This bundle includes two titles:

→ Unlicensed: Bootlegging as Creative Practice 

By Ben Schwartz

Over the last few decades, the term “bootlegging”—a practice once relegated to smugglers and copyright infringers—has become understood as a creative act.

Debates about homage, appropriation and theft, already common in the art world, are now being held in the spheres of corporate branding, social media and the creative industry as a whole. Today, bootlegging has become an aesthetic in and of itself, influencing everything from underground record labels and DIY T-shirts to publishing ideologies and acts of high fashion détournement.

Unlicensed, a project by Ben Schwartz, contains 21 interviews with a range of creative practitioners on the topic of bootlegging. Some of these interviews were originally published on the Gradient, the design blog of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, where Schwartz began his research on bootlegging. These conversations investigate bootlegging’s creative and critical potential, and explore new ways it can be deployed in order to thrive as an impactful cultural force.

Includes interviews with A March Issue (Line Arngaard & Sonia Oet), Babak Radboy, Clara Balaguer & Czar Kristoff, BLESS (Desiree Heiss & Ines Kaag), Boot Boyz Biz, Akinola Davies Jr, Eric Doeringer, Experimental Jetset (Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers, Danny van den Dungen), Elisa van Joolen, Hassan Kurbanbaev, Urs Lehni & Olivier Lebrun, Jonathan Monk, Matt Olson, Online Ceramics (Elijah Funk & Alix Ross), Mark Owens, Printed Matter (Jordan Nassar & Christopher Schulz), Nat Pyper, Hassan Rahim, Shanzhai Lyric, SHIRT, Oana Stanescu

Author Ben Schwartz (born 1988) is a graphic designer and editor based in New York. He collaborates with several graphic design studios in the cultural sector across a variety of media. From 2016 to 2018 he served as a Graphic Design Fellow at the Walker Art Center.

Edited by Meg Miller

Designed by Ben Schwartz
Creative Director, Source Type: Laurenz Brunner

Published by Valiz and Source Type, 2024

Softcover, 432 pages, b&w, 4.5 × 7. 1 inches

ISBN: 978-9-49-324629-4

→ Slanted 42: Books

Slanted Magazine #42—Books is a magazine about books.

Every day, people ponder whether the future of the (printed) book is tied to its sensual quality. How can beautiful books secure their place in the media and society? How are content, medium, and form interconnected? Is manufacturing and design quality, in addition to its functionality, simply to be understood as a marketing argument?

In this edition, Slanted delves deeper into books that are pushing boundaries, moving beyond traditional norms, and rediscovering their essence. The belief is that genuine reading encompasses more than mere skimming; it involves understanding, grasping, and engaging in creative thinking. The value placed on the tactile experience of holding a book, flipping through its pages, setting it aside, and seamlessly resuming the reading is immense. It's an experience cherished by many, one that defines the true essence of books.

Slanted emphasizes the resurgence of book reading as a significant trend, especially for those seeking enduring experiences and embracing multi-dimensional thinking. This edition showcases books that venture off the beaten path, departing from traditional conventions, juxtaposing these works (which celebrates accidents, build on mistakes and inaccuracy, and draw on experimental procedures, from processing to AI-generated content) against examples of timeless book designs where the content shapes the form.

Published by Slanted Publishers
First edition, 2023 (English)

Softcover, 256 pages, color and b&w images, 6.3 × 9.45 inches

ISBN: 978-3-94-844055-8