LINK. AGAIN!

Also, what looks like a great project documenting Black Mountain College:

http://www.bmcproject.org/BMC%20PROJECT/mission.htm

LINK!

This looks really really interesting:

http://theglitch.info/

A new experimental journal.

EVERYTHING THAT CONVERGES

The Ubuweb is one of my favorite sites on the Internet. It is an incredible archive of hard to find material, ranging from the early days of modernism and the avant-garde to contemporary work. And it’s free. And it’s right there. And it’s always growing.

I was trolling through some old favorites the other day when I looked at this excerpt from Beckett’s Watt. Not only is the cruel, cold, absolutely resigned, repetitive writing of this passage beautiful in that special way that only Beckett’s work is, but the typography and composition (letters + negative space) of this web version is as well. I assume that it is a fortuitous accident (as much typography is). Or perhaps not an accident, but an incredible convergence.

CYNICAL CONCEPTUAL PRACTICE #4: FORM VS. FUNCTION

Cynical Conceptual Practice #4: Form vs. Function
Found objects
2007

OLD, NEW, ALWAYS

From Steve Edwards’s chapter “‘Profane Illumination:’ Photography and Photomontage in the USSR and Germany,” in Art of the Avant-Gardes, ed. Steve Edwards and Paul Wood (London: The Open University/Yale University Press, 2004), 408-409:

[…] Rodchenko’s extreme viewpoints can be seen as a version of the Russian Formalist theory of “defamiliarization” or “making strange” […]. The Formalists were literary and linguistic scholars, working before and immediately after the First World War, who argued that everyday perception was dull, static and habitual. “Our perception has withered away,” suggested the prominent Formalist Viktor Shklovsky, “what has remained is mere recognition.” The Formalists advocated literary techniques that sliced through routinized views of the world. The principle way that they thought this could be achieved was by “foregrounding the device,” or calling attention to the construction of the literary text as a way of increasing the reader’s attention. By focusing on the techniques and procedures employed to make works of art, the Formalists believed, the world could be made to appear strange again, heightening consciousness of the artwork. Prewar Formalism was largely apolitical, but after the Russian Revolution the theorists associated with LEF gave these ideas a left-wing turn, arguing that atrophied perception was a consequence of bourgeois consciousness. Capitalist ideology, they claimed, mystified perception, because it was based on mere appearances rather than on the actual relationships that structured society: bourgeois perception was deemed individualist, static and formal, rather than dynamic, contradictory and collective. According to the left avant-garde, the first condition for any critical art was to draw attention to its own status as representation or ideology: art was to be used to reveal the illusion, not to conceal it. This politicized version of Formalism came to be known as the “formalist-sociological method.” Rodchenko’s unusual points of view should be seen in the light of this theory. His extreme angles of vision draw attention to the role of the camera in making images and invite the viewer to consider new ways of looking at everyday life. These unusual perspectives were designed to pull viewers up short, causing them to reflect on what they were seeing. Elizar Langman, a photographic colleague of Rodchenko, summed up this perspective, claiming his own tilted horizons were intended to “irritate the viewer with something, to kick him out of a dull standard.” […]

[emphasis added]

MCBA PRIZE FINAL FINALIST ANNOUNCED

And the winner is:

Veronika Schäpers!

To see images of the books and read her statement go here.

Congratulations to Veronika and all of the finalists!

EXPERIMENTAL BROADSIDES

Pictured above is the design for the first broadside, with text from MLKNG SCKLS, by Justin Sirois.

Not really.

This is an image of an unfinished design, unfinished because I moved on to a different idea, to make, I think, a series of objects that will be far stranger in the end. But I still like that way this one looks, so I thought I’d share.

