Massin art book – Laetitia Wolff
Massin by Laetitia Wolff / ISBN 9780714848112 / Discounted copies of an out-of-print book, light shelfwear but close to like new condition / large 216-page hardcover (about 10 x 12 inches and almost 4 lbs), illustrated throughout / Published by Phaidon Press
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Robert Massin (b. 1925) is a highly influential French graphic designer and writer. He has worked with many famous authors and playwrights, including Eugène Ionesco, Blaise Cendrars, and Raymond Queneau, and for twenty years has been the art director for the pre-eminent French publisher Gallimard. This is the first monograph published in English on the work of Massin, one of the key exponents in the development of post-war graphic design. Wolff charts Massin’s wide-ranging career with detailed discussion of some of his most inventive and exciting projects, including the award-winning THE BALD PRIMA DONNA (1964) and LETTER AND IMAGE (1970). Wolff carried out her research in close collaboration with Massin, gaining unrivaled access to the Massin collection in Chartres as well as the designer’s personal archives. MASSIN includes preparatory sketches, letters, and finished works, photographed especially for this book.
Laetitia Wolff (b. 1969) is a writer, curator, and design consultant. Currently editorial director at SURFACE magazine, she is the author of the book series DESIGN FOCUS. She has also been involved with several graphic design exhibitions, including the first retrospective of the work of Massin at the Cooper Union Gallery in New York (2002).