MoMA, New York: George Lois and The Esquire Covers

Exhibition Dates: April 25, 2008-March 30, 2009

Location: The Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries, third floor

Description: From 1962 to 1972, George Lois changed the face of magazine design with his ninety-two covers for Esquire magazine. Stripping the cover down to a graphically concise yet conceptually potent image that ventured beyond the mere illustration of a feature article, Lois exploited the communicative power of the mass-circulated front page to stimulate and provoke the public into debate. The artist encouraged Americans to confront controversial issues like racism, feminism, and the Vietnam War. Viewed as a collection, the covers serve as a visual timeline and a window onto the turbulent events of the 1960s. Initially received as jarring and prescient statements of their time, the covers have since become essential to the iconography of American culture.