ON THE SIDE

As part of the publishing escalation leading up to and through the 10th year of the NewLights Press, we will be releasing a series of broadsides. Of course this is the NewLights Press and we can’t let anything be, so these won’t be like traditional broadsides (i.e. text paired with “appropriate” image/illustration). We will be trying to make them into pieces that are text-image-process total objects, in the concrete sense, in the Beckett sense (“total object, complete with missing parts”). Some sort of variable editions produced through a combination of letterpress printing, collage, delamination, and mixed media drawing. Some sort of terrible mess. Late last night after a few hours of labor on the design for the first piece, I think I hit upon the structural idiom, as least for the first three. It is (as one may have guessed) strange, minimal, and somewhat unsettling. To provide a clue, the main typeface is 48 pt. Arial Black. I am curious to see how these will come out…

The broadside series will be ongoing, released sporadically in editions of 25 (that number might increase based on interest) or so, probably about $40-$50 apiece (they involve a fair amount of handwork). They will be distributed through this website, either as individual pieces when they are ready, or, you can buy a 12 month subscription for $100, which will get you all of the broadsides (three guaranteed, almost certainly more, and probably some other fun stuff, that price includes shipping too) that are produced within that 12 month period. Purchase through PayPal at the right, or contact me directly at newlightspress[at]gmail[dot]com.

The authors for the first three broadsides are:

Brian Evenson
Justin Sirois
John Yau

More will follow as I hear from other folks. Interested in submitting? Let me know (at email provided above).

BOOK No. 1

Book No. 1
Delaminated paper, collage, graphite, and gesso on handmade paper
16” x 20”
2006

Yes, I made the paper. Yes, I know how to make paper. Yes, I thoroughly enjoy making paper and I also thoroughly enjoy drawing and printing on the paper that I make.

SCHEMA No. 4

Schema No. 4
Delaminated paper, ink wash, gesso, and finger/hand prints on handmade paper
15” x 19”
2006

This drawing was made by using a combination of the two techniques described previously.

SCHEMA No. 1

Schema No. 1
Graphite on handmade paper
15” x 19”
2006

This drawing’s composition was determined by combination of a medieval page design schema and the tracing of the piece torn off from the corner in 24 random positions. The resulting lines were then filled in with graphite, the only rule being that two areas of the same value could not share a border. I am still trying to figure out how to make an interesting book using this idea.

MONKISH BUSINESS

Monkish Business
Delaminated paper with hand prints
11” x 30”
Variable edition of 25
2006

“Delamination” is a process of cutting part of the way into a sheet of paper and peeling away about half of the layers, leaving a very shallow relief and a view of the paper’s interior. This print was made by stenciling the text in the middle, and then having my left hand (non-dominant for me) inked up while I was tracing that text with a Xacto knife.

MAKING PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES FOR FUN & PROFIT

I will be the regular instructor for the Photopolymer Platemaking Lab at the San Francisco Center for the Book in the Fall (I am filling in for the summer). I was working on my handout this morning, and here’s a taste of the excitement to come:

THE DEMANDS OF ON-DEMAND, part 3a

The other day I decided to put my money where my electronic mouth is and buy some POD books by Clifton Meador. I am interested in these for several reasons: 1) I’ve only ever seen reproductions of Meador’s work, 2) he is an offset-photo book artist that has jumped right into POD, so I’m interested to see what he’s done with it, and 3) I will finally be able to closely inspect one of these books. There will be a full report later.

THE DEMANDS OF ON-DEMAND, part 3

(A slight digression)

At some point/place (I can’t remember exactly where or when) in the discussion of POD books among the artists’ books community, someone (I can’t remember who) brought up using POD as a teaching tool. This teacher said that they used POD in order to teach their students about how to organize content in a book. The idea being that if the student does not have to worry about how they are going to physically make the book, then they can focus on the content. It is the reverse of when students first learn a binding structure by putting together a blank book.

Good idea. I will totally use it at some point (when I have that theoretical teaching position).

Of course, the problem with using POD as a way to manipulate “pure” content (even in an educational context) is that it operates under the assumption that the technology is somehow completely transparent and neutral, that it does not, or can not, or should not, bring up questions of form (the same could be said of the mass-produced, offset artists’ book).

But there is rarely a structured assignment that can adequately tackle all possible issues in artmaking.

