And, for the record, it’s designed by Paula Scher.
This is actually one of my least-favorite posters (adaped into a book cover) that Paula has done for the Public Theater. I guess because it’s so literal (from her book: “It’s a play about the Venus Hottentot who astonished Europe with her fabulous derriere.”).
Yeah, but it’s already eye-catching because of Sartje Baartman’s (the real name of the ‘Venus Hottentot’) figure. I’m usually a Scher fan, but I’ve got to go with the majority on this one: this cover does very little to communicate much of the truth behind this story.
It’s really not a story about a woman who takes Europe by storm with her impressive behind. I mean, I haven’t read the book, but with a fair bit of background knowledge on the actual historical events, I can tell you that Sartje Baartman’s story is complex. The real focus of it deals with slavery, colonization, ‘othering’, objectification, exploitation and the many atrocities served against this woman while she was essentially paid to be on display (like a zoo animal) for somewhere in the range of 3-5 years in London and Paris. She was promised half the proceeds which were never given to her or any family back in Africa, and her remains to this day have not been returned to her homeland: some of the more ‘impressive’ of her bodyparts sit in a museum, in jars.
I don’t know. From the general description of the play, my feeling is that Paula missed the mark on this one.
(woah, sorry for the novella – strong personal opinion!)
I like it, but the type is not as strong as her other work for the public theater. Kind of reminds me of Polish posters from the 60’s-70’s. It works great as a poster, I’m not convinced of it as a book cover.
this is a horrible image for a cover or poster if you understand the history of the real woman and the time she lived in…the graphic feels exploitive…and obviously is because most of the comments posted are about this exploited woman’s behind…
Sergio – heretical.com is a holocaust denying website and pretty damn racist. and quite appropriate to be listed under this image along w/everyone’s reaction to this as some kind of “buffy the body” sexy cover instead of visual represenation of the history of exploiting black folks’ sexuality.
This communicates the exploitative nature of this historical event but plays it down a bit rightfully since it happened ages ago. It’s a play—it needs to attract folks theatrically as well as conceptually and graphically…
I came across this by accident.
I figure you couldn’t ask for a better cover to start the weekend with.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-10-18 20:02:00
Haha, Ben, that’s great! And I believe there is a term for such voluptously large and firm backsides: Badonkadonk!
— Auguste, 2007-10-18 21:38:00
Baa-donk-a-donk.
— Blake, 2007-10-19 05:36:00
umm…she’s being orbited!
— afarrell, 2007-10-19 06:04:00
And, for the record, it’s designed by Paula Scher.
This is actually one of my least-favorite posters (adaped into a book cover) that Paula has done for the Public Theater. I guess because it’s so literal (from her book: “It’s a play about the Venus Hottentot who astonished Europe with her fabulous derriere.”).
— Mark Melnick, 2007-10-19 06:18:00
Hot.
tentot.
Check my url.
I think maybe Paula Scher phoned this one in.
— Sergio, 2007-10-19 06:29:00
Oops. Here we go:
http://www.heretical.com/miscella/baker4.html
— Sergio, 2007-10-19 06:37:00
Damn, Melnick. You are freakin’ Johnny-on-the-spot with the helpful info. I think this is like the third time you’ve scooped me WHILE I was typing.
Christ. How do you even have time to be on here with the amount of work you do? (P.s. Just saw the Chuck Close book yesterday. It’s tight.)
— Sergio, 2007-10-19 06:56:00
Yikes, Figure C is definitely not for those still working on their morning danish …
— Mark Melnick, 2007-10-19 07:19:00
Scher did this? I had no clue.
Thanks Mark!
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-10-19 07:57:00
It’s … err… interesting.
I’m not crazy about it aesthetically speaking. The text and application of the silk screen effect is pretty weak, really.
I think the junky trunk concept could be dealt with better.
— C-Dog, 2007-10-19 09:01:00
Baby got back! It’s eye-catching. I would pick it up and read the back cover.
— Lisa, 2007-10-19 10:11:00
Yeah, but it’s already eye-catching because of Sartje Baartman’s (the real name of the ‘Venus Hottentot’) figure. I’m usually a Scher fan, but I’ve got to go with the majority on this one: this cover does very little to communicate much of the truth behind this story.
It’s really not a story about a woman who takes Europe by storm with her impressive behind. I mean, I haven’t read the book, but with a fair bit of background knowledge on the actual historical events, I can tell you that Sartje Baartman’s story is complex. The real focus of it deals with slavery, colonization, ‘othering’, objectification, exploitation and the many atrocities served against this woman while she was essentially paid to be on display (like a zoo animal) for somewhere in the range of 3-5 years in London and Paris. She was promised half the proceeds which were never given to her or any family back in Africa, and her remains to this day have not been returned to her homeland: some of the more ‘impressive’ of her bodyparts sit in a museum, in jars.
I don’t know. From the general description of the play, my feeling is that Paula missed the mark on this one.
(woah, sorry for the novella – strong personal opinion!)
— jasfitz, 2007-10-19 16:50:00
Are those orbits around her backside??
— Andrea Guinn, 2007-10-19 21:29:00
I like it, but the type is not as strong as her other work for the public theater. Kind of reminds me of Polish posters from the 60’s-70’s. It works great as a poster, I’m not convinced of it as a book cover.
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2007-10-21 12:13:00
this is a horrible image for a cover or poster if you understand the history of the real woman and the time she lived in…the graphic feels exploitive…and obviously is because most of the comments posted are about this exploited woman’s behind…
— lish, 2007-10-25 02:31:00
Sergio – heretical.com is a holocaust denying website and pretty damn racist. and quite appropriate to be listed under this image along w/everyone’s reaction to this as some kind of “buffy the body” sexy cover instead of visual represenation of the history of exploiting black folks’ sexuality.
i guess it did the trick
— tracy lynn, 2007-11-06 13:00:00
This communicates the exploitative nature of this historical event but plays it down a bit rightfully since it happened ages ago. It’s a play—it needs to attract folks theatrically as well as conceptually and graphically…
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2007-11-06 17:30:00
Es muy buena ilustracion, me parece genial el manejo de la proporcion, aunque yo hubiera experimentado con otras tonalidades de color.
— Leonardo ariza ardila, 2007-11-13 12:59:00
seems like a cheap answer, plus it’s all style, no substance.
this frustrates me.
— kellyc, 2008-06-05 10:35:00