Patrick Borelli doesn't like that book cover at all
Learning to laugh as the publishing industry circles the drain
Patrick Borelli stares down an ugly book cover.
Mining personal embarrassment and pop-culture detritus for laughs has long been a mother lode for stand-up comedians. Patrick Borelli’s show on Thursday at the Jackalope Lounj isn’t exactly unique in either regard, but it is different in that he turns to books—and more specifically, book covers—for all the show’s material. You Should Judge A Book By Its Cover relies on the 10 years Borelli spent as a book designer, as well as taped interviews with publishing-industry design titans, to shine a light on more than few literary catastrophes. The A.V. Club talked with Borelli about the issues inherent in using found art for material, and what it feels like to be told the cover he designed for his own book is "terrible."
The A.V. Club: What exactly is You Should Judge A Book By It’s Cover?
Patrick Borelli: It’s an hour-long multi-media comedy show where I make fun of book covers. Actually, that doesn’t sound very exciting. [Laughs.] It’s basically me making fun of 40 of the weirdest, oddest book covers I could find. It’s a mix between design critique and a stand-up show.
AVC: How did it come about?
PB: A couple years ago John Hodgman invited me to perform at a library benefit for his daughter’s school. I decided I’d pretend to be the richest guy in Brooklyn with the largest private library, and I was going to present these valuable books so they could open a new wing. Then I proceeded to show these awful books. Even the kids knew they were funny. I didn’t show the castration one, though.
AVC: What makes a book cover bad?
PB: It’s hard to describe, but I think you know it when you see it. It’s bad design, but a lot of it is also bad concept. Why do we need a book on how to avoid huge ships? I often don’t have to say anything; it’s the concept that gets the biggest laughs. Then I deconstruct the design or idea in some way.
AVC: You’ve also published Holy Headshot!, a book of bizarre headshots. How does the use of found art affect how you shape your material?
PB: Holy Headshot! was different in that we were making fun of actual people. We initially didn’t think we’d get permission to use real headshots, so we organized photo shoots, but they didn’t turn out. Everything looked posed, which it was. So we decided to use actual headshots, and surprisingly, about 90 percent of the people we asked agreed to be included. They’re all fighting for attention. We understood how being an actor is hard, so we didn’t feel comfortable shitting on them. We just showed the headshot and resume and let them speak for themselves. But book covers are products with a lot of thought put into them. Lots of people have to approve them: the publisher, author, editor, editor’s assistant, copyeditor, proofreader, sales, marketing, and the designer themselves. So when you see something crazy, it’s not like one person made it in their living room. Many people have seen the cover and said, “Yeah, that’s fine. Let’s print that.” To me, that’s really funny. There’s a team.
AVC: How can that happen when so many people are involved?
PB: It’s case by case, but sometimes the author is powerful and has more design say than they should. Sometimes it’s the publisher. But some of the covers from my show are from smaller publishers where there’s a smaller team. Or maybe the author has a friend who’s a terrible illustrator, but they want to hire them anyway. A lot of time it’s just bad taste—what looks good to one person can be terrible or embarrassing or just plain weird.
AVC: How would you rate the cover of Holy Headshot!?
PB: I showed it to Stephen Heller and he hated it. He’s the co-chair of the MFA Designer As Author department at the School Of Visual Arts, New York, and a former art director at the New York Times. He said it was terrible. I was actually the one who designed it. I think it’s pretty good, but it could be a lot better. I know that sounds odd, but the original art I was sent from Simon & Schuster had no headshot on the cover. We went back and forth. You don’t always have control, even if you’re the designer.
AVC: Will people without a design background like the show?
PB: The obvious market is designers and creative types. But what’s excited me more is that people who know nothing about design have enjoyed the show. I’m not talking dryly about one cover. I move quickly and have a lot of jokes, so the average person gets it. I hope fans of comedy in general check it out, because it’s not something you see every day. I’m not a thirtysomething white guy complaining about my wife and making Haiti jokes.
Here’s a clip of one of the video interludes from Borelli’s show:
