Re: The obscurity of Smith
Posted by:
Knygatin (IP Logged)
Date: 27 October, 2012 01:05PM
calonlan Wrote:
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> I think he might have
> liked the artwork on the Paperback "Tales of
> Science and Sorcery" -
Do you mean the Arkham House volume, which is red and white with a grey drawing, and has a photograph of CAS on the back?
> Clark preferred uncluttered and simple - the
> lushness is in the language - and attempts at
> painting what Clark wrote have thus far fallen far
> short of what the mind sees - I think a simple
> photograph of one the sculptures would be a great
> cover -
Some of my best reading experiences have been from books without any cover art. Bound volumes, with perhaps marbled boards, and small gilt letterings on the spine. Because there is nothing there to distract from you own imagination, nothing that would steer it in another direction.
Simple is probably best. But if adorned, the book is best made into an object of beauty in itself. By that I mean, using fine binding materials, perhaps decorative patterns, so the book becomes a self-contained object. Instead of using a cover painting, that really works as an illusion, making us see through the book. Today many books use elaborate cover illustrations, which function as surface distraction hiding underneath a binding that is often of inferior quality. It's commercialism that rules.
I have often said that if there is cover art, it is best if abstracted, at least partly, so it functions as decoration. Because as such, it will not dominate and steer one's own imagination.
However, in some cases I do enjoy elaborate or realistic cover art. If it is particularly good, bears direct relationship to the contents of the book, and if I feel that its style does not clash with my own personal imagination.
As for art on Lovecraft-books, I think I would have to say that the first Arkham House volume, The Outsider and Others, is the most successful. It captures the spirit of Lovecraft; the central theme of outsideness with the decorative stars, the weird and alien beings, the magi and symbols of ancient wisdom and culture, preferably connected to prehistorics of Egypt and older.