Thomas Pynchon Surfs Internet for Cover Art

[Dave Monroe]

Monday, Dec 15
Thomas Pynchon Surfs Internet for Cover Art


Earlier this year, novelist Thomas Pynchon hand-picked an image by
artist Darshan Zenith for the cover of his new novel. For die-hard
fans, the picture gives a glimpse into the reclusive writer's mind.

As GalleyCat reported last month, the new Pynchon novel is entitled
Inherent Vice--a private detective yarn set in the 1960s.
The Stranger pointed towards the entropic roots of that title.

The painting is full of allusions to classic works of surf art, a set
of references that must have pleased Pynchon. ThomasPynchon.com
un-covered the scoop:

"The 1959 Cadillac Hearse is parked in front of the "Endless Summer
Surf Shop" (namechecking the Beach Boys Greatest Hits collection and
Bruce Brown's 1966 surfing documentary!) ... He paints only the
background of the image (the sky, sea, palm trees &c.) and scans the
painting into his computer. He then uses 1:18-scale metal diecast
models of the cars, photographed against a white background, and loads
the digital photo into the computer ... the final work is a digital
creation, and there is no original painting of the work."

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/book_jackets/thomas_pynchon_surfs_internet_for_cover_art_103384.asp