Print Control is extensive review of the best of the printed matter from Poland, released as an online database and an annual book publication. This year’s release of the annual will be accompanied by an event series relating to the publishing industry.
The second edition of Print Control, published by txt publishing and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, will feature over 100 leading examples of Polish graphic design, selected by curator Magdalena Heliasz – each accompanied by technical specifications. The second part of the book is devoted to interviews with graphic designers Edgar Bąk, Ryszard Bienert and Jakub Jezierski, and with Jakub Banasiak, art historian and editor-in-chief of Szum magazine, and the leaders of 8h books workshops.
The publication acts not only as a paper archive of the latest achievements by Polish graphic designers, but aims to offer a critical perspective on the subject matter. Readers will get an opportunity to learn about the significance of decorative solutions in design, methods employed in graphic-design education programmes, means required to create independent publications, the underestimated importance of overlooking the final printing process, or what is at stake for an art-book publisher. Print Control is a crucial source of knowledge about the flourishing Polish art-publishing industry, and a great motor for thinking about contemporary design.
Release of the annual takes place on the 4th of October, and will be one of the events in Print Control Week, a festival celebrating the latest phenomena in Polish art publishing, organized together with The Photographic Publication of the Year, a competition held by the International Festival of Photography in Łódź, the Book Off bookstore and the Miejsce Fotografii blog.
Sputnik Photos, Distant Place, photo courtesy of the artists
The Print Control week takes place at the Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art, and includes events spread from the 4th to the 12th of October. Its highlight will be an exhibition of winners of the latest edition of The Photographic Publication of the Year, paired with a selection of other significant graphic projects. In 2013, candidates competed in two categories: Photographic Publication and Self Publish. The former award went to Sputnik Photos collective’s Distant Place, the latter to Brutal by Michał Łuczak, both designed by Ania Nałęcka of Tapir Book Design.
The events forming part of the week-long celebration include talks by authors of several outstanding art and photography books, while gathering persons who contribute to the industry from backstage. The organizers have invited guests including Ania Nałęcka, who will talk about her experience of working with successful photographers on their highly personalized publications. The Swiss editors Roland Früh and Corina Neuenschwander will present their project 1946, 1947, 1948 – The Missing Years of the Most Beautiful Swiss Books. Representatives of Fundacja Archeologia Fotografii / Archeology of Photography Foundation will discuss the evolution of their approach and involvement with creating photo publications, while Paweł Szypulski will introduce the audience to the underground world of photo books.
Michał Łuczak, Brutal, photo courtesy of the artist
The Print Control online archive can be accessed here.
Print Control Week
4-12 October 2013
Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
Sources: press materials, own materials. Ed. AM 23.09.2013