by Lisa Congdon

Hi everyone! I think about once a month I will post here about one of my favorite art, photography, graphic design or illustration books. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by many at the store I own with my friend Rena and have many in my own collection. The one I am going to share with you today—Naïve: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic design—was just released.

When this book first arrived at Rare Device last week I knew I had to take a copy home. For starters, the cover art is by one of my favorite illustrators, Pietari Posti, and so I was immediately drawn to open it up and take a look. Inside are the illustrations and graphic design of 61 of today’s most talented folks (including, proudly, three—Matte Stephens, Jenn Ski and Helen Dardik—who are represented by my own illustration agent, Lilla Rogers !). The book is filled with full page, color images, with hardly any text, which, for those of us who are visually inclined (and less apt to read about the pictures), is a real treat.



Naive publishers have curated a visual display from a group of young graphic designers and illustrators whose style fits (some loosely) into the category of Naïve art and design. While Naïve art is typically characterized by “childlike simplicity” it is the work of trained artists, or at least artists who are part of mainstream society (as opposed to “outsider” or “folk” artists, who are often not only self taught but out of mainstream society). The childlike simplicity is often represented in Naïve art by unrealistic proportions or awkward perspectives, strong use of pattern, or non-traditional color schemes. In Naïve Modern, all of these characteristics are combined with those from the renaissance of the Classic Modernism movement of the 1940’s to 1960’s. You can read the publisher’s description of the book here.

Naïve: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic design is published by European based art Getalten, who publishes a range of books on visual culture. We carry it at Rare Device.


Posted by Lisa Congdon