Robin Waart

Evol/Love

Book coverEvol/Love
Book coverEvol/Love
Book coverEvol/Love
Book coverEvol/Love

This is a successful example of experimental graphical book art, in which an archive of images from films is investigated in different ways and dissected in a highly layered way in the design. The book is part of larger work, namely a series of billboards by the artists-cum-bookmakers, but also works well as a stand-alone.

The concept has been designed clearly, in fact it is almost too illustrated: the layout of the film stills takes on the position of a Super-8 film; the theme of love informs the pink colour of the paper, and the canvas cover is an obvious nod to the cinema screen. Oh yes, and the print run numbers 666. Both production and materialisation are extremely well executed. The pink printing on the black cover strikes exactly the right note to supplement the black print on pink paper. Clear the aim was for something between a soft and a hard cover; something we saw on more than one occasion this year.

The ploy of placing all the film stills as negatives not only supports the trouvaille of the reversing significance of the title, but also shifts our perspective as we read or leaf through the book. Reinforced by the Japanese binding, this gives the impression of being inside the book looking out. A lovely – perhaps unintentional – effect that raises the book as a phenomenon to another dimension.

Edition: 2020
Release date: 2020
Language: English
Artist: Robin Waart
Publisher: Stichting Mei, Amstelveen
Available through: Webshop
Designer: Vilmantas Žumbys (Vilnius (LT))
Printer: robstolk®, Amsterdam
Binder: Patist, Den Dolder
Dimensions: 196 x 196 x 21
Amount of pages: 400
Number of copies: 666
Price: € 35
ISBN: 9789082936292
Font and foundry: Suisse Int’l (Swiss Typefaces)
Binding style: Unsewn softcover, Japanese binding; polyurethane gluing; cover with flaps
Paper interior: 80gsm Rainbow® light pink KL54 (54), Papyrus
Cover material: Buckram Premium 29009, L. van Heek Textiles
Other technical features: Linen cover screen-printed on both sides in Pantone 706; interior printed on one side in CMYK. Printing: HR-UV