Before Publication

At the moment of going to press, a publication irreversibly reaches its final form. Simultaneously, it also reaches an audience. Naturally, this audience very often is oblivious to the many, and sometimes complex, steps towards the construction and montage of (visual) meaning that precedes the actual publication of a book. The contributors to Before Publication consider such construction of meaning as montage and look at materials and processes involved before publication. Their focus is on concrete artistic and visual artifacts such as scrapbooks, book mock-ups, and press layouts by artists, authors, and graphic designers. In particular, they shed light on the relationship between the spheres of privacy and publicity. The new book features a programmatic introduction by the editors Nanni Baltzer and Martino Stierli and eight concisely illustrated topical essays. AUTHORS: Nanni Baltzer is an art historian, specialising in the history of photography. She holds a research and teaching position for the history and theory of photography at the University of Zurich. Martino Stierli is the MoMA's Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design and an SNF Professor for the History of Architecture and Art at University of Zurich. 40 colour, 33 b/w illustrations