{"product_id":"irma-boom-book-activist-for-international","title":"\u003ctc\u003eIrma Boom: Book Activist\u003c\/tc\u003e","description":"\u003ctc\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"quote\"\u003e\u003ch1\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“I am obsessed with the printed book: the book as a physical object.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIrma Boom: Book Activist\u003c\/em\u003e, the fourth volume in Irma Boom’s iconic red mini-book series, is published in Japanese and accompanied by a pink English-language appendix containing translations of the essays and texts included in the main volume. Despite its miniature format, the book comprises 1,500 pages and 720 images, making it as substantial as a dictionary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpanning approximately forty years of Irma Boom’s career (1985–2026), this volume showcases more than 500 books she has designed. Through essays by contributors including architect Rem Koolhaas and physician Rebecca Gomperts, alongside Boom’s own writings, the book explores the cultural value embedded in printed books from a wide range of perspectives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlongside her book-design projects, the volume includes research conducted at the Vatican Library in Italy, reflections on medieval manuscripts she encountered there, selections from the ib Library Collection—including rare books discovered in Japan—a tribute to her partner Julius Vermeulen, and an interview titled \u003cem\u003eOn Books\u003c\/em\u003e (pp. 416–423), conducted by Osamu Kushida, director of FRAGILE BOOKS, in which she discusses a picture book she loved as a child. From her current position as a “Book Activist,” she offers a panoramic view of both the history of book design and the enduring cultural memory embodied in books.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe has contributed many essays to this volume herself. The following passage vividly conveys her life as a designer devoted to making books:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Making books is time consuming and incredibly fascinating. It is something I want to spend almost all my time on, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You could call it obsessive. I am indeed obsessed with the printed book: the book as a physical object. The possibilities and impossibilities that it offers are so challenging and so thrilling that I can hardly understand why not everyone shares this essential excitement. The literal making, the materiality of the book, the inventions, the search for new structures—these things are addictive. I want to continue exploring, within the limitations of industrial production, what makes a particular book uniquely suited to its subject.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEditions of This Work\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mini-book grows by 3% every year, whether a new volume is published or not. By the time Irma Boom reaches the age of 100, it will measure 219.2 × 166.6 mm—a “normal-sized” book. Its format originates from Boom’s habit of creating miniature mock-ups, which allow her to oversee and evaluate her designs as complete objects. For each major exhibition of her work, she produces a small red book to accompany it. This fourth volume includes an overview of her personal library and a selection of works she studied at the Vatican Library in Rome. \u003cem\u003eBook Activist\u003c\/em\u003e is printed on IBO Paper 52 gsm, a paper stock developed by Boom in collaboration with a German paper manufacturer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"editions\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBiography in Books\u003c\/strong\u003e (2010)\u003cbr\u003e50 × 38 × 25 mm, 704 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Architecture of the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e (2013)\u003cbr\u003e55 × 42 × 28 mm, 800 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook Manifest\u003c\/strong\u003e (2022)\u003cbr\u003e69 × 53 × 39 mm, 1,000 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook Activist\u003c\/strong\u003e (2026)\u003cbr\u003e80 × 61 × 55 mm, 1,500 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003ch2\u003eIrma Boom\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"bio\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIrma Boom is a graphic designer based in Amsterdam. She founded Irma Boom Office in 1991 and has designed more than 500 books throughout her career. Her clients include the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Fondazione Prada, Maserati, Vitra, the United Nations, Tate Modern, and Chanel, among many others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2001, she became the youngest recipient ever of the Gutenberg Prize. In 2014, she received the Johannes Vermeer Award, the Dutch State Prize for the Arts. From 1992 to 2023, she served as Senior Critic in Graphic Design at Yale University. Her works are held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and in the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. Her complete body of work is preserved as the Irma Boom Archive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/tc\u003e","brand":"FRAGILE BOOKS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55574572040360,"sku":null,"price":143.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/0050\/4232\/files\/ib_book_activist_0049__5.jpg?v=1778166453","url":"https:\/\/en.fragile-books.com\/products\/irma-boom-book-activist-for-international","provider":"FRAGILE BOOKS","version":"1.0","type":"link"}