Favorite Questionnaire Publications The field of independent publishing is still growing these days. What do you by think comes after this boom? Probably some kind of generalR-diffusion, ization, then a crash, and then it will Strasbourg (FR) all start again, hopefully wiser. For
R-diffusion Nicolas Simonin R-diffusion 16 Rue Eugène Delacroix 67200 Strasbourg France T +33 (0) 9 65293598 r-diffusion.org Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 17 p.m. R-diffusion was created so that small independent publishing houses supporting contemporary art and its critical thought could have a better distribution and circulation. It is an offspring of Rhinoceros, an artist, designer and writer collective based in Strasbourg, France. R-diffusion started as a tactical answer to issues we had with our own publications such as Livraison. It is now an ever growing network representing about 60 small scale publishers.
some reason, some things become fashionable, then they are not anymore, and they just disappear. But independent publishing is too much work for just that. So it is likely that there will still be many people willing to take the time, space and involvement it takes to produce complex meaning – and publish it. Are books and magazines still infor mational tools, like in the past, or are they already crafted pieces of art and a proof of quality? Usually both. But it often is a slightly different kind of information, craft, and quality then that what is suggested by market values and industrial broadcasters. Paper publishing cannot compete in terms of speed, but the process is suitable for careful thinking. And the reader can also take the time to think twice before buying a book in a world full of free information. It isn’t necessarily a proof of anything, but you should have some kind of good reason to publish or read something. Do you think small independent pub lishing houses, with crafted limited editions, would survive easier at the market than big companies? That depends on what is considered survival. We are a notfor-profit organization, and many publishing houses we work with are too. So we will survive as long as we want to, as survival means existence. But we are still very far from the possibility of making a living on R-diffusion – and all the same for many of the publishers we represent. On the other hand, we do believe that publishing is viable if it is but one of many other activities, all of which may well turn out to be sustainable as a whole.
Le clou dans le fer éditions, Collection Form[e]s, Paris (FR) lecloudanslefer.fr
Art conceptuel, une enthologie Editions MIX, Paris (FR) editionsmix.org
Comment faire un happening is the French translation by Gauthier Herrmann of a transcript of How to Make a Happening, a sound piece by Allan Kaprow made in 1966 with the label Mass Art and issued as a vinyl record by Something Else Press. Comment faire un happening is both a historical piece of writing, and a really practical handbook about how to make (your own) happenings. It is a cheap book you can keep with you in your pocket, and the texture of the paper waits for handwritten comments while you are designing your next action. 64 pages, 12,8 cm × 19.5 cm, b / w, soft cover, 2011
Even if this book is already a few years old, we chose it because it is an important landmark for the existence of R-diffusion. It is a sample of our long collaboration with Fabien Vallos from Editions MIX, and it is also one of the first books that made obvious to us that an alternative publishing network was both necessary and possible. Art conceptuel, Une Entologie is the first anthology in French to gather writings by conceptual artists of the 60s and 70s. A thick book by 42 artists contributing 300 pieces, most of which were never translated. A classic reference. 528 pages, 15 cm × 21 cm, b / w, soft cover, 2008
Wallpaperism Boabook, Genève (CH) boabooks.com
Klaus Scherübel: Vol. 13 Fonderie Darling, Montréal (CA) fonderiedarling.org
Boabook, founded by Izet Sheshivari, is a publishing house specializing in contemporary books, multiples, and holds a position as a critical platform in the on-going development of art publishing. Wallpaperism is designed as an extended version of the eponymous group exhibition curated by artist Nick Oberthaler for Motel Campo in Geneva. All the works made on his request were only displayed during the exhibition and, given the fleeting nature of any wallpaper, were subsequently destroyed. The book Wallpaperism is a sample of the exhibition, consisting of 31 Din A4-format partial reproductions of the works. 82 pages, 21 cm × 29.7 cm, b / w, black glued on left side, 2011
This publication offers a first survey of the multi-facetted work of the Austrian / Canadian artist Klaus Scherübel. His work involves a systematic investigation of artistic activity questioning the limits that separate the function of the artist from those of historian, curator, editor, sponsor or spectator. Using a variety of aesthetic strategies, his undertakings reconsider works, concepts and genres issuing from the visual arts, literature, cinema and TV. Scherübel has personally taken charge of the conception of this book – in the process giving us a publication that is both about his self-reflexive artistic approach and an extension of it. 192 pages, 16 cm × 24 cm, full color, hard cover, 2012
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