Monochrome Bücher 1-6
From 1993 to 1995, I worked on a series of six monochromatic books. Each volume is assigned to one color. I tried to test the limits of monochromatic representation possibilities, to see what an individual color can express through various levels of brightness. Because of black-and-white photography, we are used to seeing pictures in grayscale. A black-and-white picture seems completely normal to us even though we almost never see images like that in nature. But a single-colored image with light and dark gradations usually seems strange to us. Red, yellow and blue are primary colors, but the combination color of green is usually considered on a par with them. I used that as a basis. Aside from yellow, which breaks ranks here, the six monochromatic books line up in the same order as traditional color models. The material of the books plays an important role in this project: I used colored packing paper, and for the white book, wax paper of the kind normally used to wrap food.
I chose these papers because I liked the dullness of their colors and the contrast with the bright letterpress inks that were printed on them. I also liked their simple, rough structure, which fit well with the character of the
Monochrome Bücher
that I was trying to convey. They were supposed to be rather “sketchlike,” not elaborate fine press books. The fact that I still emphasized careful technical production, with hand typesetting, letterpress printing and accurate bookbinding, is not necessarily a contradiction. The classic beauty of the typeface Bauer Bodoni, which is used in all six volumes, emphasizes
the diverse features of the books.
6 volumes in card board box with blind embossed title. 50 numbered and signed copies.