Le Corbusier: Architect of Books 1912-1965 / Edition 1

by Catherine De Smet, Le Corbusier

Overview

Le Corbusie&rgrave;s buildings have long been part of the inalienable canon of 20th century architecture. But le Corbusie&rgrave;s work as a book designer and author is scarcely known, and has hitherto not been acknowledged - Le Corbusier meticulously planned and realized over 40 books in his lifetime. Architect of Books shows that Le Corbuiser accorded great importance to books as an essential part of his output. Using unpublished archive material, Catherine de Smet traces the process by which these books emerged and makes it possible to discover the great construction architect as a book artist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783037780343
Publisher:	Lars Muller Publishers
Publication date:	04/15/2005
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Editorial Reviews

Le Corbusier, most famous as an architect, was also a gifted book designer, creating some 35 books between 1912 (at age 25) and 1960. This catalog of an eponymous exhibition, curated by art historian and critic de Smet and on view in Italy and France through 2006, illustrates these book designs in beautiful color and black-and-white plates that also feature complete book covers, interiors, preliminary sketches, and mockups. De Smet discusses how Le Corbusier's layouts accomplished, in his words, an "argument of illustrations" that could cause "facts to leap to the reader's eye through the power of imagery" and considers his typographic choices, use of photomontage, and synthesis of diverse media. It's fascinating to read that he viewed books as a perfect expression of a "machine society," better suited to mass production than craftwork. General readers will be attracted to the fine illustrations, but this book will be of greatest interest to students and scholars of graphic design, architecture, and Le Corbusier himself. For libraries collecting graphic design and architecture titles.-Michael Dashkin, Qualcomm, San Diego Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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