Display. Paula Gehrmann, Simone Vollenweider. Verlag Marian Arnd

Posted in Exhibitions, Monograph on October 17th, 2023
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Display ist kein objekt, keine skulptur. Architektur oder performance display ist objekt, skulptur. Architektur und performance. Display bewegt sich zwischen kunst. handwerk und design. Display ist modularer rahmen und container. Display ist immer eine zusammenarbeit. Display ist plattform und gegenüber für interaktionen. Display macht unsichtbare strukturen und prozesse greifbar und dokumentiert gleichzeitig diesen vorgang. display ermöglicht wechselseitiges betrachten. ohne zu beschreiben. display nutzt kurzfristige verhältnisse. Display ist ein archiv der gegenwart. display ist werkzeug und macht raum zur werkstatt. Display baut alternativen raum. Display ist mein verständnis von kunst. display bedeutet für mich freundschaft und netzwerk. supportstruktur und suche nach handlungspotenzial. Display ist reaktion auf ökonomische zwänge des kunstbetriebs und der kunstproduktion. display ist ein anti-monument.

DISPLAY 2022 – 2016 gibt Einblicke in Paula Gehrmanns bewusst offene und auf Kooperation angelegte künstlerische Praxis. Die darin vorgestellten Arbeiten und Texte thematisieren das Verhältnis zwischen Kunst und Design, Inklusion und Assistenz und dem Handlungsspielraum künstlerischer und kuratorischer Rahmung.

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Odious Rot Issue 3 Troubled Waters. Odious Rot

Posted in Fashion, lifestyle, magazines, writing on October 9th, 2023
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Coming from the fire-lit warmth of OR2 Weapons & Self Protection, Odious Rot retreat to the coolness of underground caves, tidal pools and reservoir tanks. OR3 Troubled Waters is a tribute to the damp, the dank and the wet—a titanium trove dredged up from the deep.

Odious Rot is a community-focused magazine fossilising independent creatives in print. Heavily informed by world-building, each yearly issue exists as a self-contained system, within which contributors share commentary on their own work.

Odious Rot welcomes all modes of design practice, performance, poetry, prose and cultural observation in response to a chosen theme. Devoid of big brand advertising, we prioritise the practitioner, holding space for the unsung talent we feel is owed more light. A printed relic of this moment, now.

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Onnshinn #25. Asami Togawa (Ed.). Togawa-shoten

Posted in illustration on August 9th, 2023
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Togawa-shoten’s quarterly magazine Onnshinn has published artist submissions since 2011. Thank you all for your continued support. It is the newest issue #25.
It is because of you all that we are able to continue to uphold this magazine as an open forum of expression for everyone and everything.

Authors, Artists:
Yoshiko Adachi 
Joël Ameloot 
Mariko Mukumoto 
Ryo Nakamura 
Tatsuki Sako 
Yoshie Sugito 
Sota Togawa 
Design: Hirokazu Matsuda

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Cut Cube book launch / Sandra Peters & Adam Feldmeth @ Motto Berlin. Wednesday, 02 August 2023.

Posted in graphic design, Motto Berlin event, Motto Berlin store, Motto Books on July 28th, 2023
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Dear Friends,

please join us on August 2, 2023 at 7:00pm at Motto Books, Berlin for a conversation with Sandra Peters and Adam Feldmeth to present Peters’ new book Cut Cube.

The book Cut Cube, (2022) results from Sandra Peters’ interest in the graphic interplay between two- and three-dimensional structures. The 11 possible ways to unfold a cube are laid out on white paper, whereas the seven cuts that make it possible to unfold a cube are printed on transparent paper and related to each of the six sides of each flattened cube. Turning pages generates a flow of information to make the viewer aware of the complex interplay between both types of structures. 

The book is published with Motto Books, Berlin/Lausanne. A book signing will follow the discussion.

Sandra Peters is an artist, writer, and educator based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In her work she focuses on architecture and urban space. She is working towards a reciprocal integration of sensual, structural, and conceptual factors.

