32. SAGMEISTER INC.
Sagmeister Inc.’s catalog for the 2004 Hugo Boss Guggenheim Museum Prize functions as an exhibition in print, for which seven finalists designed and submitted their own “installation” spreads. The nature of “book as exhibition” heightened a classic design conundrum: To what extent should designers inject their aesthetic into a showcase of other artists’ work?

The most salient analogy is architectural—specifically, Yoshio Taniguchi’s understated MoMA redesign versus Gehry’s Guggenheim buildings. “MoMA chose to go down a white-box path,” says Sagmeister. “The building recedes into the background, whereas the Guggenheim is a sculpture in itself, forcing artists to have a dialogue with the museum.” Sagmeister’s catalog takes neither a white-box approach, nor is it comparable to a “statement building.” Rather, he built rooms for the artists to hang their installations —in 2D form—as they saw fit, an approach that strays from most museum models in its lack of an authoritative curator figure. (This project notwithstanding, Sagmeister notes as an aside, “I personally would go with the Guggenheim Bilbao approach.”)

Even the catalog’s cover extends into a metaphorical museum wall: Of seven artists, selected by admittedly subjective means to imperfectly represent contemporary artmaking, one would later be honored with the award (Rirkrit Tiravanija). To feature all seven wasn’t feasible. To feature one, ill advised. Instead, a mirrored page sits beneath a diecut type treatment—referencing contemporary art’s reflection of society and our lives within it.Tiffany Meyers