Estate have collaborated with the artist Stanley Donwood, known for his work with the rock group Radiohead, to produce a series of luminous, beautiful, surreal, and contemporary designs for 21 of J.G. Ballard‘s works. Donwood is known for the way he playfully manipulates the signs and symbols of modern life, in colour and collage, and his signature style is ideally suited to Ballard’s aesthetic. The new editions, which come complete with a series of illuminating introductions, will welcome a whole new generation of readers to Ballard’s fantastical and prophetic worlds. Extremely impressive.
4th Estate have posted an interview with designer Stanley Donwood on their website:
Are you a Ballard fan? If so, what’s your favourite book? Yes, I am a Ballard fan. To write this feels as if I’m in some sort of support group that meets weekly in a community hall; ‘my name is Stanley Donwood and I am a fan of JG Ballard.’ And then, in a dreary monotone, I explain the plot – as I interpret it – of The Crystal World, perhaps my favourite of his earlier books, and then, hardly pausing for breath, analyse in considerable detail the premise of Super-Cannes. [Read More]
Pingback: J.G. Ballard Series by Stanley Donwood | The Casual Optimist