Alan Jacobs

Iconic book cover by Paul Bacon, who died Monday at the age of 91

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austinkleon:

Paul Bacon, 91, Whose Book Jackets Drew Readers and Admirers, Is Dead

“He didn’t see himself as a sensitive artist; he was there to serve,” said Mr. Gottlieb, who worked with Mr. Bacon for many years. “If you rejected the first one, he was happy to do a 10th one. We worked and worked until it was right.” […]

When describing his approach to design, Mr. Bacon said he had learned to subordinate his own aesthetic impulses to convey the main concept of a book. “I always tell myself: ‘You’re not the star of the show. The author took three and a half years to write the goddamn thing and the publisher is spending a fortune on it, so just back off,’ “ he said in an interview with Print magazine in 2002.

Here’s a nice appreciation from Steven Heller:

[W]hen you look at Bacon’s jackets en masse, you realize you’re looking at a history of late-20th century commercial book cover design, a virtual legacy of eclectic lettering, illustration and typography prior to the digital revolution. Bacon was, after all, a product of an era of hand-drawn lettering, and type that was cut and pasted in order to achieve precise spacing. While this sounds archaic in a time when layered Photoshop imagery is the order of the day, Bacon’s work was appealing precisely for its handcrafted precision (as well as minor imperfections) and spot-on conceptual acuity that evoked the story rather than isolated passage.

That’s one helluva portfolio. RIP.

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Iconic book cover by Paul Bacon, who died Monday at the age of 91

Mavis Staples is so much cooler than you or me

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Mavis Staples is so much cooler than you or me

“A recent New York Times article showed that the rate of suicide among black children has increased substantially over the years. In contrast, the rates of suicide among white children has decreased, researchers suggested that the difference may lie in black children being more likely to be exposed to “violence and traumatic stress.” Kalief was exposed to violent and traumatic stress from the moment he was handcuffed for a crime he did not commit, to the time his parents could not afford his bail, to his unjustified imprisonment, to the physical abuse he suffered and the mental health resources he was denied. When we think about the kind of world we want our children and ourselves to live in we should not forget about Kalief Browden; his life and the circumstances of his death challenge us to reimagine and recreate a world in which this tragedy does not repeat itself.”

- Kalief Browder and Black Suicide | Faatimah Knight | First Things

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From Bible Gateway. Note that the heading refers only to sexual immorality, while Paul refers to sexual immorality and greed and drunkenness and idolatry and reviling and robbery. So, my fellow Christians, when people accuse you of being unhealthily focused on sexual sins, this kind of thing is why.

[gallery] From Bible Gateway. Note that the heading refers only to sexual immorality, while Paul refers to sexual immorality and greed and drunkenness and idolatry and reviling and robbery. So, my fellow Christians, when people accuse you of being unhealthily focused on sexual sins, this kind of thing is why.

I will always be a sucker for Leica porn

[gallery] I will always be a sucker for Leica porn