https://mms-arkiv.se MMS Thu, 15 Aug 2024 08:00:33 +0000 https://mms-arkiv.se en https://mms-arkiv.se/Front-page Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:47 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Front-page https://mms-arkiv.se/Lately Thu, 15 Aug 2024 08:00:33 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Lately Lately 7-8 September 2024 Under the Leaf Art Book Fair, Helsinki <img width="1000" height="1000" width_o="1000" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45cca02ce84e5cad46a48b10efaa22d30e9835dcf1612081f59995e0a173dccf/undertheleaf.png" data-mid="216402364" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/45cca02ce84e5cad46a48b10efaa22d30e9835dcf1612081f59995e0a173dccf/undertheleaf.png" /> On September 7–8, 2024 MMS will be in Helsinki for Under the Leaf Art book fair. Under the Leaf is an art book fair in Helsinki hosting local and international exhibitors featuring a wide variety of publishing practices —from zines to artists’ books, experimental publications and contemporary art editions. MMS will be in conversation with Arja Karhumaa in relation to the publication of the forthcoming Finnish translation of Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography by Multipöly. Arja Karhumaa is a graphic designer and educator, and Associate Professor in Visual Communication Design at Aalto University. They are co-founder of the experimental publishing collective Multipöly. September 2024 Upcoming Finnish translation In September 2024 Multipöly (Arja Karhumaa and Maarit Bau Mustonen) will publish a Finnish translation of Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. January 2025 Forthcoming book contribution: Thinking Through Graphic Design HistoryMMS contributes to the forthcoming book Thinking Through Graphic Design History edited by Aggie Toppins. The book is set to be published in January 2025 and can be pre-ordered here. The book is described like this: Graphic design has a paradoxical relationship to history. While it claims to promote originality and innovation - ideas that emphasize the new and unique - design practice is deeply embedded in previous ideals. Too often, design students encounter the past in brief visual impressions which seduce them to imitate form rather than engage with historical contexts. Even though it has claimed to be objective and even comprehensive, graphic design history has focused largely on individual careers and Eurocentric achievements. Yet the past swells with untapped potential. Graphic design history can serve the field of today and tomorrow, but its narratives require updates. History, like design, is always changing - and like design, history is driven by present-day questions. This book shows how students and practicing designers can enrich their work by thinking historically about design. With thoughtful analyses, stimulating creative prompts, inspiring case studies, and perspectives from designers all over the world, this book challenges our traditional understanding of graphic design history, and the very notion of the design canon, offering ways to shape socially engaged, critical practices. https://mms-arkiv.se/Natural-Enemies-of-Books-The-Book Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:48 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Natural-Enemies-of-Books-The-Book Natural Enemies of Books Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography is an anthology edited by MMS, published by Occasional Papers in Spring 2020. Contributors: Kathleen Walkup, Ida Börjel, Jess Baines, Ulla Wikander, Inger Humlesjö, Ingegärd Waaranperä, Gail Cartmail, Megan Dobney. Graphic design: Eller med a. The book is financed by Swedish Arts Grants Committee. Reviews:→ Gerda Breuer, Gesellschaft für Designgeschichte, 16 September 2022→ Lisa Rosowsky, “Feminist pot-luck”, Eye Magazine no. 102 vol. 26, 2021→ Briar Levit, Alphabettes, 1 May 2020→ Robyn Pitts, People of Print, 23 March 2020→ Charlie Filmer-Court, “MMS provides a window into an inspiring period of pre-war female graphic design”, It's Nice That, 12 March 2020→ Read also "Anger is my Motto", interview with our Brazilian publisher Tereza Bettinardi (Clube do Livro do Design) in Futuress, 30 May 2022 Natural Enemies of Books – The Exhibition The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Tengbomhallen, Stockholm, Sweden. 2017.11.11–2018.01.14 Bookmaking on the Distaff Side was published in 1937 by the group The Distaff Side &nbsp;– women working in the printing industry. The book has been described as a potluck in which some twenty bookbinders, printers, typographers, illustrators and authors have contributed with historical essays, satire, biographies, poems, manifestos and typographical experiments, proposing a takeover of the history of the book.The exhibition was inaugurated by Nina Beckmann, CEO of Grafikens Hus. MMS has been using Bookmaking on the Distaff Side as a recipe book for a couple of years. The exhibition is a showcase of various graphic experiments. The project is financed by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and an Artist-in-Residency at Grafikens Hus in collaboration with Kretsen Södertälje. Thank you Nina Beckmann – Grafikens hus, Olof Sandahl – Kretsen Södertälje, Ulla Wennberg, Ciara Phillips, Emmy Dijkstra, Katja Winkes, Jennifer Bergkvist.&nbsp; <img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/abebdb63965797140737417b16f5d3405abeb45c99c945cb6199ee6327793fbe/exhibition_1.jpg" data-mid="216395149" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/abebdb63965797140737417b16f5d3405abeb45c99c945cb6199ee6327793fbe/exhibition_1.jpg" /> <img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/482f9aeef66e81a668a8fe858d34ce3d98e6b6e030f7e1f689394c07e437a1e3/exhibition_2.jpg" data-mid="216395150" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/482f9aeef66e81a668a8fe858d34ce3d98e6b6e030f7e1f689394c07e437a1e3/exhibition_2.jpg" /> <img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/71663b1bf39c8f866e59cc7b1c420fa9badbe3424b449f3f27c76c752890294f/exhibition_3.jpg" data-mid="216395151" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/71663b1bf39c8f866e59cc7b1c420fa9badbe3424b449f3f27c76c752890294f/exhibition_3.jpg" /><img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/780e0c73ee1ab23c3fa6463caf64ae9b81c1b0a5323db04c1db81b943d986b90/exhibition_4.jpg" data-mid="216395152" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/780e0c73ee1ab23c3fa6463caf64ae9b81c1b0a5323db04c1db81b943d986b90/exhibition_4.jpg" /><img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a535c350cb5e878b1de19bb17bcdd403ba6789b718c08b197a4d7d139dafe4da/exhibition_5.jpg" data-mid="216395153" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a535c350cb5e878b1de19bb17bcdd403ba6789b718c08b197a4d7d139dafe4da/exhibition_5.jpg" /><img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6a58508c1fb99286c1c0c592f70872aa96943ee066e78c1052b334b0c5ebf496/exhibition_6.jpg" data-mid="216395154" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6a58508c1fb99286c1c0c592f70872aa96943ee066e78c1052b334b0c5ebf496/exhibition_6.jpg" /> Photos credit © Johan Wahlgren https://mms-arkiv.se/The-Distaff-Side Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:49 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/The-Distaff-Side The Distaff SideThe Distaff Side was a series of craft-based workshops, through which we engaged with the anthology&nbsp;Bookmaking on the Distaff Side. Bookmaking on the Distaff Side was published in the USA in 1937 by a group called ”The Distaff Side” – women working in the printing industry.&nbsp; Female bookbinders, printers, typographers, illustrators and writers (among them Gertrude Stein) contributed to the book with historical essays, satire, biographies, poems, manifestos and typographical experiments. The contributions are printed separately in different designs, on different paper stock, on different printers. The book is bound and published by Jumbo Press, a private press based in San Francisco and run by printer Jane Grabhorn. Jane also worked with her partner Robert Grabhorn on the Grabhorn Press, and later Colt Press. She kept the Jumbo Press active on the side, on which she printed children’s books and satirical reflections on the printing business. “Ever since the days of Mrs. Gutenberg, women have been involved in the art of printing; and now, more than ever, they are to be found in the offices and factories concerned with the making of books. Yet never before have they been organized into a group for the express purpose of producing a book by, for, and concerning themselves. Bookmaking on the Distaff Side is the product of their writing, their designing, their type‐setting and their printing”– from the preface of Bookmaking on the Distaff Side From 2015 to 2017 we used&nbsp;Bookmaking on the Distaff Side as a dialogue partner and recipe book, researching its contributors and content and making a series of contemporary responses in collaboration with local artists and crafts people.