Visual Storytelling – The Architecture of Content: Reading Ed Ruscha – Stefan Gaßner

Visual Storytelling – The Architecture of Content: Reading Ed Ruscha

»Writing is not telling stories.
It is the opposite of telling stories.
It is: telling everything at once.
It is: telling a story and the absence of that story. It is: telling a story that comes about through the absence of a story.«

— Marguerite Duras

The Power of Omission

When working on a book, I review the pages repeatedly. If something feels off, if it “pinches in the gut,” I refine it. I work until the flow feels natural and cohesive. Successful book design means creating a powerful whole where nothing feels forced or artificial.

How can strength and energy be developed from the content itself? Which image-text combinations complement each other? How can we create “white space” that gives the viewer room for their own thoughts? This is the power of the abstract.

Buchgestaltung Cover Front Reading Ed Ruscha

Buchgestaltung U2 Reading Ed Ruscha

Buchgestaltung Innen Leeres Buch Reading Ed Ruscha

The Role of the Book Designer: Meticulous Research, Clear Decisions

At the beginning is the research. I sift through everything I can find on the subject—raw texts, materials, photographs. Once a visualization is developed, feasibility and budget must be considered. It involves coordinating with a variety of disciplines: the museum, directors, curators, authors, the artist and their studio, printers, lithographers, and editors.

I view book design much like working on a stone sculpture: you progress from the coarse to the fine, adhering to certain laws, making decisions that are eventually “carved in stone.”

Ed Ruscha, THE BACK OF HOLLYWOOD, 1977, Öl auf Leinwand, Collection Musée d’ Art Contemporain, Lyon

Reading Ed Ruscha

This project focuses on Ed Ruscha’s continuous artistic interest in books, typography, and the act of reading over five decades.

As Ruscha says: “Words are like patterns.” Therefore, spacing can either disrupt the flow or develop an unexpected energy when properly balanced.

»Words are like patterns; in their horizontality, they provide an answer to my investigation of the landscape.«
– Ed Ruscha

Buchgestaltung Reading Ed Ruscha Stefan Gaßner

Buchgestaltung Reading Ed Ruscha s 44 Stefan Gaßner Abbildung Foto © Markus Tretter

The Value of a Book

The unchangeability of the printed word is the decisive difference between a book and the digital world. The longevity, durability, and the associated high production standards set it apart from a mere brochure. No printed sheet is exactly the same; like a river, the water flowing past is never identical. With use, every book becomes a unique object.

It is not uncommon for books I have designed to increase significantly in value—often rising from an initial €45 to over €900 on the collectors’ market. This is the power of the definitive decision.

Project Credits:

Reading Ed Ruscha

Institution: Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB), 2012
Editor: Yilmaz Dziewior
Design: Stefan Gaßner, Bernd Altenried
Essays: Beatrice von Bismarck, Douglas Coupland, Yilmaz Dziewior, W. S. Di Piero
Specifications: German / English, 256 pages, 24 x 30 cm, Hardcover

Noch als gebrauchtes Exemplar erhältlich

My Favorite Books

Buchgestaltung
Verlage:
Dafne Editora
Lars Müller Publishers
Buchhandlung Walther König
distanz Verlag
Birkhäuser
DETAIL

Buchgestaltung
Papier:
Fischerpapier
Munken

Buchgestaltung
Lithographie:
pixelstorm
tretterfotografie
LUDWIG:media gmbh