The Classroom
Six Cinder Blocks on Top of a Wall, with Andrew Fedynak and Justin Fiset
For over 12 years Justin Fiset quietly documented the back-alleys around his home in West Los Angeles. Fiset’s photographs reveal a fascination with the latent narratives of these strange spaces, which in turn create a specific, often moving, sometimes humorous visual language. His debut 2021 publication, Six Cinder Blocks on Top of a Wall, was presented as a unique wabi-sabi art-object book published by Zatara Press. In this program, Fiset will be in conversation with the publisher, Andrew Fedynak, to talk about his creative process and approach, various artistic inspirations, and other stories related to his introspective documentation of these furtive landscapes. Presented by Zatara Press.
Publishing & Accessibility, with Caroline Kern, Jeanne Vaccaro, and Be Oakley
Caroline Kern (Pegacorn Press) will facilitate a conversation focusing on some of the challenges and considerations of navigating invisible illness and disability as working artists, publishers, and curators within the larger international art book community. The conversation includes scholar and curator Jeanne Vaccaro and Be Oakley (GenderFail), who will also share their experiences of maintaining their artistic practices as people with invisible illness. The pandemic has been referred to as one of the biggest mass disabling events of our lifetime, which has created more space for public discourse surrounding disability and chronic health conditions. This discussion aims to not only inform a larger audience about what these struggles look like, but also help create a sense of kinship for those who identify within the invisible illness spectrum. Presented by Pegacorn Press.
Royal Book Lodge, with John C. Welchman and Véronique Bourgoin
John C. Welchman, author of Royal Book Lodge (Hatje Cantz, 2023) and Véronique Bourgoin will introduce the history and achievements of this exuberant international network of artists formed in the late 1980s in Berlin, Paris, and Marseille, spearheaded by Bourgoin and Juli Susin. Known for its gorgeous and challenging artists’ books, Book Lodge collaborations have given rise to ceramics, photography, film, paintings, sculptures, and exhibitions; its spheres of activity range from European cities to projects in Iceland, Los Angeles, Miami, and Paraguay. Welchman will discuss how the RBL collaborated with former members of the Situationist International including Ralph Rumney, Pierro Simondo, and Gianfranco Sanguinetti. The presentation will be accompanied by an expansive selection of works, images, and contextual materials. Members of the collaborative group will likely be in attendance… in person, in disguise, or by remote control. Presented by Artbook D.A.P.
Can Only Be Hinted At With Words: Californian Text-Based Practices, with Alex Lukas, Sonya Sombreuil, Devin Reynolds, and Saber
The visual output of Californian artists has, for over half a century, embraced the written word as a site for aesthetic play, a tool for asserting identity, and a storytelling device—frequently employed to reflect the unique cultural space of the Golden State. Practitioners have embraced the written word-as-image through lyrical, playful, and colorful uses of text that stand in stark contrast with the cool, san-serif deadpan of their East Coast counterparts. This panel brings together several Los Angeles-based artists to discuss the local influences of their text-based practices, including hand-painted advertising, graffiti, technology, gentrification, migration, and Hollywood and automobile culture in order to explore what's next for the genre. Presented by Written Names Fanzine.
An Indigenous Present, with Jeffrey Gibson and Jenelle Porter
This landmark book is a gathering of more than 60 Native North American contemporary artists, musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, architects, writers, photographers, designers, and more, showcasing diverse approaches to Indigenous concepts, forms, and mediums. Conceived by Jeffrey Gibson, a renowned artist of Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee descent, and co-edited by independent curator Jenelle Porter, An Indigenous Present documents an increasingly visible and expanding field of Indigenous creative practice, foregrounding transculturalism over affiliation and contemporaneity over outmoded categories. Present by Delmonico Books.
The STUD, with Chloe Miller and Jeanne Vaccaro
Chloe Miller, former STUD bartender and keeper of the STUD Pin Archives, will be joined by scholar and curator Dr. Jeanne Vaccaro to discuss the history and legacy of the STUD, a legendary San Francisco queer bar. This important collection of pins, ephemera, and artwork by Paul “Gidget” Sinclair, notable regular and bartender at the STUD, will make their debut in a new publication by LAND AND SEA. Miller and Vaccaro will also discuss the stakes of preserving queer history and the process of forming an archive. Presented by LAND AND SEA.
