Rick Poynor

Critic; Curator; Writer; Lecturer / Graphic Design / United Kingdom / Design Observer

Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011

These titles deal with some aspect of visual culture and they are all books I have enjoyed this year. Only one, 100 Artists’ Manifestos, is an entirely pictureless read; the others are intensely visual, but their texts are important, too. I single them out because, in each case, I felt a rush of excitement as soon as I laid hands on them. The subjects were of great interest to me, the books made an instant connection and I coveted them for my library, though I’m still saving up for The Ruins of Detroit. I might just have to put that one on my Christmas list.

1 book
Alex Danchev Editor

This collection is a great idea. Instead of treating artists’ manifestos only as documents of the movements they supported, it invites us to read them as works of literature, and even as classics. The “heroic” years of manifesto-making, c. 1910–30, are as bombastic as you would expect (Futurism, Dada, Surrealism), but there are many compelling later examples, including the priceless Stuckists, and architectural manifestos from Rem Koolhaas, Lebbeus Woods, and Charles Jencks.

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