Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future

Last week marked the 183rd birthday of iconic science fiction writer and futurist Jules Verne, who coined the term “imaginary voyages.” (And Amazon celebrated by offering a slew of his work as free ebooks, which you can still grab.) Today, we turn to the beautiful mid-century illustration of Peter P. Plasencia for Franz Born’s 1964 book Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future — a light but excellent biography of the great novelist and a powerful primer for his literary legacy.

Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future is currently out of print, but you might be able to snag it from several independent sellers through Amazon or look for a copy at yoru local library — the screen doesn’t do Plasencia’s artwork justice.

via Wardomatic via Right Brain Terrain

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

Pioneers of Spanish Graphic Design

Spain has a rich and widely recognized art tradition — Picasso, Goya, Dalí — but its equally noteworthy design legacy hasn’t achieved the same level of exposure and acclaim. Emilio Gil’s Pioneers of Spanish Graphic Design is a bold and visually striking effort to rectify that by spotlighting 15 groundbreaking Spanish graphic designers whose work between 1939 and 1975 defied the political circumstances and visual vocabulary of post-war Spain to ignite a provocative new culture of visual language.

Alongside the artwork are essays by some of Spain’s finest art historians and design writers, tying the era’s design landscape to the social and political realities of the period. From advertising to expressionism, the book covers an extraordinary range of graphic expressions in the context of their cultural belonging.

Pioneers of Spanish Graphic Design is the kind of book that not only unearths a treasure trove of vintage eye candy, but also makes a compelling case for design as art.

via 50 Watts for But Does It Float

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

The Strange Case of Edward Gorey

Last month, we featured the whimsically macabre, Tim-Burtonesque work of mid-century illustrator Edward Gorey, who was an oddball character in his own right. Today marks the release of The Strange Case of Edward Gorey — an appropriately uncommon and colorful portrait of the eccentric artist by Gorey’s best friend, Alexander Theroux.

With his unique access to Gorey’s extraordinary wit, intelligence and creative genius, Theroux delivers a brief but lively read that’s equal parts loving memoir and fascinating cultural collectible.

It is a falsehood that Edward Gorey refused to give interviews. Nevertheless, to those acquainted with his hundred or so menacing little books, written as if by moonlight, the very thought of tracing out this eccentric artist (for Gorey was a solitary) might somehow have seemed to recapitulate to a nervous heart the monstrous dread felt in approaching the unholy chambers of the demented Ambrosio or the trap-doored of the satanic Caliph Vatek of the Abassides.” ~ Alexander Theroux

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.