wet

Venice Beach, California, the 70s: Leonard Koren, a young visual artist with an unusual interest in bathing environments, decides to dedicate an entire publication to the topic, founding WET: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing. Despite its eccentric subject matter, or maybe because of the inventiveness required by it, WET quickly became the archetype of a new way of making magazines – visually and conceptually – which perfectly embodied the playful and paradoxical spirit of the New Wave of graphic design.

Founded in 1976, the magazine was published for six years, collecting along the way an increasing number of talented contributors and producing clever, inspirational and often ironic content, including articles on how to cook fish in the dishwasher and interviews with the like of David Lynch. WET was original, innovative and always unexpected, and it remained so until its closure in 1981, leaving a legacy that keeps inspiring today.

For our homonymous issue we reached out to Mr. Koren to learn more about gourmet bathing and his artistic career.

Before making WET, you were already producing ‘bath art’, portraying people taking baths. Where does your interest in bathing come from?

My cultural roots are in European countries where there were strong bathing traditions. I was raised in Los Angeles where an emphasis on bathing culture generally was quite pervasive. California has many fascinating natural hot springs, which I experienced as a teenager and early adult. The fantastical imagery stuck in my mind. And then, when I was in architecture school, I became fascinated by small intimate environments. The bath room, I realized is the quintessential small, intimate environment of contemporary Western culture.

What was the main idea behind the magazine?

Prior to WET I was making art—primarily silkscreen and lithographic prints, and unique shower curtains—with bathing themes. But I reached a conceptual impasse; I was bored with art as objects. The magazine seemed a good way to fuse my formal art concerns into a more open-ended, uncharted social context.

WET was published between 1976 and 1981, in Venice, California. How would you describe those years? Do you think a magazine like it could exist today?

I would describe those years as vital, dynamic, and integral to my launch into the world of artistic entrepreneurship. No, I don’t think a magazine exactly like WET could exist today—primarily because paper magazines are no longer the avant-garde medium of the moment.

During its six years of publishing, WET was very influential in terms of graphic design, becoming an archetype of the New Wave. In which way do you think your studies in architecture influenced the graphic design choices for the magazine?

I don’t really think that my architectural studies had much to do with the graphic aspect of WET. I think the systematic nature of my mind found comfort in the domain of architecture, and that same turn of mind made magazine publishing, which is a lot about systematic organization, seem natural to me. On the other hand I think my art instincts, my incessant exploration of the aesthetic realm, provided the kind of mental flexibility and openness that allowed for WET to unfold in the way it did.

In your opinion, what made the magazine so inspirational for artists and readers in general?

Artists and other creators are always on the lookout for original, interesting artistic expressions of any kind. Because the magazine provided a venue for the most imaginative graphic explorations of its time, it naturally became a magnet for creative people.

Some issues of WET had a set theme – fire, the human body, obsession – while others didn’t. How did you choose and commission the magazine’s content? Did you follow any criteria?

The primary criterion for inclusion was a high degree of “interestingness.” Writing, visuals, and the graphic design had to ignite imaginative sparks in the minds of the readers—or there was no reason for it to be in WET. In order to achieve the kind of dynamism I demanded of the magazine, the methodologies approach constantly changed. My belief was that methodology determines product. So most of my time was spent pondering new methodological approaches to magazine making.

In 2012 you published Making WET: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, a visual and written record of the production of the magazine. What made you decide to write a book about it?

I wanted to preserve a historical record of the process of making the magazine should my son, who is now quite young, ever want to learn from his father’s experience in that particular art-business enterprise.

Making WET is only one of the many books you have published in the past years, covering a wide range of subjects including aesthetic, architectural environments and Japanese gardens. How did you come around to the idea of starting to write books?

When publishing WET, I was in love with the ephemeral. I thought books were too fixed, too permanent, and therefore not very interesting as expressive medium. But after I stopped publishing it I began making trips to Japan. At that particular moment, the traditional Japanese fashion idiom was intersecting with that of the West for the first time in a really big way. The effect was explosive. The idea to make a book about Japanese Fashion seized me with incredible force. So I did. The experience of making the book was wonderful. And the book, titled NEW FASHION JAPAN, was quite successful in the marketplace. From that time on I was hooked on making books and have been making them ever since.

Looking at all the projects you have created and all the books you have written in your life until now, is there anything that you would have done differently?

If I could do it over again, I would treat every person I ever met with a lot more courtesy, consideration, and appreciation. But other than that, there is nothing I would have done differently.