&nbsp; The Distaff Side is arranged as a series of episodes. Each episode engaged a different contribution in&nbsp;Bookmaking on the Distaff Side, drawing inspiration from the content, the craft method or both. Episode I: Punctuation Pets – A Tribute to Ruth Screenprinting workshop with Ciara Phillips at Konsthall C, Stockholm, December 2015 In this episode we engaged with the two page contribution by Ruth Douglas Keener.&nbsp;Ruth Douglas Keener was a writer and poet. Her contribution to the book, Punctuation Pets, is a spread in which she has drawn animals in a humorous and playful way using punctuation symbols, and given them witty names that rhyme with the punctuation. One can imagine that part of her work has been correcting the use of punctuation in texts to be published, and that this spread brings to life the signs and her relationship to them,&nbsp; showing a lustful approach to text and typography. <img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fdd569ba2577b6c6972dcbbded09fa3f7e3dc071ed85f18e256539f3359099f3/P1080144.JPG" data-mid="169535602" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fdd569ba2577b6c6972dcbbded09fa3f7e3dc071ed85f18e256539f3359099f3/P1080144.JPG" /> <img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ac0c73e4b4eb5432218ead6e0783b66a76b7630443ba66dbca13a4dbccb6ead8/P1080087.JPG" data-mid="169535500" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ac0c73e4b4eb5432218ead6e0783b66a76b7630443ba66dbca13a4dbccb6ead8/P1080087.JPG" /> <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2b397aacf3888d5fcaa068f224d6831302d926bf02a28eba1fca83d03a1d6986/IMG_7889.JPG" data-mid="169535535" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2b397aacf3888d5fcaa068f224d6831302d926bf02a28eba1fca83d03a1d6986/IMG_7889.JPG" /><img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9095d6401e9f6c379b077811512036631788ef037ae33df624d11524863eed82/P1080142.JPG" data-mid="169535604" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9095d6401e9f6c379b077811512036631788ef037ae33df624d11524863eed82/P1080142.JPG" /> Episode II: Are women the natural enemies of books? Woodcut and lino cut with Ulla Wennberg, Stockholm, Winter&nbsp;2015This episode was based on the contribution Are women the natural enemies of books? by Anne Lyon Haight and the wood cut illustrations by&nbsp;Anne Leyneman. In her contribution to the book, Anne Lyon Haight refers to a book in which Andrew Lang (Scottish poet, literary critic, etc.) wrote a chapter entitled "Women – The Natural Enemies of Books" in which he places women in the same category as moisture, dust, dirt, bookworms, careless readers, borrowers, book thieves, library looters, etc. Anne Lyon Haight addresses this in her article, partly by describing economic and social reasons why women did not always have access to fine books, partly by writing about historical women who were prominent book collectors. The text is illustrated by woodcuts made by Anne Leyneman depicting drunk nuns rolling around with glasses of red wine in the convent library, eyes crossed as in cartoons. A satirical commentary on Lang's claim of women as the enemy of the book, commenting on the historiography that highlights the work of monks in copying and caring for books, and glosses over the equivalent work done by women. Ulla Wennberg has her studio on Långholmen in Stockholm and has worked with graphics since the 60s, often with motifs and messages that touched women's everyday lives and struggles. She is involved in Xylon, which is an international association for graphic designers. We spent a few days in Ulla’s studio where we experimented with wood, mdf and linoleum, and printed on different types of paper and fabric. <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2841083cf79562bc83b37ea171f1824b18222cd14d53f6e0bb30da83af8effb9/episodeII_1.JPG" data-mid="216393722" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2841083cf79562bc83b37ea171f1824b18222cd14d53f6e0bb30da83af8effb9/episodeII_1.JPG" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/46c0d3006dd7fd56c3e3306b1fa61d285bd27c987228464c768da28f39e4f8ec/episodeII_2.JPG" data-mid="216393724" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/46c0d3006dd7fd56c3e3306b1fa61d285bd27c987228464c768da28f39e4f8ec/episodeII_2.JPG" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/35e927e680e3a608621be484b7cc014b43bedb86cf21f36cbcd12a197041c5e2/episodeII_3.JPG" data-mid="216393725" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/35e927e680e3a608621be484b7cc014b43bedb86cf21f36cbcd12a197041c5e2/episodeII_3.JPG" /> Episode III: A Typographic Discourse for The Distaff Side of Printing, a book by the ladies Letterpress printing at Kretsen in Södertälje under the supervision of Olof Sandahl, based on the text A Typographic Discourse by Jane Grabhorn. Winter 2017 Jane Grabhorn is the one who coordinated and published Bookmaking on the Distaff Side. Her text A Typographic Discourse for The Distaff Side of Printing can be read as a manifesto that does away with typographic rules and proposes a less orthodox approach to typography and letterpress. Here, Jane Grabhorn presents three principles. In short she suggests 1) don't hyphenate but let the letters freely fall down to the next line, 2) combine different fonts freely according to your taste, 3) don't correct mistakes but let them be part of the work. We wanted to explore lead typesetting by hand by following Jane's principles. She concludes each principle with a few stanzas of poetry that summarize what she wants to say in a humorous and resourceful way. We chose to typeset one poem each in a different font, and combine them in one layout. We came into contact with Olof Sandahl and Kretsen through Grafikens hus. Olof is a graphic designer and manager of the graphics workshop at Kretsen and has extensive experience in establishing graphic workshops such as the one at Grafikens hus and at Kungl. The Academy of Arts (both of which have unfortunately burned down). At Kretsen in Södertälje, he has created a fantastic letterpress workshop with tools, presses and typefaces from various closed workshops around the country. Spending time in the workshop and typesetting heavy metal is a way to become familiar with the text as a&nbsp; physical material. We had read that Virginia Woolf, who was long known for writing long sentences with many subordinate clauses, completely changed her language and writing after she began to set her own texts - then the sentences became short instead, because they become easier to handle then, physically and technically. We had also read about the Women's Typographical Club, which was formed in 1902 by women who were not allowed to join the union, about the heavy work they carried out, and which was also claimed to be unsuitable for women, which is why they were paid less compared to male colleagues. When we worked in the workshop, doing heavy lifting and practicing the speed of our fingers, we were for a moment in the bodies of these women. <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42c0be894b9452d6922146cfb46b15bee613f35053f413aabfa8b3d81522282e/episodeIII_1.JPG" data-mid="216393823" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/42c0be894b9452d6922146cfb46b15bee613f35053f413aabfa8b3d81522282e/episodeIII_1.JPG" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/298df21ffabc697f8b12a181424896cc9211607b7ff3143d69b065490514660a/episodeIII_2.JPG" data-mid="216393824" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/298df21ffabc697f8b12a181424896cc9211607b7ff3143d69b065490514660a/episodeIII_2.JPG" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eac1d87aa74c264b800eb7ae86e0fd92717b59b859caae4b3f645af90e7ae78c/episodeIII_3.JPG" data-mid="216393825" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/eac1d87aa74c264b800eb7ae86e0fd92717b59b859caae4b3f645af90e7ae78c/episodeIII_3.JPG" /> Episode IV: As long as printing prints words Offset printing, 2017 Gertrude Stein was one of the contributors to “Bookmaking on the Distaff Side” and perhaps the most well-known name among them. Her contribution is one page only, presenting a, typical for her, “stream-of-conciousness”-like reflection on typography, printing and margins. She writes “That is the way I feel about printing as long as printing prints words I like them when they print my words (...).”