The cover of Time magazine has always been a prized, influential spotlight on which editors showcase a topic of great importance. This week’s image and feature story is a disturbing one: a portrait of an Afghan woman’s gruesome abuse at the hands of the Taliban, and a sequel of sorts to the 1985 Steve McCurr photo of a 12-year-old Afghan girl with piercing eyes. The Afghan war is of great importance, definitely worthy of the cover.

Also a topic of importance, architecture fell out of Time’s focus, historically. Though coverage has always been current and thorough, if somewhat limited, inside the magazine (and somewhat less frequent since the recent redesign), the cover was once a showcase for influential architects/buildings of the time. What does it mean that architecture no longer demands popular attention? To date, Koolhaas, Gehry, Piano, Mockbee, and Sinclair haven’t been featured (though they are all well known in trade magazines). Why? Popular opinion of architecture, as a result, is out of date.

Boris Artzybasheff was Time’s go-to cover artist; he created iconic portraits of world figures with “trigger” images in the background. On a 1964 cover, Buckminster Fuller’s bald head is a geodesic dome; he is surrounded by his other futuristic creations (is that a little Dymaxion car?). With a new design age coming, will architecture return to the forefront, as much of our built environment is in need of repair?

Either way, these Time covers from a previous age (peaking in the 1950s) reflect a different attitude towards architects (and designers). Take a look at some classics below. Who/what would be worthy of the Time cover today?

R. Buckminster Fuller, Jan 10, 1964 by Boris Artzybasheff via Time

Le Corbusier, May 5, 1961, by Boris Chaliapin via Time

 Philip Johnson, Jan. 8th, 1979 by Ted Thai via Time

Eero Saarinen, July 2, 1956 by Boris Artzybasheff via Time

And industrial designers:

Raymond Loewy, October 31, 1949 by Boris Artzybasheff via Time

And even architectural critics!

Lewis Mumford, April 18, 1938 via Time

by Jim Wegener

posted in General

tagged Boris Artzybasheff, buckminster fuller, eero saarinen, Le corbusier, Louis Mumford, philip johnson, Time magazine

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