Honour the work! Honour the book designer!
It is a pleasure to point out the fact that the activity of Center For Contemporary Arts, Estonia as a small publishing house has been noticed and awarded –in the annual competition of the most beautiful Estonian books in 2007, almost 100% of our publications was picked up by the jury!
Hip-hip-hurrah! Yes, these are the facts and so say statistics. Namely, in 2007 this office published two art books (not to mention a reprint of a third one) and both were incorporated into the list of 25 most beautiful Estonian books. The competition was organized by Association of Estonian Designers, National Library of Estonia and Estonian Publishers’ Association. If you can read Estonian, then click and see for yourself: http://www.nlib.ee/84422 and http://www.estbook.com/files/c89/Leht_raamat_2_2008.pdf
The honoured books were a collection of biographic essays on contemporary Estonian artists, entitled EESTI KUNSTNIKUD 3 / ARTISTS OF ESTONIA 3 and Marko Mäetamm’s catalogue for a project I LOVE MY FAMILY, which represented Estonia at the 52nd international art biennale in Venice. First was designed by “old school book master” Andres Tali and the other by “new wave wunderkind” Indrek Sirkel, both publications were edited “comma-mistakes-free” by Andreas Trossek.
There’s no need to be ashamed of the fact that these publications have received a stormy reception in our art press as well, and one reviewer even dared to criticize Andres Tali! How nicely untypical for Estonian (world of book) design in general! Yet, if there is a person who should feel extra-hurt after the “beauty battle of the year”, then it’s the art historian of Center For Contemporary Arts, Estonia, Andreas Trossek, who helped to publish in his spare time two more art books (an album NARRATION IN PICTURES. ESTONIAN ALTERNATIVE COMICS FROM THE '00s and an autobiography MARKO MÄETAMM), but for some reason, these didn’t make it to the best-of list of Estonian book design of 2007. Why? What was wrong with them? Can anyone explain such injustice, at least in a remotely reasonable way, eh?