&nbsp; The text is framed by her name repeatedly placed in the margins spilling over the edges of the page. The typographer behind this elegant piece is Stein’s long-term collaborator and book designer Ernst Reichl. We made an offset facsimile of this contribution in large format as a give-away poster for our exhibition at Konstakademien. <img width="1798" height="1200" width_o="1798" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9e446c589f06603fee117ddecb6c925040d3732f8c24f893e7baf96c4decb798/episode4_01.jpg" data-mid="216394855" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9e446c589f06603fee117ddecb6c925040d3732f8c24f893e7baf96c4decb798/episode4_01.jpg" /><img width="1024" height="838" width_o="1024" height_o="838" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/099db385908dd860c869230eae4f3e34e598fd04e9203190367c60bc14b69558/Gertrude.png" data-mid="216402260" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/099db385908dd860c869230eae4f3e34e598fd04e9203190367c60bc14b69558/Gertrude.png" /> Episode V: Delight’s Copy Paper marbling and paste paper workshop with Katja Winkes at Leksands folkhögskola, July 2017 The 100 copies of the 1937 publication “Bookmaking on the Distaff Side” are each covered with unique paste papers made by New Jersey-based paste paper artist Delight Rushmore (1912–2017). In fact, our copy was originally her own – on the inside of the cover we can read “no 37, Delights copy”. We wanted to pay tribute to her by making our own paste papers, which we eventually scanned and used as chapter dividers in the Natural Enemies-book. In order to learn the crafts of creating decorative papers, we enrolled at a summer course at Leksands folkhögskola in the province of Dalacarlia, a residential college for adult education that offers specialized programmes in book binding techniques and related crafts. The course was led by Mora-based bookbinder Katja Winkes and offered the two techniques of making paste paper and paper marbling. <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e4dac74e6ea64d5740ca3a6392009d1c568963bff865dddbbfe0c93130444179/episode5_1.jpg" data-mid="216394524" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e4dac74e6ea64d5740ca3a6392009d1c568963bff865dddbbfe0c93130444179/episode5_1.jpg" /> <img width="4032" height="3024" width_o="4032" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/496eddfef4b3ef466806cb73b19313fc0c843270107935b3ab61b99ed9810e7f/episode5_2.jpg" data-mid="216394776" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/496eddfef4b3ef466806cb73b19313fc0c843270107935b3ab61b99ed9810e7f/episode5_2.jpg" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/383ae1eb5d46796de77e01a21ca7d16cd93da7df4612411e96f77936af9226b2/episode5_3.jpg" data-mid="216394817" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/383ae1eb5d46796de77e01a21ca7d16cd93da7df4612411e96f77936af9226b2/episode5_3.jpg" /> <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/867c1d86f2004c19e566df6c18bc8a4b09b12ae1b96da70c918d9f298bc183fe/episode5_4.jpg" data-mid="216394831" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/867c1d86f2004c19e566df6c18bc8a4b09b12ae1b96da70c918d9f298bc183fe/episode5_4.jpg" /> <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7de1c4e1ec657fbe140e0a99d5a145b90058b7e5a8e69e24ad97fcea6e1c224d/episode5_5.jpg" data-mid="216394835" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7de1c4e1ec657fbe140e0a99d5a145b90058b7e5a8e69e24ad97fcea6e1c224d/episode5_5.jpg" /> Episode VI: From other elephants this one differs Paper lithography with Emmy Dijkstra at KKV March 2017 “Bookmaking on the Distaff Side” is a book full of interesting ornaments – hands, mouses, elephants and more, telling stories in the page margins and sometimes as centered elements. Already on the title page you find a typographic ornament: a manicule playfully combined with flowers, so that it forms a hand offering a bouquet. It is a dedication “to the ladies” from the colleague, reputable typographer Bruce Rogers. Jane Grabhorns contribution to the book has an elephant ornament printed on the title page, it refers to her printing press “the Dumbo” a former children'surg literature press that she used for her own experimental printing. She writes&nbsp; “From other elephants this one differs, she always forgets the shocking spaces and mistakes she makes” We wanted to collect and highlight the use of ornaments in the book somehow, and found the perfect technique for it when we heard about “paper-lithography”. Paper-lito, also known as “poor man’s lithography” would allow us to take photocopies of the ornaments and then enlarge them as we wish and reproduce them, in color and in new combinations, in this printmaking technique. Stockholm-based printmaking artist Emmy Dijkstra offered courses in this technique at KKV (artists’ collective workshop) in Stockholm and we enrolled. Emmy had learned about this technique during a residency at Manhattan Graphics Center in New York in 2012. To explain in brief; an ordinary photocopy from a xerox machine functions as a quick, easy and lightweight replacement for the lithography stone. With the help of some gum arabicum, water, and a soft roller, the oily xerox ink allows itself for mono print reproductions. <img width="4032" height="3024" width_o="4032" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8811f3cd36e91efe7cadbe9902b0f00533265a8e4a5d609c5de7e81166def959/episode6_01.jpg" data-mid="216394907" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8811f3cd36e91efe7cadbe9902b0f00533265a8e4a5d609c5de7e81166def959/episode6_01.jpg" /> <img width="2226" height="1578" width_o="2226" height_o="1578" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c8502d042bdeca9fb0caa7f83183cd64ef7de3e6268479a86af6679f55367470/episode6_02.png" data-mid="216394908" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c8502d042bdeca9fb0caa7f83183cd64ef7de3e6268479a86af6679f55367470/episode6_02.png" /><img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d79d1d97992e6945333628776cbed69eee088501b4d807f75a215565d0e3962/episode6_03.JPG" data-mid="216394909" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d79d1d97992e6945333628776cbed69eee088501b4d807f75a215565d0e3962/episode6_03.JPG" /> <img width="3264" height="2448" width_o="3264" height_o="2448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5c20fbc80677a1aba22deb05f9a375add2d2579b9438e859aea114e0c8cda9da/episode6_04.JPG" data-mid="216394911" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5c20fbc80677a1aba22deb05f9a375add2d2579b9438e859aea114e0c8cda9da/episode6_04.JPG" /> https://mms-arkiv.se/Graphic-Design-Socialism-and-Feminism Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:50 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Graphic-Design-Socialism-and-Feminism Graphic design, socialism and feminism Graphic design, socialism and feminism was a reading group and lecture series arranged in collaboration with ABF Stockholm (The Worker's Educational Association) and Konstfrämjandet. The reading group was held twice, during the spring and fall of 2015, with about 15 participants in each group. Invited lecturers were Margareta Ståhl, Berit Sahlström and Olivia Plender. From the course description: “In this reading group we will look at the graphic design history in relation to socialist and feminist ideology. Through six thematic moments we approach the rise of the labour movement, the womens rights movements and anti-colonial movements. How have visual communication historically taken different forms, what has been captured in the history books and the collective memory, and how? How can we today understand and practice graphic design from a socialist and feminist standpoint? The reading group welcome students, professionals, and others interested in the fields of visual culture, image production and graphic design.” <img width="900" height="664" width_o="900" height_o="664" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c33434c9a079a0f61a3f44cf6966d16da518763e7d1cd443a3c9b0d758bf91d/MMS_kompendium_abf.jpg" data-mid="169528716" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/900/i/3c33434c9a079a0f61a3f44cf6966d16da518763e7d1cd443a3c9b0d758bf91d/MMS_kompendium_abf.jpg" />The reader included the following texts; – Årsbok för Typografiska kvinnoklubben 1904–1939 (excerpt), Elin Johansson– Vår enighets fana (excerpt), Margareta Ståhl– Wages for Facebook, Laurel Ptak– Design and Reflexivity, Jan van Toorn– The Ecstasy of Influence, Jonathan Lethem– Messy History, Martha Scotford– Rör inte mitt bokomslag, Jesper Weithz– Nyttigt arbete kontra onyttigt slit, William Morris– Hur jag blev socialist, William Morris– Anarkism, konst, arbetsdelning och medeltid, Rasmus Fleischer– A comment by Kleines Postfordisches Drama– Den endimensionella kvinnan (excerpt), Nina Power– Some aspects of design from the perspective of a woman designer, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville– Manövrera runt och slå sönder, MYCKET &amp; Alexandra Falagara &amp; Brita Lindvall– Affischer – Reklam, konst, politiska verktyg, handelsvara, Susan Sontag https://mms-arkiv.se/The-Name-of-the-Game Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:49 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/The-Name-of-the-Game The Name of The GameThe Name of the Game was a study of graphic design competitions and awards as an issue for the working environment of freelancing designers. The study was made in 2016, on competition results between 2005 and 2015. The study was made in two parts; 1) a quantitative research through statistics of geography and gender among winners, and 2) a qualitative part with interviews with practicing designers.