Happy New Year! A few days late but here are some of the things that caught my eye and excited me in December.
While in Milan for one day last week, we stumbled across a second-hand bookshop where I found the NOAH Directory of International Package Design III, published in 1989. My husband might not have been enthused about lugging this almost-400-page brick home in our luggage, but nothing was going to stop me from buying it. Published by the International Creators Organization (ICO), it features the work of designers from all over the world—primarily package design but also corporate and brand identities. If you are into 1980s design, the work is pretty endlessly inspiring, as are the occasional photos of the offices and design teams. Here are a few of my favourite pages:
Some good articles, movies, and more to inspire you this month:
reading
Becoming a Centenarian
New Yorker writer Calvin Tomkins’ journal of his 99th year, looking back on his long life and career, ruminating on old age, and contemplating turning one-hundred. When you have time, click through all the links and read the past articles he references.
Do I think about death? Yes, of course. I think about it fairly often, but without emotion. The question was settled for me years ago, when I realized that I don’t believe in any sort of afterlife. What I believe is that all of us—humans, animals, birds, plants, trees, and so forth—are part of the same natural world, and that death is as essential as life. This, for me, has always been a calming thought.
A great many humans believe in higher beings, single or multiple, and their belief has inspired miracles of thought and art, as well as senseless wars and cruelties. I respect the believers, but I don’t envy them. As for my living so long, I am grateful for that, and ready to accept death whenever it shows up.
