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New and notable books on architecture, culture, and design.
July 2002
Flux
By Hani Rashid and Lise-Anne Couture
Phaidon, 239 pp., $59.95
The title of Asymptote's monograph represents fluidity between real
and virtual spaces, something principals Rashid and Couture investigate
in every project they do. Their Fluxspace 2.0 Pavilion for the 2000 Venice
Biennale used Web cameras and rotating mirrors to track the way a space
changes through time; a design for a virtual New York Stock Exchange tracked
the flow of data through the space.
Narita Inspected: Japan Graphic Design Compiler
Edited, compiled, and designed by
Lopetz: Büro Destruct
Die Gestalten Verlag, 228 pp., $55.00
This giddy survey of 33 contemporary Japanese graphic-design studios is
heavily skewed toward video-game-and-animé inspired MTV ads, CD covers,
and club flyers. Appealingly quirky characters like Devilrobot's tofu-headed
family and Groovisions's virtual superstar Chappie figure prominently.
Each designer was also subjected to an interview that asked, among other
things, "How does Japan smell today?" (Answers include "It
smells of Helvetica" and "Frog.")
EcoDesign
By Alastair Fuad-Luke
Chronicle Books, 352 pp., $35.00
Taking a pluralistic approach to environmental design, this book evaluates
more than 700 products, buildings, and vehicles in terms of quality and
economy of materials, cleanliness and efficiency of manufacturing,
and recyclability. The directory of designers, manufacturers, and suppliers
at the back alone is worth the cover price.
Colors: Tibor Kalman, Issues 1-13
Edited by Maira Kalman and Ruth Peltason
Designed by Judith Hudson
Harry N. Abrams Inc., 224 pp., $35.00
This book highlights the late designer's best work for Colors, the
controversial magazine published by Benetton. Like Ellen Lupton and Bruce
Mau today, Kalman was one of those rare designer-authors who truly understood
that design was a visual language. With the help of collaborators such as
Karrie Jacobs, Emily Oberman, and Oliviero Toscani, he demonstrated a brilliant
use of text and image while exploring topics such as AIDS, the environment,
and shopping.
Everything but the Walls
By Jasper Morrison
Designed by Jasper Morrison, Lars Müller, and Matilda Plöjel
Lars Müller Publishers, 200 pp., $55.00
A master of minimalism, Morrison is also a man of few words. Celebrating
20 years in design, he brings these two traits together with terse paragraphs,
wherein he describes his inspirations and processes, accompanied by photographs
and drawings of his work. The book offers a typical Morrisonian experience:
you quickly read his brief descriptions even as you linger over images of
his chairs, tables, rugs, doorknobs, lamps, and sofas.
Avant-garde Page Design: 1900-1950
By Jaroslav Andel
Designed by Enzo Cornacchione
Delano Greenidge Editions, 388 pp., $60.00
Andel's comprehensive book surveys the iconic art movements of the first
half of the twentieth century through the lens of page design, documenting
everything from Cubism to Surrealism. Pioneers like El Lissitzky and Moholy-Nagy
are thoroughly documented, and the inclusion of work by lesser- known figures
such as August Tschinkel, Lajos Kassák, and Werner Gräff is
refreshing.
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