&nbsp; INTRODUCTION The Name of the Game is an investigation into how design competitions and awards influence the designers' working conditions. How do they affect the social relations between practitioners? Which kind of practices are promoted and which are obscured? The study includes a statistical survey and interviews with practitioners. This website presents our research, a summary of our thesis and further reading. Although the study is set in a Swedish context with a focus on graphic design, we suspect others might share some of the same concerns. Regardless of your location or profession, please get in touch if you want to share opinions, experiences or questions. ABOUT The Name of the Game investigate graphic design awards* as meeting places for practitioners and forum for graphic design discourse. One approach in this project has been to look at the psycho-social consequences of awards and investigate how a competitive logic is internalized and affect relations between colleagues and the design community as a whole. The expression ”the name of the game” hints to rules of the game that can not be changed, simply the way things are. Participation in design awards is one such relation that is presented as a precondition for visibility and “success”, something you have to relate to whether you like it or not. What narratives are hidden in the shadow of the price podium? * By graphic design awards we refer to competitions in which you submit previous work to be reviewed by a jury. Submission to the award can be subjected to a fee, or not. For issues around pitching / competing for commissions we recommend the text Thoughts on pitching by graphic design studio Konst &amp; Teknik. The Name of the Game is produced by Matilda Flodmark, Maryam Fanni and Sara Kaaman – graphic designers working collectively with writing, teaching and research. The Name of the Game was supported by Kulturbryggan The study was previously presented at the seminar Forms of Politics # 3 in Gothenburg, November 13, 2015 and Feministisk Formbar in Stockholm December 3, 2015. STATISTICS The statistical data is collected from the three Swedish design awards; Kolla!, Guldägget and Svensk Bokkonst, stretching ten years back from 2005 to 2015. Kolla! (Look!) was initiated in 2002 by Svenska Tecknare, the Swedish Association of Graphic Designers and Illustrators. The award has always included categories for graphic design and illustration respectively. In our study we looked at the graphic design categories, such as Book design, Editorial Design and Posters. Guldägget (The Golden Egg) is a design award that mainly attracts larger players within advertising. It’s organized by Sveriges Kommunikationsbyråer since 1961. In their own words, the aim of the contest is to “raise the creative standard and thus bring Swedish communications forward”. Guldägget is divided in 14 categories such as Commercials, PR and Event. We have looked at the category called “Design” which include mainly commercial graphic design such as packaging and identity work. Svensk Bokkonst is the Swedish equivalent of e.g. The Most Beautiful Swiss Books Awards, and was established in 1933. Each year 25 winning books are selected and exhibited at the Royal Library in Stockholm. In the statistical research we have compiled names and genders of the winners, as well as their geographical location. 1) Geography The geographical statistics are based on the current location of the winners. The charts show a clear dominance by award-winners located in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. All other locations share at most one quarter of the total. Svensk Bokkonst represent the biggest variation of geographic location and Guldägget the fewest, representing only Stockholm and Göteborg (the two largest cities in Sweden). <img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f4f887b7225856e9cacb64f4782edac889448223a7c88c81828cb08cd2ec7f5f/NoG_PIE4.png" data-mid="216398634" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f4f887b7225856e9cacb64f4782edac889448223a7c88c81828cb08cd2ec7f5f/NoG_PIE4.png" /> <img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cdabf2f3f00747f3361647b460aee50a4eeffa20d966820cc8535c750875c3a1/NoG_PIE6.png" data-mid="216398629" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cdabf2f3f00747f3361647b460aee50a4eeffa20d966820cc8535c750875c3a1/NoG_PIE6.png" /> <img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ae4210cebdcd71192fb1d7cc3ab15450b0902be70448a8f16e8c83210d9ec12b/NoG_PIE5.png" data-mid="216398636" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ae4210cebdcd71192fb1d7cc3ab15450b0902be70448a8f16e8c83210d9ec12b/NoG_PIE5.png" /> 2) Gender There is a male dominance in all three awards. At Guldägget the pie shows two thirds men and one third women. The difference goes up to three-quarters of men and a quarter of women when we adjust for winning art directors, a hierarchical higher position than that of the graphic designer. <img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/10cc7601b4c4b9fd34d8098d234e106f505b6e9b4788f20128033cafa345247d/NoG_PIE2.png" data-mid="216398632" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/10cc7601b4c4b9fd34d8098d234e106f505b6e9b4788f20128033cafa345247d/NoG_PIE2.png" /> &nbsp;<img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/03898abc5f46e2916dafdb2a75b4869efd59833b46977cae37a4447a75222b9c/NoG_PIE3.png" data-mid="216398633" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/03898abc5f46e2916dafdb2a75b4869efd59833b46977cae37a4447a75222b9c/NoG_PIE3.png" /> <img width="1067" height="800" width_o="1067" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e96c7760d9f415858ec59ee47a13ac78105b4c989e2e668b28956f8f0975858c/NoG_PIE1-1.png" data-mid="216398630" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e96c7760d9f415858ec59ee47a13ac78105b4c989e2e668b28956f8f0975858c/NoG_PIE1-1.png" />Both the geographical and gendered statistics gave us an expected result; the representation among winners is heavily skewed. We could also see that the same names appear over and over in all three awards. The Swedish graphic design community is fairly small, and we also realized that the names of some practitioners within the field did not occur among the winners or nominees. Was this because their work didn’t appeal to the juries? Or because they decided not to submit work? We decided to find out why. INTERVIEWS We decided to interview active practioners not visible in award catalogues or among nominees. The ones not competing, who stopped competing or simply never win. What experiences and attitudes could these persons share with us by discussing the personal, physical, emotional experiences of competing, or not competing? We will keep the names of our interviewees anonymous. This part of The Name of the Game study is still in progress and open-ended, so please let us know if you want contribute in any way! Below you find a selection of extracted quotes: ”The point of a competition is that someone is a winner, thus better than everyone else, and I think it's very difficult to say what is a good design and what is a better design. You can’t measure it that way. The work is reviewed by the eyes of a jury, and I don’t find that very interesting. This became very clear to me when was on a jury myself. I had felt apprehensive before, but through some idea about “survival” I had participated in design awards anyway. To get