The Story Behind the Book
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‘This is a magnificent object, brimming with energy, with a fine use of colour and luxurious details.’
— Visuelt jury
The book Rear Window is awarded the GOLD prize and a diploma in the VISUELT AWARDS, and silver award in THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS OF THE YEAR.
Rear Window / Vinduet mot bakgården
An illustrated anthology observing life in the converted old Arsenal Stadium, during London lockdown. A series of illustrated short stories by Cecilie Maurud Barstad.
From the balcony of her home, Maurud Barstad spent weeks and months observing, studying, and drawing her neighbours in lockdown. In her colourful images and pithy narratives the reader enters her back courtyard in Highbury with all its smells, conversations, noise and silence, morning light and night-time shadows. The stories are warm, wise and full of lovable characters.
160 colourful pages
In addition to more than 50 colourful illustrations and short stories by Cecilie Maurud Barstad, the foreword has been written by Lene Renneflott, leader of Grafill. Author Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg has composed an essay and Maurud Barstad is interviewed by arts writer Sondre Sommerfelt. Introduction by the author, Cecilie Maurud Barstad. The book is edited and designed by Nina Ansten, who has also composed an afterword for the book.
The book is bilingual in English/Norwegian. English translations by Andrew J. Boyle.
‘Rear Window’ was awarded GOLD and DIPLOMA in Visuelt + SILVER in ÅRETS VAKRESTE BØKER / The most Beautiful Books of the Year Awards
‘The book is a solid piece of craftsmanship and is well thought through, with elegant solutions and design.’
— From the ‘Visuelt awards’ jury comment
‘Bright, finely tuned colours from a confident colourist.’
— From the ‘The most Beautiful Books of the Year Awards’ jury comment
‘My first impression was that this is a superb object and an unbelievably beautiful book, one you would immediately want to own and put on the shelf, to exhibit it, because it’s such a fine object.’
— Visuelt jury member
Designer and editor Nina Ansten & author and illustrator Cecilie Barstad at the prinstart for the book 'Rear Window’, at ETN Grafisk, Skien. Photo: Charlotte Wiig.
Friends in life, art and design. With a shared love of books.
Cecilie Maurud Barstad and Nina Ansten are both Central St. Martins alumni, and have worked together on different projects. They share a passion for art, storytelling and bookmaking, and have held several talks and workshops on the topic. Cecilie learned the craft of bookmaking at the Wyern Bindery in London, and Nina has designed numerous art books for artists, museums and galleries. Cecilie and Nina are also friends in life, and that’s where the story of this book begins:
We were all compelled to stay where we were at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Cecilie took her sketchbook and seated herself on her balcony in Highbury. She drew what she saw and wrote down what she thought. Nina found herself safely ensconced in her flat in Oslo, from where she planned new projects for an unsure future. They kept in touch through video calls, discussing their ‘new normal’ and talked about everything from how to grow plants on their balconies, to life, work, and new ideas for new projects. The ideas turned into the planning of the book Rear Window – the first book to be published on the art book publisher ANSTEN PRESS. Click here to read more about the publishing practice.
Limited edition, craftsmanship and sustainable approach
Designed with collectors in mind, the limited and numbered edition of 700 copies is produced with four different covers. By re-using leftover material from other productions we were not only creating less waste, we were also able to design four exclusive set of book covers. The four covers all have unique fabric on the spine, four different coloured headbands and four unique ribbon bookmarks, all of which were found in the bookbinder’s storage.
The four covers features different illustrations. The signature illustration The Yoga Man is printed on 400 book covers (with two different shades of green fabric on the spine). The Question and Tight Thighs are printed on only 150 copies each.
Digital stories preserved between the covers of a book
Among all the digital news feeds in the early days of the corona pandemic, Cecilie’s stories detonated like tiny energy bombs. Beautiful everyday observations in which many recognized themselves. A reminder of seeing the large in the small. A colourful interlude that liberated us from the constant stream of distressing news. The illustrated stories came to mean a lot to many people during lockdown.
