In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company
Edited by Christopher Michlig, Brian Roettinger, Jan Tumlir.
An ode to a legendary printing company that played integral role in Los Angeles’ visual aesthetic, with works from Ed Ruscha, Kathryn Andrews, Scott Benzel, and others
The Los Angeles–based Colby Poster Printing Company has been a friend to local artists ever since Ed Ruscha’s seminal Colby-printed announcement for the 1962 Pasadena Art Museum exhibition New Paintings of Common Objects. Their fluorescent posters have been disseminated on every high-traffic surface in the city, and their collection of over 150 wood and metal typefaces--usually bold and sans serif--are an integral part of Los Angeles’ visual aesthetic. Throughout the years, posters promoting everything from 1980s punk and heavy metal concerts to swap meets, street fairs, gun and bridal shows, local political campaigns and countless artist projects have been printed on Colby’s Heidelberg letterset press. A family-owned and operated union print shop since 1948, the Colby Poster Printing Company closed its doors forever on December 31, 2012. This book documents the print shop’s history and one of its final projects: a series of editioned posters by artists including Ruscha, Kathryn Andrews, Scott Benzel, Peter Coffin, Daniel Eatock, Eve Fowler, Jacob Kassay, Allen Ruppersberg, Andy Spade and Craig Stecyk. Printed in four neon-spot colors, this book is a unique tribute to Colby.
Featured posters are reproduced from In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company.
"With bold, black typography floated above washes of day-glow color, the Colby poster evinces a thrifty pragmatism: it is designed to catch the eye of those who pass by, in car or by foot, and then deliver its contents to them as directly as possible." - Jan Tumlir, excerpted from his essay, In the Good Name of the Company
Visit ARTBOOK @ MOMA PS1 at the New York Art Book Fair, then stop by our satellite exhibition, In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company at See.Me Gallery, just up the street at 26-19 Jackson Ave. This exhibition of posters and artworks produced by the legendary Los Angeles sign printing company is mounted in collaboration with the NYABF, PictureBox, ForYourArt and MoCAtv and curated by Jan Tumlir, Chris Michlig, Brian Roettinger, the book's editors. Advance copies of the book and a selection of the posters are available for purchase. continue to blog
One thing we can all agree upon following the post-inaugural protests: when left to their own devices, Americans will make the most amazing posters. In homage to the DIY sign-bearers of the last few weeks, we're highlighting some of our favorite books on poster design. None cooler than this one, featuring 300 fluorescent reproductions of the industrial letterpress posters printed by family-owned Colby Poster Printing Company of Los Angeles from 1948 until 2012, when advances in digital printing finally shut it down. Concerts, gun shows and swap meets were among the commonly printed advertisements. But artists used the press as well. Featured here are prints by Cali Thornhill Dewitt. continue to blog
Join us at the New York Art Book Fair satellite space See.Me Gallery (26-18 Jackson Ave, Long Island City) Friday, September 20th from 6-9 PM for the opening reception, and Saturday, September 21st at 7 PM for the premiere of 3 Union Shop, a short documentary about the Colby Poster Printing Company directed by Felipe Lima and C.R. Stecyk III for MOCAtv. continue to blog
On Saturday, during the NYABF, Los Angeles filmmaker Felipe Lima presented his forthcoming documentary, 3 UNION SHOP (co-directed by C.R. Stecyk III for MOCAtv), at our exhibition of Colby Printing Company Posters. Below are a selection of photographs from the screening and a few more from our opening reception the night before. continue to blog
Last night, in conjunction with the NYABF, ARTBOOK | D.A.P., PictureBox and ForYourArt hosted the opening of In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company at See.Me Gallery. Exhibition curators (and editors of the book) Chris Michlig, Brian Roettinger and Jan Tumlir (below, with PictureBox publisher Dan Nadel), greeted friends and fans, alongside various Colby artists, thirsty exhibitors and avid collectors. Drinks by Absolut. Photographs by Gerard Garvey and others. continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 7.5 x 9.5 in. / 324 pgs / 300 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $34.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $45.95 GBP £29.99 ISBN: 9781939799036 PUBLISHER: PictureBox/ForYourArt AVAILABLE: 11/30/2013 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA EUR ASIA AU/NZ AFR ME
In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company
Published by PictureBox/ForYourArt. Edited by Christopher Michlig, Brian Roettinger, Jan Tumlir.
An ode to a legendary printing company that played integral role in Los Angeles’ visual aesthetic, with works from Ed Ruscha, Kathryn Andrews, Scott Benzel, and others
The Los Angeles–based Colby Poster Printing Company has been a friend to local artists ever since Ed Ruscha’s seminal Colby-printed announcement for the 1962 Pasadena Art Museum exhibition New Paintings of Common Objects. Their fluorescent posters have been disseminated on every high-traffic surface in the city, and their collection of over 150 wood and metal typefaces--usually bold and sans serif--are an integral part of Los Angeles’ visual aesthetic. Throughout the years, posters promoting everything from 1980s punk and heavy metal concerts to swap meets, street fairs, gun and bridal shows, local political campaigns and countless artist projects have been printed on Colby’s Heidelberg letterset press. A family-owned and operated union print shop since 1948, the Colby Poster Printing Company closed its doors forever on December 31, 2012. This book documents the print shop’s history and one of its final projects: a series of editioned posters by artists including Ruscha, Kathryn Andrews, Scott Benzel, Peter Coffin, Daniel Eatock, Eve Fowler, Jacob Kassay, Allen Ruppersberg, Andy Spade and Craig Stecyk. Printed in four neon-spot colors, this book is a unique tribute to Colby.
