Category Archives: Book Fair

2017 Printed Matter NYABF

Jut got back from the New York Art Book Fair at MoMA/PS1. It’s day one and crowded already. I brought home bit of paper as you can see.

If you’re into art, books, art books, artists books, photography, photo books, design, zines, typography, posters, art history, social justice, naked people, free stuff, expensive stuff or anything else, you’ll probably find something to entertain and delight you at the fair.

I enjoyed chatting very briefly with AnticHam at the Red Fox Press table and seeing their new work. As always, wish I had money for their big books.

Zoe at the Datz Press table recognized me after having met me only briefly last year at their bookstore/cafe/darkroom/printing shop in Seoul. When I bought Minny Lee’s Encounters, she texted Minny to come back to the table to sign it! Minny told me all about her book and the work she’s making lately, then walked me over to the ICP/Bard table to show me her more informal artist book there, My Walden–which I also got a copy of and she signed, of course. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Barbara Bosworth, who also was hanging around the Datz Press table. Her Fireflies scroll(!) was cool as hell and beautifully boxed. As a design object, it really sums up what Datz Press is all about. I also got a copy of Gap Chul Lee’s Black Wind.

Anyone who’s in NYC ought to go check out the fair, though I would suppose anyone who’s reading this blog probably already has plans to…

Seoul Lunar Photo happening now!

If you’re in Seoul this week, check out the Seoul Lunar Photo festival events. Wish I could get there for it. Best of luck to the organizers and participating artists!

Here’s what it’s all about:

Seoul Lunar Photo Fest is an event that brings to life the meeting place between people and photography. In an era of the advent of smartphones and the diffusion of hundreds of thousands of photos a day, it was inevitable that concerns over the way in which we encounter photos and discern good images would arise. Moving beyond the exhibition space of uniformly hung frames, it’s only natural that the demands of the contemporary world would expand the definition of images include music and other video media. Centered on the Seochon(West Village) area, Seoul Lunar Photo Fest seeks to convey the beauty of these new channels of images through experimental, free-form displays. Diverse work will be explored through collaborative efforts by photographers, musicians, sound creators and visual artists.

via.

A Conversation with Sangyon Joo of Datz Press

Portrait: Sangyon Joo, photographer and publisher of Datz PressOn October 26th, Sangyon Joo of Datz Press came by KPB HQ to talk about her experiences as a publisher, curator and photographer. We’d first met during Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair at PS1 when I stopped by the Datz Press booth. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

MNM: Sangyon, thank you so much for making the time to come out to Brooklyn for this conversation. I am delighted to have you here and looking forward to the conversation.

SYJ: This is the fifth issue in our magazine, Gitz. Our conversation reminds me of somebody we profiled in the magazine, a Korean book collector who collects books about Korea. The books he collects were made by Western people who came to Korea in the early years, a hundred years ago. They saw the Korean people and culture and archived their observations in books. They collected and spread exotic cultures in their home countries. He goes to Western bookstores to collect these books about Korea and brings them back to Korea to show to us. It says a lot to me about how books work and how books can go around sharing culture. I think it is a very interesting job mixing Western views of Korea—we can see ourselves through their eyes and can find ourselves through their eyes. Something really great can be done with books.
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NY Art Book Fair 2015

Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair opens this afternoon at MoMA’s PS1 (actually it opened last night with a VIP Preview).

Red Fox Press, several of whose books have been reviewed here, will be in attendance, and I’m looking forward to seeing Francis and Hye Mee again at this year’s fair.

Also exhibiting is the Seoul based Datz Press. This publisher is new to me. I can’t wait to meet them and to see what they’ve brought.

Franticham at Printed Matter Art Book Fair @ PS1

I spent a rushed hour swinging through Printed Matter‘s NY Art Book Fair at PS1 this afternoon. The museum was a veritable zoo; to say it was thronged would be an understatement. With all the bumping and brushing of the crowds, I found it difficult to take in the books or to really focus on them. Next year I’ll be sure to go on the Friday when the crowds are thinner and the focus is on seeing rather than being seen. It was a bit of a scene today.

While there were dozens of publishers showing hundreds (thousands?) of books, the highlight of the fair for me was a quick conversation with Anticham and Francis van Meale of the Red Fox Press. I find their books delightful and I bought two to add to the half dozen I already own. Tomorrow’s review will be about one of these books. A future review will look at a broader selection of books by them. Hopefully we can figure out an interview somehow sometime soon.

If you’re in New York you should cancel all of your plans for Sunday and head over to PS1 to check out the fair. It’s hot, noisy and crowded, but it’s worth braving these hassles to see the full breadth of Franticham’s oeuvre. Their new book of screen printed LA-scapes is fantastic (though a bit out of my reach). And there’s plenty of other stuff to see at the fair, something for every taste.

Bad photographer that I am, I didn’t take any pictures. Not even with my cellphone.