On Monday, the New York Times posted a piece on its By Design blog that caught our eye. The author, Allison Arieff, Editor at Large for Sunset, writes an engaging, affectionate post about William Stout, owner of William Stout Architectural Books in San Francisco. Bill Stout is much respected in the bookselling and publishing worlds, and for very good reason. Give it a read.
Seattle’s Lead Pencil Studio has a new installation, Retail/Commercial, tucked into a corner retail space in Rainier Square. It feels familiar; it’s also disturbingly unfamiliar. But that’s the idea. Zach and I visited the installation—our second attempt—last Friday. Zach described the experience as: “Disorienting. That’s really the best word for it.” And he meant it in the best possible way.
Retail/Commercial transforms an aging, eighties-era retail environment into a wonderfully creepy spatial inquiry. The artists have created a kind of retail space that’s stripped of any recognizable goods, letting us look at the guts of the thing—or, at least, the guts of an imagined version of a retail space.
Aside from an attendant toward the back, we were the only two visitors there. We picked our way quietly through. I for one felt both squirmy and amused. What’s there: empty shelves, plenty of clear plastic racks, stacks of cardboard boxes tucked away in plain sight, a fake security camera, mannequins, a Ross shopping cart, soft music coming from different areas of the installation. What’s not there: shoppers and the things they buy.
After leaving the installation, we walked through the underground walkway that connects Rainier Square and Union Square. We passed several empty former stores with bare shelving units, the odd piece of display furniture, chairs loosely stacked. Retail/commercial indeed.
Retail/Commercial is open from 1 to 6 PM Fridays and Saturdays through March 14. Find it on the ground floor of Rainier Square at Fourth and Union in downtown Seattle.
-Adrian Lucia
Here are a few different perspectives on the printing process, captured in photos by Marquand Senior Designer John Hubbard. We can practically smell the ink and fresh-cut paper!
(Captions clockwise, from top left)
Found perspective on a color test form (press sheet) at CS Graphics in Singapore, 2004.
Macro detail of the edges of random sheets of specialty papers at CS Graphics in Singapore, 2004.
Detail of vintage wood type make-ready press sheet at Marquand Editions, Tieton, 2008.
Archive of film for books before Digital-to-Plate technology made film obsolete. CS Graphics, Singapore, 2000.
Marquand was pleased to produce Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan’s new book, Running the Numbers:
Statistics can be daunting but dry: 100 million trees cut down every year to make the paper for junk mail; 380,000 kilowatt hours of electricity wasted every minute; 2 million plastic bottles used every five minutes; 2.3 million Americans incarcerated in U.S. prisons in a single year. Renowned photographer Chris Jordan brings these staggering numbers to life in manipulated digital photographs that are at once alluring and shocking. A landscape of toothpicks, each representing a felled tree, stretches into the horizon; a looping maze of plastic cups reveals how many are used every six hours on airplane flights; and a replica of a Seurat masterpiece fashioned from aluminum cans becomes a lesson in waste. These astonishing photographs of great beauty reveal the devastating consequences of our culture of consumption.
As Paul Hawken notes, Jordan’s images are “a supplication to all who look upon them, to harm no more, to be mindful in all that we do, speak, and take.
A recent article in Dutch design website Materia features more examples of Jordan’s visionary work. Story is available here.
Dear Social Networkers,
We’re pleased to announce that you can now find us on Facebook. We’ll post recent photos of the office, book arts, ephemera, and some recent projects, as well as info about upcoming events. We’ll also throw some questions up on our discussion board, so visit often and give us your two cents. And if you have a Facebook account, become a fan and write on our wall!
We’ve received loads of e-mails from clients and friends who have consulted The Decider for lighthearted advice about tough decisions, and are thrilled by such a positive response! Here’s a favorite from Diane Lovejoy, Publications Director at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
I couldn’t DECIDE whether to send you chocolates or roses for gifting me with The Decider. So, I have opted for sending good old electronic kudos instead.
I have already consulted The Decider about whether or not to edit a rather inscrutable text. After spinning the pointer, I was delighted to have my own instincts validated with a clear answer: “Is that the best use of your time?”
Thank you, Decider, for saving me time and truly making my day!
All the best,
Diane
Here’s another testimonial, this time from a renowned museum director:
Since I started letting The Decider make all the decisions at my museum, our endowment has doubled, our membership has tripled, and I think my teeth might be whiter. Thanks, Ed, for making The Decider available to hard working museum professionals. Since I am no longer taxing myself with difficult decisions (or, for that matter, easy ones), I have more time to do a museum director’s real work: 1. take credit for everything 2. blame others for my blunders 3. collect a big paycheck, and 4. plan my next move.
And more praise from an important curator:
I just wanted to let you know that your “Decider” was a big hit around here. We have an institution-wide problem with decision-making, so maybe this is exactly what we need. No longer will we emerge from lengthy meetings having no idea what was accomplished! –Margaret
Let us know how The Decider has helped you! And for the record, we like Chocolate AND Roses.
Pick your favorite, then click on the appropriate screen size. Right click “set as desktop background” to download. All photos by Jeremy Linden.