Archiving Efforts on Latinx Music in the US, with Marcos Echeverria Ortiz and Osmar Romero
Marcos Echeverria Ortiz, author of The Lost Places of Salsa Music and director of Where We Were Safe, a documentary/oral history archive on the same topic, will be joined by Osmar Romero, director of LA's vinyl collective "El Marchante” to discuss the importance of archiving Latinx music and history in the United States. The program celebrates the second edition of Ortiz’s book, features a short version of the documentary, and stages a conversation between these two figures, who have both dedicated their practices to preserving this important music history. Presented by Terminal Ediciones.
Where My Heart Settles Down, with Wang Yingying and Chenchu Fang
Behind Wang Yingying's almost restrained images lies a period of personal growth and pain—a stage in history that has almost been selectively forgotten by collective memory. With the help of the rich photographs she took while exploring her birthplace, various historical archives, and diaries, Where My Heart Settles Down transformed an artist’s personal journey in search of her family's past and identity into a journey of a broken historical consciousness. This conversation offers insight into Yingying’s artistic process and the making of this new publication. Presented by Jiazazhi.
Plaza Stage
Presented in partnership with Floating and dublab, with programming by Chulita Vinyl Club, International Anthem, Leaving Records, RVNG, and KCHUNG.
DJ sets by Chulita Vinyl Club
KCHUNG Morning News
Chulita Vinyl Club
Julius Smack
Celia Hollander & Photay
Jeremiah Chiu
Maral
Fabiano do Nascimento
Exhibitor Projects
Printed Matter presents a symphony a work in progress (pt. II, andante), building on an expansive installation-as-publication first staged by artist and publisher Yusuf Hassan in 2022. For this re-imagined presentation, Yusuf is joined by Kwamé Sorrell—co-publisher of BlackMass—to incorporate a second “slow” movement in response to the first, carrying on the performatory exchange around motifs in music, sculpture, and architecture. With an array of printed pieces, including simple folded sheets, rubber stamp prints, xeroxes, broadsides, and c-prints (as well as video work, sound work, and found objects), the exhibition assembles an improvisatory visual dialog trained on emblems, monuments, diagrams, and language, here understood through the lens of publishing and grounded in the printed form. This exhibition is realized with the generous support of Phil Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons, with additional support provided by the LAABF Committee. Our thanks to LAXART, Hamza Walker, Kameron McDowell and Tim Fleming for their additional support.
La Tierra Mia - A Chicano Park is a publication and project presented by artist Bob Dominguez that archives memories of Chicano Park in San Diego, which was collectively renamed La Tierra Mia during a standoff in the 1970s. The publication catalogs photos and notes from contributors who have shared a connection to the park over the past 50 years. For LAABF 2023, Dominguez presents photographs and artifacts from this important history, and in doing so, hopes to formulate a story of not only the past, but also the maintenance of history for the future.
poster, performed is a collaborative project by Tricia Treacy + Arzu Ozkal, Wylie Kasai, Steve Bowden, and Mark Zurolo that explores design processes by combining digital media, computer algorithms, and experimental print techniques. The project engages in a dialogue between human and machine generators through the familiar poster format, which has retained its influential role amidst cultural changes brought about by digital printing. Using installation and performance, this project weaves digital content from folders, including submissions from participants around the globe, in order to create a one-of-a-kind computer-generated composite form.
Timeless Art Book Gems is a survey of underground photography and 1960s Japanese art books presented by KOMIYAMA TOKYO, a long-running vintage art book store in Tokyo. The project brings together photographs, zines, and drawings across many different genres from the age of Provoke and Daido Moriyama to 80’s queer magazines, fetish art, and alternative comics. In doing so, KOMIYAMA TOKYO contextualizes contemporary Japanese photobooks within a rich history of subversive independent publishing over the past several decades.
