Libro "Visionary Dictionary: Beppe Giacobbe from A to Z"

“Art is work.” – Milton Glaser

In this first monograph on the work of Beppe Giacobbe, the artist reminds us that “illustration is a service”. His ironic, conceptual, provocative, and ambivalent drawings are a testament to his unparalleled visual problem-solving skills. Like a film soundtrack, Giacobbe’s illustrations set the tone of a text, signaling its potential tensions, contradictions, or problems: we see an Orthodox Jew perched atop a roll of barbed wire, an astronaut carrying a bucket containing the entire universe, a sports car with snails where there would normally be wheels. With great simplicity and lightness, Beppe Giacobbe offers a worldview that invites us to reflect on the current state of things.

This collection of over 250 illustrations is subdivided into key topics—alienation, hope, identity, etc.—and sorted alphabetically like a visual dictionary. The book’s user friendliness remains faithful to the concept of service, such that the reader gains a better understanding of the artist’s point of view and the origins of his figurative style, which has garnered him widespread esteem and continues to win over new fans from the up-and-coming generation.

Texts by Gianluigi Colin, Paolo Di Stefano,
Edgardo Franzosini, Marina Mander
Interview by Matteo Bologna
Book design by Pitis

21 × 25,5 cm (8 ½ × 10″)
288 pages
More than 250 illustrations
Softcover
English / Italian edition