New book: Inventory Works by Max Lamb, published by Dent-De-Leone, is the most extensive survey of the designer’s work to date. It’s great and it’s now available to buy online and in shops.
The book was produced as a catalogue for Max’s show at Salon 94 Design in New York earlier this year, which included more than 200 pieces – and like all books produced with graphic design collective åbäke, is a fantastically creative, tactile object. You need to cut or tear the pages to find the texts, and when you do, you create a lovely feathered edge. You’re basically a designer now too.
It’s not your standard monograph, but a personal book with a lot of love in it. Max invited some of his friends, family and collaborators to contribute a piece, giving them free rein and by necessity of print schedules, a tight deadline. As a result, quite a few are short, unfiltered emails wishing him well with the show, congratulating him or hoping he’s looking after himself. One of my favourites on that theme is by dancer, Jay Franke – a set of instructions for exercises to counter the stresses of all Max’s boulder moving, van driving and wood carving. There’s a really nice essay by curator, Trang Tran on documenting the work and process of a living designer. But I won’t spoil the contents, if you find them.
I co-edited the texts with Max and Gemma, although the brief was not to edit heavily, to keep people’s contributions as they were sent, so it was an interesting process. Lots of marked up pdfs, 608 pages, felt like maybe twice as many emails. I’m touched I got to write something too. My contribution is one of the sensible ones, on the impossibility of inventorying someone like Max. Had I seen the others before I wrote it, I might have gone more wild. Still, comparison is the thief of joy and maybe every party needs somebody hiding awkwardly in a kitchen, keeping things tidy. And I was kept company in that kitchen by Nick Sarson, who never lost focus in proofing, always found something, and in editing, helped make the words make sense for the reader. Even though the reader then has to cut it up to find them.
Congratulations Max, and thank you. x
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