Although first published over eighty years ago, the writing of art critic Clement Greenberg are as poignant today as ever. Through his critical analysis of individual artists and indeed art itself, Greenberg shaped the late twentieth century’s view of “high” art.
This tight 32-page pamphlet stitched booklet format refreshes to Greenberg’s 1939 “Avant-Garde and Kitsch” and 1940 “Towards a Newer Laocoon.” Set magazine-style in two columns with pull quotes and end notes, it makes a tight, efficient use of limited space.
Written at a time where “post-modernism” was just beginning to emerge, I found these essays still applicable to the trend toward art with an agenda. Perhaps it is time to once again look at art as something to be admired, understood, viewed and, dare I say, enjoyed by the masses?
To actually create the booklet, however, required a far more pragmatic view. As a self-produced project, I sized the page to work well on stock 8-1/2 x 14 paper (fortunately, short-grain). The cover was printed with a inkjet printer on grey cover stock.
For the interior, I needed to create an imposition of the pages: a rearrangement to booklet ordering so when printed (in duplex), stacked and folded together, the page ordering ended up correct.
A fun little twist to creating a book critical of abstract art.
