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Self-publishing
Bookmaking as a formof artistic activity has a rich
heritage and has played a significant if peripheral role
within creative production for well over fifty years. In
the last five years, however, a shift has occurred.
Artists’ books and printed matter have gained a greater prominence, most
noticeably through the sharp increase in artists’ book fairs.
At the core of artists’ self-publishing is its relationship with control,
dissemination and distribution of ideas. Following a clear historical
precedent, self-publishing culture offers freedom from the editorial
restrictions exerted by mainstream publishing and print distribution
processes, whilst also circumventing gallery systems to reach new
audiences. Publication is to make public. Authorship is entirely
attributed to the artist, with ideas freely or affordably exchanged.
a successful artist-led project space and reading
room, brings critical attention to the role of dissemination in artists’
self-publishing. Sited on a London railway platform, Banner Repeater
facilitates the distribution of artists’ pamphlets, posters and printed
material to the 4,000 commuters that pass through the station daily.
“The technologies that can now be found easily online certainly
contribute to a broader activity of what it means to ‘publish’,”
says founder Ami Clarke. “Post-digital publishing makes use of all
available technologies ... interest in the conventions of printing on
paper is certainly far from over.”
Clarke is one of the many who feel that technological advances offer
unprecedented opportunities to the artist self-publisher.
The full article by Catherine Roche can be read on the a-n News site
at
Banner Repeater Archive.
catherine roche
is an artist,
lecturer and freelance writer
based in Cardiff.