Self-publishing an Artist's Book: An Artist's Journey into the Book Publishing World
In September 2005, 2,000 books were delivered from Singapore to my home in Watertown, Masssachusetts. This was the result of a four year long project of my participation and documentation of an adult webcam community. Along the way I collected thousands of images of people along with screen shots of actual chat text from a site where people come to have virtual sex. The book is about the amateur pornography that takes place in virtual space. Interwoven into this collection I also wrote my own narrative. Having been trained as a graphic designer I did the layout design and prepress of my book webAffairs. This presentation will also address the challenges of publishing an art book about internet nudity and sex in today's political climate.
As an artist, I am attracted to the idea of the book because it ostensibly democratizes art by delivering the art work to an audience for a cheap price. I also like the intimacy of a book; one can take it home, read it on one's own time, and keep it. The book is a beautiful object. As an artistic medium it allows for the development of a narrative and creates an opportunity for complex interrelationships.
The delivery of the book to my basement, however, was only the beginning of the second part of the task. The next set of challenges were in self-distribution, getting the attention of the press and selling through my own website. The presentation will examine the position of the artist in relation to the publishing industry.
Keywords: Artist's Book, Self-Publishing
Chantal Zakari
Regular Faculty, Text and Image Arts Area, School of the Museum of Fine Arts
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Ref: B06P0169