Daily Features

Seymour Chwast in Conversation with Steven Heller at The Cooper Union, May 24

The designer as author activist, and artist

By Steve Kroeter May 20, 2016

On Tuesday May 24, New York’s esteemed Cooper Union marks the 65th graduation anniversary of one of its most famous alumni, Seymour Chwast, who will spend an evening talking about his life as a graphic designer and illustrator, activist, and author. Joining him will be design writer Steven Heller.

Poster for Seymour Chwast’s 1986 retrospective exhibition at The Cooper Union, available as a reward on Chwast’s At War with War Kickstarter.

A Q&A with the audience and a reception follow the talk, and both Chwast and Heller will sign copies of their most recent books.

The free event is open to the public and takes place in Cooper Union’s Rose Auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m. The event also celebrates Chwast’s first Kickstarter, ongoing through June 9, to fund publication of his new illustrated antiwar book, At War with War.

Special bonus! Anyone who attends the May 24 event who has already backed the Kickstarter at the book level, or who backs the Kickstarter at the book level during the event, will receive a free black-and-white print of Seymour Chwast’s 1986 Cooper Union retrospective exhibition poster — signed by Chwast.

Kickstarter backers (at the book level or above) who attend the May 24 talk will receive a free signed print of this black-and-white version of Seymour Chwast’s Cooper Union retrospective exhibition poster.

In addition a special new Kickstarter reward, prints of the four-color edition of Chwast’s 1986 Cooper Union poster, is now available ($139).

For more about and to support the At War with War Kickstarter, visit: kickstarter.com/projects/1204158310/new-seymour-chwast-book-protests-5000-years-of-war

For more information and to register for the May 24 event, visit: eventbrite.com/e/seymour-chwast-and-steve-heller-designer-as-author-activist-and-artist-tickets-24790500053

The event is presented by The Cooper Union’s Herb Lubalin Study Center.

Seymour Chwast: Battling War with Art

Seymour Chwast's Book List

Steven Heller's Book List

Author Q&A with Steven Heller: 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design

comments powered by Disqus

Announcements

Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister

Now is Better

By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023

Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.

Order the book.

Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli

Design Emergency: Building a Better Future

By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022

Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.

Order the book.

Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman

Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People

By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022

Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.

Order the book.

Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber

Milton Glaser: POP

By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023

This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.

Order the book.

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall

By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022

Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”

Order the book.

Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller

Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)

By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023

This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.

Order the book.