(More) Beautifully Briefed, Books and Design, May 2021

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On David Hockney’s Piccadilly Circus logo:

piccadilly-circus

It’s been a minute since I’ve been in London — 2011, to be exact — and I’d love to go back. The food, the parks, the museums, the Thames, the short train rides to more interesting places (Hello, Cambridge?), and even the Tube. (We’ll leave the anti-Americanism aside for right now — we’re post-Trump and post-Covid, so traveling is at least an option!) Yet even the cultural masterpiece that is London is showing some cracks; from the New Statesman:

Hockney’s Piccadilly Circus has also drawn criticism for its simplistic approach. Over on the cesspit of arts criticism that is Twitter, anonymous accounts that decry all art made post-1920 as an abomination have ridiculed Hockney’s scrawl as indicative of the death of art. Other critics have rightly argued that the work feels like a red flag to a bull: fuelling culture-war debates about the legitimacy of public art, rather than encouraging the public to get onside.

I like it more every time I see it. Read more at It’s Nice That.

On the NYC subway map:

Speaking of It’s Nice That, an interesting new book from Gary Hustwit . . . on the debate over the New York City subway map. On the one side, the iconic Massimo Vignelli version, introduced in 1972, representing the less-is-more approach. On the other, the replacement version from John Tauranac, introduced in 1979, representing the more-accurate-is-more approach. (An updated version of the latter is still in use today.)

But back in 1978, the two got up on stage at Cooper Union’s Great Hall — home to debates of, among others, Abraham Lincoln — and pitched their case:

They Look Happy! (Subway debate 1978)

Newly discovered photographs and audio lead to this new, smartly-designed, book. Read more at It’s Nice That; Dezeen has an interview with the author. Pre-order the book and get a limited-edition letterpress print at Oh You Pretty Things.

Subway Map Debate Book

On books and book design:

Nice new cookbook chock full o’ seventies-era design, “Violaine et Jérémy returns with a cookbook for Molly Baz, featuring three of the studio’s much-loved typefaces,” at — wait for it — It’s Nice That:

Nicoise Sandwich

Sandwich Nicoice. Mmmmmmm.

Lastly, just because, Kottke collects pencil photography to examine the typography. Nice.

Kottke on Pencil Photography

New: Cochran and Dublin Galleries

Spring is fleeting here in Middle Georgia — a heat wave next week promises triple-digit weather — so took the camera for a wander. Cochran and the other Middle Georgia State University was up first:

Cochran - MGA

A few shots from Cochran’s downtown, as well:

Cochran - Downtown

See the new Cochran gallery here.

Next up was a brief stop on Chester — single photograph posted here — then Dublin, where Martin Luther King made his first public speech, in 1944. There’s a little park to commemorate:

Dublin - MLK park

Downtown, alas, prominently features a Confederate monument (like so many places here in Georgia):

We’re working on it. Meanwhile, check Dublin’s new gallery here.

Last but not least, added a few shots to Macon’s miscellaneous gallery:

East Macon fire watch tower

Check the whole thing, covering almost fifteen years, here.

Special thanks to Prof. Gerald Lucas for the continued use of his Voigtlander 21mm ƒ1.8.

More New and Updated Middle Georgia Photography Galleries

New this week is the delightful little town of Yatesville, on the road from Macon to Thomaston:

See the rest in the new Yatesville gallery. And speaking of Thomaston:

Only a few photographs in that gallery, but more when I get a chance. Next, Barnesville:

I could have sworn I had more photographs from there, but am glad to have at least added to that gallery. Lastly, I’ve added to the Forsyth gallery:

All of the new photographs are from Forsyth’s City Cemetery.

Enjoy!