Family, Masahisa Fukase
The cover is designed as a restyling for Masahisa Fukase's book "Family," which, to get a brief description of the project, the artist herself describes thus, "My entire family, whose image I see inverted in the frosted glass, will die one day. This camera, which reflects and freezes their images, is actually a device for archiving death."
I therefore chose to depict the family on the cover, which, at this point, in addition to being a preview of the contents, also becomes explanatory of the project. In fact, it is not a conventional photo: it appears as a normal family photo (all the members are present and posed), but we see them from the back. It is a small trick that, however, gives us a sense of the particularity of the photographer's vision.
I also wanted to choose a photograph of them from the back because it is as if they are all looking inside the book, which is themselves, just as Fukase looks inside herself through her own descendants.
The cover material also cooperates in creating meaning: the raw canvas, primarily a symbol of the artistic work, is looked at by the group of characters who are both observers i and an integral part of the work.
The typeface used is "Compagnon," which refers to "handmade," to embroidery and is charged with the value of intimacy. This graceful yet unconventional and modern being goes precisely to echo this link between past and present, between lineage and identity that conveys to us all the artist's work collected in this volume.
The cover material also cooperates in creating meaning: the raw canvas, primarily a symbol of the artistic work, is looked at by the group of characters who are both observers i and an integral part of the work.
The typeface used is "Compagnon," which refers to "handmade," to embroidery and is charged with the value of intimacy. This graceful yet unconventional and modern being goes precisely to echo this link between past and present, between lineage and identity that conveys to us all the artist's work collected in this volume.
The color red, associated with these lines so thin and homogeneous in thickness, is like a cotton thread that binds Masahisa Fukase to his family; inseparable but distinct. Family is the first society where you are placed as a child, it plays a fundamental role in individual growth and formation. That is why that I chose to place the word "Family" in the center of the page, exactly halfway between the photographer's first and last name. The first name is individual identity, the last name is provenance.
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR TIME
A project by
Rossella Fiori
