For documenta 7, under the artistic direction of Dutch artist Rudi Fuchs, the publication is being published in two languages for the first time. In her short editorial, catalog editor Saskia Bos compares the unusual book concept to an "almanac without interpretive texts".
The two-volume catalog is divided into a "historical section", which lists the participating artists in chronological order (by year of birth), and a "current section" in alphabetical order. Volume 1 brings together texts and illustrations written by the artists themselves or selected by them (under the heading "Visual Biographies"); Volume 2 visualizes the works in the exhibition using photographs and sketches as a work in progress.
The Dutch graphic designer Walter Nikkels was responsible for the catalog design and exhibition architecture. "What would documenta be without the Fridericianum?" he asks in his text contribution on typography and architecture. Consequently, the sculptural allegories of painting and architecture, which crown the attic of the classicist museum building, appear as the cover motifs of the exhibition catalog.
Text contributions by, among others: Rudi Fuchs, Saskia Bos, Coosje van Bruggen, Germano Celant, Johannes Gachnang, Gerhard Storck and Walter Nikkels