Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Designer:
Jo Bonney, Australian, active USA  Search this
Publisher:
Grove Press, New York, New York, USA  Search this
Wheatland Corporation, New York, New York, USA  Search this
Author:
Kathy Acker, American, 1947–1997  Search this
Photographer:
Michel Delsol, French, active USA  Search this
Medium:
Offset lithograph on paper
Dimensions:
20.6 × 29 cm (8 1/8 × 11 7/16 in.)
Type:
graphic design
Book cover
Object Name:
Book cover
Made in:
USA
Printed in:
USA
Date:
1989
Catalogue Status:
Research in Progress
Description:
Printed front cover design with a purple background that includes a photographic reproduction of a woman with short hair facing forwards, with her head slightly upturned. Above the image, "KATHY ACKER" appears in green, and below, the title "EMPIRE OF THE SENSELESS" appears in orange, with the subtitle, "a novel" printed in black inside an upside down green triangle at the bottom. Traveling from the top to the bottom of the front cover is a simulation of a tear in white. A quote praising the book appears on the lower right in white printed text inside a black box. The spine is also purple and shows the author's name in green and the book's title in orange, both printed vertically, as well as Grove Press's colophon in black at the bottom. The back cover includes information about the book, including the price ($9.95), printed in black against a purple background. The first letter, "S," is contained within an upside down green triangle, and a small orange symbol that appears to reference book pages being turned, appears towards the bottom of the design above the black text, "AN EVERGREEN BOOK / Published by Grove Press." A white block containing a bar code and ISBN number printed in black is in the lower right corner of the back cover.
Credit Line:
Gift of Steven Heller
Accession Number:
1996-74-9
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4352b24b4-e725-4b50-b78c-3ec7c83bd0fc
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:chndm_1996-74-9