establishment for being a propagandist. Stermer also commissioned
Norman Rockwell to paint a portrait of Bertrand Russell. As art director
Stermer also had a say in the editorial direction, which allowed him leeway
in developing stories and features, including a memorable photo essay on
the American town that endured the most Vietnam casualties.
Likewise, Ken Deardorf (b. 1935 ),Evergreen’s art director of
longest duration from 1967 to 1972 , designed an airy, economical format
that relied on art and photography to define the magazine’s visual
personality. Deardorf did not have the same editorial power as did Stermer
to assign articles and graphic features, but given a commodious working
relationship with his editors, he was master of Evergreen’s visual persona.
While it did not overtly resemble Ramparts, Deardorf admits he owes a
debt to Ramparts’s elegance and simplicity.
Deardorf was not an illustrator, but like Stermer, he had a healthy
respect for conceptual illustration.Evergreenused many of the same artists,
including Robert Grossman, Edward Sorel, Seymour Chwast, and Paul
Davis, who created one of the most highly charged visual icons of the
1960 s—the Che Guevara cover. Deardorf had a policy of trying out at least
one new artist per issue. One such newcomer was Brad Holland who did
some of his earliest editorial work for Evergreen, including an illustration
for the premiere publication of “Viva Vargas” by Woody Allen, the story on
which the film Bananaswas based.
Ramparts’s investigative stance required strong political covers,
such as the John Heartfield-like photomontages by Carl Fischer, who at
the same time was collaborating with George Lois on Esquirecovers.
Evergreendid more erotic than political covers. Rossett, the sole arbiter of
covers, was convinced that the cover, not the content, sold the magazine.
Given that much of Rossett’s groundbreaking legal precedents were
through the publication and litigation of sexually sensitive material, and
that he believed that sex was a key political issue, it is logical that much of
the visual material in Evergreenwas indeed sexual. Fred Jordan added that
the left in the mid- to late- 1960 s was not yet in tune with the nascent
women’s movement or above sexual exploitation. It wasn’t until the end of
the 1960 s that the feminist movement began to exercise some control over
left-wing publishing. At EvergreenJordan cited the resignation in the late
1960 s of two important male contributors over sexploitation; and Stermer
admitted, even though Rampartswas not overtly exploitive and ran some
stories about the feminist movement, they had a blind spot, too. “The
feminists had no reason to trust us,” he admitted.
Rossett was no stranger to government censorship and litigation,
and Evergreenwas enjoined and seized, more than once, owing to its sexual
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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