rikiki. Grafik & Produkt

Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine

This Slanted issue is not about war. Instead, it delves into the lives of remarkable individuals within the creative industry in and hailing from Ukraine, as they endeavor to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst their diligent efforts. This narrative underscores the inseparable bond between culture and design, raising the question of its feasibility.

During the NEED conference in Warsaw in early September 2023, the Ukrainian delegation motivated the Slanted team to initiate a magazine dedicated to the Ukrainian design sphere, advocating that “better now than never!” Without their invaluable assistance, input, and valor, such an endeavor would have been inconceivable. The editorial policy refrains from producing issues centered on a city or country if physical presence isn’t feasible, as the essence of a place cannot truly be captured from a distance. However, with each new connection established, the palpable tension among individuals becomes increasingly apparent, underscoring the universal impact of current circumstances.

The sheer volume of nearly 1,500 submissions was overwhelming, and the selection process inherently subjective. Despite meticulous deliberations, every decision, formulation, and work runs the risk of being perceived as flawed, insufficient, or misunderstood. The compilation features 20 interviews with designers and creatives both within and beyond Ukraine, offering diverse insights, responses, and perspectives.

Many of the showcased works and texts reflect upon the ongoing war, which has persisted for over two years. Despite this, there remains a glimmer of hope for its resolution, with a collective aspiration for design discourse to eventually transition to other topics. This issue serves as a significant contemporary time capsule, a testament to the profound impact of design, and an expression of Slanted Publishers’ unwavering commitment to this cause.

The magazine features three different covers by with artworks by Mykola Kovalenko, Dasha Podoltseva, and Anna Sarvira (no selection can be made).

Also, check out our Limited Special Edition Ukraine; it includes 10 stickers featuring designs by artists from Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine.

Stick your message! #standwithukraine

Hannah Höch: Bilderbuch

Hannah Höch’s Bilderbuch (Picture Book) presents the fantastic adventures of Runfast, Dumblet, Snifty and Meyer 1, mythical creatures which seem like a dream in a zoological garden, surrounded by fairy tale flowers and plants.

Yet, it is not only a wonderful book for children, but an important cultural and historic document, as it was created by Hannah Höch, the most important female artist of the Modernist period in Germany. It is designed through the Dadaistic principle of photomontage which Höch developed, together with Raoul Hausmann, in the early years of the 20th century.

Gunda Luyken writes in her essay about the book: “To counter the grey postwar years, Höch developed in 19 collages and accompanying texts a magical world populated by fantastic exotic plants and animals. People play no role here, apart from the baby emerging from one of the eggs that Madame Marklet has collected around her. … Although Höch always spoke of her ’picture book’, the texts are an essential part of the work. For each of the collages, the artist thought up brief, delicate rhymes that sketch out miniature stories and are reminiscent of the verses of Joachim Ringelnatz or Christian Morgenstern. She gave her impish creatures the oddest names—Loftylara, Brushflurlet, Unsatisfeedle and Runfast. Although Höch conjured up in images and words a fantastic world, it is one not free of human weaknesses like dissatisfaction or disagreement, as represented, for example, by the couple Longfringes. All the same, the book exudes a cheerfulness and light-heartedness that the philosopher and writer Salomon Friedländer also attributed to the artist herself: ’Basically, you are a fabulous and wonderful girl—and whoever doesn’t get you must be a dull and totally impossible guy. And who does understand you? A child, just like you.’”

The book also contains the original German verses by Hannah Höch.

The English version of this book is also available as Picture Book.

Karoline Schreiber: Fingers like Toes

Karoline Schreiber is one of the most interesting Swiss artists employing a variety of painting and drawing techniques.

This monographic book brings together her work from the last 20 years and will accompany her large scale solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Uri in summer 2019. The book consists of dense image sequences that allow an insight into the highly productive work of Schreiber, comprising drawings, painting, performance and text. Schreiber is known for her performative drawings and keeps pushing the limits of her disciplines ranging from intuitive-automatic approaches to conceptual series of works.

This monographic book allows a deep and complex insight into the prolific and sprawling cosmos of Schreiber’s often surreal and unsettling images and her artistic quests. The book adaptation reflects the visual diversity and artistic concepts: Fingers like Toes is a surprising mix of catalogue and artist book.

With essays by Daniel Morgenthaler and Barbara Zürcher.

The Architecture of Loneliness – Reflections on Displacement and Welcoming

The aftermath of the Covid restrictions, mental problems, being confronted with the influx of people with a different background and culture, the alienation of ourselves and of others, not being able to relate to other people; these can all cause deep feelings of loneliness.

What is loneliness, as different from solitude? Whereas solitude is a chosen condition that refrains from social relations, loneliness suffers from the lack of these.

The three essays in this book each explore a side of loneliness, strongly connected to the encounter with the other.

South-African psychologist Wahbie Long lays out what kind of relationships to the outside world emerge from childhood experiences of playing and relating to others. He dives into the difficulty of not only encountering, but finding others. Long brings together a great many aspects that all contribute to the feeling of loneliness that characterizes the lives of migrants, asylum seekers, or refugees on the road.

French philosopher Marie-José Mondzain uses the metaphor of architecture with its terms as threshold, doors, walls, windows, a bench in front of the frontal wall; elements that construct ‘home’, the architectural and emotional place where encounters can happen, where ‘strangers’ should be welcomed and trusted.

French psychoanalyst Lysiane Lamantowicz discusses a form of loneliness that we see all around us: the consequences of social networks on the internet. Although it seems that we are part of a crowd, that we have many ‘friends’, we are in reality alone in front of a computer screen. What is the effect on how people can still relate to the intricacies of real life?

In our current harsh political climate this book encourages a heartfelt interest and connection with your ‘neighbour’, close and far.

Mieke Bal is a cultural theorist, video artist, and Professor Emerita in Literary Theory.

Limited Special Edition Ukraine: Sticker Set + Slanted Magazine #43–Ukraine

In collaboration with artists from Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine, we’ve selected 10 designs and had stickers printed in a limited edition. With Artworks from Anton Abo, Oleg Bilyi, Yurko Gutsulyak, Stas Kolotov, Mykola Kovalenko, Olya Kuzovkina, Dasha Podoltseva, Igor Renko, Serhii Serbin, Mariia Sharova, and Lina-Mariia Shlapak

For each Limited Special Edition Ukraine sold, 5€ will be donated to the German aid organization ART HELPS with which we worked together two years ago for the project Posters Can Help. Stick your message! #standwithukraine

The “first aid” for people in emergency situations is food, clothing, and a roof over their heads. But what happens next? ART HELPS takes care of the “second aid”: They provide hope and perspectives. Through diverse creative projects on-site, they primarily engage children and teenagers in crisis areas and difficult life circumstances, providing variety, creating perspectives, and fostering creative thinking among those affected so they don’t lose hope Have a look at their different projects in Ukraine here.

ART HELPS also assists in transporting Slanted Magazine #43—Ukraine to Kyiv.

Slanted Magazine #43–Ukraine
Spring/Summer 2024

Die typografische Komposition

Typography and layout are based on proven technical and aesthetic principles that give you orientation and support in the design process. The system “Typography and Layout” forms the basis for your design.

Martin Mosch will guide you from the smallest element, the letter, through word and line, column and format to the big picture, the principles of composition and layout.
In this practical workshop, you will recognize how detailed decisions influence the effect of the overall composition, which visual strategies work and how, what needs to be considered in the design process – and how you can make your everyday creative life easier and more successful.

Based on viewing habits and reading behavior, this book provides you with the tools for the skillful use of type and images – a foundation on which you can rely and build your top performance in visual communication.

Grafikmagazin 02.24 – Education

As the name indicates, Grafikmagazin is a print magazine focusing on all things graphic design. Primarily it’s aimed at professional creatives and design students from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and beyond.

Grafikmagazin presents outstanding work from graphic design, typography, illustration, photography, design theory, research, paper, and printing every two months.

The editorial team of Grafikmagazin created a variety of sections and categories but selected focus themes for each issue, like “Education”. The topics portray how imaginative, eclectic, and playful graphic design can be while featuring successful branding concepts and niche ideas.

The extensive “Showroom” section lets readers know other creatives and the stories behind design studios worldwide. The “Design and Research” category presents interdisciplinary projects that show how science and research can benefit from creative solutions and play an active role in graphic design. In the “Production and Publishing” section, everything revolves around print. You will find exquisite books, sophisticated annual reports, and high-quality embossed greeting cards. Also, the cover artists of each issue are interviewed or get to highlight their ideas.

Each cover is printed on a different paper, and the design interprets the particular Grafik+ theme more broadly or shares a fresh perspective on a unique design technique. This particular cover was realized in six different versions from different studios and artists, each riso-printed. The Grafikmagazin team, its correspondents, and freelancers are bound and driven by the firm belief that print is not dead. With the will to prove just how alive it is, and the motivation to start something fresh yet deeply traditional, they strive for nothing less than to create another print magazine that makes history.

Kreative Identität und Selbsterkenntnis

You have decided to turn your creativity into a profession. But sometimes you wonder whether you are good enough. Whether the money is enough. Whether the next job is secure. You ask yourself how you can realize your potential in the long term and secure long-term access to your resources.

Roberta Bergmann knows both sides of creative life and supports you in exploring and developing your creative identity. Kreative Identität und Selbsterkenntnis leads you to self-knowledge and self-efficacy. It supports you with exercises and practical tips on the way to a satisfying and resilient creative life concept.

After all, if you are aware of your creative identity and constantly bring it to life, you will be more relaxed, happier and, not least, more successful in your everyday creative life.

SPOD #8 Schwierige Formen

Design takes place in an ambivalent place, oscillating between the concerns of culture and capital. As a kind of criticism from within, critical design explores what design is about – how it relates to the market, what is meant by “good design” and how design and the development of technology work.

Schwierige Formen discusses the operational and intellectual foundation of a renewed critical practice.

The open-ended publication series Studienhefte Problemorientiertes Design SPOD makes historical and contemporary reflections on the social and political dimension of Design accessible. It is a collection of irregularly appearing texts that critically examine the practical, cultural, methodological and everyday functions of Design. The problem-oriented approach aims to link design to the contradictions, potentials and circumstances of reality.

Based on a critical examination of the possibilities and limitations of Design, alternative models of Design are outlined that contradict the established market-based design practice.

SPOD #7 Design der Knappheit

We encounter scarcity everywhere. It is something of a constant threat; at the same time, it is a reality with which we are confronted.

Design cannot be asked to solve or overcome the problem of scarcity. Rather, we need to shed light on the underlying forces and better understand how our notions of scarcity are based on economic constructs. It affects us all and determines our ecological, economic and political future. It is often accepted as a fact of life – one almost has the impression of being helplessly at its mercy. But what if scarcity is not as inevitable as it seems? How could we, in our disciplines of architecture, creation and design, deal with it?

Based on a critical examination of the possibilities and limitations of Design, alternative models of Design are outlined that contradict the established market-based design practice.

Hannah Höch: Picture Book

Hannah Höch’s Picture Book from 1945 is now finally available in English, through the ingenious translation by Brian Currid.

The Picture Book presents the fantastic adventures of Runfast, Dumblet, Snifty and Meyer 1, mythical creatures which seem like a dream in a zoological garden, surrounded by fairy tale flowers and plants.

Yet, it is not only a wonderful book for children, but an important cultural and historic document, as it was created by Hannah Höch, the most important female artist of the Modernist period in Germany. It is designed through the Dadaist principle of photomontage which Höch developed, together with Raoul Hausmann, in the early years of the 20th century.

Gunda Luyken writes in her essay about the book: “To counter the grey postwar years, Höch developed in 19 collages and accompanying texts a magical world populated by fantastic exotic plants and animals. People play no role here, apart from the baby emerging from one of the eggs that Madame Marklet has collected around her. … Although Höch always spoke of her ’picture book’, the texts are an essential part of the work. For each of the collages, the artist thought up brief, delicate rhymes that sketch out miniature stories and are reminiscent of the verses of Joachim Ringelnatz or Christian Morgenstern. She gave her impish creatures the oddest names—Loftylara, Brushflurlet, Unsatisfeedle and Runfast. … Although Höch conjured up in images and words a fantastic world, it is one not free of human weaknesses like dissatisfaction or disagreement, as represented, for example, by the couple Longfringes. All the same, the book exudes a cheerfulness and light-heartedness that the philosopher and writer Salomon Friedländer also attributed to the artist herself: ’Basically, you are a fabulous and wonderful girl—and whoever doesn’t get you must be a dull and totally impossible guy. And who does understand you? A child, just like you.’”

The book also contains the original German verses by Hannah Höch.

The original German version Bilderbuch is also available.

Yearbook of Type / Participant Fee (World)

It’s that time again: For the seventh(!) time, we’re kicking off our Call for Entries for the Yearbook of Type! Very excited, we start into this process with an updated design concept, with the book concept itself still in the proven successful manner of the last six editions. The book will be published in autumn 2024 and—as always—present a selection of contemporary typefaces from larger typeface publishers as well as smaller, independent typographers and foundries in the form of a clear, comprehensive compendium.

