more on: THE NY ART BOOK FAIR / 24 -26 OCTOBER 2008 !!

. . . just like THRIFT SHOP is the new black !! - just joking !! (maybe not . . . !!)

GRAPHIC ARTS & in particular GRAPHIC DESIGN are the new career choices and consuming interest - of the art world’s youngest wave of creative citizens. (its either that, …. or street art !!)
And animated happy chattering hordes of these bright young professionals turned up - en masse, for the 2008 NY ART BOOK FAIR. and why not. it was chockful of brilliant design, cutting edge content, a multitude of formats - and multiples - that were easily acquired - on an entry level NYC salary - or often, even, just given away !!

case in point the: THE NY ART BOOK FAIR - EXHIBITOR’S CATALOG - designed by GARRICK GOTT, published by PRINTED MATTER, and free for the taking !!
A beautiful little book, the size of a postcard and the heft of a small, well, book !! - it was delightful in many ways, from its tactile quality, the weight & feel of the pages, the way it was bound, the HELVETICA font, and the very restricted - yet striking color hues of a contrasting sharp pink outside, and a deep blue on the inside. (I’m feeling like a restaurant critic.) It was extremely functional, durable - and completely useful; a nice resource to look back on, once you got home. The sharp luminous saturated matte pink red color, of the cover - lit up the fair - like tiny twinkling Christmas lites - as they lay freely scattered about - on tables, and carried about - in everyone’s hands !!
adding to the considerable merriment - as this new wave of young artworld afficionados - dug in and stirred up - the fair’s very considerable & totally enjoyable offerings. Their enthusiasm for what they saw - was reflected on the
exhibitors’ friendly, and almost overwhelmed by the crowds - countenances. Everybody must have got on their cell phones and told their friends to get up off their butts, and come on over !!

(a small aside: a lot of people said one of the reasons the fair was so hugely successful this year, was the new venue: the PHILLIPS de PURY auction house’s - huge 3rd floor !! with its broken up, yet large and well-lit, interior space - so it’s interesting to entertain for a moment, the great contrast between the new wave - so upbeat and full of content, with everybody happily swinging shopping bags !! full of treasured goodies for the eye, mind & soul - and the bloodbath that took place there, one week later as the old guard’s so-called ‘CONTEMPORARY’ blue chip auctions !! absolutely failed - with over 40% of the first evening’s offerings unsold, and people walking around stunned, and disturbed - like zombies - clueless. The high end production catalogs - weren’t even worth the paper they were printed on. (usually they are sought-out collector’s items !!) and, it wasn’t just PHILLIPS, it was the blue chip secondary market in general. SOTHEBY’S & CHRISTE’S too. and, yo !! give credit where credit is due - PHILLIPS is the most forward-looking, and artist-friendly of the auction houses - I mean, come on - they were huge sponsors of this, the 3rd ANNUAL NY ART BOOK FAIR, and they provided the great venue !! right smack in the heart of Chelsea. TEKSERVE was also a proud sponsor of the fair. . . . It’s the just the contrast between the old guard of so-called art patrons - vs. the bright new wave - that’s so painful to watch. pull that old crusty scab off - and let the new DNA - see the sun’s daylight !!

we got to peek into the shopping bag of a young fair goer. a recent GRAPHIC DESIGN major from SVA !!
THE NY ART BOOK FAIR catalog - was at the top of the pile & she had five of them !! cost: FREE !!
they were actually tons of them spilling out everywhere - you could have grabbed 10,
and it would have been - ok.

the catalog, designed by GARRICK GOTT - was way more than meets the eye - it was kind of the visual
equivalent of a HAIKU and an amuse buche all - rolled into one - in fact, it was kind of a toy.
it went from pink to blue & back again - in the blink of an eye.

and it had that great HELVETICA font - that the SAGMEISTER / DEITCH SHOW, obliquely brought to our attention
because of his participation in the short brilliant film of the same name - ‘HELVETICA’ - hero font of the truly modern, or is that - contemporary - urban city.

it was fun to try and find the ‘tipping’ point, from pink to blue.

what’s that grid underneath ?
a knitting pattern chart !!
Charted Patterns for / SWEATERS THAT TALK BACK - LISA ANNE AUERBACH !!
and, as it turns out - quite open to interpretation - for a KNITTING BOOK !!

. . . when there’s nothing left to burn, you’ve got to / set yourself on fire.

OBAMA 2008 - LISA ANNE AUERBACH

YES WE CAN - LISA ANNE AUERBACH

‘Charted Patterns for SWEATERS THAT TALK BACK’ BY LISA ANNE AUERBACH. $15
PUBLISHED BY PRINTED MATTER NYC 2008.

from ONE TALKING BOOK - to - another. must be the season for oracles.
a little crisis - in the air - will do that for ya !!
MELISSA BROWN. limited edition (60) handscreened ‘Tabloid’ deck of playing cards. $30.
PUBLISHED BY PICTUREBOX NYC 2008

just on an impulse - we did decide to give the deck - an impromptu ’spin’ !!
~found~

~babe~

(OMG - there she is again)
~the QUEEN ~ the grandmother of ROBERT DOWNEY, Jr.~ !!

~snubs~

~the world~
so, that’s: found babe of Robert Downey Jr.’s grandmother snubs world - hey, we’ll take that, and run !!

and it’s even signed by the artist - on the JOKER !!
who says, between his hands: “THE U.S. UNTOLD STORY” !! !!

if, you could stop STO from driving that CINDERS’ car long enough - you could score his handmade
political diatribe - FREE !!

(whoa - how c-o-o-l - doesn’t the mike look like a heavy-duty assault rifle, under her arm. way to go,
looks like - you’re a gonna need it. )

the sleeper - of the Fair. went right by me. like it was invisible. like a STEALTH FIGHTER !!
believe it was so designed to be, too !! invisible.
but it was one UFO / STARSHIP !! sighting !!
. . . for those who caught it !!
Raq Media Collective / THE SURFACE OF EACH DAY: QUESTIONS FOR COSMONAUTS
PUBLISHED BY PRINTED MATTER NYC 2008 - FREE !!
This pamphlet is the second of their ‘Artist & Activists’ series.
COPYRIGHT FREE: you are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform this work and to make derivative works.
Design: GARRICK GOTT

can you read that ? it says:
The Surface of Each Day:
Questions for Cosmonauts
Raqs Media Collective

The surface of each day is a different planet.
Cosmonaut, how do you recognize signs of life when you see them on your voyage ?

How do you make sure that you do not mistake the relics of past voyages for the fossils of giants?

and, then - right back to - earth !!
PRINTED PROJECT - ‘the art of living with strangers’ !!
ISSUE: 10 / LOLITA JABLONSKIENE curator/editor
PUBLISHED BY VISUAL ARTISTS IRELAND 2008 - $10
see: printedproject.ie

PRINTED PROJECT - ‘the art of living with strangers’

PRINTED PROJECT - ‘the art of living with strangers’

you could also score the brand new ANP QUARTERLY, flung around by the box full !! FREE !!
ANP QUARTERLY / RVCA / VOLUME 2 / NUMBER 1
FRONT COVER - KAWS photographed by TERRY RICHARDSON. JUNE 2008. BROOKLYN, New York.