New+Notable
03.14.12
Fred Woodward Spoofs George Lois Spoofing Andy Warhol
The Oxford American describes the itself as "a national magazine dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South." At times it can also be pretty funny--especially when they do things like this spoof cover (above), created by GQ DD Fred Woodward.OA founder & editor Marc Smirnoff tells the story ...
The idea of getting a great Southern-born magazine designer to come up with a fake (and however outrageous) Oxford American cover just sprang into an editorial head while we were putting together our recent "Visual South" Issue. Then, because Woodward is at the top of our list of Great Southern-born magazine designers we simply asked (begged) him to do it. No editorial advice was given beyond telling him that we wanted something that excited him. He thought on it and then we had the good fortune to hear him say "yes." Most of what is manifested in our magazine does not come so easily or smoothly--at least on our part--or free of drama. When we saw Fred's cover we were overcome with delight! The guy is nuts with creativity.
The OA ran this on the back cover of their latest issue. The fine print says "By Fred Woodward (with apologies to George Lois), an acknowledgment of the obvious tribute to Lois' May 1969 Esquire cover feature Andy Warhol (below).
About the magazine:
The Oxford American is a national magazine dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South.
Billed as "The Southern Magazine of Good Writing," it has won three National Magazine Awards and other high honors since it began publication in 1992. The magazine has featured the original work of such literary powerhouses as Charles Portis, Roy Blount, Jr., ZZ Packer, Donald Harington, Donna Tartt, Ernest J. Gaines, and many other distinguished authors, while also discovering and launching the most promising writers in the region. The magazine has also published previously unseen work by such Southern masters as William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, James Agee, Zora Neale Hurston, James Dickey, Carson McCullers, to name just a handful. The New York Times recently stated that The Oxford American "may be the liveliest literary magazine in America."
The magazine is also noted for its impressive art and photography and has published exceptional works by Willliam Eggleston, Carroll Cloar, Thornton Dial, Sr., Lara Tomlin, Wayne White, Robert Gwathmey, Glennray Tutor, and many others. The magazine has released two DVDs, which have featured the work of such directors as Ross McElwee, Roger Corman, Ray McKinnon, Joey Lauren Adams, Frederick Wiseman, and others.