This time, each individual typeface in the Yearbook of Type is presented on not only two, but three pages: a spread with an appealing visual specimen of the typeface that we develop to match the character of the typeface. The third page is a detailed overview of the typeface and its specifics, info about language support, styles, weights and widths, OpenType features, and detailed background information about the designer and foundry.

The typeface catalog is followed by an index of all featured designers and typefaces, as well as an explanation of all key OpenType features. To round the content off, we will feature some insights into the world of type design and designers in the form of essays and interviews.

The corresponding microsite of the Yearbook features all typeface that made it into the book, allowing easy browsing and direct purchase of the fonts. NEW: The microsite is now freely accessible online for everyone, and no longer protected by a password barrier for the exclusive use of book buyers, making it a well-organized online library of the newest high quality typefaces. Moreover: All microsites of the last editions are now also available for free for the public!

The informative presentation of the typefaces—in the book as well as online—serves graphic designers and agencies as a source of inspiration and can be a big help with selecting the right typeface. As a catalog and reference work the Yearbook of Type is also of interest to all those who are interested in the contemporary world of typography and the latest in typeface design.

For each submitted typeface, you will receive a 100% discount code before the release of the Yearbook of Type 7. With this, you can order one free book from the Slanted Online Shop per font. Books will no longer be automatically sent at its release. Shipping costs apply.

We are looking forward to another great edition with you!

HOW TO reserve and book space:
1. Pay the submission fee with this product for the desired number of typefaces.
2. Now your space is booked. We’ll get in touch with more information about the upload.
3. Upload the requested files and information until May 16th, 2024 (latest!) and you will be guided step-by-step through the process.

Early bird rate available until April 25th, 2024.
Regular rat available until May 16th, 2024.

Yearbook of Type / Participant Fee (Germany)

We are looking forward to another great edition with you!

Early bird rate available until April 25th, 2024.
Regular rat available until May 16th, 2024.

THE CURE

The subject of domestic violence is still highly relevant—and yet it is rarely discussed in public. In her first publication The Cure , Julie Legouez now addresses her very personal experiences with violence in a relationship. In ten chapters, The Cure describes the trauma and how the visual artist overcame her experiences in 2019. The book presents installative and conceptual works that were created over a period of two years.

Julie Legouez also deals with other highly emotional and relevant topics, such as heartbreak, addiction and grief. The Cure makes an important political contribution to the debate on visibility, trauma and violence.

Slanted Special Issue Georgia/Armenia

Welcome to a captivating journey through the vibrant landscapes of creativity, culture, and history in Slanted’s Special Issue Georgia/Armenia.

In August 2023, a team, including Lars Harmsen, Markus Lange, and Rene Wawrzkiewicz, embarked on a journey from Tbilisi, Georgia, to Yerevan, Armenia. Along the way, they delved into the studios of numerous designers and artists, unearthing the rich tapestry of talent that defines these two distinct yet interconnected nations. In the heart of the Caucasus, both Tbilisi and Yerevan emerge as beacons of creativity, diversity, and intelligence. Despite sharing a common border, each city resonates with its unique character, offering a kaleidoscope of experiences.

Wojciech Górecki, an analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, provides a brilliant introduction to Georgia, highlighting its geographical position in Asia while underscoring its historical ties to Europe. From independent principalities to a united Georgian kingdom, Górecki paints a vivid picture of a nation shaped by a rich history, autonomy in the Orthodox Church, and the influential role of women, exemplified by the remarkable Queen Tamara.

The stories of Tbilisi and Yerevan intertwine with geopolitical significance, shaping the South Caucasus region. Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, stands as a geopolitical hub, its history marked by Russian influence and the 2008 war over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia’s aspirations for EU and NATO membership, coupled with ongoing territorial disputes with Russia, define Tbilisi’s resilience and quest for independence, making it a pivotal player in regional politics.

Turning our attention to Armenia, Krzysztof Strachota, Head of the Turkey, Caucasus, and Central Asia Department at the Centre for Eastern Studies, sheds light on the complexities of a country often overlooked on the map. Armenia, nestled between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, faces the enduring reality of a never-declared war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, creating a tumultuous backdrop for its ongoing struggles and geopolitical dynamics.

Against the backdrop of Mount Ararat, Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, bears witness to the intricate dynamics of the South Caucasus. A testament to Armenia’s enduring struggle for independence and ongoing conflicts with Azerbaijan, Yerevan’s geopolitics are shaped by a Soviet past and the unresolved issues surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

Explore Slanted’s Special Issue Georgia/Armenia, uncovering the narratives, creativity, and resilience of these remarkable nations while discovering the beauty and passion of this captivating region on every page!

