Revue Faire – TO LOOK AT THINGS #53: GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AS ICONOGRAPHERS

The French graphic design magazine REVUE FAIRE was founded in 2017. It was created in response to the lack of critical publications dedicated to the analysis of the forms and practices of graphic design throughout Europe, and particularly in France. Founded by designer duo Sacha Léopold and François Havegeer, who run the graphic design studio Syndicat and the publishing house Empire, the magazine is published in seasons of 15 issues.

Issue 53, titled Graphic Designers as Iconographers, features graphic design iconography.

What happens, then, when contemporary graphic designers appear to take up the torch of an iconography that so-called iconographer-artists had already reclaimed—since the beginning of the last century—from graphic designers themselves, along with their culture and skills? —Thierry Chancogne

Scene 1: The painter-iconographer "describes any subject through drawing." Working in a studio or, from direct observation, in the midst of nature, they produce an image based on an object. They were already engaged in what German art historian Erwin Panofsky referred to as iconographies.
Scene 2: The painter-iconographer creates an image based on another image or metaphorical text, such as a painting, a photograph, or even an ekphrasis. In other words, the most complete possible textual representation or depiction of an image was one of the primary means of distributing it.
Scene 3: The artist—and no longer exclusively the painter-iconographer—selects an existing, "ready-made" image. In doing so, the artist becomes part of the body of professions linked to the multiplicity of images. The artist becomes a kind of librarian, curator, artistic director, editor: an iconographer aligned with what typographers and graphic designers have long asserted as an inherent means of regenerating the old tradition of illustration.
Scene 4: What happens, then, when contemporary graphic designers appear to take up the torch of an iconography that so-called iconographer-artists had already reclaimed—since the beginning of the last century—from graphic designers themselves, along with their culture and skills?

"Critical publications dedicated to the analysis of Graphic design are sadly few and far between today, particularly in France, but also in Europe as a whole. Adopting an analytical and critical posture with regard to the forms and activities of Graphic design, Sacha Léopold and François Havegeer intend to establish a printed publication that deals with these practices. The publication will work with seven authors in its first year (Lise Brosseau, Manon Bruet, Thierry Chancogne, Céline Chazalviel, Jérôme Dupeyrat, Catherine Guiral and Étienne Hervy). This initially limited choice, linked to a desire to propose an experience with a group that has previously participated together in projects, will then allow for the inclusion of foreign authors in the second year of publication."

Bilingual French and English.

Article: “Revue Faire”: The Graphic Design Review

What happens, then, when contemporary graphic designers appear to take up the torch of an iconography that so-called iconographer-artists had already reclaimed—since the beginning of the last century—from graphic designers themselves, along with their culture and skills? (by Thierry Chancogne).

Scene 1: The painter-iconographer "describes any subject through drawing." Working in a studio or, from direct observation, in the midst of nature, they produce an image based on an object. They were already engaged in what Erwin Panofsky referred to as iconographies.
Scene 2: The painter-iconographer creates an image based on another image or metaphorical text, such as a painting, a photograph, or even an ekphrasis. In other words, the most complete possible textual representation or depiction of an image was one of the primary means of distributing it.
Scene 3: The artist—and no longer exclusively the painter-iconographer—selects an existing, "ready-made" image. In doing so, the artist becomes part of the body of professions linked to the multiplicity of images. The artist becomes a kind of librarian, curator, artistic director, editor: an iconographer aligned with what typographers and graphic designers have long asserted as an inherent means of regenerating the old tradition of illustration.
Scene 4: What happens, then, when contemporary graphic designers appear to take up the torch of an iconography that so-called iconographer-artists had already reclaimed—since the beginning of the last century—from graphic designers themselves, along with their culture and skills?

Faire is a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to graphic design, published from October to June, distributed issue by issue or in the form of anthologies of three or four issues. Created by Empire, Syndicat studio's publishing house, Faire is aimed for undergraduate students as well as researchers and professionals, documenting contemporary and international practices of graphic design, along with the history and grammar of styles. Each issue focuses on a single subject, addressed by a renowned author.

"Critical publications dedicated to the analysis of Graphic design are sadly few and far between today, particularly in France, but also in Europe as a whole. Adopting an analytical and critical posture with regard to the forms and activities of Graphic design, Sacha Léopold and François Havegeer intend to establish a printed publication that deals with these practices. The publication will work with seven authors in its first year (Lise Brosseau, Manon Bruet, Thierry Chancogne, Céline Chazalviel, Jérôme Dupeyrat, Catherine Guiral and Étienne Hervy). This initially limited choice, linked to a desire to propose an experience with a group that has previously participated together in projects, will then allow for the inclusion of foreign authors in the second year of publication."