Carin Goldberg

Carin Goldberg
Born(1953-06-12)June 12, 1953
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 19, 2023(2023-01-19) (aged 69)
Stanfordville, New York
EducationCooper Union, 1975
OccupationGraphic designer
Notable credit(s)Album and book covers
Spouse
​
(m. 1987)​
Websitewww.caringoldberg.com

Carin Goldberg (June 12, 1953 – January 19, 2023)[1][2][3] was an American graphic designer, publication designer and brand consultant. She was known for her cover designs for record albums and books, with her work appearing in and on the covers of the New York Times Book Review, the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and Wired.[4] Her use of visual historical references generated controversy within the graphic design community.

Early life and education

Carin Goldberg was born in New York City on June 12, 1953, and grew up in Long Island and New Jersey. She graduated from the Cooper Union in 1975 with a BFA in painting.[5][6][7][8]

Career

After graduating from Cooper Union and encouraged by the school's director of alumni relations, Marilyn Hoffner, Goldberg met with alumni Lou Dorfsman at CBS and worked up a series of logos for him.[5] Dorfsman hired her as a junior designer where she began her career in the corporate design department of CBS Television in 1977. There she gained an appreciation of finely tuned typography.[9] She moved on to Columbia Records in 1979 and worked with former classmate Gene Greif, as well as Paula Scher, Henrietta Condak, and John Berg. There, along with Scher and others, she found inspiration in early 20th-century graphics and began to incorporate historical references into her work.[7][10]

In 1982, Goldberg started her own firm, Carin Goldberg Design. She continued to work for record label clients, but also sought out book design assignments.[9] Her projects included the design for Madonna's 1983 self-titled debut album.[11][12] Her work on the cover for the 1986 Vintage Books edition of James Joyce's Ulysses placed her in the midst of the 1980s fight over appropriation. The tilted lettering and large initial caps in Goldberg's design for the Ulysses cover bore strong similarities to a 1928 poster by Paul Renner.[2][7][13][14] Philip Meggs praised her in his 1989 essay "The Women Who Saved New York!" for using historical styles in contemporary design,[9] while Tibor Kalman vilified her for practicing "jive modernism" in his 1991 Print essay "Good History/Bad History."[13]

In 1983, Goldberg began teaching graphic design at the School of Visual Arts. She was made a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 1998.[15] She was named a Graphis Master by Graphis Inc. From 2006 to 2008, she served as president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) New York Chapter.[16]

In 2008, she was honored by the Art Directors Club for her work in education.[17] In 2009, she received the AIGA Medal for her contributions to the field of graphic design.[7] Her alma mater bestowed her with the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award in 2012.[6][18] Goldberg won the Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize for Design in 2014.[15]

Goldberg's designs have been included in museum exhibits, including Graphic Design in America at the Walker Art Center (1989) and Mixing Messages at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (1996).[8] She was the subject of the book Hall of Femmes: Carin Goldberg for the Hall of Femmes project in 2009.[19][20][21]

Personal life

Goldberg died in her home in Stanfordville, New York, of a glioblastoma brain tumor, according to her husband, James Biber.[1][2][22]

Awards

Exhibitions

References

  1. ^ a b Millman, Debbie (January 23, 2023). "A Tribute to Carin Goldberg, 1953–2023". Print. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Green, Penelope (January 31, 2023). "Carin Goldberg, 69, Who Transformed Book and Album Cover Design, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "A Small Start on a Tribute to a Big Talent". Print. January 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Carin Goldberg - Profile". Designers & Books. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Douglas, Ava. "Carin Goldberg". History of Graphic Design. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Carin Goldberg". Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e Lasky, Julie (August 2, 2009). "Carin Goldberg". American Institute of Graphic Arts. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Alumni Profile: Carin Goldberg, A'75". Cooper Union Alumni Association. July 26, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Meggs, Philip (January–February 1989). "The Women Who Saved New York!". Print: 60–71.
  10. ^ Meggs, Philip (2016). History of Graphic Design (Sixth ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 506–509. ISBN 978-1-118-77205-8. OCLC 946992970 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "The making of Madonna's first album cover". ELLE. April 22, 2015. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Carin (April 21, 2015). "The Making of Madonna's First Album Cover". As told to Erica Schwiegershausen. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Kalman, Tibor; Miller, J. Abbott; Jacobs, Karrie (March–April 1991). "Good History/Bad History". Print.
  14. ^ Joyce, James (1986). Ulysses. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 9780394743127. OCLC 237051377.
  15. ^ a b c "Carin Goldberg, USA (1998)". Alliance Graphique Internationale. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  16. ^ "Past AIGA NY Boards - 2000–2009". American Institute of Graphic Arts - New York. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  17. ^ a b The Art Directors Annual 88: Advertising Design Illustration Interactive Photography. Rotovision - Art Directors Club. 2009. pp. 342–343. ISBN 9782888930853. OCLC 501399813. OL 26005388M – via Internet Archive.
  18. ^ a b "Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award Winners - 2012". Cooper Union Alumni Association. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "Hall of Femmes - Books". Hall of Femmes. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "25-Plus Books on Women in Design". Designers & Books. March 15, 2023 [8 October 2013]. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  21. ^ Bouabana, Samira; Tillman Sperandio, Angela (2010). Hall of Femmes: Carin Goldberg. Oyster Press. ISBN 9789197882729. OCLC 1398939023.
  22. ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (February 1, 2023). "Carin Goldberg, designer of book covers and Madonna's first album, dies at 69". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  23. ^ "People - Rome Prize Fellows - Carin Goldberg". American Academy in Rome. 2014. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.