Design

Studio Job: The Book of Job

Playing off of what some see as the near-biblical intensity of Studio Job’s oeuvre, this monograph, their first, is titled The Book of Job. The lavish package resembles a traditional leather-bound bible featuring a number of custom-printing effects including raised bands on the spine of the hardcover case which is covered in imitation leather overlaid with a dense signature composition by Studio Job, gilded page edges, cloth markers, black-letter type, and letterpress elements that distinguish the book from the conventional treatment of design monographs.  Further, the slip-cased book is two-in-one with Studio Job on one side, and then on the flip side, the biblical The Book of Job, complete with illustrated illuminations.

Themes present in the biblically inspired The Book of Job are echoed in the organization of the volume, translating the formal wit of Studio Job partners Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel’s work into print.  Interior spreads, including photographs taken expressly for the book, and gatefold tableaux specifically designed by the artists and created using special dies, will provides rare insight into Studio Job’s particular approach to design and pattern-making, resulting in a highly collectible and rarified book.
 
The award-winning furniture and art objects designed by Smeets and Tynagel bring a monumental sensibility to contemporary industrial design, leavened with unapologetic wit and romance. Celebrated in design and art fairs from Milan to Miami, and featured in the permanent collections of important museums, the pair’s creations—from sculpture to graphic design—have attracted a cult following among the cognoscenti.  Studio Job’s work is drawn from an artistic tradition that infuses everyday objects with grand historical themes, and these inspirational sources have been harnessed to create an unprecedented volume embodying the process of these designers.

About The Author

Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel are the principals of Studio Job, and are based in Antwerp, Belgium, and Breda, the Netherlands. Both are graduates of the Design Academy in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Alessandro Mendini
is a designer, writer and architect.

Nadja Swarovski
, a collector, is also Vice-President of International Communications, and Creative Director of Swarovski.

Murray Moss
is a design entrepreneur and founder of the eponymous and internationally renowned design and art gallery, Moss.

Viktor & Rolf
are fashion designers.

Gareth Williams
is a senior tutor in design at the Royal College of Art.

  • Publish Date: November 09, 2010
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Design - Product
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 9-1/2 x 12-1/4
  • Pages: 348
  • US Price: $150.00
  • CDN Price: $177.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-3063-3

Reviews

"This book is both an extraordinary retrospective of their designs and an amazing design product in its own right. Smeets and Tynagel have the gifts of Renaissance artisans and the aesthetic of 21st-century visionaries." ~New York Magazine

"The Book of Job (Rizzoli, $150) is quite a sight to absorb. And the book is a lavish creation in itself, sure to seduce any design buff, what with its gilded page edges, black-letter type, letterpress details, cloth markers, and sepcial gatefold tableaux." ~Florida International Magazine

"...the ultimate book for the design guru of your holiday shopping list ... This 348-page biblically inspired book -- really, it looks like a leather-bound Bible with gilded pages -- arrives inside a slip-case covered with prints of insects. Inside you jump into a world where fashion, design, art, architecture and pop collide into a wondrous effort." ~Austin American

“This is not any ordinary 300-page biblical-themed monograph with gilded-edge paper, a half-dozen gatefolds, and a leather-scented cover imprinted with quasi-medieval cartoonage. It’s The Book of Job, the holiday season’s most coveted design book, by two of the world’s most cultish designers…” ~New York Magazine

"
The book is lavish just like their marquetry." ~artnet

Author Bookshelf: Job Smeets

Author Bookshelf: Murray Moss