In this lecture Steven Heller reflects on Alvin Lustig’s prolific but tragically brief design career and the extent to which it epitomized the working processes, identity and preoccupations of the 20th century graphic designer. Through his genre-defining book jackets, magazines, interiors and textiles, Lustig brought the principles of modern art to bear on mid-20th century American design, and created a magnificent body of work before his untimely death in 1955 at the age of 40.

Steven Heller is author and editor of over 130 books on graphic design, satiric art and popular culture. He is co-founder and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, and co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism, MFA in Interaction Design, MFA Social Documentary Film and MPS Branding programs. He writes the “Visuals” column for the New York Times Book Review and “Graphic Content” for the T-Style/The Moment blog. One of his most recent books is Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig (Chronicle Books, 2010) with Elaine Lustig Cohen.

Event Information
When: 5 Oct 2010, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Where: Design Criticism MFA Department, 136 West 21st Street, New York, 2nd floor
Price: Free and open to the public