Phobia

About this book

Fear of enclosed rooms becomes an oppressive black chamber. The terror of heights rises through sharp architectural forms, while other ordinary situations turn into personal catastrophes. John Vassos gives anxiety a visible shape.

Published in 1931, Phobia presents twenty-three fears in dramatic Art Deco illustrations accompanied by explanatory writing. The images are severe, geometric and often surprisingly intimate, as though the viewer had entered a person's moment of panic. Their force comes from how little is needed to transform a familiar place or object into something threatening.