In 1963 Milton Glaser was experimenting with various approaches that belied what would soon become the Push Pin Style of the ’60s. There was a tendency in both fine and applied arts to create assemblages and dimensional works that allowed for heightened dynamic illusions. Glaser’s work was often influenced by sculpture as well as found objects, consistent with his creative restlessness. The book covers below (which arguably could have been done in 2025 rather than 1963) are lesser-known but no less impressive examples of Glaser’s practice to interpret rather than illustrate complex themes.
Milton Glaser, 1963.
Karl R. Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies is a treatise of political philosophy that has as much relevance today as it did when first published in 1945. It is a case for the maintenance of a liberal democracy and poses arguments against philosophers, including Plato’s analysis of social change. The author (1902–1994) criticizes Hegel, arguing that Aristotle’s ideas, on which Hegel’s foundation was built, formed the philosophical underpinnings of 20th-century totalitarianism. Popper also critiques Marx for his reliance on historicism and rejects Marxist revolutionary solutions to economic and political disparity; he was an advocate for direct liberal democracy “as the only form of government that allows institutional improvements without violence and bloodshed.”
When the covers were designed in 1963, Glaser’s own political evolution was in its early stages, yet Popper’s ideas had to have made an impression on his worldview … and on his decision to design these covers as they appear.
(With thanks to Mirko Ilic for discovering these rarities.)
The post The Daily Heller: Thoughts on Covering an Open Society appeared first on PRINT Magazine.