This is a book by my colleague and mentor, Jane Graves, published May 2008.
Jane taught cultural studies, psychoanalytical theory and sociology at Central Saint Martins for over 30 years and influenced generations of artists and designers. Later on Jane worked as a psychoanalytical psychotherapist, but still had a strong connection with Central Saint Martins.
The book is a collection of 19 essays by Jane and capture her razor wit and analysis in the areas of design and aesthetics. They are as relevant, insightful and funny as when they were written.
The cover image is a sculpture by Bruce Gernand
The book design is by Sean O’Mara
There is a generous endorsement by Adam Phillips
ISBN 978–1‑4251–7070‑7
Jane was adamant that she would not work with an external editor for the book as she had a particular vision for it. I helped edit the texts and put them together for publication. I suggested to Jane that we illustrate the book with a series of collages from students and ex-students. She was very enthusiastic about this. I include some of these below. My own contribution was an essay about the use of collage in design — something that I have incorporated in student work for many years. I reproduce this below.
I am sad to report that Jane died on 29th March 2011 at the age of 76.
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