Sunday 11 October 2020

sm;)e

Navigating the countercultural and often contradictory notation and expression of graphic designer Harvey Ball’s (*1921 – ๐Ÿ™‚2001) enduring and pervasive icon, with precedents and antecedents—never trademarked and it earning Ball a commission of forty-five dollars—the smiley has enjoyed a duplicitous career as no other symbol and is certainly a subject ripe for exploration as it was enlisted, never exclusively, for the commercial and corporate as well as for the subversive and sublime. Via Colossal, this history with relevant touchstones and points of departure are the subject of an upcoming coffee table volume from DJ DB Burkeman and Rich Browd. Much more to discover at the links above.