《Publishing as Method》 addresses art
publishing today, in particular, the practice of small-scale publishing in
Asia. As the practice of small-scale publishing has increased among artists,
curators, and collectives as a method of mediating their practices in the major
cities in Asia over the past couple of years, activities related to producing
their output and circulating it have been stimulated. Instead of looking at the
culture surrounding small-scale publishing as an individual and independent
phenomenon, we attempt to integrate it into its historical and local contexts.
To do so, we invited eight artists / teams, who practice in China, Hong Kong,
South Korea, and the Middle East. They are neither publishing experts in the
traditional meaning of the term, nor writers of artist books. Instead, they are
graphic designers; artists using web, video, or sound; curators; infoshop,
etc.—those who form and connect the conditions of culture as we encounter it
today. Their loosely shared attitudes and sensibilities, while not offering a
direct answer to the question “What is small-scale publishing?,” offer an
opportunity to approach and utilize publishing as a “method.”
Along with the works, “Asia Art Publishing Directory” introduces books and
documents by about forty publishing initiatives active all over Asia. They are
publishing collectives practicing in sixteen cities in Asia, bookshops, art
book fairs, archives, artist-run spaces, researchers, and so on. Through their
activities, we can imagine the terrain of small-scale publishing in Asia. More
detailed information about their practice and their local context is available
in the interviews included in the research publication.
Participating Artists
Hu
Fang, Kayfa ta, Min Guhong Manufacturing, Ryu Hankil, Sulki & Min, Writing
Band(Park Sunho, Seo Jaewoong, Shim Kyusun, Choi Hanyel, Hong Eun-joo, Kim
Hyung-jae, Hyun Seewon and others), Yoon Jeewon, ZINE COOP