A digital project is essentially an ephemeral medium, and her work would quickly disappear from view. We are, therefore, very happy that it has been possible to preserve the stories from Highbury courtyard between the covers of a book. The physical, lasting format of a book allows space for reflection on the issues raised in its pages.
With this book we hope to stimulate reflection and discussion of the times through which we are living. This is our contribution to 2020, the year that shook us all up.
‘While minimising our impact on the environment by saving long-distance transport, we also believe it’s important to support local businesses and crafts specialists.’
— Nina Ansten, designer and editor of the book Rear Window
By re-using leftover material we both created less waste, and created four exclusive set of covers. Choose your favourite colour!
Local production by crafts specialists
The book Rear Window is printed and bound locally. While minimising our impact on the environment by saving long-distance transport, we also believe it’s important to support local businesses and crafts specialists. In addition this gives the opportunity to collaborate closely with the printers to achieve the best possible results. Rear Window would never have seen the light of day without the craftsmanship and expertise of printers and bookbinders at ETN Grafisk and Bokbinderiet Johnsen, both situated in Skien, Norway.
The book is printed offset with LED-UV technology on a Roland 700 press. The cover is hardback bound with a cloth-covered spine. The title is embossed on the cover. A tactile, high-quality uncoated paper is used throughout the book.
Printstart at ETN Grafisk. The book is printed offset with LED-UV technology on a Roland 700 press. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Printstart at ETN Grafisk. Cecilie, Nina and Are discussing the proofs. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Printstart at ETN Grafisk. The book is printed on high-quality paper. Every sheet is tested and proof-checked before printing. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Printstart at ETN Grafisk. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Printstart at ETN Grafisk. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Visiting the bookbinder, at Bokbinderiet Johnsen. This is a family business, with long craft traditions for high-quality artisan products. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
Visiting the bookbinder, at Bokbinderiet Johnsen. Selecting book cloth for the cover. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
By re-using leftover material from other productions, we are creating less waste–and designing four exclusive set of covers. Photo: Charlotte Wiig
By re-using leftover material from other productions, we are creating less waste–and designing four exclusive set of covers. Pictured above is the orange cover: Our choice for headband, fabric and ribbon bookmarks.
At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, in Skien. Binding the book 'Rear Window'.
The ribbon bookmarks are placed by hand. At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, in Skien. Binding the book 'Rear Window'.
Mr. Johnsen himself, working on the production of the book 'Rear Window'. At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, Skien.
With the highest level of precision. At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, in Skien. Binding the book 'Rear Window'.
At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, in Skien. Binding the book 'Rear Window'.
At Bokbinderiet Johnsen, in Skien. Binding the book 'Rear Window'.
With Thomas Evensen, printstart at ETN Grafisk.
The Editorial Team
Rear Window / Vinduet mot bakgården
Author and Illustrator: Cecilie Maurud Barstad
Editor: Nina Ansten
Contributors: Nina Ansten, Cecilie Maurud Barstad, Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg, and Sondre Sommerfelt.
Translation and Proofreading: Andrew J. Boyle
Design: Nina Ansten, Ansten Studio
Print: ETN Grafisk
Bookbinding: Bokbinderiet Johnsen
Publisher: Ansten Press
© Ansten Press & Cecilie Maurud Barstad
160 pages / 176 x 246 mm / Edition of 700 copies distributed on four different types of covers.
ISBN: 978-82-692291-0-3
‘It is impossible not to be intrigued by this neighbourhood!’
— Lene Renneflott, CEO at Grafill
Thank you!
Many thanks to Norsk Illustrasjonsfond for a grant in support of the project. Thanks also go to Robert Clay for his generous support. We are truly grateful to everyone who supported our crowd-funding campaign through pre-purchasing books and art prints. Finally we would like to express our thanks to everyone who has purchased the book, that is what really inspires us to create new publications. The main goal of Ansten Press is to bring art and art books to a wider audience.
‘I have created a set of colour palettes for the sunny days, for the evening lights and for the warm shady afternoons.’
— Cecilie Maurud Barstad, illustrator and author of the book Rear Window