Laurence McGilvery & The Box LA present a special selection of rare and out of print books, catalogues, periodicals, and ephemera. This collaboration between Laurence McGilvery, notable antiquarian bookseller and collector, and The Box LA/Box Editions, a gallery and record/book publisher, engages both forgotten art histories and the work of emerging artists who straddle a similar ethos of risk and experimentation.
Active Cultures and X-TRA present TOTAL LANDSCAPING, a gathering space and series of programs inspired by an ongoing reading group facilitated by the two LA-based organizations. TOTAL LANDSCAPING sets off an investigation of sound, video, and publications in order to explore the contentious spatial politics of Los Angeles. From a survey of land use to a history of publishing in student-led activism, this partnered presentation shares research, records, and resources as exercises in landscaping. Each day gathers around a central theme, explored through activities such as curated conversations and artists readings. Altogether, the project aims to offer tools and opportunities for participant-generated texts and in-the-moment research by way of mapping structures, sites, and power across our experiences of Los Angeles.
2 PM | Publishing as an Organizing Tool: Tactics for Becoming Ungovernable, a workshop facilitated by Kimi Hanauer
This workshop gathers participants around a collection of materials that engage publishing practices as forms of resistance to state power. Through an intentional process of personal reflection and group discussion, participants will co-create a shared manifesto, Tactics for Becoming Ungovernable. By sharing multiple works of theory, strategies, personal accounts, and publishing projects simultaneously, this workshop acts as an invitation into nonlinear collective learning and conversation around abolitionist anarchist perspectives on media-based organizing.
Accessibility: Masks are encouraged during the session. All spaces are wheelchair accessible. Workshops will be held in english; multilingual engagement is warmly welcomed. The book fair can be crowded and loud at times; we will do our best to keep the workshop space calm. Please email liberatorypractice@gmail.com to request in-person closed captioning, ASL or language interpretation, or any other access needs.
Kimi Hanauer (they/them) is an artist, media-based organizer, facilitator, and writer. Kimi is a founding collective member of interdisciplinary publishing initiative, Press Press (est. 2014), and the founding steward of nomadic political education school, Center for Liberatory Practice & Poetry (est. 2021). In their practice, Kimi co-develops pragmatic-poetic initiatives as scaffolds for collective autonomies. Their interdisciplinary projects take various responsive forms, including installations, performances, videos, texts, programs, and printed matter. Informed by anarchist and abolitionist frameworks, their work as a facilitator and educator aims to deepen our collective capacities for self-governance, belonging, solidarity, and care.
Signings & Launches
P49 Launch and signing of God Pangea no.1 [Dev Wills Journal], by Devin Williams.Presented by AA Print and Publishing.
N10 Launch of The Death Project Manager Mortality Workbook Spanish Edition, by Catherine, presented by Awkward Ladies Club
O24 No More Internet, Just Dreams! by Emilia García. Presented by Can Can Press.
O28 Launch of H.R. Giger - Necronimicon, reproduced by Crisis Editions.
G21 Signing of Where My Heart Settles Down, by Wang Yingying. Presented by Jiazazhi.
Q20 Launch of THE STUD PIN ARCHIVE AND EPHEMERA 1970-1999, by Chloe Miller/Stud Pin Archives. Presented by LAND AND SEA.
G16 Launch and signing of TE AMO, by Luis Cobelo. Presented by Raya Editorial + La Chancleta Voladora.
G12 Signing of L.A. Vedute, by Thomas Locke Hobbs. Presented by The Eriskay Connection.
O6 Launch of Joy Machine 1996. Presented by Shining Life Press.
H5 Signing of Public Domain 3: Freak Mexicano, by Pamela Ramos. Presented by Apogee Graphics.
J14 Signing of The Hippest Trip in America By Land, Air and Sea, by Alake Shilling. Presented by Artbook.
K1 Signing by Mungo Thomson. Presented by Karma and Yes and No Books.
K8 Signing of 50% The Visible Woman and PlayPen, by Penny Slinger. Presented by Blum and Poe.
J1 Launch and signing of Desire Lines, by Lara Shipley. Presented by Skylight Books.
F17 Signing of To Know You (Now and Then), by Linda Moses. Presented by Smog Press.
