Books from the future Summer School 2016
A ten-day summer workshop in London that will investigate relationships between style, graphic design and contemporary culture. Participants will conceive and design content for a forthcoming book to be published by Booksfromthefuture. The workshop offers a lab-like environment for discovering and testing new methods of artistic research and performative publishing, and will conclude with an exhibition showcasing the results.
Together, we will study the ideology and symbology behind popular and unpopular aesthetics, attitudes, auras, codes, poetics and trends. We will also experiment with the synthesis of form, strategy and context in the construction of artifice, authenticity and meaning.
Key to this process will be addressing questions suggested by practitioners: What are the influences and motivations driving the ‘new global style’? (Mr. Keedy; Anther Kiley; Linda van Deursen); Why don’t we talk about style more? (Eric Hu); How is form-as-a-mode-of-thinking opening new genres for the hybrid artist/designer? (Stuart Bailey); Has the Age of Information slipped into the Age of Simulation? (Travis Stearns); Does it have to look nice to be political? (Pablo Leon de la Barra); Do our stylistic choices challenge or support the colonisation of aesthetic territories? (Kevin Yuen Kit Lo).
Booksfromthefuture mentors designers and artists to become independent thinkers and practitioners with the confidence to initiate and sustain their own projects, collaborations and futures.
4–15 July 2016
Application deadline: 1 June 2016, midnight
15 places available
Programme
10 days, 5 days each week (Monday–Friday), 5 hours per day (10.30–16.30).
Days will be structured around the integration of thought and action, supported through readings, discussions, guests talks and crits, tutorials and hands-on activities, all conducted in English.
The course involves fast-paced turnaround requiring participants to be resourceful and progress daily based on feedback from peers and tutors.
Booksfromthefuture practices a think-and-do ethos encompassing:
¹ inquiry: how to pose research questions and convert them into reflexive strategies for form-making and form-finding
² concept: how to articulate and negotiate one's intentions, personal approach and results in relation to content and context
³ design: how to shape and sequence information into a unique reading experience, with particular emphasis on typographic systems
Tutors
Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees are researchers, educators and publishers based in London. In 2012, they co-founded Booksfromthefuture, a platform for experimental learning and publishing. Martinez is currently a lecturer at Central Saint Martins and Chelsea College of Arts. Trees is currently a lecturer at London College of Communication, Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art.
During 1999–2009 Martinez and Treespracticed under the name Fake I.D. Their work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibitions as well as the permanent collections of Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Denver Art Museum, Design Museum, MoMA and SFMOMA. Clients include: Arkitip, Emigre magazine, Giorgio Camuffo, GLBT Historical Society, Harmony Korine, MTV, Nike, Urban Outfitters and Wieden+Kennedy.
Eligibility
Open to both students and graduates.
Participants must demonstrate prior experience with designing at least one multi-page document. A laptop with Adobe Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop installed is required for participation.
Participants travelling from abroad are responsible for securing any visas required.
Locations
London Centre for Book Arts (LCBA)
Jaime Gili studio
Application
Applications will be accepted until 1 June 2016, midnight.
To apply, send a short CV and link to your portfolio* (or a PDF 10MB max) to:apply@booksfromthefuture.info
*Portfolio must include at least one multi-page document designed by the applicant.
Each application will be assessed by the tutors, with notification sent on or before 3 June 2016.
Fee
£600 per participant, to be paid in full via credit card or bank transfer upon receipt of acceptance and in advance of the course.
Tuition payment deadline is 7 June 2016.
Fee includes one copy of the published book per participant and covers daily photocopying / test printing during workshop hours. Fee does not include meals, travel fares or accommodation.
Terms and Conditions
If for any reason the workshop does not run, the participant will receive a full refund of all monies paid (£600). If for any reason the participant cancels their participation in the workshop in writing prior to 24 June 2016, a sum of £300 will be retained to cover administration costs and the remaining sum of £300 will be refunded. Any cancellations after 24 June 2016 will result in the forfeiture of the entire workshop fee (£600).