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Spike Lee to Sign "Design for Obama" at Taschen Store New York

Filed under: Events, Art, Books, Celebrity Design


It is hard to believe that it is already the first anniversary of Barack Obama's election as the first African-American President of the United States. In honor of this historic occasion Taschen books New York is holding a book signing to celebrate the publication of Design for Obama. Posters for Change: A Grassroots Anthology. Taschen a publishing house originally started in Cologne, Germany 1980 by 18 year-old Benedikt Taschen, who found himself with a huge collection of comic books, has become renowned for being the premier international publisher of stunning art books.

Unbeknown to many, hundreds of artists and designers supported Obama's campaign in an unusual way, with their talent at DesignforObama.org founded by one of the books editors Aaron Perry-Zucker. This web-site built upon the concept of volunteerism during a history making campaign provided an online forum where artworks could be uploaded and downloaded for free.

Filmaker Spike Lee and Aaron Perry-Zucker chose the best of the submissions and have compiled them into a book commemorating the 44th President and the artistic creativity that helped him win the historic election last fall. In addition to curating the artwork in the book, Lee, Perry-Zucker and design historian Steven Heller wrote essays to complement this collection of over 200 pro-Obama posters designed by everybody from renowned graphic artists to those who practice their art on the streets of our cities.

If you want to have your copy personally signed by the editors head to Taschen's New York SoHo location where the editors including Spike Lee will be on hand on November 4th, 2009 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Persephone Books in London

Filed under: Journeys, Books

Photo of London's Persephone Book Store on Lamb's ConduitIn the age of digital books, the Kindle, and, ahem, blogs, one unassailable argument for the survival of paper are beautiful, lavishly designed books. Books that are actually pleasing design objects, if not works of art.

Persephone Books is a small London book publisher on a wonderful shopping street called Lamb's Conduit, which I discovered on a retail tour led by Clare Dowdy, author of One Off, about unique retailers worldwide. (Arrange Dowdy's tour through the InterContinental Park Lane London.)

Persephone, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, publishes just 83 books, and ones you won't easily find elsewhere -- neglected classics by 20th century writers who are mostly women. Their books are bound in an elegant dove gray, and the endpapers are unique to each book, and are prints of antique fabric designs. (You can get a matching bookmark.) It's fun to visit the store and hard to buy just one -- I walked away with An Interrupted Life: The Diary of Etty Hillesum, and The Journal of Katherine Mansfield -- although you can also order online.


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