It’s finally affordable for an artist to make a photographic book in a small edition. That changes things. I know several photo-based artists who have already taken advantage of this. I think it finally opens the door for NewLights to do some more photographically-oriented work, also it may allow an opportunity to engineer some books in order to produce an edition of altered books…

THE DEMANDS OF ON-DEMAND, part 2

How can the NewLights Press use Print-On-Demand (POD) books as a primary mode of production?

My first thought was to use POD to reproduce and distribute existing, unique/small edition books. This has obvious advantages, and it is hard for me to square my desire to get the books to as many readers as possible with the form-content-production-reception integrity of the individual pieces. To cite a specific example: recently a friend brought up the idea of a “trade” version of The Drownable Species, because it is a book that many people are interested in, but few can afford. And I am very tempted to do a POD book of it (Though I would have to ask Brian, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, because he’s the nicest guy in the world. Coincidentally, he has a new book of short stories out.) But the problem with REproducing The Drownable Species is that it was produced through a physical disruption of a normally straight reproductive process (the pouring of water onto still-wet inkjet prints). The inherent unpredictability of that process combined with the disorienting effect it has on the reader are central to the book. (They are not essential to the story, but the thing is, as always, is to make the book so that it becomes more than just a “nice” printing/binding of a text.)

A reproduction of the book would mimic those effects. The idea would still be conveyed. Ah, there’s the problem: “the idea would still be conveyed.” The process of re-production would transform the book from a concrete (primary, actual) object into a representational (secondary, symbolic, simulacral) object. The real thing made into a sign for the real thing.

But it would be great to get the book out to more readers. A trade edition might even help sell more copies of the limited edition. It would be nice to sell more books, but this is not about money. At some point in the future, the story will be published in a collection of Brian’s stories. So the story will always be available…

TO BE CONTINUED!

THE DEMANDS OF ON-DEMAND, part 1A

The artist Clifton Meador (who I have quoted in earlier posts) has some books on the POD site Lulu.com, where you can order them directly.

THE DEMANDS OF ON-DEMAND

Yesterday I was thinking about Print-On-Demand, about making some books using Print-On-Demand (POD). While I have no problem using the technology and relinquishing the handmade-ness of the books (for some projects, not all), there are, I think, some important questions to consider before going into this (questions that I had ignored in my initial rush of excitement about putting a lot of books out, which is a main source of excitement and despair these days). Or maybe one important idea, coined by Philip Zimmerman:

“Production NOT Reproduction”

A very important idea when one is an artist using re-productive technology as a primary productive process. (The relationship between production and reproduction requires more investigation) So the question is how can the NewLights Press use POD books as a primary mode of production?

TO BE CONTINUED!

BUY THIS BOOK

I did, finally:

http://www.publishinggenius.com/msdetails.html

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: SUBJECT

Subject: (n) 1. a person or thing that is being discussed or dealt with or that gives rise to something. What is the subject of this sentence? 2. a thinking or feeling entity; the conscious mind or ego. The relationship between the producing subject and the receiving subject. (adj) (subject to) 1. likely or prone to be affected by (something bad). The subject of my desire. 2. dependent or conditional upon. Subject to this discourse. 3. under the control or authority or of. Subject to this discourse. (v) (usually subject someone/thing to) 1. cause or force to undergo. Subject to this discourse. 2. bring under one’s own control or jurisdiction, typically be force. Subject to this desire.

INNUENDO

From Clifton Meador, “Afterword” to the essay “I (heart) DIY CMYK (an homage),” JAB: The Journal of Artists’ Books #25 (Spring 2009): 23:

[…] where four-color printing has an authority or ubiquity unlike any other medium, learning to take control of that medium and produce work that challenges the transparency of the medium can be seen as a radical gesture. […] When artists produce work that decodes the transparency of a medium, everyone becomes aware of how the illusion is created. Instead of the glamour, innuendo, and the false promises of advertising, we see smears of magenta, cyan, and yellow ink expensively and carefully arranged on a piece of industrially manufactured paper. And once we understand how the magic trick is created, we are less likely to believe the lie. […]

Print media has been killed by digital media in the same way that photography killed painting many years ago. Finally, we can get to sleep. Finally, we can get to work.