commissions and find a context, even though I didn’t sympathize with the whole setup. But after I being on the jury, I have never participated. My suspicions were correct. That the process is so arbitrary, and that a certain kind of work is favored.” ”I think some people feel that it is so important to always get affirmation. Even if you received that affirmation a bunch of times before. The work is so important. But I think the intoxication is so short, so you want it again and again, even though you won a hundred times before already.” ”Sometimes when I'm on a jury I get the feeling that I'm very weird. That I don’t look at things the way others do. Sometimes no one even understands my comments. There is a very specific way in which you should assess the designs, which I don’t really share. Another aspect of the design competition format is that everything is very simplified, nothing can be complicated. The work should be extremely clear, in a way that I don’t agree design should have to be. It’s a strange context. Also, I feel that the works are assessed not for what they are, but from how well they fit into the “brand” of the award.” ”It wasn’t until I was nominated in Kolla! that I realized I could absolutely not imagine myself going to the ceremony. I generally find it difficult with the glorification of such events, where the industry mingle and try to construct some kind of community which doesn’t necessarily exist. It was like a merit to receive the prize but I didn’t want to have anything to do with the award ceremony.” ”I felt a lot of unease mingling with the crowd at the award ceremony. It always gets very anxious. After that experience I have avoided such events. It’s not that dramatic really, I can actively choose not to participate. I can support myself as a designer or illustrator anyway, so it's not like I feel excluded, it's more of my own choosing. But I have to admit I can still get irritated and frustrated when I see which works are awarded. I feel very ambivalent about it. Maybe I should participate to contribute to some kind of diversity. But I have the opportunity to refrain, so I do.” ”I have never competed, I have always felt very uncomfortable about it. I was told by a teacher to send in my work, because there were so few women participating. She said: women are so bad at competing. Since it was presented as a feminist act, I felt bad about not complying. At the same time I had a strong feeling that it was all wrong, even though I couldn’t explain why.” SUMMARY To professional image and design workers – graphic designers, illustrators, advertisers, animators, cartoonists, etc. – awards are a common forum in which to gather, celebrate, and recognize each other’s work. Every year, lists of winners are announced in categories such as best book cover, packaging design, or advertisement campaign. Competitions and awards do service as exposure to potential clients, as well as to the general public. Many practitioners have been reared into competing already during their education, and after graduation awards are a part of the process of becoming established within the field. Throughout one’s professional career, design awards serve as meriting “quality seals” on one’s CV. Employers and clients, in turn, proudly promote winning award entries as part of their own marketing strategies. But if we direct the spotlight away from individual winners, what consequences does competing have on our trade as a collective? We have summarized some of the repercussions that became visible while doing our investigation: Always on top – the reproduction of “winners” Feeling addressed and welcomed into a competitive context often presumes an already privileged position. Far from everyone carries the necessary confidence or sense of legitimacy in prestigious contexts and spaces such as awards –“If you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen”. Competitions are not relieved from the power structures that permeate the rest of society, on the contrary they uphold and solidify existing hierarchies by rewarding that which is already strong and well-exposed. This is confirmed by the fact that the same names and agencies often return among the winners. Killjoy – Why it is (almost) impossible to criticize awards Criticism expressed by anyone who is not the winner (Ie the losers) can easily be dismissed as bitterness. Noone wants to be a bad loser, or a party pooper by rejecting the award show. Many remain silent about how they actually feel about competing. The fear of taking on the role of a sore loser effectively silences critical voices. In such a way, the award format is granted an inherent immunity and continued legitimacy. Another aspect of this is the close affiliation between awards and clients, if you cant afford to bite the hand that feeds you (trophys), its hard even for “the winners” to speak up against competition. The award and excellence – the deceptive connection between competition and quality Awards rest on the idea that competition is a guarantor of quality. Strongest equals best. It is important to expose the fact that this is an ideological view of quality, servicing the market economy. The inverse of the contest’s prize podium would be a cultural politics that counteracts hierarchies. Nice! Ugly! – No time for complexities When huge amounts of competition entries must be reviewed in a very short span of time, in the jury consideration as well as award ceremonies, the result is trivialization rather than immersion. The short justification texts in the award catalogues leave no space for expansive thought or discourse. Superficial presentations are likely to produce superficial rejection or praise (Nice! Ugly!). The blunt categorization systems of design awards counteracts critical discussion and immersive understanding of the complexity of image and form production, working conditions, creativity and craftsmanship within the field. Even when the competition is augmented with panel discussions and articles, the fact remains that the podium allows no space for nuances. Lopsided gameboar – judging asymmetrical work relations Within advertising – an industry encompassing large-scale assignments, agencies, and high economic revenue – awards is a well-established tradition. When this tradition is transferred to a different working environment in which freelancing illustrators and designers go up against agencies with massive budgets, timeframes, and work groups, the basic predicament is assymetrical. Winning against the larger player can have a rewarding David vs Goliat effect but in the long run large players are always favoured by maintaining the competition format, while already vulnerable freelancers are pitted against each other, shattering potential unities, the organization of which could enable improved working conditions in the long run. Hidden agendas – What is concealed behind the seemingly neutral awards model? A brief view from the outside may assess design awards as a “neutral” space for determining the scope of a field, despite the fact that examples such as the above-mentioned "lopsided gameboard” contradict this. Other problematic structures that are kept out of view are the fact that competitions that require submission fees enable large players to submit many entries and can obstruct small players from even being able to afford to participate at all. In addition, different jury groups in different awards, are often composed of the same people over and over again. Ulterior motives of the organizers of design awards, such as self-promotion, are often invisible. Many entries are submitted by employers, since they have everything to gain from winning, and furthermore benefit from a divided, competitive field. Instead of communicating our work to a broader public, design awards mirror a false image, without true insight into actual conditions and problems. “Best of Sweden” – Geographic homogenisation, national demarcation When award ceremonies, recognition, and participation are centred around the capital city, claims of “Sweden’s foremost…” ring untrue. The image of design as a concern for the capital city is emphasized, at the cost of producers located outside of the capital city being not only excluded but also obscured. In addition, design is often used to strengthen the trademark of Sweden as a nation, and descriptions such as “Sweden’s foremost” are implicated in that promotion. This has an imperialist effect. Both locally, for the reasons mentioned above, and globally, in that it nourishes the idea of national competitiveness – a contemporary colonialism supported on