Aphelion
DEUTSCH
Aphelion
Robert Steinmüller
October 15 - 31, 2020
Opening⎢Thurs. Oct. 15, 19 - 22 hr
Online Artist Talk⎢Sat. Oct. 24, 15 - 16 hr (CET)
“A book of epic depth – it makes the infinite of space tangible with your hands.”
– Stiftung Buchkunst
The universe is unfathomable. It’s beyond our human imagination. And yet it is our ‘outer space’ in which our earth orbits the sun somewhere – our solar system. It’s tiny compared to the rest of the universe. And yet vast.
Can this ratio be made measurable? What happens if you transfer the aphelion of all eight planets to the sun in one book? How many pages does this book have? Can you turn the pages? And above all, which emptiness will fill these endless book pages?
If you open the book, the reader will see nothing but stars. Just the sun can be spotted on the first page. In the footer, a continuous quotation begins that accompanies the entire book as a voice from the off. The reader wanders through the firmament and the book pages and indeed – there they are – the eight planets of our solar system! Distributed in distance and space. For example, when the ribbon page marker marks the earth, it’s amazing to see the enormity of the panorama, because around 85 percent of the more than 1,100 book pages, are still in front of the reader.
An adventure! An experiment! A concept to fathom and break up the medium of the book.
With excerpts from Carl Sagan’s “A pale blue dot” and “Cosmos”.
einBuch # 14
Aphelion
Robert Steinmüller
BUCH und Grafik, 2019
13,5cm x 19,5cm, 1152 pages
First Edition
Signed and numbered
Edition: 20
Second Edition
Signed and numbered
Edition: 16
Third Edition
Signed and numbered
Edition: 14
*The book ‘Aphelion’ has been awarded by Stiftung Buchkunst for the ‘Förderpreis für junge Buchgestaltung’ in 2020.
Robert Steinmüller
Robert Steinmüller is a book designer and typographer for books, book covers and catalogues in the fields of architecture, design, literature, art and culture.
His approach lies in the conception of a perfect symbiosis of content, form, function, material and aesthetics, from which he creates a holistic experience.
He is the winner of the Young Designers Award – Design Prize Brandenburg 2015. His books were on the longlist for the Most Beautiful German Books – Young Designers Award in 2016 and 2017. He was also nominated for the Design Prize Germany – Young Designers 2017 and the Joseph Binder Award 2018 – Free Work/preliminary round.
Press Release
Exhibition View: Robert Steinmüller,Aphelion, einBuch.haus, 2020 (Photo: Mikyung Song)
