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Avant Garde
From 1/68-7/71, Ginzburg published Avant Garde, which like Eros was a handsome periodical. His age & federal conviction had calmed him down some by this Avant Garde couldn't be termed obscene, but it is filled with creative imagery often caustically critical of American society & government, sexual themes & crude language by the standards of the time. One cover featured a naked pregnant woman; another had a parody of Willard's famous patriotic painting, "The Spirit of '76", with a white woman & black man.
Avant Garde had a modest circulation but was extremely popular in certain circles, including NY’s advertising & editorial art directors. Herbert F. Lubalin (1918–81), a post-modern design guru & International Typefont Corporation founder, was Ginzburg's collaborator on four of his magazines, including Avant Garde, which gave birth to a well-known typeface of the same name. It was originally intended primarily for use in logos. It was inspired by Ginzburg & his wife, designed by Lubalin, & realized by Lubalin's assistants & a partner, Tom Carnese. It's characterized by geometrically perfect round strokes; short, straight lines; a large number of ligatures & negative kerning. International Typefont released a full version in 1970.
Avant Garde had a modest circulation but was extremely popular in certain circles, including NY’s advertising & editorial art directors. Herbert F. Lubalin (1918–81), a post-modern design guru & International Typefont Corporation founder, was Ginzburg's collaborator on four of his magazines, including Avant Garde, which gave birth to a well-known typeface of the same name. It was originally intended primarily for use in logos. It was inspired by Ginzburg & his wife, designed by Lubalin, & realized by Lubalin's assistants & a partner, Tom Carnese. It's characterized by geometrically perfect round strokes; short, straight lines; a large number of ligatures & negative kerning. International Typefont released a full version in 1970.
paper
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Ralph Ginzburg
122 books12 followersRalph Ginzburg was an American editor, publisher, journalist, and photographer. He was best known for publishing books and magazines on erotica and art and for his conviction in 1963 for violating federal obscenity laws.
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April 3, 2009
Several months ago the bookstore below where I worked in Evanston, Illinois had several back copies of Avant Garde on its sale table. That brought back memories of Dad's subscription to the magazine during my last year in high school and the beginning of college--perhaps the whole run of '68-'71.
Avant Garde was erotic in a respectable, fine art kind of way and often very funny. Production values were, for a magazine, very high. The politics were definitely left-wing, the tone satyrical. Most memorable to me is what purported to be a first-person account of a man struggling to be productive in one of O'Hare's bathroom stalls when a commotion arose outside leading to the next stall being occupied by the President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson. Unfortunately, the leader of the Free World only realized after he was committed to his stall that it lacked toilet paper. This, of course, gave the author bargaining power and led to prolonged, and hilarious, negotiations. The story was just barely plausible. The parallels to the war in Vietnam was obvious.
Avant Garde was erotic in a respectable, fine art kind of way and often very funny. Production values were, for a magazine, very high. The politics were definitely left-wing, the tone satyrical. Most memorable to me is what purported to be a first-person account of a man struggling to be productive in one of O'Hare's bathroom stalls when a commotion arose outside leading to the next stall being occupied by the President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson. Unfortunately, the leader of the Free World only realized after he was committed to his stall that it lacked toilet paper. This, of course, gave the author bargaining power and led to prolonged, and hilarious, negotiations. The story was just barely plausible. The parallels to the war in Vietnam was obvious.
Displaying 1 of 1 review