grounds of nationalist argumentation. Being included in a context where one is taught to identify as “Swedish” enhances the national state borders and impedes other identifications and unities. To enable global solidarity, we need to create and dwell in contexts that do not employ the national state as a boundary and qualification. “Democratization – attempts to make the award more egalitarian In order to deal with the above-mentioned dilemmas, efforts are sometimes made to reform and “democratize” competitions. One such example, aspiring to compensate for the biased position of the jury, are categories wherein the public can vote for “The Audience Choice Award”. The voting process encourages competitors to feel comfortable with exclamations of “vote for me!” in social media, which in turn results in the winner being elected on the basis of network magnitude, visibility, and resources. Instead of democratization, the result becomes yet another enhancement of the already visible, and social media as yet another arena for competition. We do not see it as progressive that more women, or people with other backgrounds than those represented, would enter and win design awards. We have many times heard that women in the design industry “have to be more bold”. That we should encourage women to compete more, implicitly “behave more like men.” We find this suggestion problematic, as it direct the light away from the men and instead hold women responsible for the problem. But it also ignores the fact that not attending may actually be a well considered silent opposition towards a system one does not acknowledge. Reforming awards will never fundamentally make a difference. Like the British philosopher Nina Power said: “What looks like emancipation is nothing but a tightening of the shackles.” Summary For many image- and form-makers, working life can be lonely and precarious. Meeting places and forums for discussions and debate are scarce. Combined, these factors drive many to feel that competitions are the sole source of recognition and discourse. We would claim that the competition structure contributes to and simultaneously obscures these dismal conditions by cloaking them in a scrim of success and prestige. We cannot ignore that the incessant competing endemic to the field of image and design takes part in a larger neoliberal narrative, wherein competition and competing are internalized and normalized early on and across many planes. When we accept competitions as a positive and progressive way to meet, we are simultaneously swallowing a much more indigestible bait, which keeps us effectively caught on the hook. What gets lost are the many voices, images, and expressions. This is particularly contradictory and disturbing within a trade that is supposed to be driven by creativity and the ability to convey new narratives and images. By sharing this material we wish to create a foundation from which we can discuss new ways of showing and celebrating a wide spectrum of visual communication and imagination. FURTHER READINGS “Awards are persuasive instruments of control. To enter a competition is to submit to authority, to concede bureaucratic command over a feral cultural terrain. For Barnbrook there is something ‘very conformist about winning an award’. Entering an award is to conform to an edifying hierarchy and to queue for a place in its history.”“Awards madness”, Jason Grant, eye magazine, Autumn 2008 ”För medierna är det intressantare att skriva om ett ämne om man har en tilldragelse som skapar aktualitet, till exempel ett pris. Och såväl kollektivt som individuellt minns vi ofta avgörande ögonblick. Det är så vi skriver vår egen historia, och så vi formar berättelsen om vår framtid.””Och vinnaren är”, Kristina Ketola Bore, Tecknaren, November 18, 2014 “Your reward as a winner is seeing your entry reproduced with neither a rationale for its creation nor an explanation for its inclusion.”“You may already be a winner”, Michael Bierut, Design Observer, August 29, 2005 “Since 1963, the Brno Biennial has showcased excellence in graphic design from around the world. This book attempts to chart the educational background of this recognized excellence, using the profiles of the designers selected for the Biennial’s last five editions as a starting point. Who are they, in terms of nationality, gender and age? Where did they study – in what countries and cities, at what schools, under what economic realities? And how has the Biennial’s composition in any of these terms changed over a period of ten years?”Off-white Paper by Sulki &amp; Min, 2014 “One thing that troubles me more deeply than anything else is the idea that women have been urged, over the last decade of years, to be as obnoxiously competitive as men under the banner of liberation. I feel, that I have, as a man, an awful lot to learn about the values traditionally associated with women, about relationship and cooperation and so on. And it pains me deeply that it has been turned around, that men instead of becoming the students they have become the teachers. It is not a very productive response to sexism, to become like the people we are trapped by. These norms are not challeneged by becoming the norms to which everyone aspire. There are zero evidence that this stuff is inborn or in the genes.”No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Alfie Kohn, 1986/1992 https://mms-arkiv.se/Talks-Workshops Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:48 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Talks-Workshops Talks &amp; Workshops <img width="4032" height="3024" width_o="4032" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bea26ff0b45dddd56b797ca903949769a4a6c0bb43b74331099ccd3eddc34d76/IMG_6062.JPG" data-mid="162035891" border="0" data-scale="96" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bea26ff0b45dddd56b797ca903949769a4a6c0bb43b74331099ccd3eddc34d76/IMG_6062.JPG" /> <img width="4032" height="2898" width_o="4032" height_o="2898" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aed802d1bc9c31cc9f9e668ec0157bceb62b5fd9b5cd5111241057bea3f226dc/IMG_6037_edit.jpg" data-mid="162035905" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aed802d1bc9c31cc9f9e668ec0157bceb62b5fd9b5cd5111241057bea3f226dc/IMG_6037_edit.jpg" /> 18 August 2022Counter Sessions #1 “Ever since the days of Mrs. Gutenberg …”A–Z Presents, Berlin. Panel talk and street marbling workshop Departing from their book “Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography”, feminist graphic design research collective MMS invite colleagues to the A—Z Counter Sessions for a conversation on graphic design histories beyond the male-dominated canon. “Ever since the days of Mrs. Gutenberg, women have been involved in the art of printing” writes the group Distaff Side in 1937 in their preface of the book “Bookmaking on the Distaff Side” offering a satirical, feminist, re-writing of book history. Decades later, design historian Martha Scotford responded to patriarchal and capitalist design history writing by inventing the concept of “messy history”, which could serve to acknowledge many more experiences and trajectories than those fitting into conventional design history books. Not only have individual women designers been structurally obscured in written design history, but also social relations and collective activities that deny or go beyond individual success stories. This evening is dedicated to a collegial conversation about experiences from attempts made to contribute to graphic design history with names and stories that can allow for more accurate ways of understanding the past, present and future of the field. Invited guests are design historian and writer Gerda Breuer, co-author of “Women in Graphic Design, 1890–2012”, and design writer Madeleine Morley, for a discussion on women and labor histories of graphic design, collective struggles, research strategies, and history writing today and tomorrow. The panel will be followed by a workshop where copies of “Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography” can be coloured along the edges using the traditional technique of marbling paper. Gerda Breuer is a historian of art and design history and a writer based in Aachen. She was a professor at the University of Wuppertal until her retirement, along with a number of teaching positions and guest professorships in Germany and abroad. Her research and publications are devoted in particular to applied art, design, architecture and industrial culture of the 19th and 20th centuries. She is, together with Julia Meer, the author of “Women in Graphic Design, 1890–2012” (jovis Verlag, 2012). Madeleine Morley is a Berlin-based writer, editor, and researcher originally from London. She is especially interested in histories of design, media, and feminism, often seeking to combine the tools of journalism and archival research. She was previously senior editor at AIGA’s Eye on Design, founding editor of Futuress magazine, and has also worked as an editor for magCulture and It’s Nice That. 10 June 2022&nbsp; Network meeting with NAP Nordic Art Press, Oslo <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9ba38ccf3ea36555a154137c29bbbae767f26f6fa91bc4c261d7dde4ffb259db/IMG_1791.JPG" data-mid="216389109" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9ba38ccf3ea36555a154137c29bbbae767f26f6fa91bc4c261d7dde4ffb259db/IMG_1791.JPG" /> On art book distribution in the Nordics. With Karen Grønneberg, Lotte Grønneberg, Torpedo Press, MMS, Ragnhild Aamås. 