Peters has widely presented her work in Europe, the US, and the United Arab Emirates, including Performing the City at the NYUAD Project Space in Abu Dhabi (2023); Un–folded Cube (landscape mode) at Foyer-LA, Los Angeles (2023); Bilateral, Diagonal, Cubical at the Gallery Aanant & Zoo, Berlin (2012) and participated in the group exhibition Erschaute Bauten. Architektur im Spiegel zeitgenössischer Kunstfotografie at the MAK—Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst/Gegenwartskunst (2011).
She is teaching at New York University Abu Dhabi since 2014 in the Art and Art History Program, where she is Co-program head since 2021.

Adam Feldmeth lives in Los Angeles and Berlin. His work engages the social elasticity of art through situational discourse with those involved in its materialization. Critical contributions have been included at the Luminary Projects, St. Louis, Missouri; Contemporary Art Daily; the MAK Center, Los Angeles; Kunstbibliothek Sitterwerk, St. Gallen, Switzerland; Overgaden Institute for Contemporary Art, Copenhagen; the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University; and the 53rd Venice Biennale of Art. In 2008, he co-authored, “Nomad Post School,” with Guan Rong and in 2020 “Some Pedagogies of the Southland Institute” with Joe Potts

He is co-director of the Southland Institute in Los Angeles, teaches Film/Media studies at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California, and is a doctoral student at the European Graduate School where he is considering the cobblestone as a mediator of momentum at the confluence of urban space and cinematic montage.

Cults and Culture Talk / Alex Head @ Motto Berlin. Thursday, 13 July 2023.

Posted in Motto Berlin event, politics, Theory, writing on July 7th, 2023
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Dear friends,

We are happy to invite you to Cults and Culture on Thursday, July 13th from 7:00 PM, a talk by Alex Head in which the author will discuss his book Ricochet – Cultural Epigenetics and the Philosophy of Change (Ljå Forlag, Oslo, 2021).

Reflecting on discoveries and debates that have occurred in the two years since its publication, artist Alex Head will read from current works in progress to highlight specific aspects within his ambitious book 
Ricochet to discuss the architecture of power.


It is now well documented that cults have been used to disseminate disinformation. For example the extremist cults of MAGA, The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who’s recruitment pipeline has been funded by Big Oil and crypto libertarians in an attempt to overthrow the United States and 
crash their and the world’s economy.


But what about the arts more widely, is there a form of culture that is transparent about its ideology, particularly in today’s hyper-accelerate media vortex? Are all cultural institutions not also in some way cultish? The cult of patriarchy being just one obvious example that transcends both religious and cultural institutions.


Focussing on specific evidence of how cults have been used to spread disinformation and other historical data the artist will discuss the central motif to his work Ricochet, – the Sacred Date Palm Tree – as a expression of the anti-rhizome. Are we, the unwitting public being continuously gaslit by Sacred Date Palm tree’s in the form of neoclassical architecture? And if so, what can we do to review and 
refocus personal and political objectives as users navigate the web architecture of the app?

Join us at Motto Berlin on Thursday, 13th of July for an insightful talk where we will explore the profound themes of Ricochet and run across topics like January 6th, Classical Architecture, White Supremacy, BND Building Berlin, Mental Health, Libertarianism, Bitcoin, Gold Standard, Going Offline, Art, Publishing, Design, Cultural Epigenetics, Memory, Witnessing and Social Media.

Alex Head

Ljå Forlag

Cordyceps Gaud Adversary. Dozie Kanu. Motto Books; Neuer Essener Kunstverein.

Posted in Exhibition catalogue, Monograph, Motto Books on June 23rd, 2023
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Dozie Kanu’s „Cordyceps Gaud Adversary” is the first comprehensive publication that contextualizes and traces his artistic practice of the last four years in relation to the notion of Black material culture, the theatricality of exhibition-making and his understanding of contemporary sculpture.

The publication is published on the occasion of Dozie Kanu’s exhibition at Neuer Essener Kunstverein and and includes, in addition to a generous image section, commissioned texts by Moritz Scheper and manuel arturo abreu, as well as a conversation on the artistic practice of Kanu between Martine Syms, Klein, and the artist.

