Take Your Pleasure Seriously

by Luca Barcellona

For Luca Barcellona, Italian graphic designer and calligrapher, letters are the building blocks of his creations. From Carolingian to tags, from the quill to the spray can, Barcellona takes the age-old craft of lettering to new heights with the inventiveness and talent of a contemporary virtuoso. His striking, expressive, and original letterforms and compositions open onto uncharted territory, laying the foundations of a new writing style. Take Your Pleasure Seriously (a quote by the designers Charles and Ray Eames) serves as a leitmotif for Barcellona who turned his passion into a way of life, first as a graffiti artist and then as a professional calligrapher. His production spans a broad range from the reproduction of a world globe from 1569 to brand identities, book covers, ad campaigns, and performances. This beautifully designed artist book features hundreds of drawings made over the last decade including commissioned work (Carhartt, Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Red Bull, Universal, etc.), personal projects, performances, and many never-seen-before work. The book will fascinate and inspire anybody who works with letters. CONTRIBUTORS Charles “Chaz” Bojórquez legendary urban artist from Los Angeles, began his career in the Chicano scene of the late 1960s and over the years shifted successfully from street to gallery artist. Giovanni De Faccio is a professional calligrapher, typeface designer (his most well-known is Rialto DF), and founding member of the Italian Calligraphic Association. He is internationally renowned for his teaching and dedication to the promotion of calligraphy. He teaches calligraphy and type design at the New Design University in St. Pölten, Austria. Nicola “Dee Mo” Peressoni debuted in the late eighties as an illustrator of European hardcore punk covers, posters, and fanzines, and went on to work in hip hop, becoming a pioneering figure in Italian graffiti and rap. He has been published in Max, Rumore, and Rolling Stone Italy.

Genres: Design

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeously produced and thoughtfully written book, highly interesting to calligraphers or any graphic artist. I appreciated his perspective and consider this a book well worth owning.