27 April 2022“Mess, Organizing and Un(der)told Histories” <img width="750" height="943" width_o="750" height_o="943" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f47d1bec1182f35d21f02e31266f6db52c7aa49c6bfe3c9fa626cd014b0daa5d/IMG_6083.PNG" data-mid="216401618" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/f47d1bec1182f35d21f02e31266f6db52c7aa49c6bfe3c9fa626cd014b0daa5d/IMG_6083.PNG" /> <img width="750" height="943" width_o="750" height_o="943" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eb6fdad679b9ad07424676b316b9fed338d8270590fbaebd90d21f38aac2c268/IMG_6085.PNG" data-mid="216401619" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/eb6fdad679b9ad07424676b316b9fed338d8270590fbaebd90d21f38aac2c268/IMG_6085.PNG" /> Online lecture and book presentation for Typo Club / Bern University of the Arts. 8 March 2022“Self-publishing, graphic design and typography from a feminist perspective” <img width="768" height="1024" width_o="768" height_o="1024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/76087cf37301e3d6af9c2f427d55a658802f761f09a6aa3bf59ce9b057b60204/thisimage1.jpeg" data-mid="216389727" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/768/i/76087cf37301e3d6af9c2f427d55a658802f761f09a6aa3bf59ce9b057b60204/thisimage1.jpeg" /> <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/36f1d591f58ac6d68598ec6bceda54a50e027e9bda56d087794317b9e38f04fd/thisimage2.jpg" data-mid="216389728" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/36f1d591f58ac6d68598ec6bceda54a50e027e9bda56d087794317b9e38f04fd/thisimage2.jpg" /> Workshop and talk at Grafikskolan (The college of Printmaking arts) in collaboration with Mossutställninga. The paper marbling workshop was part of the course “Self-publishing, fanzines and public letter” organized by curator, researcher and art pedagogue Alen Ksoll. 8 December 2021Workshop and Lecture at Stockholm Typographic Guild <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/53b3d7d4b0a74662e2fad6a44d82289e7cbd1fa395e4e49824f7fc264aa418d2/december2021.JPG" data-mid="216390158" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/53b3d7d4b0a74662e2fad6a44d82289e7cbd1fa395e4e49824f7fc264aa418d2/december2021.JPG" /> Paper marbling workshop and talk about the book The Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. 1 April 2021Workshop and Lecture <img width="722" height="1087" width_o="722" height_o="1087" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c71cbc02e9adfbcf9861494fde93142c97a31ee45789ccc93dc96621f7cfac6f/avril2021.jpeg" data-mid="216395285" border="0" data-scale="95" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/722/i/c71cbc02e9adfbcf9861494fde93142c97a31ee45789ccc93dc96621f7cfac6f/avril2021.jpeg" /> <img width="739" height="1062" width_o="739" height_o="1062" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c1c55e520bad4203f70d1a861060e78223301b3523c23683ef5ccc6969b49cd1/avril2021_2.jpeg" data-mid="216395284" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/739/i/c1c55e520bad4203f70d1a861060e78223301b3523c23683ef5ccc6969b49cd1/avril2021_2.jpeg" /> Paper marbling workshop and talk about the book The Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. Part of a book design course for BA1 students organized by lecturer Jens Schildt. 27 February 2021Printed Matter New York Art Book Fair <img width="2862" height="1654" width_o="2862" height_o="1654" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/72f31a7e333ad507d6daea0f04a044821b3237fb7575348d2d0ce2899e46e3cb/february2021.png" data-mid="216390472" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/72f31a7e333ad507d6daea0f04a044821b3237fb7575348d2d0ce2899e46e3cb/february2021.png" /> Panel talk at (the virtual) Printed Matter New York Art Book Fair with Maryam Fanni, Matilda Flodmark, Sara Kaaman, Haytham Nawar, Danielle Aubert, and Madeleine MorleyDeparting from their book (Occasional Papers, 2020), feminist graphic design research collective MMS (Maryam Fanni, Matilda Flodmark, and Sara Kaaman) invite colleagues to discuss projects aiming to expand graphic design history beyond the canon, looking into the "messy" histories of BIPOC, womxn, and laborers. The conversation includes graphic designers and educators Haytham Nawar (co-author of A History of Arab Graphic Design together with Bahia Shehab) and Danielle Aubert (initiator and editor of exhibition and book The Detroit Printing Co-op: The Politics of the Joy of Printing). The conversation will be moderated by design writer and Futuress co-founder Madeleine Morley. Presented by Occasional Papers. Watch the video here. 22 October 2020Press On!Book presentation &amp; panel talk at Göteborgs Litteraturhus (Gothenburg House of Literature)Design research collective MMS invites you to an evening at Göteborgs Litteraturhus, exploring counter-narratives to conventional book history writing, and the possibilities of collectivity in publishing practices, historically and today. The program departs from the newly published book "Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography" (Occasional Papers, 2020), collecting responses to, and partly republishing the experimental feminist account of American printing industry "Bookmaking on the Distaff Side" (1937). Artist and PhD candidate at HDK-Valand Eva Weinmayr will present parts of her dissertation project "Noun to Verb: an investigation into the micro-politics of publishing through artistic practice" exploring the act(s) of publishing as intersectional feminist practice. Nils Olsson will facilitate as moderator throughout the evening. Funded by Pronto, Gothenburg City Council 18 September 2020Book release: Natural Enemies of Books – A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bfb60acba58ecb5cf44b0ea2881ad1abcb7898df46f3d39f1c42a66ff3cc317c/september2020.JPG" data-mid="216390968" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bfb60acba58ecb5cf44b0ea2881ad1abcb7898df46f3d39f1c42a66ff3cc317c/september2020.JPG" /> <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/085e2b0f65875ab7e227e2ff9a0f79768e750fbe1788670a8ddc64042dccffef/september2020_2.JPG" data-mid="216390967" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/085e2b0f65875ab7e227e2ff9a0f79768e750fbe1788670a8ddc64042dccffef/september2020_2.JPG" /> Index Foundation, Stockholm Read more... 2020Nomination for VOLUMES Book Award 2020Read more... 8 June 2019Symposium: MAKING PUBLIC AND PUBLICS: ART PUBLISHING IN CONTEXT <img width="2938" height="3918" width_o="2938" height_o="3918" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d36ccc50964b1bf12ffa2062eeea57573d304469d7edfe03ca74a6ecc1190ebc/MMS_Tallinn_symposium_2019.jpg" data-mid="216391231" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d36ccc50964b1bf12ffa2062eeea57573d304469d7edfe03ca74a6ecc1190ebc/MMS_Tallinn_symposium_2019.jpg" /> Symposium at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Tallinn, Estonia. Panel talk on Feminist Publishing and Publications. Moderator: Marge Monko. Panelists: Maryam Fanni and Matilda Flodmark (MMS), Sara Kaaman (MMS/Girls Like Us), Jessica Gysel (Girls Like Us), Liz Allan (Tender Center/AtCS) 31 October 2018Lecture and Workshop KHiO Design, Oslo (The National Academy of the Arts) <img width="3763" height="3024" width_o="3763" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6028b100f52986d7cb2caea708b748e45bcf0908af8f68962e1984f655b97e76/Khio-1.JPG" data-mid="217187967" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6028b100f52986d7cb2caea708b748e45bcf0908af8f68962e1984f655b97e76/Khio-1.JPG" /> <img width="3024" height="2570" width_o="3024" height_o="2570" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/82b002f175cdaac98f34059beb32d145c5bb6d61f04bd8576d9c960844503cd4/Khio-2.JPG" data-mid="217187968" border="0" data-scale="95" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/82b002f175cdaac98f34059beb32d145c5bb6d61f04bd8576d9c960844503cd4/Khio-2.JPG" /> Paper marbling workshop and talk about the project The Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. Part of a book design course for MA1 students organized by lecturer Lotte Gronneberg. 