January 30, 2010 • 12:30 pm 0
everyone always leaves
haha – great send up of those photos from Interiors magazines here: http://unhappyhipsters.com
Speaking of leaving – I’m taking a bit of a haitus from the blog to concentrate on some writing – really need to carve out some offline time! I’ll still be updating here, but maybe not to often for the next couple of months.
xx
Filed under: life
January 8, 2010 • 4:19 pm 2
“Baku & Back” – Ingo Giezendanner (Zurich, Switzerland)
“This summer, inspired by a cultural exchange program with the Caucasus,
I travelled by land from Zurich to Baku and back. My objective was to document the journey with pen on paper. Though the culture exchange eventually did fail, the experience was intoxicating to my pen and I. The drawings capture the gradual change of scenes from Switzerland through the
former Yugoslavian states, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia before finally arriving in Azerbaijan (to travel back again just see the book backwards). This is my statement to go out, see the world and avoid airplanes. Take your time and enjoy the view on your train ride.”
It’s only the 8th of January and the good people over at Nieves are already releasing new books. This one is a doodlers journey across Eastern Europe.
Filed under: art, books, publishers , nieves
• 2:56 pm 0
1. Vladimir Nabokov – The Original of Laura (Book Design by Chip Kidd)
Easily the most beautiful book of 2009, ‘The Original Of Laura’ was originally written on a stack of index cards by Nabakov, but was never meant to be published. Nabokov requested that his son Dmitri burn the novel, but Dmitri resisted. So what we have here is a First Edition of a book by one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, published against the authors will, to the astonishment and excitement of Nabakov readers. Designer, author (and occasional musician) Chip Kidd has always been aware of the books existence, so when publication was finally agreed, he leapt on the opportunity to design the book.
Each page contains a render of one of the original index cards. Below each card, for the purposes of legibility, the text is repeated in more readable type. The surprise is that each of the index cards are perforated, so you can pop them out and mix them up. Typical of Nabokov’s tricksy meta-fictional techniques, the index cards can be mixed up and the novel read in different ways. Under the dust-jacket, one finds a second cover, using the text from the last card Nabakov wrote.
Everything about this book is amazing – from the simple fact it has actually come into being and also that design plays such an important role in making it possible.
2. Studio Culture – Unit Editions
Brilliant, beautiful and refreshing – a book about design made by people who actually give a damn about design (and books). You’d be amazed how many art publishing houses there are out there who don’t care for either, so big thanks to Adrian Shaughnessey and Tony Brook for putting this stunning book together, it’s a pleasure to read, hold and sell in the shop. A book that examines the working studios of the UK’s most prominent graphic designers, and very nicely made too. More info / buy one here.
3. Paul Auster – City Of Glass
This new cover was released as part of Faber’s 80th Anniversary celebrations, I posted about it here back in June. Designed by Gray318: “I was given the task of designing a cover that reflects some of the very graphic, 2 colour solutions that have been produced throughout the years, particularly from the 40s through to the early 60s. My cover is a simple graphic attempt to illustrate 3 stories with 2 colours. The bars cross to create the third colour and the type runs in the diamond spaces created in between.”
4. Kenya Hara – White
Following on from Kenya Hara’s stunning book of 2007, Designing Design, comes this smaller, elegant hardback. Hara expands on his appreciation and use of White in designing products and graphics, infusing Japanese cultural beliefs with design practice. The result is a gentle, poetic thesis on design. While of most use to design practicioners, I feel this book has much wider interest and application and can be enjoyed by anyone. The book itself, as object, carries a tactile warmth and simplicity, much like Hara’s design work. I love this book. More info / buy here.
5. The Invisible Committee – The Coming Insurrection
This book proved instantly popular with indie London booksellers in 2009, appearing in all the good shops – I spotted it in Tate, Artwords, ICA and LRB before caving in and buying my own copy. I took it to France with me earlier in the year unaware that the French authorities had arrested the authors for inciting terrorism and attempted to ban the book in France. It’s very much a return to DeBord’s Paris of 1969 situationist movement, although this has rather alot more venom. A call to arms for the disenfranchised. For me the first sections of the book are excellent, important reading, but the latter part, about quitting jobs and setting fire to buildings and so on is perhaps not quite so appealing. I think the premise is absolutely valid and well worth attention and futher thought while the solution of (mass rioting) is perhaps not so constructive. The book is in the list more because if it’s cultural importance, rather than visual, although it is certainly a handsome little thing too.
6. Dieter Rams – Less And More
Well I must confess a personal interest here. In early 2009, we sought out, ordered and very quickly sold 100 copies of the original Japanese exhibition book. So, when the Design Museum director decided to bring the Dieter Rams Show to London from Japan, we urged everyone involved to have the book re-published in Europe as the Japanese version had sold out completely. Gestalten generously helped to make it happen and the book came back to life – looking stunning. An 808 page design bible, slipcased in a grey box with a white plastic cover. More info / buy here.
7. Graphic 10 – Self Publishing (Japan)
Okay, not really a book, but a journal about self-published books, and a very beautifully made thing it is too. The first section looks at the work of small publishers from all over the world, including personal favourites Four Corners and many others. The latter part of the book looks at Japanese and Korean books. Highly inspirational – I came away from it determined to relaunch my own publishing company, but haven’t quite done it, yet.
8. Iain Sinclair – Hackney That Rose Red Empire
The cover of the book folds out into a nicely designed map of Hackney. Not particularly useful to this South Londoner, but a lovely thing, and a good example of design finding an intrinsic link to content. Published by Hamish Hamilton, who are often at the more interesting end of publishing in the UK.
9. Ari Marcopolous – “Within Arms Reach”
Front cover
Back cover
Art-Skate-Photographer Ari Marcopoulos, part of the Beautiful Losers collective, released this monograph of his photography in late 2009. Great cover and some fantastic pictures.
10. The Jet Age Compendium: Paolozzi At Ambit
Absolutely beautiful. No more no less. Another winner from Four Corners.
Filed under: art, books, design, love, publishers, shop , faber, four corners books, gestalten, hamish hamilton, penguin
• 2:05 pm 0
January 7, 2010 • 5:06 pm 0
• 4:20 pm 0
Poor WH Smith’s. Once all things to all customers, now a few things for a few airport passengers. Labelling their promotions like this probably won’t help much:
Filed under: shop
January 3, 2010 • 3:31 pm 0
The Ghostvillage Project from Agents Of Change on Vimeo.
Remi Roughe and the Agents of Change paint an abandoned Scottish village….
• 3:21 pm 0
This short film was originally released on the ResFest DVD series back in the early 2000’s. The idea that painting over graffiti can create a new kind of art in itself.
Graffiti is rarely painted over properly, the buffers seek to eliminate the tags but rarely paint the full wall or use a matching colour. In heavily tagged areas, you end up with a patchwork effect, which film-maker Matt McCormick picked up on as the inspiration for this film that went on to win a Golden Gate Award in 2002.
It’s quite a nice idea / observation but not one to be taken in any way seriously. Graffiti removal is not some kind of new Rothko thing!
Anyway, the full film has recently surfaced on youtube, worth checking.
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