Sol LeWitt once said: “Buying books was a way anyone could acquire a work of art for very little”. Starting from 1966, following his interest in seriality, Sol LeWitt produced more than 50 artist’s books and was one of the founding members of Printed Matter, an organization established to publish and disseminate artist’s books, which would grow to become the most significant institution in the field. Printed Matter currently organizes two annual art book fairs, one in New York, usually held in September, and one in Los Angeles. The latter has opened its doors for the second time this weekend at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
Sol LeWitt’s legacy is apparent, and we can feel his ideas resonate through the words of this year’s curator of the fair, Shannon Michael Cane. Cane, in fact, characterizes the production exhibited at MOCA as “art for the page”, and states that “Art books are retaliation towards the gallery system,” adding that people who can’t get gallery shows have often turned to alternative outlets to communicate with an audience. “It was a reaction against the gallery system, as artists said ‘I want something I can give to people — an object but it’s not a catalogue of my work. It’s more than that.” And, in fact, what LA Art Book Fair offered to its visitors is much more than a catalogue of artist’s works: besides the traditional fair booths, it included a series of special events, exhibitions and talks, such as an exhibition of queer zines curated by Philip Aarons and AA Bronson, Fabulousity, an exhibition of ephemera and photographs by Alexis Dibiasio about 1980s and ’90s New York club kid culture, or Artists Read Baldessari, a reading from More Than You Wanted to Know About John Baldessari, by artists and special guests.
Additionally, this year’s edition of LA Art Book fair brought about The Classroom series of conferences. Already tested at the NY edition, this series of talks was curated by David Senior, bibliographer of the Museum of Modern Art library, and featured talks about feminism by the Women’s Center for Creative Work (WCCW), about new books by Laura Owens, David Hartt or Leidy Churchman, or about art education with Jon Pylypchuk and David Senior.
With more than 15.000 visitors, 650 exhibitors applying for only 260 spots, and a mix of hi and low production, ranging from established galleries to antiquarian booksellers and zine publishers, LA Art Book Fair should be the must-see event for aspiring collectors, art junkies and book worms.
