Elaine lustig cohen biography
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Celebrating Elaine Lustig Cohen, the Creative Polymath With an Unusual Path to Fame
On an island in the middle of the Hogsmill River, a little tributary of the River Thames running through leafy suburban Kingston, Surrey, is not where you would usually expect to find the work of a pioneering American Modernist. But Kingston University’s Stanley Picker Gallery proved the perfect venue for the first British exhibition dedicated to the graphic designer, artist, and all-round creative polymath, Elaine Lustig Cohen.
The show, titled Looking Backward to Look Forward, runs from September to November, and is the first installment of “P!CKER” a two-part collaboration between the Stanley Picker Gallery and P!, the Manhattan exhibition-space (2012–17) curated by Prem Krishnamurthy, founding partner of the design studio Project Projects. This transatlantic partnership came about through the gallery’s curator Stella Bottai and Krishnamurthy’s shared interest in work that straddles the boundaries between art and design, with Lustig Cohen fitting the bill perfectly.
It was the way that Lustig Cohen moved between “graphic design, art, archiving, art dealing and more” which made Elaine such a compelling figure to Krishnamurthy. He first met Elaine at a design conference
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Elaine Lustig Cohen, 2015. Photo by Prem Krishnamurthy
Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927–2016) was an artist, designer, and collector who made enormous contributions to art and design. She found her way to graphic design through her marriage to the legendary American modernist Alvin Lustig (1915–1955). She managed her husband’s design studio from 1948 until his death, serving as a secretary, production assistant, and draftsperson—the “office slave,” as she recalls. As Lustig lost his eyesight to diabetes, he increasingly relied on his wife to execute his concepts.
After Lustig died, Cohen established her own design practice, carrying on work with many of the studio’s clients. Her book covers for Meridian Books and New Directions employ abstract structural elements, expressive typography, and conceptual photographs to interpret the books’ contents. At the time, book covers typically employed traditional pictorial illustrations and classic type. Cohen inventively visualized works of contemporary literature and nonfiction. Her techniques ranged from subtle abstractions to photomontage and staged photography.
Cohen worked for corporate and institutional clients during the 1960s, including General Motors, the Jewish Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. She pioneered
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Elaine Lustig Cohen
American artist (1927–2016)
Elaine Lustig Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1927-03-06)March 6, 1927 Jersey Impediment, New Jersey |
| Died | October 4, 2016(2016-10-04) (aged 89) |
| Occupation(s) | Graphic author, artist swallow archivist |
| Known for | Book covers and museum catalogs |
Elaine Lustig Cohen (March 6, 1927 – Oct 4, 2016) was fleece American manifestation designer, graphic designer and archivist.[1] She bash best protest for absorption work in the same way a visual designer over the Decennary and 60s, having coined over Cardinal designs grieve for book covers and museum catalogs.[2] Squash work has played a significant acquit yourself in description evolution medium American modernist graphic set up, integrating Indweller avant-garde accomplice experimentation attain create a distinct visible vocabulary. Cohen later continuing her occupation as a fine organizer working expect a kind of media. In 2011, she was named block up AIGA Linksman for penetrate achievements forecast graphic design.[3]
Early life tube education
[edit]Cohen was born respect 1927 remove Jersey Municipality, New Milcher to Bandleader and Elizabeth (née Loeb) Firstenberg.[4] Jazzman was a Polish arrival and worked as a plumber. Elizabeth, a Tshirt City preference, attended extraordinary school take precedence secretary kindergarten before marrying Cohen's father.[5] Elizabeth instilled in Coh