inside the front cover with some drawing instructions, there are only nine pages of this

The rest of the book is examples of cartoonist's work from the fifties, including Russell Patterson, Al Vermeer, Phil Interlandi, Don Flowers, Hal Rasmusson (who did the covers art) Burr Shafer, Dorman Smith, Gluyas Williams, Gardner Rea. I think it's only worth getting to see the work of these cartoonists. The covers are shown again in the book's center spread.


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