RIP J. G. Ballard (1930 – 2009)
The Atrocity Exhibition (1970) – J. G. Ballard [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Cover for the first edition of The Atrocity Exhibition.
James Graham Ballard (born November 15, 1930 in Shanghai – 19 April 2009) was a British writer. He was a prominent member of the New Wave in science fiction. His best known books are the controversial Crash, and The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash was made into film by David Cronenberg.
The adjective “Ballardian“, defined as “resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in JG Ballard’s novels and stories, especially dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments,” has been included in the Collins English Dictionary.
His work was most recently celebrated in the exhibition J. G. Ballard. Autopsy of the new millennium.
David Pelham covers
John, Paul or others,
Who did the cover of the above Atrocity Exhibition cover?
Thanks
Jan
Dali “The City of Drawers”, study for “Anthropomorphic Cabinet” 1936
Heh, he beat me to it. I used the same picture as part of my design for Savoy’s The Exploits of Engelbrecht, one of Ballard’s favourite books. He contributed a short blurb for the Savoy edition.
I’ve never seen it stated thus but it’s a good bet that Ballard himself suggested the use of Surrealist art on some of his covers. The use of Max Ernst’s The Eye of Silence on The Crystal World was a perfect match.
Thanks Paul and John,
The cover reminded me of Alan Aldridge’s poster 1 for Chelsea Girls (1966) . Aldridge must have been inspired by Dali.
Jan
John,
Thanks for pointing me to http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Maurice_Richardson
Jan