Face to Face

With thoughtful whimsy, this book collects a series of photographs of the fanciful, sad, laughing, and shouting faces that can be found in functional everyday objects such as light switches, old-fashioned cameras, doorknobs, and bottle openers. As the authors Francois and Jean Robert state in their epilogue, "Years ago, we saw a padlock gazing at us with whimsical intensity. It occurred to us that seeing is selection, a process of framing....As we began consciously selecting and framing and cropping, the world became a delightfully communicative universe of human and animal faces--eyes, noses, and mouths--that tell a never-ending stream of silent stories." This elegantly designed title amuses with its clever photos, yet it also prompts us to pay closer attention to the quirky details of the world around us. Both graphic designers, Francois Robert lives in Chicago while brother Jean Robert resides in Zurich.