Hannah Höch: Lebensbild

Lebensbild is the last art work by Hannah Höch made between July 1972 and March 1973. The photographers Liselotte und Armin Orgel Köhne encouraged the artist to create the self-portrait in form of a collage and provided her with the original photographs.

Lebensbild, with the dimensions 130 x 150 cm, is the biggest collage Höch has ever made. It marks the final point in her full and active life that spanned almost 100 years. The viewer gains an insight into the story of the extraordinary and self-confident woman who went through all the highs and lows – and in the same time gets an impression of life during the last century.

Hannah Höch defined 38 sections of the image, gave detailed explanations on them and told about her personal experience in connection with these. These 38 parts are pictured in the book alongside the overview of the entire collage. The accompanying text, together with the original quotes, takes a closer look at Hannah Höch, her artistic work as well as at the political and social events of her time. Based on the stories and anecdotes, the text reflects the life of the artist and completes the collage with the additional biographical information.

The book covers a wide range of interest: art fans, scholars and historians as well as young people interested in art can get an insight into the life of the artist Hannah Höch.

Solomiya No. 3

The third issue of Solomiya is as desperate as it is full of love, beauty, courage, and an unsettling longing for “a journey, an escape, and freedom,” as Yevhen, a young soldier from Odesa, puts it in War Dreams, a poignant series of portraits by Italian photographers Caimi&Piccini.

While raising thought-provoking questions about masculinity in war through the recent work of Vsevolod Kazarin, Alex Mashtaler’s yet unpublished photographs juxtapose the innocence of youth with the unforgiving harshness of reality – a reality shaped by Ukraine’s colonial past and a present challenged by ongoing militarization.

In interviews with the Solomiya Editors Andrii Ushytskyi, Ivanna Kozachenko and Sebastian Wells, Asia Bazdyrieva, Maxim Dondyuk, and Henrike Naumann further explore these complexities through their own perspectives and artistic practices. While Ivanna Kozachenko and the artist collective Commercial Public Art dissect the spatial strategies of the architecture built by Russian forces in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the writings of Lucy Zoria and Sebastian Wells offer diverse insights into the lived experiences of young Ukrainians abroad.

Das Plakat isst eine Fläche.

Are posters still surfaces that catch the eye? Can they tell a continuous story, a “Poster Novel,” as the original design working title was called?

Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences looks back on a diverse and lively tradition of posters. Starting in 1968 with Uwe Loesch’s corrugated cardboard posters, through the typographic excellence of Helfried Hagenberg, Fons Hickmann, and Andreas Uebele, to contemporary works by talented students, that sometimes extend into digital space and augmented reality.

Some of the posters shown in this book have continued their lives beyond the university: they are part of collections such as the MoMA in New York, or the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. Recognized for their exemplary design, many have received numerous awards.

Now these posters have been brought together: Das Plakat isst eine Fläche. (a German wordplay for “The poster eats/is a surface”). Like in a galley proof, texts and images are set on a continuous strip, to be later cut and bound into a book—a poster novel.

This book contains posters from Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences since 1968. Featuring works by Inga Albers, Heribert Birnbach, Dieter Fuder, Wolf Erlbruch, Hilde Gahlen, Tino Graß, Fons Hickmann, Holger Jacobs, Wilfried Korfmacher, Anika Kunst, Laurent Lacour, Uwe Loesch, Alexander Mainusch, Jens Müller, Stephanie Passul, Charlotte Rohde, Lilo Schäfer, Thomas Spallek, Philipp Teufel, Andreas Uebele, Piotr Zapasnik, and many more.

“A homage to the creative freedom and tireless spirit of designers who have the knack for turning a simple surface into a work of art.”
Grafikmagazin

Lise Harlev: This is not really me

Lise Harlev has long explored personal identity in relation to the public realm. Using the aesthetics of advertising, public information signage and political slogans, her text pieces are often too ambiguous to fit into any of those categories.

For This is not really me, Lise Harlev has invited people working within art, literature, advertising and journalism to write about one of the 12 pieces in the book. Rather than giving in-depth analyses of the works, the texts function as independent literary statements, which expand on the emotional aspect of Harlev‘s work and add new meaning to it.

