Synthesis

My decision to create an artists' book was influenced by Ulises Carrion's 'The New Art of Making Book's. I decided to adopt the role of artists and publisher in order to explore production and distribution methods available.

'In the old art the writer judges himself as being not responsible for the real book. He writes the text. The rest is done by the servants, the artisans, the workers, the others. 

In the new art writing a text is only the first link in the chain going from the writer to the reader. In the new art the writer assumes the responsibility for the whole process.'

Artists who decide to use commercial presses to mass produce their work are faced with economic challenges as a result of the high production costs and low retail price, combined with a lack of commercial interest, barely allowing the artists to make any profit. My outcome ultimately challenges this by having a digital edition of the book available online for free. Although the experience is lost within digital, it still allows people to access the artwork. 

My research into Dieter Roth informed me that in order to be classed as an artists’ book it is required to be printed in multiples. Originally a writer, Roth created books as a means to publish his work, using cheap materials and print making techniques. What makes Roth such an influential part of the rise of the artist book was the fact that he challenged common trade in the art market. Instead of creating singular pieces of art, Roth’s practice encouraged editions, multiples and prints. He stated ‘Power = Quantity’ as he realised that the success of magazines and newspapers wasn’t conveying the news or information, but rather selling as many copies as they could. For Roth, the multiple allowed him to make a living as he was able to send them out into the world, taking advantage of the printed format to gain exposure and a broader audience. Clive Phillpot also supports this, believing artists’ books should be printed in multiples since unique works ‘normally embody a denial of the potential replicability of content and the inherent communicative value of the printed book’ (Phillpot, 2012).

This knowledge ultimately encouraged me to explore methods of reproduction through digital tools  such as the photocopier, scanner and Adobe creative suit. This demonstrates how manual and digital processes can feed off each other. My decision to create an artists' book was influenced by the need to share my interpretation through form and content. I am not only preparing my own artwork for reproduction and dissemination but also the work of Ulises Carrion and W. H. Auden. 

My knowledge gained from looking at the rise of the artists' book fair lead me to take greater attention to the book in physical form. In the same way that artists' and designers such as Roth and Lissitzky responded to poetry and literature, I used Carrion's 'New Art of Making Books' to provide the content of the book and responded to it using a variety of techniques and processes. In order to communicate this, I used manual processes such as painting, collage and mark-making techniques. My interpretation was particularly influenced by Carrion's emphasis on 'Space'; 'A book is a sequence of spaces'. This influenced me to look at the structure of typesetting to which I abstracted through painting. With greater attention to the book as form, the book must reflect process. To achieve this I bound my original notes, sketches and scans of texts into the book. Not only does this demonstrate process, but also uses cheap methods of production influenced by my research into zines such as Riot Grrrl.

Used the book as an 'autonomous space' which allowed me to flex my current knowledge and skills in design. Not only did this give me the freedom to act independently but it also allowed me to formalise elements of the book, such as typesetting, to make the book more commercially viable. As highlighted within my conclusion, there is still more attention to the book as physical form therefore I alternated the stock, medium and page sizes to highlight the experiential nature of the printed book.
This backs up my conclusion that graphic designers are using publishing to explore personal projects in the same way that artists are using the book as an alternative space to the exhibition context.

In order to communicate the symbiotic relationship between artists books and publishing, I used a variety of publishing formats. The the experiential and tangible nature of the book as form which will be published using professional printers and considered stock. The professional quality of production makes it commercially viable to be sold in independent book shops and artist book fairs such as Off Print London. The publication has also been published online to reflect how artists' are taking advantage of new technologies such as digital publishing and the World Wide Web to reach a broader audience. Furthermore, this reflects how online sources is helping to archive limited edition and out of print books so there memory lives on. Influenced by Antoine Lefebvre's research project 'La Bibliotheque Fantastique' and DR.ME's 'FIN?' the book is also available online as a PDF to print at home on any standard printer. The publication is available in colour and black and white to suit old and new printers. Whilst the quality of production may be challenged by the users printer, the primary purpose of the PDF is to get artwork into the hands of the public.