Issue #7 — Summer 2004 At War With the Obvious

AT WAR WITH THE OBVIOUS: From the implosion of the white cube to the tristesse of Berlin, this issue presents positions that strike against the unholy trinity of cool, taste and ignorance. “The obvious is as omnipresent and stylish as it is inconspicuous and banal, yet possesses no attitude—it is the Western world’s depressing vanishing point.” Photographer GREGOR SCHNEIDER exposes the underbelly of “517 West 24th Street, New York”; graphic designer PETER SAVILLE finds something in everything; photographer BENJAMIN ALEXANDER HUSEBY unveils tomorrows; Comme des Garçons designer REI KAWAKUBO presents the subtleties of bold shades of perception; artist MASAO MOCHIZUKI archives television; writer EMILY KING dissects ARCHIS—the magazine as monster; fashion historian CAROLINE EVANS explains how designer ALEXANDER MCQUEEN magics images and ideas out of air; musician BRIAN ENO and artist PETER SCHMIDT deal out perforated cards of oblique strategies; architect YONA FRIEDMAN mobilizes un-built cities; historian ERIC HOBSBAWM tells writer CHRISTIAN ESCH how Marxism wasn’t Main Street; architect JAN KAPLICKY speaks with artist MARIA FUSCO about the sublime, surface wreckage, and fashion; writer JOACHIM BESSING asks filmmaker ROMUALD KARMAKAR how to rattle consensus; and so much more on 128 pages …

Contributors: Joachim Bessing, Brian Eno / Peter Schmidt, Christian Esch, Caroline Evans, Maria Fusco, Benjamin Alexander Huseby, Drew Jarrett, Rei Kawakubo, Emily King, Heinz Peter Knes, Niklas Maak, Masao Mochizuki, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saville, Gregor Schneider.

7Excerpts in the Archive

ERIC HOBSBAWM – “IT WASN’T MAIN STREET.” February 9th, 2011: By CHRISTIAN ESCH Mr. Hobsbawm, you’re probably the most well-known living historian, though at the same time, as a self- professed Marxist, you’re an outsider in your trade. As a student in Berlin in 1932, you committed yourself to communism. You then had to live through its downfall. But you’ve also written, “Nothing sharpens a historian’s... more – ‘ERIC HOBSBAWM – “IT WASN’T MAIN STREET.”’
Romuald Karmakar July 1st, 2004: An interview with German filmmaker ROMUALD KARMAKAR on heroism and his punk origins. By Joachim Bessing. Issue #7 (Summer 2004). more – ‘Romuald Karmakar’
Jan Kaplicky July 1st, 2004: An interview with Czech architect JAN KAPLICKY on "inspiration only" and good taste. By Maria Fusco. Issue #7 (Summer 2004). more – ‘Jan Kaplicky’
Architecture: YONA FRIEDMAN July 1st, 2004: “YONA FRIEDMAN is the most famous and influential of all living architects who have built next to nothing in their own lifetime. A record of his projects that have actually been realized would barely fill two pages, while the history of his admirers and imitators would fill several volumes.” more – ‘Architecture: YONA FRIEDMAN’
OBLIQUE STRATEGIES July 1st, 2004: By Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Issue #7 (Summer 2004). more – ‘OBLIQUE STRATEGIES’
Fashion: Alexander McQueen July 1st, 2004: A portrait of designer ALEXANDER MCQUEEN and his visions of the future. By Caroline Evans. Issue #7 (Summer 2004). more – ‘Fashion: Alexander McQueen’
Media Archis July 1st, 2004: Dissolve readerly comfort: on the origins and history of the Dutch architecture magazine ARCHIS. By Emily King. Issue #7 (Summer 2004). more – ‘Media Archis’