Printed matter has a long history of circumventing institutional systems and a reputation as a vehicle for critique. Since the advent of the printing press, the easily reproducible nature of self-publishing has aided countless social movements. From the pamphlets of the White Rose movement to the zines of Riot Grrrls, activists and artists have used publishing as a means of disseminating ideas and have maintained a stronghold in how we engage with resistance even in the digital age. Building communities of like-minded individuals has been imperative in the shaping and reshaping of the collective conscious.
As an art form that is often disregarded by the art market, the canon, and institutions, printed matter has the ability to flow outside mainstream channels and has become an accessible mode for cultural critique. It comes as no surprise that in this era of smartphones and Siri, we are drawn to the tactile and ephemeral properties of artists’ books, editions, multiples, zines, magazines, and ephemera. They offer a visceral response yet there is sturdiness and confidence attached to the objecthood of printed matter.
Art book fairs are not simply commercial endeavours but sites for community gathering and knowledge sharing. The printed matter community is rich and diverse in its interests and aesthetics, but nonetheless, benefits greatly from opportunities to engage in conversation and critique with other like-minded individuals. The Vancouver Art Book Fair (VABF) is a free, public, multi-day celebration dedicated to printed matter and self-publishing. For eight years VABF has presented a dynamic roster of artists, publishers, presses, zinesters, makers, performers, and digital dreamers from across the globe.
Like so many fairs of its size and scale, VABF has gone virtual in light of COVID-19. Although this is a great disappointment to the regular participants, it is a unique opportunity for VABF to showcase vendors and attract visitors that might not be able to attend the fair. This year, VABF will feature four prairie-based publishers: Gytha Press, Brent Morley Smith, Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art, and The New Gallery. Each of these publishers showcase a unique perspective from each corner of the printed matter realm.
Gytha Press, based in Calgary, primarily creates and distributes comics and zines. As active members of the Calgary art community, co-founders Archie Sarjeant (Editor) and Liz McCord (Executive Director) centre the ethos of Gytha Press on their circle of artists and readers. By joining the Gytha Press Patreon, for the accessible fee of $3, you will receive full access to their online library “because access to culture is for everyone, not just those with a buck.”
Gytha Press distributes their free publication Toad Hex to businesses and art galleries across Calgary as well as downloadable files on their website. The two-page broadsheet features comics, drawings, and articles from a dynamic roster of artists. As the name suggests, Toad Hex explores themes like the occult, anthropomorphic animals, institutional criticism, and humour. Toad Hex showcases the wonderfully dynamic breadth of contemporary comic styles and narratives.
Image courtesy of Gytha Press.
Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is one of Canada’s oldest spaces dedicated to contemporary art and has a long, rich history emboldening Winnipeg artists. Plug In prides itself on its holistic approach to supporting their art community – presenting, producing and circulating contemporary art through research, exhibitions, publications, education, outreach and advocacy. Plug In recently hosted a virtual edition of the Prairie Art Book Fair which featured an incredible roster of events and showcased a curated selection of independent presses and publishing projects.
In 2017, Plug In collaborated with celebrated Filipino-Canadian multidisciplinary artist Patrick Cruz to create an incredible neoprene tote bag titled External Packaging to complement his exhibition “Titig Kayumanggi (Brown Gaze).” The bag features stacked boxes in an encompassing, colourful setting of Cruz’s paintings, known for his immersive painting, vibrant colour pallet, assemblage installation style and gestural lines. The Plug In website describes Cruz’s practice as “Influenced by his personal experience of migration to Canada in 2005, Cruz harvests the detritus of capitalist society as actor and point of reflection on globalization, displacement and migration.”
Image courtesy of Plug In ICA.
The New Gallery (TNG) is an artist-run-centre in Calgary with an extraordinary library of publications and editions by Canadian and international artists, many of which were created during TNG programs. As their website explains, TNG is dedicated to providing “opportunities and venues for artists that foster social and political art practices, while engaging and educating audiences through artist-run culture and contemporary art.” TNG has been a vital part of the Alberta art community for over 45 years and operates a gallery space, billboard space, resource centre, and online platform.
Dream Well (2019) is a set of silkscreened pillowcases by Cindy Mochizuki. The artists’ multiple comes from an edition of 17 and showcases an array of hand-drawn characters and objects, perfectly encapsulating the fragmentation of last night’s dream. Mochizuki’s multi-dimensional projects are often site-specific and engage historical memory, displacement, and the invisible.
Brent Morley Smith is a photographer who uses a wide variety of cameras to create beautiful, sentimental zines and artists’ books. His books are simple and clean in form, often neatly housing the photographs in the centre of the page with a wide cream border. The excessive empty space tightens the rich, full images. He uses delicate details, such as red binding string, to personalize the narratives–never letting the reader forget that we are simply voyeurs into his life. Brent Morley Smith currently resides in Calgary but it is his personal history in Montreal that is often memorialized in his photographs and zines.
The Vancouver Art Book Fair is taking place virtually from October 17th to 18th with an incredible roster of programming. Although the fair is free to the public, VABF Members are offered special perks, including access to the Member’s Preview Event, a studio tour by Vivian Sming, and discounts on a number of publications. By becoming a VABF Member you are supporting the printed matter community, Canadian artists, and your local independent publishers.
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