Timestory: The Illustrative Collages of Lorenzo Petrantoni

About this book

Lorenzo Petrantoni is one of the worlds most sought-after editorial illustrators. This book reveals why. The Italian illustrator Lorenzo Petrantoni melds punk and Victorian styles to create detailed illustrative collages that serve as compelling commentaries on the current state of world affairs. Timestory is the first comprehensive collection of Petrantonis striking illustration for publications such as Newsweek the New York Times the Washington Post the Wall Street Journal la Repubblica and Libration as well as brands including Coca-Cola Urban Outfitters Nespresso Burton Swatch Bosch and many more. This work is supplemented by installation views of key international exhibits and select personal projects. Petrantonis work has also been featured in other Gestalten publications including Visual Storytelling Map of the World Cutting Edges and Illusive 3. Petrantoni composes his charmingly anachronistic yet eminently contemporary collages by hand with dizzying accuracy. Each text and image component used in his precise handcraft calls to mind Victorian clip art historical encyclopedias long-forgotten copper engravings and newspaper clippings. But when they are combined and viewed as a whole each collage becomes a topical thematically dense illustration. Upon taking a closer look Petrantonis pleasingly subversive way of melding visual and thematic scraps into his own unique images and patterns is reminiscent of terry Gilliams animations for Monty Python. Consisting of small elements yet making a big impact Petrantonis unique illustrative collages truly stand out amid the general monotony of advertising graphics and magazine design and tell the Timestory of his work.