A visit to Printed Matter in 1992 (Artist's Book Series XIX)

In March 1992 I had to chance to visit Printed Matter in person. It was a bit overwhelming, so I made only a few small purchases. 

The highlights were the smallest items, two little works by Rosemary Cowan; tiny complex works with immaculate paper skills. 

The other items included Jacques Benoit's Seeds of Change and Dana Henry's A Portfolio of Vanishing Species.

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Jacques Benoit
Seeds of Images / Graines d'Images (1992)
Montigny-sur-Loing, France, Self-Published
French/English text with illustrations; single large sheet attached to printed
folder/cover
Cost: $2.00 | x6556c

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Rosemary S.Cowan
Eto: A Miniature Book: “He was a bold man who first ate an oyster” (1991)
Albuquerque, NM, New Source Studios
Small accordion folded strip with quote and rubber-stamp illustrations; decorative paper cover
Cost: $1.00 | x07018a

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Rosemary S.Cowan
Eto: A Miniature Book: “Proverbs not the mind – Kelly Cowan” (1991)
Albuquerque, NM, New Source Studios
Small accordion folded strip with quote and rubber-stamp illustrations; decorative paper cover
Cost: $1.00 | x07018b

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Dana Henry
A Portfolio of Vanishing Species. vol. 1 : Squirrels (1991)
Ramsey, MN, Black Dog Press
5 printed cards with illustrations of squirrels encased in a small portfolio; inspired by quote from Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan questioning genetic diversity 
Cost: $4.00 | x6094c

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No mail art, but mail-order Artist's Books from Printed Matter (Artist's Book Series IX)

In an earlier post (Printed Matter, the artist's book pilgrimage site (Artist's Book Series VIII), I covered my introduction to the great Printed Matter store. At the time I only knew Printed Matter from their mail-order catalog. Now, having enjoyed the tactile experience of purchases at Bookworks (see Bookworks, a bookshop for artist's books at the Washington Project for the Arts [Artist's Book Series I]), I was a bit hesitant to jump into buying sight unseen, but did anyway.

For my purchase, I selected four items:

Sol LeWitt, The Location of Eight Points (1977, 1974)

This item was a reprint of LeWitt's earlier (1974) work. In addition to being a master of the Minimalist School, LeWitt was also a key figure in the founding of Printed Matter and, at $2.00, it was a low-barrier way to add a "name" artist to my budding collection.

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Tuli Kupferberg, Kill for Peace, Again (1987)

Kupferberg was a bit of a greybeard -- by the 1990s -- of the counterculture, avante-garde movement of the 1960s. A founding member of The Fugs, he was on the barricades of art early on. This work, a newsprint "magazine" was a update to his classic 1965 work (Kill for Peace).

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Louise Neaderland, Open Roads/Empty Nests (1988)

Another opportunity to add a high profile artist to the collection. I had been a fan of Neaderland for a while. Noted for her work as print-maker, book artist, and for me, as founder-director of the International Society of Copier Artists (I.S.C.A.). The ISCA, and its publication, The ISCA Quarterly, influenced my collecting habits and tastes of artist's books.

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Sol LeWitt
The Location of Eight Points (1977, 1974)
New York, Max Protech Gallery
Text, with accompanying illustrations, describing geometric figures
Cost: $2.00 | x01136 | Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection

Tuli Kupferberg
Kill for Peace, Again (1987)
New York, Strolling Dog Press
Offset printed text/collage/drawings of a left-wing political bent
Cost: $1.00 | x03288

Louise Neaderland
Open Roads/Empty Nests (1988)
New York, Bone Hollow Arts
Xeroxed maps and photographs; pictorial narrative
Cost: $5.00 | x04720

A fourth book purchased in that mail-order transaction, Sharon Gilbert's Green the Fragile (1989) will be covered in a separate post:

Sharon Gilbert
Green the Fragile (1989)
New York, Self-Published
Xerographic collage/text encouraging Green thinking and saving the trees. Signed: 76/300 
Cost: $2.00 | x04442 |  Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection

Printed Matter, the artist's book pilgrimage site (Artist's Book Series VIII)

Printed Matter is THE artist's book store. With both a physical location and an online ordering option, this is the place for an artist to place their book and for the collector to find thousands of books in one place. Printed Matter describes itself as follows:

"Printed Matter is the world''s largest non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of publications made by artists. Founded as a for-profit alternative arts space in 1976 by artists and artworkers, Printed Matter reincorporated in 1978 to become the independent non-profit organization that it is today. Originally situated in Tribeca, Printed Matter moved to SoHo in 1989 where for twelve years the book displays and artists’ projects in the large storefront windows contributed to the artistic and intellectual vibrancy of the neighborhood. In 2001 Printed Matter relocated to Chelsea, where it continued to foreground the book as an alternative venue - or artistic medium - for artists’ projects and ideas. Finally, in December of 2005 Printed Matter moved into our current storefront location in Chelsea with big windows and greatly increased display and exhibition space. Recognized for years as an essential voice in the increasingly diversified art world conversations and debates, Printed Matter is dedicated to the examination and interrogation of the changing role of artists’ publications in the landscape of contemporary art." (Website)

The founders of Printed Matter is a who's who of contemporary (meaning late 20th century) artists:

• Carl Andre
• Edit DeAk
• Sol LeWitt
• Lucy Lippard
• Walter Robinson
• Pat Steir
• Mimi Wheeler
• Robin White
• Irena von Zahn

Particularly useful is the Online Catalog. Here you can search the thousands of books available, as well as many that are no longer in stock (the online catalog replaced the printed catalog). There is also a Research Room online that helps you to learn more about artist's books.

The current address is 195 Tenth Avenue New York, NY 10011 in the Chelsea district of New York. I paid my first visit to the store (19 March 1992) when it had just recently moved to a spot in the Dia Foundation's building at 77 Wooster Street in "the heart of SoHo" (as the Spring Catalogue, 1990 states). Earlier, however, I had taken advantage of their mail order and purchased books that way, but it wasn't the same same as buying in person.

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