For this exercise I chose to make a mock-up of the book 'The catcher in the rye' by J. D. Salinger, first published in 1951.
It is narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, a troubled seventeen year old boy who has just been expelled from boarding school (again!).
The book is an account of how he spent the next few days in New York city, following his expulsion from school, before returning home to his parents for the Christmas holidays.
He is angry, disturbed and disillusioned. One of the few people with whom he can communicate is his younger sister, Phoebe, whom he loves.
He is on the brink of adulthood and sees himself as a saviour of children, protecting their innocence. He pictures himself in a field of rye at a cliff-edge. Children are playing around him and he catches them if they go too close to the edge - he is saving them from adulthood.
For the illustration I wanted to communicate the anger and disillusionment that he felt, and so I decided to use mainly red, together with black, white and grey for the colours.
As Phoebe was so important to him I needed to include a representation of her place in his life. The name Phoebe means bright and pure, and in Greek mythology she was a Titan associated with the moon.
Across the top third of the illustration a row of rectangles represent books on the left hand side (as symbols of his school life) and on the right they represent New York city blocks.
At the front is a field of rye - on the left hand side it is trampled and broken, whilst on the right it's blowing freely in the breeze.
The illustration represents the torment felt by Holden, the reality of his life and his hopes and dreams.
As part of my research I looked into the styling of Penguin modern classics with the intention of using the format for the illustration. As you can see by the front cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote, the styling is not compatible. So I made an another mock-up in Penguin modern classic style to see how it would look.
It is narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, a troubled seventeen year old boy who has just been expelled from boarding school (again!).
The book is an account of how he spent the next few days in New York city, following his expulsion from school, before returning home to his parents for the Christmas holidays.
He is angry, disturbed and disillusioned. One of the few people with whom he can communicate is his younger sister, Phoebe, whom he loves.
He is on the brink of adulthood and sees himself as a saviour of children, protecting their innocence. He pictures himself in a field of rye at a cliff-edge. Children are playing around him and he catches them if they go too close to the edge - he is saving them from adulthood.
For the illustration I wanted to communicate the anger and disillusionment that he felt, and so I decided to use mainly red, together with black, white and grey for the colours.
As Phoebe was so important to him I needed to include a representation of her place in his life. The name Phoebe means bright and pure, and in Greek mythology she was a Titan associated with the moon.
Across the top third of the illustration a row of rectangles represent books on the left hand side (as symbols of his school life) and on the right they represent New York city blocks.
At the front is a field of rye - on the left hand side it is trampled and broken, whilst on the right it's blowing freely in the breeze.
The illustration represents the torment felt by Holden, the reality of his life and his hopes and dreams.
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As part of my research I looked into the styling of Penguin modern classics with the intention of using the format for the illustration. As you can see by the front cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote, the styling is not compatible. So I made an another mock-up in Penguin modern classic style to see how it would look.
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