Automatic Books

Vodun
by Claire Duport
24 pages, 19 × 28 cm
black and white Risographic print
Edition of 100

October 31st, 2011
at 6pm c/o Spazio XYZ
Via Inferiore 31, 31100 Treviso
www.spazioxyz.org

Automatic Books is pleased to announce the release of a new book, Vodun by French artist Claire Duport, which explores the beliefs and practices that govern the complex universe of the Voodoo religion. A public presentation of the book, including an exhibition of the original artworks (both on display and for sale at Spazio XYZ , Treviso – Italy, at the presence of the artist), will take place on October 31st 2011 from 6pm. Drinks and DJ set will follow.

Vodun is a 24 pages black and white book comprising the 10 drawings and poems that French artist Claire Duport expressly created for Automatic Books. The book explores the universe of Voodoo, without pretending to create a scientific inventory of facts and figures, aiming at offering a personal and intimate interpretation of nowadays’ fears instead. “I’ve always been very attracted by mysticism”, Claire Duport says, “To understand how human beings try to give an answer to existential questions, seeking refuge into mystic and religious experiences. It reflects the pains and fears of contemporary culture and civilization. It’s fascinating to explore how religious beliefs and practices often become the powerful tools to overcome complex life issues”.

Not just a matter of cult, Voodoo has more an anthropological than a religious value to it that regards its specific cultural function within social organizations. Considered an art that heals, Voodoo plays a central role in everyday life, by questioning and exploring the entire mankind’s existence.

The book, printed in a risographed and numbered edition limited to 100 copies, is the collection of Claire Duport’s personal exploration of intimate Voodoo rituals. Each drawing is a symbolic pictorial interpretation of Voodoo fetishes, the sacred gates between the visible world of humans and the invisible world of spirits. As the place where the terrestrial and spiritual forces gather, the empowering bodies and figures of Claire Duport’s drawings and poems are the metaphoric representation of our contemporary fears.

For further information please contact: print@automaticbooks.org
Press release

Automatic Books presents The Book Affair, the two days of independent art publishers fair that will take place in Venice on June 2nd and 3rd, in the occasion of the press preview days of the 54th Venice Art Biennal.

The Book Affair gathers together some of today’s most interesting independent publishing projects, with the aim to open a new public discussion on the book as a mean of research and artistic production. In the last years, we have witnessed the flourishing of independent publishing projects, and seen a network of new editors be born, followed by new types of libraries specialized in this market niche and subsequently by a specialized network of distributors. For this reason, The Book Affair includes a series of public lectures and conferences whose aim is to investigate the reasons why this new editorial nouvelle vague has exploded and which scenarios we ought to expect for its future developments.

More than 40 publishers all over the world will take place to The Book Affair, whose new books released and projects realized will be subjects of daily discussions and presentations. For the detailed list of publishers and program of events, please visit t-b-a.tumblr.com.

We are part of the Exhibition Instant Design,
curated by Federica Sala with Michela Pelizzari
fino al 3 aprile 2011.

Triennale Design Museum presents the second chapter of the Instant Design project, edited by Federica Sala with Michela Pelizzari, a selection of projects and designers, both already known and newcomers, whose work is an investigation in the theme of ephemeral and transient design as an act of consumption.

Triennale DesignCafé
8th February – 3rd April 2011
Opening on 8th February 2011, 6.30 pm

Domain Names 2010—2001
By Rafaël Rozendaal
March 16th at Gloria Maria Gallery
in Milan from 6 to 9 pm

Automatic Books is pleased to announce the release of the new book Domain Names 2010—2001 by Dutch artist Rafaël.
Domain Names 2010—2001 is a one hundred-and-twenty-two colors pages book, that gather together the whole amount of domain names that the visionary Dutch artist has registered over the course of the past ten years. Have a look at the video. Thanks to Gloria Maria Gallery.

122 pages, 21 × 29.7 cm
Red, Blue and Green Risographic print
Edition of 150

Organic cotton tote bag drawn by Elena Xausa.
Silkscreen printed in Red, edition of 50, 2011.

March 3, 2011 7—8:30pm
Housing Works Bookstore
126 Crosby Street—New York, NY 10012

After party
9—11pm, Spur Tree Lounge
76 Orchard Street—New York, NY 10002

Join writer Anicée Gaddis, journalist Knox Robinson and poet Marcel Anthony Logan for an evening of perspectives and creative musings on Jamaican culture today. Photographer Alessandro Simonetti will introduce his new book Small Kings with a slide show presentation. Entertainment provided by the Blackgold dancers with a special guest deejay.

Automatic Books is proud to announce its participation at  
Fahrenheit 39, an exhibition that attempts to catalogue
and inventory the current state of self-published books in Italy,
curated by Emilio Macchia for Strativari.

December 18, 2010, 6.30pm
Ninapì nesting art gallery, Ravenna

Automatic Books is proud to announce its participation at  
The Last Zine Sezession, the one day independent publishers
fair organized by Corner College and  Motto Zürich.

