Published by Roma Publications (Amsterdam), and featuring contributions by Linda van Deursen, Mark Owens, Ian Svenonius and Jon Sueda, 'Statement and Counter-Statement' is the first-ever publication on the work of Experimental Jetset, documenting almost two decades of graphic design praxis. A pocket-sized paperback counting over 570 pages, the book should not be seen as monolithic monograph, but as a very loose, personal archive.
At the heart of the book are three textual contributions by Linda van Deursen, Mark Owens and Ian Svenonius. Linda van Deursen's essay consists of a series of short observations, contemplating three historical photographs, while reflecting on the friction between modernism and the everyday. Meanwhile, Mark Owens explores the format of the three-piece rock band, mapping the formal and conceptual dimensions of the 'power trio', with a particular focus on post-punk aesthetics. Added to that, Ian Svenonius delivers a piece of pop-art fiction, starting with a 13-point program to destroy language, before derailing into a psychedelic interlude, ending with some notes on the appropriation of 'cool'.
The book also contains two photographic chapters, both featuring a selection of work by Experimental Jetset. The first section (titled 'Ex Situ') shows a succession of printed matter as captured in actual size (scale 1:1) on the studio's flatbed scanner, while the second section ('In Situ') documents site-specific pieces as installed in different environments around the world.
The paperback concludes with a index/glossary-like anthology of texts previously written by Experimental Jetset, as selected, edited and introduced by Jon Sueda. Consisting of short fragments from interviews, lecture notes and personal correspondence (including numerous never-before-published texts), this chapter functions as a cut-up collage of ever-changing (and ever-contradicting) ways of reasoning.
576 pp, Paperback
Published by Roma Publications
11 x 18 cm
English