We might’ve just started Chime Studio, but we’ve been collaborating since 2014.
One of our early projects was a conceptual design for a series of book covers based on Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy. All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Cities of the Plain were written in the Western genre, but they chronicle the demise of the Western, the end of the cowboy lifestyle. At the conclusion of the final book, our protagonist— a real-life cowboy raised on a ranch in New Mexico—is homeless in Los Angeles in 2002, his last job having been as an extra in a Western film. He is a relic, the last of his kind in a world that has moved on.
The Concept
From Erin: This idea was so fascinating and put me in mind of species like the Passenger Pigeon that became extinct 100 years ago; the population having dwindled to a solitary captive female, the entire species’ definitive end was recorded with her death. I chose to depict this self-awareness of impending extinction through photographs of taxidermied animals. These creatures are preserved in artificial environments just as the cowboy is mythologized in our culture. I scoured antique markets and auction listings to find my animals and built their shadow box myself. The surrounding objects and plants were very purposefully chosen because they symbolize grief, death, a definitive end. The titles and author are displayed on tags I created using typography reminiscent of antique museum displays and catalogues.
The Execution
From Jeff: Based on the concept for the covers, Erin and I discussed different lighting scenarios to best reflect the idea. I set up the lighting so that it would have a harshness to it because these displays needed to look artificial. I chose to have the light source above the subject to mimic the lighting in a museum display. Lighting it in this manner created strong shadows behind the animals and created more contrast, framing the composition. For the backdrop, I spackled and painted a piece of drywall to look like an adobe wall and chose a piece of dark-stained wood to act as a shelf under the box. The overall effect is a contrast between the richness of the colors and textures and the intensity of the lighting.
The Result
The final design won us a Platinum Award in Graphis’ 2015 New Talent Annual, a silver Atlanta ADDY, and helped Erin win the Art Directors Club’s Atlanta Portfolio Night. Now that’s teamwork.
