<< Back to previous page

"Little 1" by Ann & Paul Rand

Author:

Ann & Paul Rand

Publisher:

Harcourt (l962); Chronicle (2006)

Reviewed by:

John Warren Stewig, Carthage College

What a pleasure to have a reprint of a book, nearly 50 years old, the simplicity and understated quality of which still make it remarkably fresh. Because copies of the original have probably disappeared, worn-out, from library shelves, this is a useful tool to help adults understand why the Rands were such a groundbreaking couple when their work began to appear. Indeed, Barbara Bader states: (the)" work was reproduced and displayed, analyzed and imitated." Today the iconography of the Rand's is so commonplace in many visual facets of life that the origins aren't necessarily apparent. The big, bold shapes, crisp edges, simplification and contrasts between blocks of color and lines which give definition to ideas were indeed unusual when the artists began working. It is a delight to have this information available. The only, and significant, drawback to the book is the unfortunately apparent "ghosts" which bleed through from previous and following pages: a better quality, more opaque paper would have made a perfect project.