Warren Lehrer’s Book List: A Life in Visual Literature
By Steve Kroeter November 4, 2013
For his (long—22 books) list for Designers & Books, writer, graphic designer, and multimedia artist Warren Lehrer, known as a pioneer in the field of visual literature, or “vis lit,” decided to focus on “books (mostly fiction, some non-fiction, a few hybrids) whose visual composition is an integral part of the writing.” “The authors of these books,” he says in the introduction to his list, “employ a wide range of visual, typographic, and structural strategies. They seek to discover the shape of thought, give form to metaphors, reflect different kinds of relationships, syntax, rhythms of speech, qualities of character, and ways of reading. Most of these titles also incorporate images as a part of the storytelling. In some, the text becomes image, and images are part of the text. One book on this list uses only images to tell the story. Many of these authors take advantage of the physical properties of the book as a medium. Some put it all together themselves; others collaborate with designers and artists.”
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| Warren Lehrer, A Life in Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley, 2013 (ORO Editions/Goff Books) |
It’s hard not to agree with Lehrer’s assessment of his book choices—that “choosing favorites is nearly impossible.” Among many highlights are French graphic designer Robert Massin’s interpretation of Eugène Ionesco’s 1964 drama The Bald Soprano, in which, Lehrer says of the layout, “Sentences bend around the corner of a napkin, words wobble and warp between the lips of a man and woman who come to realize that they are married to each other, and hell breaks loose in a layered argument that careens across the page at different angles—all done decades before Adobe software and Apple computers became tools of the trade.” There are several graphic novels that play with the conventions of the genre, including Marjane Satrapi’s Embroideries, which allows the reader to “eavesdrop on a multi-generational ‘real-time’ conversation,” and Joe Sacco’s Palestine, which centers on conflict zones around the world. There is also a reconsideration of Sheherezade as a flipbook by Janet Zweig and Holly Anderson, and Woman’s World, a novel by Graham Rawle that was “assembled (written/composed, pick your verb here) from 40,000 fragments of text snipped from 1960s British women’s magazines.”
A prolific author of works of visual literature, Warren Lehrer has recently written and designed his 10th book, the just released “illuminated novel” A Life in Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley (ORO Editions/Goff Books). The book is a fictional autobiography of an author who, now in prison, looks back over his career and the 101 books he has written. Excerpts from the books, complete with covers and publicity copy, are interspersed with the author’s (Mobley’s) confesssional memoir as he speaks it on a microcassette.
Lehrer talks about the book in a WNYC interview with Brian Lehrer (his brother):
A Life in Books is available at the Designers & Books Online Book Fair at a special discount.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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