The Last Zine Sezession will take place on December 12th,
at Perla-Mode, Zürich, from midday till midnight.
With an exhibition by Harsh Patel and publishers Automatic Books, Duke Press, Edition Taube, For Further Information, Larry’s, Nieves, Rollo Press, The Kingsboro Press, The Meta Press, Westphalie,
and more…
Join us to commemorate the «book fair age, it was great
while it lasted, but we feel the end is nigh».

December 12th,  2010
Perla-Mode, Zürich
From midday till midnight

A-B Could you explain us in few words what Teeluxe is?

C-R Teeluxe is art book/zine based project that has been going since 2007. It is about to be relaunched as Art Park (theartpark.com.au) in late November 2010. Art Park is a business that has an online retail store, produces apparel, publishes books/zines, and operates an Artist Residency Program.

A-B You have mentioned of a new artist residency project,
that should be launched next March. How and why was this new idea born?

C-R I have always liked being around artists and working with them, so when the Art Park project was coming together I made a point of creating a part of the business that directly benefitted artists (as opposed to a pure commercial activity such as the online store). With this in mind, I approached an artist friend, Kimberley Amos, of mind who operates a guest house where I live in the coastal town of Byron Bay, Australia (Atlantic: www.atlanticbyronbay.com.au). She generously agreed to make available accommodation for 2, 6 week periods and in addition Atlantic has a fully functioning studio/workshop on site as well.
With the help of funding by Art Park the residency program was born. From 22 November 2010 we will be making available an information pack online and calling for applications from artists who may like to take part. The first residency will take place in February/March 2011 and the second one July/September 2011. We have no expectations about what the artists will do with their time here — they may like to sit on the beach for six weeks and go home to produce some amazing work inspired by their time with us. If artists are willing, we will arranging an exhibition of there work in a leading gallery in Sydney at the end of their stay. We’d also love the artists to possibly run a workshop for local kids in our area if they are keen. I cant sets enough, that it’s entirely up to artist how they make the most of the time in Byron bay.
All in all, we want to give artists a fully funded (we cover travel, accommodation and a daily cash allowance) opportunity to create great work outside of their normal environment. Byron Bay is beautiful area and the region has amazing natural beauty, so this may be the catalyst for great work.
The Art Park /Atlantic Artist Residency will be officially launched with on 22 November 2010.

A-B Is there any book you have read and that has in some way
changed your life or at least your view of things of life?

C-R When I was in my early twenties (20+ years ago), I spent some time working in Austria and was given an art book by a friend. It was a book full of conceptual art like I have never seen before and totally blew my mind. It started an interest, not only in art, but in art publishing. I keep that book close to me an if there was a fire in the house its one of the first things I’d be grabbing!

A-B Which is your background? How and why did you approach the books’ world?

C-R I have been a practicing graphic designer for 25 years, so my world has always revolved around ink on paper. Combine that with my interest in art, its logical that a fascination with art books should emerge. I am a big fan of zines and have been collecting and making these for some time. So at one level I really get into the democratic nature of an artist’s zine — fast, fresh and accessible. On the other hand i love the craft involved with the production of bigger books. At Art Park, with my partner Paul McNeil, I’ll get to make more zines and excitedly we’ll be taking on 2/3 larger book projects per year as well. I am enjoying being part of this book community locally and globally (thanks to the internet) and look forward to working with more artists, exhibiting more zines and books, and psychically attending some of the book fairs that are becoming part of the scene.

Small Kings
Alessandro Zuek Simonetti

Automatic Books is proud to invite you to the launch of Small Kings, the book by the New York-based photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti. Small Kings is a selection of black and white images taken at Passa Passa, one of the most famous street parties in Jamaica, a couple of months before the conflicts which brought the ghetto of Tivoli Gardens on the fist pages of newspapers all over the world. The book is printed in a limited xerographic numbered edition of 200 copies. The author will be present at the launch event.

Let’s meet on
Wednesday, July the 14th
At 7pm, Spiazzi, Campo S. Martino
Castello 3865, Venice, Italy

Automatic Books is proud to announce that will participate
at Opera 2009 Exhibition, Tuesday, January 19th, at DOCVA,
Fabbrica del Vapore, Milano, where the work we published
last year will be displayed. At 7 pm, Automatic Books will
introduce two new books, by Eleonora Marton and Veronica Bellei.

Let’s meet on
Tuesday, January, 19th, 2010
at 7 pm, Via Procaccini 4, DOCVA
Milan, Italy

Valerio Mattioli wrote a book review about AB3, AB4
and Automatic Books on Vice Magazine’s December issue.
www.viceland.com

Amp Works and Dynasty Zine invited us to Fits For Prints, a pop-up store at Amp featuring printed matter, multiples, books, magazines and zines, self-published by artists as well as material produced by international publishers including over 200 titles as well as a multitude of artist’s ‘objects’, prints and garment.
12 Dec / 09 Jan, Athens, Greece

Marco Velardi interviewed us for his column
on Pig Magazine’s September issue.
You can read the interview here.
The picture is an automatic portrait.
www.pigmag.com

Marco Cendron wrote a book review about “AB3 Gabber,
in the Name of Love”, on Rolling Stone’s September issue.
www.rollingstonemagazine.it/