Professor uses his book publishing company to encourage social activism in art

January 17, 2019

Lars Müller, born in Oslo in 1955 and in Switzerland since 1963, is a passionate educator and has taught at various universities in Switzerland and in Europe. After becoming a graphic designer in Zurich, extended travels, and a one-year assistant position with designer Wim Crouwel in Amsterdam, Müller established his studio in Baden/Switzerland in 1982.  In 1983 Müller published his first book and, as Lars Müller Publishers, has produced some 600 titles to date. 

Design media arts regents professor Lars Müller will give a lecture Tuesday at the Broad Art Center. Through his publishing company, Müller said he aims to spread art with social messages, utilizing photographs to illuminate text. (Emily Ng/Daily Bruin)

"Lars Müller’s publishing company has released over 600 books.

Most of the books center around the artistic disciplines he enjoys the most: visual art, architecture, design and photography. However, Müller said he added societal issues to his company’s focus to move away from pure aestheticism and turn toward art that enacts change. Müller, a regents professor for design media arts at UCLA, will be giving a lecture Tuesday at the Broad Art Center. Trained in design, he hopes the publishing and spread of art with social messages will ultimately lead to policy changes.

“I was told by one of my teachers, (books are) the only printed matter that was meant to last,” Mueller said. “I thought, as a designer, why shouldn’t I focus on … (books) if that’s the only thing that’s made to last?”

One of the socially conscious books his company published, entitled “The Face of Human Rights,” focuses on human rights and their effect on policy changes, Müller said. The book also uses photographs in an attempt to visually capture all aspects of human rights, from humanitarian aid to rights violations.

These include scenes of a protest and a photograph of a woman breastfeeding her child surrounded by other people. When viewing the latter, Müller said he feels a sense of hope and safety, yet encourages readers to reach their own conclusions about what each image evokes. The photos, he said, offer readers an alternative method to understanding the material – one that is not factual or academic."— Hannah Ferguson, Jan. 17, 2019

This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.

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