contemporary art – Books and Coffee

Drift (Berlin – volume 13)
published by Digital Ventures, LLC (NY)
2023

I finally caved and bought this gorgeous magazine, because I’ve resisted long enough.

This magazine is one of the best examples of book / magazine design I have enjoyed. It combines black and white fine art photography (most of architecture and urban landscapes), color photographs centering on one topic (coffee enjoyment) which are laid out with plenty of white space, and concisely written passion articles about coffee.

It’s… perfect, really.

I have purchased books purely for their design in the past (because: of course I did), but this magazine is consistently gorgeous. Lots of blank space. Good contrast. Uncluttered. Consistent in its themes. I struggle to think of it as a coffee culture magazine alone, because its design is so lovely and the photography sells it for me. It’s so well designed that I fear I would have bought it even if it wasn’t about a city I adore and a drink I adore EVEN MORE.

I recommend it if you like: black and white photography of cities with saturated black and fine midtones (WHAT A PRINTER THEY HAVE!), and casual conversation about the coffee culture of wonderful cities.

“You must REALLY like coffee,” said the gentle bookseller. Yes, yes, I do, and we also talked about how much coffee I like because so much of it is good around here, how fabulous fancy espresso drinks are, plus the Bay Area’s Jazz Station (which we both love: I broadcast this by wearing their jacket).

Barbara Kruger: Thinking of ~~You~~. I Mean Me. I Mean You
edited / essays by Peter Eleey, Robyn Farrell, Michael Govan, James Rondeau, Zoé Whitley, and more
published by Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and DelMonico Books – DAP
2021

Barbara Kruger’s retrospective has been calling to me from afar, and I was able to buy the book to read up in advance of seeing it!

Kruger’s most famous past works are widely recognized for their iconic consistency: a bold, black and white image with direct, engaging, nearly accusing Future Bold Oblique text on a high-contrast (often red) background. (I can just say, “Your Body is a Battlefield,” and the image will pop into your head!) She’s done much more with words, and I’ve had the pleasure of exploring a room wrapped in her power-questioning, engaging, accusatory texts.

This book features a significant amount of engaging, unsurprisingly bold, unsurprisingly relevant new works by Kruger, plus excellent essays about her and the ongoing relevance of the questions her work asks. Her work quotes Orwell, mocks the powerful, and challenges our willingness to be reduced from active citizens to consumers. The essays approach her challenges to us from different angles, quote James Baldwin, ask about our tendencies to judge, discuss empathy and contempt, and are thoughtful throughout.

The collection of recent work includes long walls/rooms of text, and it’s great to have them in book form to be able to take the time to read them all the way through.

It also comes with homework! There’s a collection of essays at the end which are presented as a sort of “syllabus” to the lessons we could be learning from all of this.

It’s a great book – not just in content, but also in form! The covers are boldly printed book-board with a printed fabric spine, and all the fore-edges are painted the same green as her work (and the x’s on the cover). I appreciate the boldness of the design.

For sale at the LACMA store, and wherever fine art books are sold.

This book is HIGHLY recommended if you love: Barbara Kruger, well-produced art books, text art, and concise, incisive cultural commentary.

Tag: contemporary art

Periodical: Drift Magazine Volume 13

Book: Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You, edited by Peter Eleey, et al.