Museum Honors George Lois
The Museum of Modern Art Will Open New Exhibit of Esquire Covers
Apr 27, 2008
The Museum of Modern Art will honors famed artist George Lois with an exhibit titled “George Lois: The Esquire Covers” that opens on Friday, May 2, 2008. Lois created 92 covers for Esquire magazine from 1962 to 1972, and 32 of them will be featured in the exhibit.
The Exhibit
The show is organized by Christian Larsen, a curatorial assistant at the museum. He chronicled the issues of the day and made political statements through his work, which featured everyone from Muhammad Ali to Andy Warhol. When Lois began contributing to the men’s magazine Esquire in 1962, sales were dropping though the quality of the content hadn’t changed. It took Lois’ eye-catching and often jaw-dropping covers to bring sales back up.
Lois’ run lasted from the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War. He started out in 1953 in CBS’ advertising and promotions’ department. Since then, he has come up with television ads for MTV featuring the classic “I Want My MTV“ campaign, USA Today and Tommy Hilfiger. He started his own agency in the 1960s, Paper Koenig Lois, working towards clear and simple images that added significant meaning to its topic. Lois was given little direction when creating his Esquire covers, just an overview of the issue, and he would produce an image without any meetings or intensive editing.
A Lifetime of Recognition
This exhibit is not Lois’ first recognition by far. He has won several awards in his lifetime including The Art Directors Hall of Fame, the Copy Writers Hall of Fame, and lifetime achievement awards from The American Institute of Graphic Arts Lifetime Achivement award and the Society of Publication Designers. He has written five books including an autobiography and a college text book on visual art.
Lois is said to be unimpressed with the magazine covers of today, with their inexpressive images and crammed placement of celebrities on the page. Lois, who has always considered himself an artist, calls his exhibition the “most thrilling” of his recognitions for the fact that the Museum of Modern Art also recognizes him as such.
A Milestone
The exhibit, which runs through March 31, 2009, is also a milestone for the museum, showing that they are beginning to regard advertisements as pieces of art that are just as much about artistic expression as they are about selling magazines. Lois' goal when creating his pieces was to create something that would last. This exhibit shows that they will.
