A few days ago, I posted pictures of equipment used at Arion Press to create their wonderful books. The pictures were taken at my visit to Arion Press in early September this year. This next installment looks at some of the artwork hanging on the walls at Arion. These pictures are mostly originals, done by artists they commission, for the illustrations of their books.
Probably my favorite part of the visit was meeting the artist William Wiley. Mr. Wiley has illustrated a number of Arion Press books, two of which, Don Quixote and The Voices of Marrakesh, I am lucky enough to own. Mr. Wiley was extremely gracious, very friendly and fun to talk with.
As you will see below, due to the lighting and time of day, along with the glass in front of the art, the pictures I took are less than stellar, many with unfortunate reflections. I am posting them anyway, hopefully they are good enough for you to get a feel for their wonderful quality and style.
Your visit to the Arion Press truly appears to have been a splendid evening.
Of the 30 or so Arion Press titles that I own, William Wiley’s illustrations for ‘The Voices of Marrakesh’ are among my favorites and they greatly enhance that edition, perfect in mood and execution. Ironically, I have found that the Arion Press selections of illustrators have been a consistent weak point and they vary from being quirky (Michael Graves’ architectural illustrations for ‘The Great Gatsby’) to downright irritating (John Baldessari’s spectacularly inappropriate collages for ‘Tristram Shandy’ and Mel Kendrick’s sperm drawings for ‘Kora On Hell’ — what on Earth were they thinking!!).
Ironically, the best of the Arion Press illustrated books (for me, anyway) are those with photography rather than artwork. Lou Stoumen’s photographs for ‘The Big Sleep” go straight to the top of the list and the vintage and modern (Edmund Shea) photographs of San Francisco for ‘The Maltese Falcon’ work exceptionally well. Special mention for the stunning photography Michael Kenna provided for both ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and ‘The Silverado Squatters’. His photos are dark, moody and atmospheric and they are a focal point of both editions.
I agree, the books with photography that I have, or have seen, are great…amongst the best. The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon especially. I have not see The Silverado Squatters, will need to look for that one. One other I agree on, is I simply just did not get John Baldessari’s collages for Tristram Shandy. I did not care for them.