The topic of artists’ books and artists’ publications can be controversial. If one were to ask a room filled with artists, collectors, scholars, critics, and members of the public to define the term "artist’s book" the conversation would quickly turn into a debate. Many think of artists’ publications in the context of early 20th century European "livres de luxe" – those finely produced, limited edition, precious volumes of Picasso, Matisse, and other decidedly European modern masters. Others might describe artists’ books as unique or limited edition craft-objects that formally resemble books, but that are actually closer to sculpture. Still others would place artists’ books at the intersection of fine arts and literature – in either limited or short-run editions – and would cite the collaborations between Max Ernst and Paul Eluard as exemplary. Finally, some might consider monographs or exhibition catalogues as artists’ books or artists’ publications.
Printed Matter’s founders subscribed to the idea of the artist''s book as "artwork for the page," focusing particularly on those publications produced in editions of one hundred or more. They envisioned these publications as democratizing artworks – inexpensive artworks – that could be consumed alongside the more traditional output of paintings, drawings, sculptures or photography. These books were not simply catalogues of pre-existing artworks, but rather works in their own right, "narratives" intended to be seen in a printed, bound, and widely disseminated format.
Books that appeared in Printed Matter’s first catalogue in 1976 included volumes by Kathy Acker, Laurie Anderson, Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Daniel Buren, Susan Hiller, Sol LeWitt, Adrian Piper, Ad Reinhardt, Martha Rosler, Edward Ruscha, and Lawrence Weiner. Most of these artists saw their publications as being "alternative spaces" for the display of their artworks in much the same way that they saw physical "alternative gallery" spaces as being allied homes for their unique artistic output.
One strategy that Printed Matter’s founders – and LeWitt in particular – used to promote artists’ books was to produce them in lieu of exhibition catalogues. These books created literally thousands of venues for art work as they made their way onto coffee tables, collectors’ bookshelves, and into museum libraries and students’ backpacks. They were meant to be kept, discarded or casually circulated among friends like pulp paperbacks. These early publications had in common not only the large scale of their editions, but also their low price tag — most of the books carried by Printed Matter in 1976 sold for less than $5. Financial accessibility has remained an important characteristic of the books Printed Matter carries; today the median price for an artist’s publication is $20.
Over the course of the last thirty years artists have expanded the terrain of the artist’s book to include ancillary forms such as vinyl records, audio tapes, video tapes, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, and various hybrids. Printed Matter carries an extensive range of these new media publications, which are selected and sold on the same basis as traditional artists’ books. Printed Matter’s inventory spans generations of artists working in the field, and seeks to represent a community that is as diverse as possible in its range of expression.
http://www.printedmatter.org/about/books.cfm
