The mid-1960s witnessed a boom in underground and self-published works in West Germany. Hectographs, mimeographs and offset printing not only allowed for the production of small, low-cost print runs, but also promoted a unique aesthetic. Using wild mock-ups, these messianic amateurs combined typescript aesthetics, handwriting, scribbled drawings, assemblages of collaged visuals, porn photos, snapshots and comic strips, forging a new, wildly free, sensibility in the process. This book is the first to present the underground and self-published works that came out of West Germany in such depth, while also showing the international context in which they emerged – not as an anecdotal history but as an attempt to tap into the aesthetic cosmos of the Do-It-Yourself rebellion. Insomuch, Under the Radar also challenges us to take a new look at the current boom in independent publishing, the risograph aesthetic and more. Thanks to Spector Books (Leipzig).
368 pages, 24 x 33 cm, softcover, Spector Books (Leipzig).