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Bound Bound, a major exhibition of cover artwork
from the books about the suave secret agent 007, has
opened in London...
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Bond Bound Exhibit Opens
22nd April 2008
Bond Bound: Ian Fleming & The Art of Cover Design
The centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, is to be
marked by a major exhibition of cover artwork from the books about the suave
secret agent 007 at the Fleming Collection at 13 Berkeley Street, London W1.
Bond Bound: Ian Fleming & The Art of Cover Design, which will be on show
from 22 April to 28 June 2008, will include unique and previously unseen archive
material.
Fleming, who was born on 28 May 1908, was the grandson
of Dundee-born Robert Fleming (1845-1933), the founder
of the investment bank that bore his name for more than
a century. The bank acquired the world’s finest corporate
collection of Scottish art now housed at The Fleming Collection,
which is supported by the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation,
an independent charity.
Right: Ian Fleming in his Study at
Ebury Street, London
- reproduced with permission of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd/Ian Fleming
Will Trust |
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Bond Bound: Ian Fleming & The Art of Cover Design will
cover all Ian Fleming’s
books including the children’s story Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang and Thrilling
Cities -his collected travel journalism. However, much of the
exhibition will inevitably chart the role of artists and designers
in creating and defining the
Bond look. The covers of Bond novels stretching back more than
half a
century provide a fascinating snapshot of society’s changes
attitudes to sex, feminism and politics.
Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale was published
in 1953, and the author worked on the cover design (above left)
himself, describing it as one of “exquisite
symmetry and absolute chastity”. Over the ensuing
decades the
front cover was changed on several occasions reflecting a more
open attitude
towards sex and later a move towards greater simplicity on book
jackets.
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Above Left: The cover
of the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, cover designed
by Ian Fleming reproduced with permission of Ian Fleming
Publications Ltd/Ian Fleming Will Trust.
Above Right: Casino Royale Cover (modern) Reproduced with permission
of Pan Macmillan
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The James Bond brand was established within the first few pages
of Casino
Royale. 007 had cold, ruthless eyes, drove a 1933 4.5 litre Bentley
and drank
Martinis “shaken not stirred”. He smoked Morland
cigarettes (a special
Balkan and Turkish blend), carried a .25 Beretta automatic handgun
and soon
met the enchanting Vesper Lynd, who wore a black velvet dress “simple
and
yet with the touch of splendour that only half a a dozen couturiers
in the
world could achieve.” It was a compelling mixture of sex,
style and violence
that soon turned Bond into the most famous fictional secret agent
in history.
That in turn provided artists and designers
with wonderful opportunities to
use their talents to the full. The exhibition will come right
up to date with the
literary legacy of Ian Fleming, including artwork from Charlie
Higson’s
bestselling Young Bond series, The Moneypenny Diaries by Samantha
Weinberg, writing under the pseudonym Kate Westbrook, which add
a
previously unknown female perspective to the Bond story and the
latest
instalment in Bond’s adult life written as a tribute to
Ian Fleming for the
Centenary by Sebastian Faulks.
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Above Left: Casino
Royale (2008) Cover illustration © Michael Gillette/Heart;
Cover design: gray318; Penguin 007, reproduced courtesy of Penguin
Above Right: Illustration by Stina Persson; Cover design by Madeline
Meckiffe;
Reproduced courtesy of John Murray
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Bond Bound: Ian Fleming & The Art of Cover Design will
be accompanied by a
catalogue containing essays by a number of experts including
Alan Powers,
an art historian and author of two publications on the design
of book jackets.
The exhibition will go on tour after it closes in London.
The Fleming Collection,
13 Berkeley Street,
London W1.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 5730. Admission Free.
Monday: Closed to general public (open by appointment for group
visits and educational events 10am - 5.30pm),
Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-5.30pm,
Sunday: Closed
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