Newness is the Mode

One of the more interesting highlights of my fall was attending the NY Art Book Fair. Unfortunately I was unable to see the whole show due to the large volume of exhibitors, but I got a good taste and was lucky enough to snag a couple of books. One of the books was Lay Flat 02: Meta (pictured above), a photography book edited and produced by the artist Shane Lavalette. It's a book that I will endlessly revisit, to pore over the amazing photography and thought provoking essays, but also to admire as an art object, in and of itself.

Since I'm on this subject of the NY Art Book Fair, I thought I would link to this article written by Rob Giampetro about the fair. It's such an interesting analysis of this moment we're experiencing within the world of books and in the larger sense, print. I found it smart and inspiring. Lately I find myself thinking, "When I look back at this time in history, what defined this moment for graphic designers?" and "What will it look like in retrospect?" Everyone talks about how print is dead or we're on the cusp of a revolution in print (moving to web). But maybe print won't die. Maybe physical, tangible books will always hold value. Regardless of what happens, if in this moment, "newness is the mode", that's okay by me.