“dOCUMENTA (13) 100-notes-100-thoughts,” Leftloft, Hatje Cantz (2012), from the publication Fully Booked: Ink on Paper; © All Images Courtesy of Gestalten
For many artists, Gestalten is the holy grail of graphic design and publishing. Setting trends for the latest typography, layouts, concepts and book design, the publishing house garners champions in international print innovation and visual culture. With every publication becoming a creative resource to be fingered and ogled, their latest project Fully Booked: Ink on Paper is another example of how Gestalten triumphs in bringing together contemporary designers, publishers, typographers, designs, artists, editors and illustrators.
Is print still alive? This is the satirical question that Gestalten asks with their latest publication/exhibition. Tipping its hat to the influence of the Internet, their tongue-in-cheek book cover reads: The Internet is not dead. Print will not kill the web…We are in a print world now. With examples from cutting-edge books, small-print run artist books, contemporary exhibition catalogues and magazines, the publication features experimental production methods that push the perimeters of binding, materials, workmanship and design.
Fully Booked: Ink on Paper; © All Images Courtesy of Gestalten
Displaying over 200 printed publications, the exhibition is a product display for the concepts featured in the publication. The exhibition space mimics the publication in that it is broken up into five chapters: The Storyteller, The Showmaster, The Teacher, The Businessman and the Collector. With an accompany description written by Huffington Post’s book editor Andrew Losowsky about each key role that print plays today, this latest publication provides a solid argument for the important of the medium of print. Look out digital media, PRINT IS NOT DEAD.
Highlights from the exhibition include the works from illustrator Coralie Bickford-Smith, known for re-designing the very elegant and tactile contemporary book covers for the Penquin Classics; and Sam Ita, who considers himself a “paper engineer” with his pop-up books of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Moby Dick, The Odyssey and Frankenstein.
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Additional Information
GESTALTEN
“Fully Booked: Ink on paper“ – GROUP SHOW
Exhibition: Mar. 14 – Apr. 21, 2013
Sophie-Gips-Höfe, Sophienstraße 21 (click here for map)
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Blog entry by Angela Connor in Berlin; Friday, Mar. 22, 2013
