Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei – Cross-Examinations

Book coverVincent W.J. van Gerven Oei – Cross-Examinations
Book coverVincent W.J. van Gerven Oei – Cross-Examinations
Book coverVincent W.J. van Gerven Oei – Cross-Examinations
Book coverVincent W.J. van Gerven Oei – Cross-Examinations

Is this a printer displaying his skills or is it really a proper catalogue? Both, the panel decided. Cross-Examinations accompanied a number of exhibitions in Antwerp’s Extra City gallery, asking questions, from a variety of perspectives, about artistic responsibility and ‘agency’: ‘An accumulation of evidence and truths, an investigation into artistic methods of verification and the capacity of art to disentangle a historical situation.’

In their quest for an adequate translation of this the makers have taken risks, briefly experimenting with a swift succession of forms. One panel member thought it ‘a Tipp-Ex catalogue’, what with all that crossing-out, so that ‘what’s been deleted almost becomes an illustration,’ while at the same time the book exhibits some of the characteristics of an encyclopedia. There is much experimentation with fonts and this makes for a somewhat unpredictable effect, like the chapters printed alternately on black and white paper. ‘The impudence of bringing it out this way is extraordinarily agreeable,’ another member of the panel observed with conviction. ‘You can see the overprinting. You accept it as it stands. The concept is anything but a quick snack.’

On a small scale this is an artist book – and the further you let yourself sink into it, the better it gets, was the resounding conclusion. Not least thanks to the multiple passes through the press.

 

Edition: 2015
Language: English
Final editor: Mihnea Mircan
Publisher: MER. Paper Kunsthalle, Ghent (BE)
Graphic designer: Remco van Bladel, Andrea Spikker, Amsterdam
Printer: Raddraaier, Amsterdam (4 sections on Revive Natural with the same print in black and CMYK, sections 2, 3 and 4 each with additional opaque white and black)
Binder: Patist, Den Dolder
Size book block (w x h x d in mm): 148 x 230 x 8
Number of pages: 96 p.
Print run: 500
Price: € 15
ISBN: 978 94 9232 107 7
Font and foundry: Folio (Linotype), Memphis (Linotype), Akzidenz Grotesk (Linotype), Caslon (Adobe)
Binding style: sewn soft cover using black threads, sewn endpapers, glued-off spine, dust jacket glued to front and back cover
Material: 120gsm Munken Polar Rough, 80gsm Revive Natural Matt (interior), 300gsm Munken Polar Rough (endpapers), 120gsm Wibalin 544 Graphite Buckram (dust jacket)