Authors: manuel arturo abreu, Klein, Martine Syms, Moritz Scheper 
Publisher: Motto Books, Neuer Essener Kunstverein
Design: jmmp.eu (Julian Mader, Max Prediger)

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Collateral Strategies. Capslock. Capslock Magazine

Posted in graphic design, magazines on June 1st, 2023
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Stuck on a blank canvas? Collateral Strategies is here to help. 

Our collection of 55 evocative cards, each containing a unique claim, is tailored to overcome creative blocks and inspire new perspectives. Each card features a thought-provoking statement that any creative person can interpret. Simply draw one card, let it inspire you and elevate your designs to the next level. 
Innovative design requires innovative tools that foster experimentation and lateral thinking, and Collateral Strategies aims to be just that. A perfect addition to your creative arsenal.

Unlock your creative potential with Collateral Strategies. 1 deck, 55 high quality evocative cards, 55 evocative claims.

Whenever you encounter a creative block, just draw one card and let its claim inspire you. Elevate your design to the next level.

55 cards, 100% creative inspiration.

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CATALOGUE OF STREET FURNITURE. Natasha Krymskaya, Daniil Chikaev

Posted in Uncategorized on January 5th, 2023
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Pocket-sized street furniture catalogue expresses love for scraps of wood, tattered oilcloth, pieces of organolith and other derelict materials. This furniture is super-nature layer dissolved in our cities. Collection of furniture is protected from the modern habits of fast consumption and meets the highest aesthetic standards. It is free of superficial, fashionable tendencies. Through its simplicity and logic, it reflects the honesty and authenticity of the materials from which it is made.

Numbered, third edition of 50
2022

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Intuitions. Naço, Marcelo Joulia. Rupture & Imbernon; Éditions Empire

Posted in Uncategorized on January 2nd, 2023
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Creating, traveling, drawing, and building: such is the DNA of the exuberant architect and designer Marcelo Joulia. Driven from his home country of Argentina by the 1976 military coup, this personal trauma gave him the strength to be a great builder. For thirty years, his agency Naço —‘intuition’ in the Guarani language—has been the laboratory of a global and inventive architecture, aiming to decompartmentalise genres and trades, and mixing knowledge, arts, and professional backgrounds together. Belonging to no specific school, and fiercely attached to his independence and freedom, he has imagined a unique creative space in which expertise and rigor both flourish within the domains of luxury, urban mobility, and major architecture. As an insatiable adventurer, he is able to take an interest in anything —large-scale buildings, design, furniture, bicycles, boats— while not denying himself anything. His passion revolves around teamwork and bringing talents together to conceive of new worlds. As an epicurean, a generous person passionate about art and gastronomy, Marcelo Joulia creates places in his image: unique, welcoming, and always dynamic.

This book showcases the vision of a man and an agency that has surrounded itself with the best and strived to bring to life a demanding and iconoclastic architecture, and carry it forth into the future.

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Who Can Afford To Be Critical? Alfonso Matos (Ed.). Set Margins’

Posted in graphic design, Theory, writing on December 20th, 2022
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‘Critical Designers’ produced by an increasing number of design schools are prompted to address social, political and environmental issues through their practices. Yet, who can afford to continue such effort after graduation?

In a dynamic style holding multiple voices, “Who Can Afford To Be Critical?” discusses the limits that affordability, class and labour impose upon the educational promise of holding a ‘critical’ practice. Why do we tend to ignore the material and socioeconomic constraints that bind us as designers, claiming instead that we can be powerful agents of change? In fact, where does our agency lie?

Instead of focusing on the dream of ethical work under capitalism, could we, instead, focus first on designers’ own working conditions, targeting them as one immediate site for collective action? And can we engage politically with the world not necessarily as designers, but as workers, as activists, as citizens?

With contributions by Silvio Lorusso, J. Dakota Brown, Marianela D’Aprile, Evening Class, Somnath Batt, Danielle Aubert, Jack Henrie Fisher, Alan Smart, Greg Mihalko and DAE students 2021/2022.

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