How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York

How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York

The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996

Description

There was a lot of art between the covers to choose from, but this photo stood out from the rest. Yet it raises more questions than it answers. First, it isn’t a piece of modern artwork. Who took it? Why is the type in reverse? Where are you in relation to the image?

You are in the year 1915, looking at the front window of the newly established Modern Gallery. The photograph looks toward the New York Public Library near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

I thought the ghosted reversed typography on the windowpane complemented the typography of the book title. The choice to make the bottom third of the photo a block of white was a difficult one and ultimately functions to showcase the author’s name.

Collections: 50 Books | 50 Covers of 1996
Discipline: Book design
Format: Book cover

Credits

Design firm
The MIT Press
Art director
Jim McWethy
Jacket designer
Jim McWethy
Author
Marius DeZayas
Typeface
Geometric 415
Printer
Phoenix Color
Publisher/client
The MIT Press
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