PIN–UP 23, THE COMFORT ISSUE: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

"In most post-industrial societies, comfort has been thoroughly democratized. Previously undreamed of amenities are made available to large swaths of the population, while a veritable comfort industry provides not just the obvious mattresses, pillows, blankets, cushions, armrests, backrests, and headrests, but also a whole panoply of services, both online and IRL, designed to make our lives less complicated and stressful. Whether it’s air-conditioning, Grindr, or Febreze, they’re all intended to comfort our physical needs. But it’s telling that the term “comfort” — unlike, for example, pleasure or joy — is defined through a negative: a state of freedom from pain, constraint, or inconvenience. Are all the things we’ve become so accustomed to literally and figuratively padding our lives — especially in architecture and design — just short-term remedies for an ongoing contemporary malaise? A sort of Snuggie™ for the soul? The Fall Winter 2017/18 issue of PIN–UP explores the realm between amenity and apathy where comfort operates, but also the apparent paradox of finding comfort in discomfort, whether aesthetically, emotionally, ergonomically, or sensorially. Even a biannual print product like PIN–UP is a challenge to produce in a digital-media age of instant production and gratification. A life of comfort is a privilege, no doubt. But sometimes the greatest luxury lies in the concession thereof."

Felix Burrichter
Editor/Creative Director

PIN–UP 23, Fall Winter 2017/18, featuring: 

LIZ DILLER
Whether it’s large-scale public projects or small-scale interventions, this consistently innovative architect is always game to push her studio into territories unknown. Interview by Andrew Ayers, Portraits by Daniel Trese. 

CHARLES HOLLIS JONES
From smalltown boy to Mr. Lucite: the hardworking Hollywood legend reflects on a life lived by design. Interview by Michael Bullock, Portraits by Ramsey Alderson, Creative Direction by Alessandro Bava.

IRIS VAN HERPEN
Inspired by chemistry, physics, and the architecture of the body, this Dutch-born fashion futurist has made a science of challenging the status quo. Interview by Tamar Shafrir, Photography by Vytautas Kumza.

KONSTANTIN GRCIC
The design world’s thinking tinkerer continues to believe in the inspiration power of disruption. Interview by Felix Burrichter, Portraits by Lukas Wassmann. 

Also in the issue:
At home with art collective Slavs and Tatars, Lucio Fontana’s Milan penthouse; the interiors of Arquitectura-G; public benches in a park near Stockholm by Max Lamb, Philippe Malouin, Scholten & Baijings, and many more; the designer Katie Stout in her Brooklyn studio; the paradox of comfort, as told by Apparatus, Rafael de Cárdenas, June 14, Olalekan Jeyifous, Frank Lloyd Wright, Soft Baroque, Nanu Al Hamad, and Maria Cristina Didero; an essay about toilet architecture by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley; another essay about the power of perfume by Gerlan Marcel, an interview with artist Debi Cornwall.

Plus: Francesco Vezzoli, Herman Verkerk, BLESS, Jonathan Olivares, and a special supplement celebrating the late American design genius Ward Bennett (in collaboration with Herman Miller).