I had a great time with Don Leeper at the NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1. I went to New York with a small carry-on bag, and I left with a heavy armload of art books for which, luckily, Don had room in his suitcase. Here’s what I picked up and looked at. I didn’t buy all of them, but the ones I didn’t bring home are now on my wish list.
First, I saw a lot of books at the NY Art Book Fair that Bookmobile printed, which was, of course, super fun.
Smoke Room 5, from Smoke Room, is the racy cover there in the middle. It’s a book we feature in our Gallery.
And I was happy to see @Heaven from OR Books on sale at the MoMA PS1 Bookstore.
Okay, on to the books I bought. I purchased Self Publish, Be Happy: A DIY Photobook Manual and Manifesto, from Aperture Books.
Self Publish, Be Happy, by Bruno Ceschel, sprung from the Self Publish, Be Happy website. Founded in 2010, they celebrate and study self-published photo books and offer work shops, events, and exhibitions. This book and the artist books it features will be a rabbit hole for me for the next year, at least.
Also from Aperture, I bought Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer for my daughter (and honestly, also for me). It’s so beautifully done, using a light blue linen hardcover case with the magenta cover piece. And . . . kittens. Lots of fluffy kittens. Walter Chandoha was one of the first commercial cat photographers, and you’ve already seen his work in National Geographic, Life magazine, and many advertisements.
For my husband, I bought The Tony Clifton Story, a screenplay by Andy Kaufman and Bob Zmuda, from Ooga Booga. I was especially happy to buy a book from Ooga Booga—we’ve received a lot of referrals from them, we’re a printer that’s recommended in their Printer Resources for Independent Art Publishers resource section.
For me, I bought this light reading, Publishing in the Realm of Plant Fibers and Electrons, by Temporary Services. The title and the graphics intrigued me; it’s right up my alley. After I read it, it might end up with its own Blog post.
Then last but not least, I brought home Hells Hollow/Fallen Monarch from Spaces Corners. It features color photographs of Pennsylvania woods juxtaposed with old black and white deer hunting photos. I grew up in Pittsburgh and it reminded me of the woods back home and seeing hunting season in full swing.
Then there were the books I didn’t buy, but wanted to.
This beauty would not fit in my or Don’s suitcase. Paperwork: A Brief History of Artist’s Scrapbooks from PPP Editions is 15″ x 20″ and reproduces artists’ scrapbooks to scale.
I love polka dots, I love type, so I was drawn to issue four of Gratuitous Type, with its clear acetate dust jacket silkscreened with copper ink polka dots.
This issue of Foam, an international photography magazine from Amsterdam, is just gorgeous, with gold detailing on the front cover and an exposed sewn spine.
How could I not like the cover of Element 003 of Print Isn’t Dead from The People of Print? The series showcases the design and the craft of print.
Then lastly, this chair, while not a book, is titled Respite at Some Point ASAP, from the publisher One Star Press, based in Paris. It was very sturdy and comfortable, but alas, also would not fit in my carry-on.
If you haven’t read Don’s post about the fair, do check it out—he’s got more photos of more books!
Oh, and we did make a stop at the legendary Strand Bookstore, too, where I picked up Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend and Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women. I have a lot of reading to do.
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