- There’s so much non-art news today, it’s a little crazy: U.S. relations with Cuba thaw. New York state bans fracking. Vladimir Putin gives his annual address, and it is completely delusional. Just read The Times. [The New York Times]
- “A Pessimist’s Guide to the World in 2015.” [Bloomberg]
- We’re fans of the “1987” series on Comic Book Resources; columnist Matt Derman reviews comics from 1987 just because that’s the year he was born. P.S. Would like to do an art version of this. [Comic Book Resources]
- THE LAST EPISODE OF SERIAL DROPS TODAY, NERDS. [Serial]
- One notable topic to bring out from an interview with Toshio Hara, director of the Hara Museum, is that Japanese collectors are more inclined to “keep a low profile” than ones in the States. [Japan Times]
- Incredibly timely reporting: Alanna Martinez asks El Museo del Barrio’s Executive Director Jorge Daniel Veneciano what renewed U.S.-Cuban relations might mean for the museum. Veneciano didn’t seem too excited; he told Martinez “that essentially not much would change for U.S. museums.” [New York Observer]
- Giving in to hacker pressure, Sony has now announced that there are no further plans to release The Interview, not even on DVD. [Vanity Fair via Variety]
- And for those who don’t think North Korea’s terrorism is real, read this account of a former North Korean spy. [The Globe and Mail]
- Jason Kottke aggregates links to four of the best 2014 book-cover lists. Of the four he chose, The Casual Optimist’s list wins with us. Of all the covers listed, our favorite is The Silent History. [Kottke]
- Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services asked AFC’s Corinna Kirsch what art worlders really “need” for Christmas. Hint: You need some sleep. [Tumblr]
- The Hammer Museum announces that Chicago’s Hamza Walker will co-curate the 2016 Made in L.A. biennial with Hammer staff. Yay for Chicago! [Los Angeles Times]
- An interview with Hal Foster. When asks what he regrets, he recounts a cutting line that he later learned devastated an artist. Most critics have a regret like that. Occupational hazard, I guess. [Interview]
- Frieze Editor Dan Fox puts together his year end review. Topping the list is W.A.G.E. and CITIZENFOUR. [Frieze]
- Are we all in agreement that “Santa Baby” is the most annoying Christmas song? If not, you will be after watching this animated cat-robot toy’s karaoke version. [YouTube]
Thursday Links: Occupational Hazards
by Paddy Johnson and Corinna Kirsch on December 18, 2014 · 3 comments Massive Links
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Are book covers art? If so, most of those fail. They are full of overused ideas, cliches even. If they were an “art show” they’d be panned for rolling out the same old tropes. But it might be that we set a different standard for book covers. “Attract the casual eye and then get safely out of the way,” maybe. In other words, despite their designers’ hopes/claims, they aren’t art.
This falls into the field of design. None of the authors claim the covers are art and I don’t think they should be judged by that aesthetic language. I like a lot more of these covers than you, I think.
It seems designers often feel slighted by those who don’t consider their work art… But really what makes me a bit grumpy I think is that I wish more book covers were art / not boring. Illustrating your last sentence, haha!
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