{"id":1281,"date":"2015-12-15T15:02:10","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T11:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honargardi.com\/en\/2015\/12\/15\/setting-the-standard-for-artist-zines-and-books\/"},"modified":"2015-12-15T15:02:10","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T11:32:10","slug":"setting-the-standard-for-artist-zines-and-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/honargardi.com\/en\/setting-the-standard-for-artist-zines-and-books\/","title":{"rendered":"SETTING THE STANDARD FOR ARTIST ZINES AND BOOKS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Benjamin Sommerhalder runs Nieves<\/a> with his own two hands, quietly publishing artist zines and books out of Zurich. I\u2019ve encountered his imprints so often while researching artists or browsing bookshops that his little ghost logo has become a familiar pal I\u2019m always glad to see. Nieves is also a pal to artists Chris Johanson, Johanna Jackson, David Shrigley, Misaki Kiwai and literally hundreds more who have made exceptional editions in collaboration with Sommerhalder.<\/p>\n

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The signature, elegant publication style is best described by the founder himself, \u201cEven if you don\u2019t see lots of graphic design elements and the artwork credits are handwritten by the artist, it still feels like a Nieves publication because of the size and the style, even if there is no style.\u201d His full catalogue of publications is revered and, not surprisingly, has been the subject of gallery exhibits around the world.<\/p>\n

Kristin Farr:<\/em> How would describe your taste or the common thread amongst everything you enjoy looking at?<\/strong>
\nBenjamin Sommerhalder:<\/em> It\u2019s very personal. There\u2019s not a big concept of what gets published and what doesn\u2019t. I like stuff that\u2019s original. I try to find something unfamiliar, and I also like outsider art, stuff with crooked lines. I love that.<\/p>\n

Your logo is a character from the book you wrote and illustrated, Knigi. What is it about?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a story about a little ghost who gets an empty book from his aunt, and he doesn\u2019t know how to read it because all the pages are white and blank. He tries to figure it out, and nothing works. And then he lets his imagination run free, and that\u2019s how the book fills up with colors and shapes.<\/p>\n

When did you write it and how did the little ghost end up as your logo?<\/strong>
\nThe logo was actually first. I always felt there could be a story behind this character, so I finally realized it would be nice to do a children\u2019s book with it. It took a few years to draw and write it.<\/p>\n

Ghosts are fun to draw. Yours looks like a little mountain.<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve heard that. That\u2019s quite special. There are all kinds of different things people see in this character. A lot of Americans, for example, see a character from McDonald\u2019s named Grimace. In Europe people think of the Tomi Ungerer book. He is one of my favorite children\u2019s book illustrators and he has a book with similar characters called The Three Robbers. I was probably subconsciously inspired by him. And then some people think it\u2019s a woman in a burka.<\/p>\n

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What was the first zine you published with your own art?<\/strong>
\nIn the mid-\u201990s there was one called Ben\u2019s Computer Drawings, and I did it on a Mac with this program, ClarisWorks. It was really basic. You put some shapes together and do really crazy stuff. That\u2019s how it started, even though, at the time, I didn\u2019t know artist zines existed.<\/p>\n

How else did Japan influence you?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve always been into the Japanese aesthetic, this really simple style, which also relates to the Swiss graphic design style in a way. When I went to Japan the first time, I was blown away and loved it, and kept going back. That\u2019s how I met lots of the Japanese artists I\u2019ve worked with over the years.<\/p>\n

What keeps you in Zurich?<\/strong>
\nI grew up here and I can concentrate on my work. It\u2019s so small and boring, so you can focus on what you want to do. The postal system is really great, and the public transport\u2014everything just works, so you can relax and not worry about things. I have a little showroom where people can come in and look at things we publish.<\/p>\n