'never judge?' an exhibition at stolen space..

.. in association with Penguin books. 
I came across this on the Penguin books blog. The Stolen Space gallery describes the exhibition as:


The age old proverb is easier said than done, when choosing a read who can't be swayed by good cover art, the cover after all has the job of explaining thousands of words in an instant. Think of the classic covers that grace the jackets of thousands of books and the names of the truly great artists that have put their artwork to novels, creating iconic classic covers for these classic books, but is the book cover dying? With the advent of the iPad it's now questionable how long the printed novel and its cover will be around, just like the album cover, it'll be resigned to a thumbnail in iTunes.
StolenSpace in association with Penguin plan to celebrate the art of the book cover with a show titled ' Never Judge? this December.
The broad and varied spectrum of artists were invited to paint, print, etch, sculpt, photograph, whatever their medium, whatever their style... create a book cover for a novel of their choice, a book that has inspired them, a book that has had a profound impact on them or a book that they remember fondly as a child ... all that we asked was that they create their original artwork to the traditional format and size of a Penguin book 198mm (h) x 129mm (w)
For this exhibition 'Never Judge?' we will be exhibiting these artworks and fill the gallery with original book covers from our favourite artists from around the world. As well as originals we will be producing limited edition prints of a selection of the artwork. The show promises to be a visual feast and working in conjunction with Penguin and their upcoming Penguin Essentials project the show will be a guaranteed block buster.


I was particularly interested to find out what the artists had done because for my final major project on the ABC Diploma I redesigned the covers of J.D. Salinger's books. I really enjoyed the exhibition and thought all of the work so much more interesting than many other contemporary book cover designs. Here below are a selection of my favourites...

Animal Farm by Shepard Fairey (novel by George Orwell)

Here Fairey has done a pastiche of Russian propaganda posters by using red and black and stars. I'm surprised this hasn't been done before given that Animal Farm is an allegory for the relationship between Lenin and Trotsky. Very effective.

Breakfast At Tiffany's by Methane Studios 
(novel by Truman Capote)

This cover has also been done very appropriately in a fifties style. It reminds me of "I Dream of Jeannie' and very much encapsulates the mood of the book with its LBD, Pearls and stylised New York Skyscrapers.

The Snow Goose by Gray 318 (novel by Paul Gallico)

I love Paul Gallico and this novel in particular. Gray 318 has been very literal in his representation of the novel - the book is about a goose and he has apparently turned goose feathers into the letters of the title. Despite being obvious I still think it rather beautiful to look at. Gray 318 has done lots of my favourite book covers including those of some of Jonathan Safran Foer's novels. See more by clicking on his name above.

Mr. Bump by Steff Plaetz (book by Roger Hargreaves)

I found this artwork vaguely familiar and after wracking my brains to remember where I have seen the style before I recalled a hip-hop compilation album, a favourite of my youth...

I looked up the artist who had done the cover art of this album (Hip Hop, Don't Stop: The Greatest) and, although it wasn't Plaetz, it was actually a close collaborator of his, Will Barras, with whom he works on the Scrawl Collective, a group of graphic designers, street artists and illustrators who set up in 1998 (in Bristol I think) and have as their motto 'hand before mouse.'

It is a perfect example of graphic design that works - I like hip hop, and although I may not have listened to any recently I can still recognise the style of graphics synonymous with its genre. And it still appeals to me.

Anyway, here is a Mr. Bump for a less innocent era - he is street, he is rough and he gets into fights. Love it.