EMERGENCY

From Andrew Joron’s incredible essay “The Emergency,” found in The Cry at Zero (Denver: Counterpath Press, 2007) 7-9:

“[…] Within the complex system of language, a word’s meaning is ‘edged’—and chaotically conditioned—by the meanings of all other words. Communication attempts to crystallize this chaos by establishing fixed relations between the meanings of particular words. But such language-crystals melt and reform constantly in response to their (subjectively mediated) surroundings. (Complex systems are typically open systems to which rigid concepts of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ do not apply. Such openness allows them to extremely sensitive to changes in the environment.) In this process, communication proves susceptible to structural failure. The abyssal turbulence of language as a whole, always brimming beneath the surface of stabilized meaning, can initiate a spontaneous phase transition that accelerates words far beyond equilibrium, toward the condition of poetry.

Poetry is the self-organized criticality of the cry.

(The concept of ‘self-organized criticality’ can be illustrated by pouring a quantity of sand onto a tabletop: the fallen particles will build up into a conical pile. This shape is the product of self-organization, for the pile maintains itself around a critical vertex, a balance-point between order and chaos. Once this critical point is reached, the effect of a single particle’s impact on the pile can no longer be predicted. One particle may cause a chain reaction of cascades upon impact, while another may rest where it falls. Not only have the system’s elements spontaneously organized themselves in response to an influx of energy, but the system as a whole has ‘tuned’ itself toward a state of criticality, where single events have the widest possible range of effects.)

A poem tunes itself toward a state of criticality, a condition of language in which single words have the widest possible range of effects. […]”

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: READ

Read: (v) 1. look at and comprehend the meaning of (written or printed matter) by interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed. I wasn’t able to read while I was underwater. 2. to mentally project a meaningful text over the surfaces of things, places, and/or people. You are so easy to read. 3. to construct a meaning from (an object). Only he was able to read the sacred tablets. 4. An active method of information retrieval. I could not stand up to the constant reading and rereading. 5. a method of information retrieval that gives the receiver control over the temporal object, as opposed to listening or viewing, where the receiver must adjust themselves to the pace of the object. This dictatorial attention.

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: STABLE SIGNIFICATION (STATE OF)

Stable Signification: the state in which an object achieves or is ascribed a single, set meaning, thus rendering it almost useless in a dynamic system. Usually stable signification is just an illusion and is easily dispelled with time and patience. Belief in an object’s state of being a stable signifier will often lead to the degradation of its form to a style, while simultaneously allowing its fixed meaning to be assigned a commodity value. Objects can only be bought and sold (intellectually, aesthetically, commercially) if quantified. Quantification and stabilization can be counteracted with the steady pressure of the precise science of softness, disruption, and imprecision.

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: LEGIBLE-LEGIBILITY

Legible: (adj) (of handwriting or print) clear enough to read. The printing of this book could be more legible.

Legibility: (n) (of an object's discursive affect) a component or series of components in an object which can be read. A legibility is not necessarily bound to any intention of an object’s producer, but can stand separate as the shape of an object’s path (through the reception of individual reading subjects and/or through the culture at large) is traced. A legibility is ongoing and is constantly activated—it only exists in the reading-movement of the object. The printing of this book could not be more legible.

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: FUTILITY-HOPE

Acceptance of Futility: 1. a condition in which objects can be made. Usually derived from the practice of logical problem solving as a means to create more problems. Can be positive or negative, personal or social. 2. A reason to, or not to, “get out of bed” in the “morning.”

Hopeful(ly): a condition characterized by the belief that “things will change for the better.” Often placed in opposition to the acceptance of futility, although some believe that the two conditions are actually the same thing, represented in two different ways.

