RHYME AND REASON | PROSE AND CONS

The painter R. Kenton Nelson commissioned a book of his work that would also serve as a catalog for an upcoming museum exhibition. The artwork was inspired by traditional children’s nursery rhymes and Nelson wanted each image in the book to be captioned with its corresponding rhyme. During the design process the title “Rhyme and Reason” occurred to me—a play on words that described the book's concept and content. As work progressed, Nelson chose to expand the collection and use excerpts of selected prose to caption the new additions. It seemed appropriate to separate out the poetry and prose, so a second volume was designed and aptly titled “Prose and Cons.” A custom slipcase was fabricated with a built-in cloth-bound divider separating the two volumes. The black cloth-bound slipcase holds the two books, each with a black cloth spine and a cover wrapped in full-bleed, full-color paintings. The somber package reveals a colorful surprise.

Nelson’s work has been shown at Peter Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA; Galerie Nikolaus Ruzicksa, Salzburg, Austria; Galleria Haas AG, Zurich, Switzerland and other international venues. His paintings have appeared in the New Yorker magazine and were featured in the film, “Something’s Gotta Give.”

Concept, project management, art direction,
book design and production: Jill von Hartmann
Publisher: Morton Court Publishing

Two-volume set; cloth-wrapped casebound; custom slipcase; 10" x 10"; 80 pages each volume

“Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”
—Oscar Wilde