As magazine names go, Omni was perfectly chosen. During its 20-year lifespan, from 1978 to 1998, it brought the American reader the latest cutting edge science news of the kind found in rival armchair science publications, and then took off in directions that would have had the newsagent scratching his head about what shelf to put it on. Science fiction existed comfortably alongside science fact within the pages of Omni, and futuristic illustration from a new generation of artists was also a major factor in its success. There was a little bit of sexy science to spice things up too; Omni’s creator was Bob Guccione, most famous for founding Penthouse but who also possessed a wide range of more mainstream artistic interests.
The Mind’s Eye: The Art of Omni is a book that has been years in the making. With the magazine published in an era before digital media had taken off, the editors had to track down physical copies of Omni from private collections, and seek out images from photographers’ and artists’ archives. The search is still on to fill a lengthy gap in the magazine’s documented history, administered through the Omni appreciation site omnireboot.com. Copies of The Mind’s Eye can be purchased from publisher powerHouse Books.
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David Jackson,
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