Studying Death of a Salesman (2)

Designed by Social Realist painter Joseph Hirsch

I have one or two book copies of this play, and they're either in a moldy box in our basement or somewhere in some storage in Dubai.  I have only a vague memory of the covers, but this one by Joseph Hirsch is powerful in that we see, and we sense, the weight of the world on Willy Loman's weary shoulders. 

The New York Times also asked students at the Parsons the New School for Design to give the cover a go:

Designed by Aija Gibson

Designed by Isabel Castillo Guijarro

Designed by Ashley Butler

Designed by Alina Petrichyn

Designed by Nick Vidovich

Designed by Erik Freer

Death of a Salesman was first performed in 1949, so this iconic American play may have predated these young designers' parents.  The New York Times took the liberty of engaging a design critic to weigh in on these pieces and thankfully also of enlisting the designers themselves to speak out on their work.  Me, I am less concerned about the critique, and more intrigued by how a young audience views what must be an ancient play, judging by the hip media and tech culture of today. 

So in this respect, for better or for worse, I find all of these illustrations compelling.  Note how Willy is either absent (traveling) or partial, even disembodied and amorphous.  Of course I wonder how much the students studied the play itself and how well they were taught and guided on understanding it.  But this is part of my intrigue, too, that is, what happens at school.

To read what the critics and students say, here it is Life of a 'Salesman'.