Q7 Launch and signing of AutoSummarize, by Jason Huff. Presented by Specific Ideas.
O2 Launch of America: A Cold Game. Presented by WORK/PLAY.
I23 Launch of EBay Mugs, by Peter Shire. Presented by Yes and No Books.
F13 Signing of Six Cinder Blocks on Top of a Wall, by Justin Fiset. Presented by Zatara Press.
H5 Signing of My Dark Architect: Reader, by Patrick Jackson. Presented by Apogee Graphics.
J14 Signing of Royal Book Lodge, by John C Welchman. Presented by Artbook.
I13 Signing and Launch of (New) Flea Market Cap italism, by Jesse Malmed. Presented by Buddy.
F3 Launch and signing of You Will Look To The Mountains, by Anne Rearick. Presented By Deadbeat Club.
I30 Launch of I want to rest and be held by someone who loves me, by CK Neiman. Presented by For the Birds Trapped in Airports.
O17 Launch of Real Milk, by Ryan Kuo and Veronica Graham. Presented by Most Ancient.
Q8 Launch of The City of the Sun, by Sam Wright. Presented by New Dimension.
H25 Signing and launch of Viewfinder, by Chihoi. Presented by nos:books.
G4 Launch of Neighbours, by Sky Wilson. Presented by Palm* Studio.
022 Launch and signing of COLLISION CENTER, PT III, by Mike Stoltz. Presented by Pegacorn Press//Caroline Kern.
A Signing of Love, with Brad Elterman. Presented by Printed Matter.
I25 Signing of Myths + Models of Time & Timelessness, by LD Deutsch. Presented by Sacred Bones.
O6 Launch and signing of Bullshit Monthly Fanzine Anthology, with Mike Bromberg. Presented by Shining Life Press.
F17 Signing of Memorare, by Brian McSwain. Presented by Smog Press.
P34 Signing of The Wild Camellia, by Siumou Chow. Presented by Studio Biped Animation Limited.
F7 Signing of Double Double, Protein Style, Animal Style with a Strawberry Shake and Chips, by Wyatt Conlon. Presented by The Fulcrum Press.
K11 Launch and signing of Warm Blood, by Rick Charnoski. Presented by THESE DAYS.
O2 Launch and signing of Double Image, by Awol Erizku. Presented by WORK/PLAY.
Q12 Signing of How Close, by Brice Bischoff. Presented by (w)hole.
Q9 Launch and signing of Arquitectura de Remesas: La transformación de un pueblo mexicano, by Inés Vachez. Presented by Analog Typologies.
P14 Launch of Jambar, by Stephon Senegal. Presented by Antenna Press.
K17 Launch and signing of Processing Foundation Community Catalogue, by Casey Reas. Presented by Antesism and Processing Foundation.
G2 Launch and signing of Dormant Season, by Erin Springer. Presented by Charcoal Press.
G18 Signing of Remember Me, by Preston Gannaway. Presented by GOST Books.
I10 Launch of Semi-Tropic Spiritualists Symbology Divination System, by Semi-Tropic Spiritualists. Presented by Insert Press.
H25 Signing and launch of Art Basel by Hai Hsin Huang. Signing and launch of Out of Office - Taiwan, 2021-2023, by Luc Jolivet. Presented by nos:books.
J7 Signing of Hand Painted in L.A.: Some Los Angeles signs, by Bryan Yonki. Presented by SE IMPRIME.
J1 Signing of All Night Menu & S/M Blvd, by Sam Sweet & Rick Castro. Presented by Skylight Books.
F17 Launch and signing of So Many Beautiful Reasons, by Kyle Myles. Presented by Smog Press.
G12 Signing of A Certain Logic of Expectations, by Arturo Soto. Presented by The Eriskay Connection
N14 Launch of Love History, by Eunice Therefore. Presented by This Bakery
J14 Signing of EmBRUJAda: Charms for the Living, by Karen Lofgren. Presented by Artbook and Set Editions'.
N38 Launch of Kiss, presented by Angel Tears.
K16 Launch and signing of Dancing Sunflower, by Daniel Gibson. Presented by Almine Rech Editions.
