Laura Owens: Ringier 2013

Every year, the Swiss media company Ringier publishes an annual report conceived by an artist. This year, Los Angeles artist Laura Owens (born 1970) has created the publication, deploying resources and methods drawn from art history and traditional printing craftsmanship. She took as inspiration Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler's legendary art magazine View, published in the 1940s, when printing presses were still the pulse of every newspaper and publishing organization. Owens has created a very haptic cover in typographic print, as well as drawings to be reproduced using silkscreen. Allowing the inclusion of up to nine colors, this methodology implies a realization by printing experts who still master the old book and screenprinting methods--a technical challenge made visual delight. This slim, staple-bound volume is published in a limited edition of 300 copies.