SPD 50: November 2014 Archives

For several years in the mid-1990s, Steven Freeman was a ubiquitous presence at SPD events, photographing judgings, conferences, and other activities. His portraits of publication design judges appeared in a number of SPD annuals, as well as the Grids newsletter (back when the SPD newsletter was printed and mailed to members!). One of the highlights of Steven's work was when he photographed participants at SPD's Mag2000 conference in Monterey, California, in early April 1996.

Organized by co-chairs Tom Bentkowski, design director of Life, and Roger Black of Roger Black, Inc., Mag2000 was an historic gathering of close to 300 art directors, designers, editors, and industry professionals. They gathered to hear an all-star collection of presentations from the likes of James Burke, Henry Wolf, Sam Antupit, Martha Stewart, Brendan Gill, Nigel Holmes, and an array of art directors including Gary Koepke, Fred Woodward, Will Hopkins, Mary K. Baumann, David Carson, and many more.

Mag2000 was an amazing gathering of talent. Roger Black said "This is the first conference I've ever been to where any one of the illustrious speakers at the podium could easily switch places with almost anyone in the audience."

Steven Freeman spent several days photographing participants in an improvised studio. The results include sparkling portraits of the cream of magazine art directors, circa 1996, including Roger Black, Fred Woodward, Janet Froelich, Ina Saltz, Diana LaGuardia, David Carson, Michael Grossman, Walter Bernard, and many more, plus a photo of Martha Stewart.

(Pictured above): Richard Baker, art director, Us.

One of the most important and memorable art shows this year (or any year, for that matter!) is Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life, currently on exhibit through January 11, 2015 at the Bard Graduate Center on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. This exhibit is essential viewing for SPD members and anyone interested in magazine design, illustration, painting, and brilliant visuals. One of the most influential illustrators and artists to come out of the 1960s, Nessim's An Artful Life shows her work as painter, computer artist, fashion designer, magazine illustrator, art director, teacher, public art creator, and more. The show is filled with bold, bright, powerful cover illustrations, large-scale computer artwork, mod 60s dress and shirt designs, ads for Levi's, videos, photos, and engaging imagery of all kinds.

In reviewing the show, the Huffington Post said of Nessim, that she "has been at the front lines of both illustration and feminism, crafting androgynous superstars who straddle the line between art and ad, masculine and feminine." For more on the show, see Steven Heller's review for The Atlantic, 50 Years of Reinventing Illustration.

Walking through the show is like viewing a cultural history of the past 50 years. Nessim has illustrated the covers of numerous major magazines, from Rolling Stone to Time to The New York Times Magazine. She was one of the first artists to embrace the computer as a creative tool. And the show is peppered with the celebrities who have surrounded Nessim's life, including Gloria Steinem (she and Nessim were roommates in the 60s), Milton Glaser, David Bowie record producer Tony Visconti, and many more. Nessim's influence on the visual world has been extensive, as an artist, illustrator, and designer and as the longtime chairperson of illustration at Parsons School. Do not miss this show!

After the jump there's more awesome illustrated cover art by Nessim, plus comments by her on creating covers and her beginnings as an illustrator.