I chose to compare and contrast Artforum to Communication Arts magazine. Both were about the same size, (Artforum is a square, and Communication Arts is a portrait-oriented rectangle), thickness, printed in color, and bound format. The main difference between the two is that Artforum is an umbrella arts magazine, while Communication Arts mainly covers visual communication art such as: advertising, photography, and graphic design.
Artforum overwhelms its viewer with advertisements, while Communication Arts has a simpler layout and approach. As far as ads that look like ads, Communication Arts has only a handful, and they occur at the very beginning of the magazine, along with a few articles. Artforum's layout disperses advertisements and articles throughout the entirety of its pages. Communication Arts is set up with more clearly defined boundaries, almost like chapters. I feel as though I would have to look through the index to find a certain article in Artforum, while in Communication Arts, I could just flip to the right section.
Another thing that makes Communication Arts seem clearer and cleaner, is that it sticks to a two-page layout for its artists. The font is the same throughout these spotlights, and there is about four times as many images as there is text. Artforum varies its text, font, and font color a lot. I can understand why it does this, or more precisely why the galleries who take out ad space in the magazine do this, but it does not contribute to a cohesive whole as much as the format of Communication Arts does.
In conclusion, I think both magazines are great contributors to the Art world, but when I reach for a magazine to peruse the contemporary art scene, I will reach for Communication Arts.
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