The very special science fiction illustrations for The New Yorker by an ever-great Jacob Escobedo

Date
12 June 2012

Full credit to Jacob Escobedo: For his gig posters and record covers used by the likes of Broken Bells, The Shins, Gnarls Barkley and Vampire Weekend. For creative directing Adult Swim and for taking for photographs which have character cameos from Kanye West and David Lynch (exclusively, hanging out). And finally for his contributions to The New Yorker’s June issue, illustrations with a science fiction bent, accompanying articles by the genre behemoths like Ursula k. Le Guin, Margaret Atwood and, most extraordinarily, the final published piece by Ray Bradbury, released the day before his passing.

This sort of all-creative-corners-covered occupation is rare but not unexplainable. Jacob works with an iconic focus in his work, all attention put on a strange visual motif dripping (sometimes literally) with colour and texture and abstract, graphic expressions. The format is editorial and music-friendly, the colours and ambiguity of the work lending itself nicely to auditory translation, and the quality, too, is food for fans who take pride in their memorabilia or who don’t want the written or musical content to be spoiled by inappropriate imagery. No trouble of that here, Jacob has it down and is pretty inimitable at it.

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Jacob Escobedo: Illustrations for The New Yorker June issue. SCIENCE FICTION – Ray Bradbury article

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Jacob Escobedo: Illustrations for The New Yorker June issue. SCIENCE FICTION – Margaret Atwood article

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Jacob Escobedo: Illustrations for The New Yorker June issue. SCIENCE FICTION – Ursula K. Le Guin article

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Jacob Escobedo: Illustrations for The New Yorker June issue. SCIENCE FICTION – Karen Russell article

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Jacob Escobedo: Illustrations for The New Yorker June issue. SCIENCE FICTION – China Mieville article

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Jacob Escobedo: New cover for THE SHINS. Port of Morrow

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Jacob Escobedo: THE SHINS spring tour poster, edition of 100

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Jacob Escobedo: THE SHINS tour poster

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Jacob Escobedo: Cover for Future Sounds of Buenos Aires on Waxploitation.

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About the Author

Bryony Quinn

Bryony was It’s Nice That’s first ever intern and worked her way up to assistant online editor before moving on to pursue other interests in the summer of 2012.

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