So another cover by Henry Sene Yee. I wrote this review a few months ago and it never made it up. I promise he is not paying us to advertise his awesome work, but if you read this Henry, we would be happy to accept large sums of money.
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist. In his most recent book, he gives philosophical meaning to violence and explains that it is a driving motivator behind human thought and action. He goes so far as to claim violence as the foundation of Heidegger's notion of being (don't ask me to explain it). His writing is combative, but his sometimes violent tone is curbed by intelligent argument, which apparently plays into his theory of the quiet and passive violence of American culture (a culture that he is quite critical of).
The cover takes cues from the writer—it extends beyond a simple illustration. The photograph is a simple and readable concept: an impacted piece of paper. The strength of the execution is in how clear and simple it is. But it also reads well from a distance, with the highlights and shadows against the paper creating an intriguing pattern. The centrality of the image is offset by the type, sitting just off center and flushing left. The spine and back of the book are flat black with restrained white type. It feels somehow sinister, yet collected. If Žižek's philosophy holds up, this is a good interpretation of the true nature of violence: quiet, dark, and deliberate.
The strength of this cover is in the concept. It extends even to the production. The pages are trimmed using a method that produces a rough, hand bound look called a deckled edge—a small but smart addition since the pages look like they were torn to size. Book covers can be beautiful, they can be narrative, and they can be purely informational, but concept is king.
An all time classic- a superb concept- so simple but emotionally rich and supremely clever. Henry is the bees knees.
—
Anonymous Coward
, 2009-06-30 19:21:12 -0400
Weeeee... more Yeeeeeee! :D
Yeah, something I noticed about Yee's designs -- after visiting his site when the other cover appeared here -- is that the truly proficient aspects of his work are the accoutrements to the cover... the spines, backs, et cetera. They outshine, in my opinion, most of his covers. My general interpretation is that his ideas are more dispersed and diluted at the spine or on the back... In contrast, all of his ideas are densely concentrated and pressure cooked onto the cover (which then might come off as over-processed or unrestrained).
I do enjoy this cover (particularly the large Amazon rendering, because the tones are warmer and the gradients more subtle than those depicted here... a product of scanning no doubt). In this design it looks like Yee censored himself and peeled back some of his layers to reveal a sensitive and less winded ethic.
It seems like the separator between title and author ran out of steam, didn't it? While all his other line friends made it to the store and back again. But I kind of like that though... it brings attention where attention should be brought. Now THAT'S a use of subtle technique that I can appreciate at.
Grade A cover, and a brilliant rear and spine to match.
Violence: Big Ideas/Small Books
So another cover by Henry Sene Yee. I wrote this review a few months ago and it never made it up. I promise he is not paying us to advertise his awesome work, but if you read this Henry, we would be happy to accept large sums of money.
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist. In his most recent book, he gives philosophical meaning to violence and explains that it is a driving motivator behind human thought and action. He goes so far as to claim violence as the foundation of Heidegger's notion of being (don't ask me to explain it). His writing is combative, but his sometimes violent tone is curbed by intelligent argument, which apparently plays into his theory of the quiet and passive violence of American culture (a culture that he is quite critical of).
The cover takes cues from the writer—it extends beyond a simple illustration. The photograph is a simple and readable concept: an impacted piece of paper. The strength of the execution is in how clear and simple it is. But it also reads well from a distance, with the highlights and shadows against the paper creating an intriguing pattern. The centrality of the image is offset by the type, sitting just off center and flushing left. The spine and back of the book are flat black with restrained white type. It feels somehow sinister, yet collected. If Žižek's philosophy holds up, this is a good interpretation of the true nature of violence: quiet, dark, and deliberate.
The strength of this cover is in the concept. It extends even to the production. The pages are trimmed using a method that produces a rough, hand bound look called a deckled edge—a small but smart addition since the pages look like they were torn to size. Book covers can be beautiful, they can be narrative, and they can be purely informational, but concept is king.
— Fwis , 2009-06-30 08:17:45 -0400
Hells yes. One of the best covers out there.
— Anonymous Coward , 2009-06-30 10:35:09 -0400
Yeah, I love what he did with this series.
— Ian B. Shimkoviak , 2009-06-30 11:38:06 -0400
Here is a small image of the spine and back side. This is a serialized series and the type is quite nice.
— Fwis, 2009-06-30 12:05:21 -0400
An all time classic- a superb concept- so simple but emotionally rich and supremely clever. Henry is the bees knees.
— Anonymous Coward , 2009-06-30 19:21:12 -0400
Weeeee... more Yeeeeeee! :D
Yeah, something I noticed about Yee's designs -- after visiting his site when the other cover appeared here -- is that the truly proficient aspects of his work are the accoutrements to the cover... the spines, backs, et cetera. They outshine, in my opinion, most of his covers. My general interpretation is that his ideas are more dispersed and diluted at the spine or on the back... In contrast, all of his ideas are densely concentrated and pressure cooked onto the cover (which then might come off as over-processed or unrestrained).
I do enjoy this cover (particularly the large Amazon rendering, because the tones are warmer and the gradients more subtle than those depicted here... a product of scanning no doubt). In this design it looks like Yee censored himself and peeled back some of his layers to reveal a sensitive and less winded ethic.
It seems like the separator between title and author ran out of steam, didn't it? While all his other line friends made it to the store and back again. But I kind of like that though... it brings attention where attention should be brought. Now THAT'S a use of subtle technique that I can appreciate at.
Grade A cover, and a brilliant rear and spine to match.
— Chad , 2009-07-01 04:31:25 -0400
Love it--this series is brilliant! Smart, simple, and arresting. Leave it to Henry....
-Emily Mahon
— Anonymous Coward , 2009-07-01 12:21:22 -0400
What an excellent selection. The contrast is really what's doing it for me. Beautiful!
Hollis
— Anonymous Coward , 2009-07-17 12:55:44 -0400
I agree with what you said, Ben. This cover is arresting.
— yapay havuz , 2009-12-03 09:47:19 -0500
garlica
— garlica , 2010-01-20 08:03:40 -0500
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— red pepper , 2010-01-28 06:27:05 -0500