schwarzweiss-eins documents visual arts from a contemporary standpoint, presenting a variety of approaches, perspectives, and artistic positions. The number of artists on display is deliberately limited, giving each one enough room to showcase both their work and themselves — a luxury that most group publications cannot afford.
The booklet is printed entirely in black and white, with no hardcover and no staples. The pages each function as independently produced graphic editions, giving the publication the character of an art object rather than a conventional magazine. It is designed to be taken apart, pinned to walls, held up to the light — experienced physically rather than merely read.
The name — German for "black-white-one" — describes both the aesthetic and the ambition: to strip visual art down to its essentials, to present it without the distractions of colour and binding, and to trust that the work is strong enough to stand on its own, one page at a time.