A nostalgic tribute to audio cassette tapes.
Cassette tapes?
Although playing cassette tapes is a thing of the past for the designers of VrijFormaat, the nostalgic appeal remains. These tapes were was the first music carriers on which they could store their own personal preferences. Moreover, they took up the habit of richly decorating both the tapes and the covers. Unhindered by any professional knowledge and still blissfully unaware of graphic ‘rules’, they used to tackle them with marker, paint and photocopies and playfully transformed them into artsy treasures that spoke their language.
This project is a small tribute to that time. And just like with their taste in music, all kinds of things come along: abstract, realistic, light-hearted, intense, painted, drawn and photographic.
The Playing with tapes-box
No, this box does not contain a deck of cards, you’re not going to play quartet with cassette tapes.
The word playing comes from playing with different (printing) techniques and also refers to the playing of audio tapes.
In this limited edition box you can find 45 different designs reproduced by means of various printing techniques such as riso print, screen print, linocut and homemade stamps.
Playing with tapes is made in an edition of 25 numbered, hand-stamped and ‘retaped’ boxes, each containing 45 prints.
Each box contains 28 riso prints, 7 screen prints, 3 lino cuts, 2 relief prints (one with punch holes), 3 handstamped prints (1 with wooden letters, 2 with handmade stamps, made from unusual stamping materials like an old yoga mat), 1 tetrapak drypoint etching and 1 laserprint with Omnicrom hot foil (for some more nostalgia).
The prints in this box are 7,5 x 10 cm. The box itself is of course slightly bigger.
Bonus
Like bonus tracks on music albums, you can get a set of 10 bonus-prints. We’ve made only 10 bonus-sets (numbered), containing some screen prints, risos and a linocut. (Only available in combination with the Playing with tapes box.)
More cassette tapes
Cassette tape – hand pulled screenprint in 3 colours on 50 x 65 cm, 300 gr 300 grams Munken Polar Rough (edition of 20 signed and numbered prints)
Cassette tape – risoprint in 2 colors on A4, 160 gr biotop
(also part of our riso print series ‘Extra Ordinary’, prints of everyday objects)
a selection of the riso and screen prints that you can find in the box is also available in a small edition as combi-prints. The picture above shows 2 riso-combi prints.
More mixed taps risoprints are available, you can find all of them them here.