P40 Launch of Issue N9: New Masculinities, by Luis Juárez, Oscar 1992 and Dulcina Abreu. Presented by Balam Magazine.
G18 Signing of Angels Point, by Adam Ianniello. Presented by GOST Books.
G21 Signing of Where My Heart Settles Down, by Wang Yingying. Presented by Jiazazhi.
G1 Signing of Everything I'm Trying To Tell You, by Greg Hunt. Presented by SUPER LABO.
G4 Signing of Bedfellow, by Caroline Tompkins. Presented by Palm* Studio.
G11 Launch of a road trip redone. Presented by Volker Renner.
J14 Signing of Against the Written Word, by Ian Svenonius . Presented by Artbook and Akashic Books.
G2 Signing of Dormant Season, by Erin Springer. Presented by Charcoal Press.
G5 Signing of Braided, by Sheetal Mallar. Presented by Editions JOJO.
K6 Launch of MIRAGE, by Doug Aitken. Presented by Zolo Press and Regen Projects.
J14 Signing of Sacred Sex, by Gabriela Herstik. Presented by Artbook.
P47 Launch of Arqueología del presente, by Pablo Rugiero. Presented by Atelier Burano.
Offsite Programs
Typographic Spirograph: Experimental Letterforms, with Savi Factory (Savithri Velaga)
ICA LA, 1717 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, ICA LA will host two artist-led workshops. Light breakfast and beverages will be served. ICA LA's exhibitions and Bookshelf Residency project will be on view.
In Saturday's workshop, participants will use a spirograph drawing tool created specifically for typography; the resulting letterforms converge analog geometry alongside moments of improvisational drawing.
Mornings in the Garden: Talks on Bookmaking and Collaboration
Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, 901 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Hauser & Wirth Publishers and Printed Matter present a series of three conversations in the mornings before the Fair focusing on the ways artists, designers, editors, and publishers work together. These programs will take place each morning at 10 AM in the Garden at Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, just a 10-minute walk from The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Fuel up with complimentary coffee and tea service provided by Manuela, the gallery’s onsite restaurant.
Artist James Benning and designer Martin Beck will speak about Inventory Press’s publication Over Time: James Benning, Sharon Lockhart. Artist Karen Lofgren and designer Willem Henri Lucas will speak about emBRUJAda: Charms for the Living, published by Set Margins’.
Workshop with David Horvitz, in partnership with JANM
JANM, 100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Join artist David Horvitz for a special printmaking workshop on the occasion of the annual Natsumatsuri Family Festival at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The workshop will take place outdoors in the plaza, right across from The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
LANGUAGE GARDEN presents: DIAL-A-POET, with Ed Steck, Sophia Le Fraga, Jennifer Soong, Mónica de la Torre, Holly Melgard, and more!
1911 7th Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018 (Map here)
Come and visit David Horvitz’s garden as the day’s summer heat cools off. Find a hidden spot amongst a sage brush or buckwheat or inside a sycamore. Have a sip of mescal. We will give you some phone numbers. And you can call a few poets to hear specially recorded pieces, invoking John Giorno’s 1968 Dial-A-Poem. But this time just for you garden-dwellers. Language Garden is a series of readings and workshops programmed by Corina Copp, Sophia Le Fraga, and Joseph Mosconi in the garden of David Horvitz. The garden is made in collaboration with Terremoto. Dial-A-Poet is presented alongside Printer Matter’s LA Art Book Fair. Poets will not be physically present in the garden.
BYOM (bring your own mescal to share).
Carla Fall Issue Launch
Charlie James Gallery, 969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, 90012
LA’s critical arts publication Carla invites you to celebrate the launch of its Fall issue alongside the openings of “Ahorita!” and a solo exhibition by Elmer Guevara at Charlie James Gallery in L.A.’s historic Chinatown. Plus explore other galleries and shops on the block and enjoy music, drinks, free magazines, and more!
After Dark, with Dalé Zine
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, 929 S Broadway, Los Angeles, 90015
With disc selections by Nicky, Dyami, Benton & Steve
DJ sets and festivities after the Fair. Free to attend!