With texts by Synne Rifbjerg, Andreas Brøgger, Katerina Gregos, Jan Verwoert, Sarah Quigley, Christian Yde Frostholm, Ana Teixeira Pinto, Leila El-Kayem, Tod Wodicka, Peio Aguirre, Geoffrey Garrison and Olof Olsson. Introduction by Lotte Møller.

Harriet Groß: White Rain / Weißer Regen

The logic of water is the initial point for Harriet Groß‘ linear spatial drawings and interventions on the polyphony of rain. Here she investigates boundaries as threshold zones regarding their permeability, out of which spaces of possibility open up.

White Rain is a sensory event and linear structure in one. Black and white. Presence and absence. Positive and negative. From the myriad of individual events, the rain writes its own notation of new transparent spaces. Each notation demands interpretation.

As in her spatial drawings, the viewer in this book wanders through an imaginary space offering changing perspectives and references. If one follows the rhythm of the individual chapters, one is already immersed in the overall score of her drawings. There is analyzing, mirroring, repeating, superimposing and composing. And the line itself is materialized in its transition into real space. It dissects it and fans it out, only to reassemble in a new form. Minimal condensations and pauses triggered by repetition form the interstices in both temporal and spatial sequence. The lines of her notations can be read as notations of mental processes that follow their own rhythm.

In this way, the book White Rain can be read as an invitation to imagine infinite variations, like the hem in the surf of the sea writes a boundary line that redraws itself again and again.

With texts by Frizzi Krella and Hubertus von Amelunxen.

RUMI print

Elevate your space with our RUMI poster – a harmonious blend of art and wisdom. Let the timeless poetry of RUMI inspire and beautify your surroundings.

The poster size is A2.

Frederick Kiesler: Galaxies

Recognized as one of the important avant-garde artists of the 20th Century with roots in Europe and the United States of America, Frederick Kiesler (1890 – 1965, born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich Kiesler) closely associated with key members of De Stijl, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop-Art. He exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, New York and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; was represented by two of the most powerful American art dealers of the postwar era, Sidney Janis and Leo Castelli, and was subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. As a pioneering multi-disciplinary artist, he never belonged to one movement and explored various art forms simultaneously.

Besides his well-known endeavors in the fields of architecture, theater and furniture design, he also worked extensively in sculpture, painting, and installation. Among these disciplines, all of which fueled each other, Kiesler’s painted compositions of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, which he had coined Galaxies early on, have long remained the least studied. This publication provides the first in-depth analysis of this extensive body of work, which comprises both single unit compositions and multi-paneled constellations that blur the line between painting, sculpture, and installation when spanning walls, floor and ceiling.

By discussing their historic, intellectual, and visual context, Stephanie Buhmann’s well-illustrated text reveals that Kiesler’s Galaxies marked a crucial aspect of his lifelong exploration of space and form and therefore must be understood as one of his most significant achievements. Furthermore, they reflect an artistic vision whose underlying ambition could not be more current.

Having witnessed two world wars, Kiesler thought it crucial that his work should serve an enlightened society that was conscious of the threat of divisionism. He noted: “… we have to find ways and means to get together and live together. Separating boundaries must fall. Walls must give way to arches and portals. Hence, my paintings and sculptures and architectural units try to correlate in a continuous flow without being pinned down to a spot as if each lived in a separate prison cell.” (Frederick Kiesler, Inside the Endless House: Art, People and Architecture: A Journal, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966, 262.)

The publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Publication Fund of CAA.

SPOD #9 Zur Dialektik des Social Design

In order to reconstruct the conceptual relationship between the aesthetic and the critical, the essay proposes that the idiosyncratic forms of art be understood as an aesthetic critique of social reality. Design, on the other hand, requires critical thematization, as it is always already inscribed in social practices. This thesis is developed in more detail with regard to social design, in which its procedural and normative sides cannot be reconciled.

Jytte Høy: Hair Net Geometry

In her art work Hair Net Geometry Jytte Høy uses the ordinary, almost invisible object of the hairnet. Following a rectangular grid on the wall, the fine mesh hairnets are being stretched to maximum capacity. They result in a great variety of geometric shapes reminiscent of delicate drawings. Like many other works by Jytte Høy they combine sensitivity and humour in the use of everyday objects and play with ideas of the Concrete Art movement. Hair Net Geometry is the first publication dedicated to these filigree and unusual small sculptures, that have been exhibited as large wall installation in institutions such as ISCP New York.
The book is accompanied by a real hairnet and an instruction to create a Hair Net Geometry. With an essay by art critic and curator Maria Kjær Themsen.