Cover Revolution: The New Face of Publishing

Here is an exhibition whose evocative title says it all: “Cover Revolution”. Inherent in the word revolution is change. In the last ten years, the cover artwork by Italian illustrators have led and reflected great change in several major publishing houses based in Italy– a revolution that began as a challenge to attract the attention of readers. Where there were once just simple titles on modest backgrounds, now colors, images and icons are everywhere. A selection of these works will be on show from 29 September to 26 October at the Institute of Italian Culture in New York in an exhibit that co-created by the Italian Institute of Dublin and the Formentini workshop in Milan.

The featured illustrators Franco Matticchio, Lorenzo Mattotti, Emiliano Ponzi, Guido Scarabottolo, Gianluigi Toccafondo and Olimpia Zagnoli discuss their vision in a panel at the IICNY. These artists blew the proverbial dust covering the old titles with their imaginative, brightly colored designs, as in this example: Judicious Mates by Carlo Emilio Gadda (Garzanti, 2001), a classic title whose cover transformed its image:

 

This exhibit explores the artistry of these illustrators as well as the commercial impact that their creativity has engendered in the publishing industry, whose role has shifted dramatically in the last decade since the onset of digital publishing. Publishing houses have placed a new emphasis on cover art to attract readers to the print edition, recognizing that the book itself is a kind of keepsake, which a beautiful cover can underline.

 

– Francesca Procopio