19 October 2018One Day About Typographic HistoriesSeminar at Konstfack organized by Rikard HeberlingMMS contributed with “Natural Enemies of Books: A choir” 12 November 2015Forms of Politics # 3 Gothenburg&nbsp;Seminar organized by Erling Björgvinsson, Kristina Ketola Bore, Johanne Aarup Hansen at A-venue, GöteborgIn this talk we will present findings and preliminary outcomes of the project “The Name of the Game”. “The Name of the Game” is an investigation into the design competition format – the currently dominating forum for gathering and presenting graphic design and its practitioners. Design competitions and awards function as a “seal of quality” towards public and clients, but on what terms? The study “The Name of the Game” investigate competitions as meeting places. Who participate in and benefit from competitions? What kind of work is promoted? Are there other ways to meet? How are design competitions deepening and expanding the graphic design discourse?We wish to talk about how competition organizers – consciously or unconsciously – create standards for the type of design that is judged, and how the desire to compete could be related to for example class and gender. "The Name of the Game" aims to discuss competitions as an occupational health and safety issue by documenting how the well-being of designers relates to the podium. Which bodies and experiences are allowed to be "successful"?By looking closely at design competitions, we wish to bring up questions about professionalism vs. amateurism, design vs. crafts, and competition in relation to quality.Matilda Flodmark, Sara Kaaman and Maryam Fanni – all practising graphic designers – are a collective working with writing, teaching and research with a desire to expand the field of design critique and explore the relationships between word, image and society. October 11, 2016Association of Women TypographersLecture by Maryam Fanni and Sara Kaaman based on the work of Inger Humlesjö (1945–2016). ABF-huset, StockholmThe typographers are known to have been militant throughout the ages, but what did it look like for the women in the profession? Inger Humlesjö researched the typographers' union struggle at the turn of the last century. Sara Kaaman and Maryam Fanni share a presentation based on Inger's work about the Association of Women Typographers and the working conditions of their members. November 3, 2015Feministisk Formbar #2, StockholmPanel discussion with MMS, Samira Bouabana &amp; Angela Tillman Sperandio (Hall of Femmes) and Linda Nilsson on "Conditions and responsibilities of an equal industry". Moderator: Sara TelemanMarch 7, 2012Historieboken (The History Book) <img width="1024" height="768" width_o="1024" height_o="768" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/41719f4abbccd7fc90b32c86f04663901132071ef6dafc4ebfe621cf97a96dbf/MMS_Historieboken_2017.jpg" data-mid="216393142" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/41719f4abbccd7fc90b32c86f04663901132071ef6dafc4ebfe621cf97a96dbf/MMS_Historieboken_2017.jpg" /> Panel conversation with Gittan Jönsson, Annika Elmqvist, Pål Rydberg, AnnMari Langemar Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts &amp; Design, Stockholm In the 1970s, four students at the Konstfack’s department of ”Advertising” created The History Book, telling the history of capitalism and colonialism through comics and narrative visuals. The book was a reaction to the distortion of history in mainstream history books, but also towards the expectations on students studying ”advertising” at the time, and how they should make use of their skills. Now, 40 years later, the creators return to Konstfack to tell us why and how the book came about, and we will discuss why the book is still relevant today.&nbsp;The History Book has been reprinted by Ordfront publishing in 2009 and is available for purchase. https://mms-arkiv.se/Publications Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:54:48 +0000 MMS https://mms-arkiv.se/Publications Publications Her Stories in Graphic Design – Dialogue, Continuity, Self-Empowerment. Women Graphic Designers from 1880 to today Author: Gerda BreuerPublished by Jovis Verlag, 2023ISBN: 978-3-86859-8English/German Interview with MMS in "Beyond Walls – Grafikens Hus the Mobile Years 2014–2021" <img width="1470" height="1478" width_o="1470" height_o="1478" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/995d51569853ffa3959742b76bafe8aaeab1e0d798da9119acd316ff3f0f2507/BeyondWalls.png" data-mid="217185653" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/995d51569853ffa3959742b76bafe8aaeab1e0d798da9119acd316ff3f0f2507/BeyondWalls.png" /> <img width="3024" height="3152" width_o="3024" height_o="3152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/21b964d6742551f6025c386ec10e8ebeaf6e6b156e9f5afd7e652be2362357cf/BeyondWalls.jpg" data-mid="217185764" border="0" data-scale="97" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/21b964d6742551f6025c386ec10e8ebeaf6e6b156e9f5afd7e652be2362357cf/BeyondWalls.jpg" /> Editor: Anna HenrikssonPublished by Grafikens Hus, 2022ISBN: 978-91-527-1925-1Swedish “Press On! – Feminist Historiography of Print Culture and Collective Organizing” <img width="1440" height="1440" width_o="1440" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c9a97085c8cedc571e44aacf3d9bf70b9eb6f491089acae8a8e11d82ab269806/publication_1.JPG" data-mid="216395108" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c9a97085c8cedc571e44aacf3d9bf70b9eb6f491089acae8a8e11d82ab269806/publication_1.JPG" /> <img width="1440" height="1440" width_o="1440" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6a2fdb8c6767dcfbf4ecea8705bac96a466ba8ece11839ab545259c95f51cccd/publication_2.JPG" data-mid="216395109" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6a2fdb8c6767dcfbf4ecea8705bac96a466ba8ece11839ab545259c95f51cccd/publication_2.JPG" /> Chapter in Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History, pp120-127Editor: Briar LevitPrinceton Architectural Press, New York, 2021ISBN 9781648960062English “MMS – Open Archive &amp; Interview” <img width="5700" height="5700" width_o="5700" height_o="5700" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d2b193411b4ae13c447908c5f4c370e8e65f53f1255c2a6fdc119bdd4c88ab0a/publication_3.JPG" data-mid="216395316" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d2b193411b4ae13c447908c5f4c370e8e65f53f1255c2a6fdc119bdd4c88ab0a/publication_3.JPG" /> Featuring an interview with MMS by Madeleine Morley and materials from our printmaking processes and archival research.GRAPHIC Magazine, “Current issue” #47, 2021 South KoreaEnglish Sirp Eesti KultuurilehtJuly 5, 2019 “Kirjastamise korratu ajalugu”Interview with MMS and Liz Allan by Keiu KrikmannEstonian “Press on!”Essay in Tecknaren #6, 2017Swedish Guest Editors at Svenska Tecknare During the winter of 2013 / 2014 we guest edited the online publishing platform of Svenska Tecknare (The Association of Swedish Illustrators and Graphic Designers). Below you can find the published interviews and articles (all of them in Swedish). April 30, 2014The Red Ghost – Interview with Margareta StåhlOn the history and legacy of the socialist red bannerby MMS March 8, 2014No animal’s paws or old men’s hands! – Interview with Anne LidénA talk with the maker of the first Swedish “feminist symbol”by MMS February 12, 2014“It would be amazing if there were more of us”– Interview with Emma RendelOn artistic research within illustrationby MMS January 31, 2014“It’s never too late, never ever” – Interview with Tobias HübinetteOn fighting racist stereotypes in children’s books and computer gamesby MMS January 24, 2014What’s stopping us from illustrating collectively?On the need for collective creativity and drawingby Karin Hagen January 9, 2014Drop Shadows and Filter BubblesOn the filters and algorithms that are enclosing visual labourersin visual samenessby Hanna Nilsson &amp; Rasmus Svensson (PWR Studio) December 20, 2013Writing designers – Where are you?A call to action by a recently graduated design studentby Louise Kelpe December 12, 2013Planning, sorting, cleaning, organizing, calculating – Interview with Ruthel EksellOn the life and work of Ruthel Eksell, partner of Swedish 1950’s designer Olle Eksellby Matilda Flodmark och Michelle Hammenfeldt