American Crescent
Design by Thomas Beck Stvan
When I first saw American Crescent, I immediately thought of an Economist cover I saw a year or so ago. Turns out the magazine has an archive of their covers, and I was able to find it.
In less talented hands, American Crescent would feature a shot of the Statue of Liberty facing us, with the crescent somehow affixed to the statue. And that would betray the nature of the book, which is about an acceptance of Islam that's (perhaps) yet to come. The photo selection is really great here -- only from a low perspective and from the back can the statue appear to be looking wistfully at and up to a potent symbol of Islam. Compare this to the Economist cover, on which the crescent is clearly part of the quintessential image of Europe, representing Islam as a stronger and more established cultural and religious force.
Small differences, maybe, but important ones nonetheless. 
1 comment:
The capitalized words on the American Crescent cover remind me of the subtitles found in 18th century adventure novels. You know, something like: "Being the NARRATIVE of a blacksmith's APPRENTICE, CAPTURED by PIRATES, and the search for TREASURE on a deserted ISLE."
Post a Comment