Steidl Book Culture. Magic on Paper

“Steidl Book Culture. Magic on Paper” reveals the secrets of bookmaking at Steidl, one of the world’s most renowned printers and publishers of photography and art books, and German-language literature. Fiercely independent since its foundation in 1969, Steidl has a unique structure in which all steps of production take place under one roof at Düstere Strasse 4, Göttingen, Germany. Each book is a collaboration between the artist, Gerhard Steidl and his team, where the goal is to create a multiple: a democratic art object produced at an affordable price.

Conceived with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK) in Hildesheim, Germany, the exhibition’s focus is displaying real books—of paper, thread and cloth—to celebrate them as objects of beauty and culture, and show Steidl’s philosophy of realizing the artist’s dream in book form without compromise. Here are the most ambitious and elaborate Steidl publications, personally chosen by Gerhard Steidl and placed on custom-made tables for the visitor to leaf through and explore.

“Steidl Book Culture. Magic on Paper” is a visual and interactive workshop in bookmaking. Visitors can touch a range of papers and cloths, savoring their particular textures and scents; and all your questions about bookmaking are answered: what are head and tail bands? Endpapers, tipped-in photos, belly bands? Cinema spaces show videos and Super-8 films of artists including Nan Goldin, Juergen Teller, Massimo Vitali and Mitch Epstein—made by Steidl’s in-house journalism team—as well as the acclaimed documentary films How to Make a Book with Steidl (2010) and How to Make a Book with Carlos Saura & Steidl (2017) by Jörg Adolph and Gereon Wetzel.

Regardless of its content, every Steidl book is distinguished by its individual design and materials, the result of a desire to create art in book form. “Steidl Book Culture. Magic on Paper”, the largest show to date on Steidl books and conceived as a travelling exhibition, declares that for Steidl reading a book is not just for the eyes. A book is an emotional and haptic experience involving all the possible senses. See, touch, hear, smell ... feel the magic!

Curator: Gerhard Steidl
Art Director: Theseus Chan

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