Art Metropole

#12137

What, You Don't Know Grapus?

Writer

Léo Favier

Date

2015

Publisher

Spector Books

Format

Artists' Books

Size

5.3 × 7.5 in

Length

224 pages

Genre

Art History, Design

Grapus was a historic French graphic design collective founded in Paris immediately after the student protests of May 1968. Initiated by François Miehe, Pierre Bernard and Gérard Paris-Clavel, the group was deeply influenced by the writings and activities of the Situationist International, framing design as a form of social conscience and life as a field for political experimentation in the public realm. Alex Jordan and Jean-Paul Bachollet joined Grapus in 1975, completing the core cadre of designers. At first Grapus designed posters for local chapters of the Communist Party; 20 years later, they designed the corporate identity for the Louvre in Paris. By the late 1980s, the collective’s fruitful days were over. Though they disbanded soon after, the firm attracted some of the country’s most talented designers in its prime and assembled an overflowing portfolio of material in their trademark scrawl and primary colors. Graphic designer Léo Favier has assembled an essential reader on the history of Grapus, culled from 25 interviews with the founders and their colleagues on the utopian working methods and heated disputes that formed the heart of this collective way of life. Favier originally conceived of this book in 2011 while still a student. When no written material was available on this cult group, he went in search of Grapus’ many participants and reconstructed their history through his primary research. With the aid of a grant from the Centre National des Arts Plastiques and a brand-new English translation, Spector brings this delightful and important publication to a wider audience.