NEWLIGHTS GLOSSARY: OBJECT

Object: (n) 1. Some thing that is made, or some thing that can be manipulated, but not necessarily both. Also, some thing that may or may not mean something. I object. 2. A series of effects clustered around or emanating from a single theme. These two objects are connected. 3. A purpose, goal, or focus. What is the object of this sentence? 4. Any thing (usually not living) that is not oneself. The object of my desire. 5. A formerly living thing. The abject object. 6. A living thing reduced to a series of effects or its base materiality. The object of my desire.

ETC.

Publishing Genius has released a new book, MLKNG SCKLS, by Justin Sirois. They are holding a contest related to it as well.

A friend sent me a link to Jen Bervin’s website.

Another friend, James Tucker, has just started a blog.

Lately I’ve been thinking about how next year will be year 10 of the NewLights Press, and about how if I want to do something significant to mark that fact, I should start planning now. But what to do? A reading? An exhibition? Both? Perhaps. Or how about an entire year of sustained, high energy publishing activity? How about 6 chapbooks, one every 2 months? (My first idea was to do 12, one per month, but I realized I probably wouldn’t be able to do much else.) And by chapbooks I mean artists’ books too, but (hopefully) not by me…

SAN FRANCISCO ZINE FEST

Zines have a special place in my heart. I first learned to screenprint, run a Vandercook, and bind books in class about making zines. Our textbook was A Secret Location on the Lower East Side by Steve Clay and Rodney Phillips. At the end of that semester, when the first book was done, the NewLights Press was founded. My life changed. I had found it.

Registration is now open for this year’s San Francisco Zine Fest, which is taking place on August 22nd and 23rd at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. Click here for the official website, including full registration information.

I am on the organizing committee this year, and it is my personal Zine Fest Mission to get more artists’ books and independent literary publishers tabling there. So if you’re an artist book/independent literary publisher, you should get a table. Why? Mainly because it’s fun. I really love doing shows like these (the Zine Fest will be my fourth this year); it’s just great to sit at the table and show people your work. Some get really excited about it. Some even buy some of it.

The second reason: it’s cheap. $90 for a full table, $45 for a half. You can’t beat that price. What have you got to lose? Find a friend and share a table.

Although the event is called the Zine Fest and zines/comix are the primary focus, there will be other kinds of work at the show: printmaking, other art stuff, DIY craft, etc. And I think the show and the people involved benefit from seeing a wide range of work. So come on out and share your books, ideas, and enthusiasm with the larger publishing community.

WE'RE NOT HERE

Facing the terror of the blank, white screen this morning, I thought of the following passage from the “Preface” of Gilles Deleuze’s Difference & Repetition (trans. by Paul Patton. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994) xxi:

[…] How else can one write but of those things which one doesn’t know, or knows badly? It is precisely there that we imagine having something to say. We write only at the frontiers of our knowledge, at the border which separates our knowledge from our ignorance and transforms the one into the other. Only in this manner are we resolved to write. […]

And I think about the necessity of writing and I wonder who this blog, who these books are for. Is this for you, reader, my haphazard electronic shadow? Is this for me, the writer? The I, the me, is not in here. This is not my voice.

This is an object in the ghost world. It is external. Once can see its shape, its flaws.

Form is necessary. Necessary but not static. A channel through time. A translucent window. A perpetually repeating moment of coalescence. But neither of us are here, nor should we want to be, nor should we want us to be. Simply the here and we look on coldly.

We are united in the gaze at this spinning. It is nice to see you again, but neither of us is here. Just this spinning, the void, ever dilating. Nice to see you again.

I am motivated by a strong desire to write, to make books. I have nothing to express, nothing to say. This is not my voice. This is a desire to make external, to see, manipulate, and understand. This is a desire for, a rage for, a reptilian interest in, the reptilian function of thought. This is a desire to see what this can do.

It snakes.

Ghosts of Old Sam. All that fall. Not my voice.

It snakes. The fingerprints on the window.

MCBA PRIZE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Minnesota Center for Book Arts has announced the five finalists for the inaugural MCBA prize. You can view the list of winners and images of all the entries here:

http://www.mnbookarts.org/events/mcbaprize.html

Congratulations to all of the winners!