As students in an age of a scummy economy, how strong is our inclination to go to a Chelsea auction house to buy art? Very strong! Well, it is when entrance is free and artistic wares can be found for around $5.
Starting this Friday at Chelsea’s Phillips de Pury & Company, located at 450 W. 15th St., Printed Matter will be hosting its third annual New York Art Book Fair: a bazaar of artists’ books, art books, magazines, zines, and art catalogues.
During this three day fair, Printed Matter hopes to promote the widespread distribution and appreciation of the artists’ book—an artwork made specifically for book form consisting of images and/or words—not exactly one of those clunky coffee table companions.
Over 140 international exhibitors from lands as far away as Japan and as close as Brooklyn will present their publications at the fair. And in the spirit of promoting artists’ books, many of these vendors will be displaying large quantities of inexpensive publications (meaning under $10). This means that even unpaid interning students are able to make their first investments in the art world—though this may take the form of a five-paged, photocopied zine. Publishing companies such as Switzerland-based Nieves Books and London-based Marcus Campbell Art Books sell publications created by artists such as Kim Gordon, Larry Clark, and Chris Johanson for several dollars.
On the other end of the fair’s price spectrum are antiquarian dealers such as Simon Finch Rare Books, a London-based book dealer whose wares include illustrated manuals and theoretical writings from as early as the 17th century. Simon Finch’s stock boasts intriguing titles such as Hermaphrodites & Other Anatomical Curiosities and Candlesticks, Coasters, and a Cake Basket.
A major theme at the fair will be the celebration of the DIY aesthetic. A free book-binding workshop will take place at noon on Sunday, and a large section of the fair is reserved for self-publishing artists and art collectives presenting videos, books, journals, T-shirts, and CDs. Several video-based groups, such as Paper Tiger Television, a DIY alternative media movement, will have special video installations.
The potential of DIY publications will also be addressed in “Queer Zines,” an exhibition co-curated by Alex Gartenfeld, CC ’08 and former editor-in-chief of The Eye. The exhibit consists of over 100 zines, “from Straight to Hell to BUTT Magazine,” as explained on the fair’s Web site. This collection chronicles the development of the zine as a medium and will consider its expressive potential to represent various subcultures.
Other anticipated displays include artist Scott Hug’s world’s largest zine. The 18-page, silk-screened book is 28x38 inches, and will be on display throughout the fair.
And yes, the fair will provide many chances to meet dreamy darlings of the art world through a series of book signings and events. Artist Terence Koh will be signing his new book A Beaver Tail, a companion piece on the performance ritual performed to a bronze beaver tail, on Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. Michel Gondry will be signing his new book You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It, his account of a DIY approach to making films, on the Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.
In tandem with the Art Book Fair, Printed Matter and the Art Libraries Society of New York have planned a series of lectures on contemporary artists’ books held at various locations on the island and in Brooklyn. Panels of scholars, artists, and connoisseurs will discuss the role and development of the artists’ book. Notable discussion subjects include the effect of DIY books on photography, which will be held at the New York Public Library South Court Auditorium on Oct. 25 at 10:30 a.m., and the artist’s periodical as a means of distributing ideas, which will take place at the Museum of Modern Art’s Titus II Auditorium on Oct. 23 at 1:15 p.m.
Entrance to the fair is free. The fair will take place at 450 W. 15th St., third floor. Opening hours are as follows: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24 and 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information at www.nyartbookfair.com
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