How to Shoplift Books
How to Shoplift Books (Come Rubare Libri), a new book by Californian artist David Horvitz, is a shoplifter’s users guide in both English and Italian. It details 80 ways in which one can steal a book. From the very practical, to the witty and romantic, the book reads like simple instructional text artworks by the conceptualists generation.
A number of books were printed with error covers, which Horvitz has buried in Venice during the Book Affair. The book stems from a conversation Horvitz hosted at the 2011 New York Art Book Fair in David Senior’s Classroom series.
64 pages, 1 colours Risograph print, 17 × 24 cm, Hard cover, edition of 100 copies
Stonestein’s
Der kleine Philosoph und der große Doofe. Irgendwann muss jemand die Idee gehabt haben, dass es witzig sein könnte, heutige Musterwelten und Meinungen in die Steinzeit zu verlegen, um durch den Bruch einer radikalen Zeitverschiebung deutlich zu machen, dass der Prozess der Zivilisation im Prinzip noch kein Ende gefunden hat. Wie der Insel- oder der Künstlerwitz ist der Steinzeitwitz ein Genre, das sich dann mit der amerikanischen TV-Serie „Flintstones“ ab 1960 animiert austoben konnte. (Read More)
104 pages, 1 colours Risograph print, 14,5 × 10,5 cm, edition of 100 copies
Fantasy Plot Generator
A book by Greek/Italian artist Angelo Plessas.
Description is coming soon.
128 pages, 1 colours Risograph print, 11 × 17 cm, Hard cover, edition of 100 copies
Desserts
Desserts, a book by german artist Antje Peters, straightforwardly presents 15 photographs of pre-manufactured desserts to be found in supermarkets plus an image of an apple (an allusion to one of the symbols for consumer culture). Imagery from 1970s-90s cookbooks inspired Antje Peters’ post-cookbook approach, with a sharp eye for detail and composition.
The usually functional and illustrative features of photographs in cookbooks give way to a detached product photography style, with a particular focus on shiny surfaces and vivid colors – like advertisement photography but devoid of slogans and logos. Don’t expect recipes here nor any kind of instruction on how to prepare or devour the delicacies. Desserts or elements thereof are shown as ‘objects’ to be admired, like this book itself, whi! ch is anything but a cookbook.
36 pages, 4 colours offset print, 21 × 30 cm. Edition of 200 copies
Trannie-Jokes ETC.
A book by swedish artist Samuel Nyholm whose main characters are Herakleitos, Grazyna, Smith. The book also includes Lola in a man’s world, a story about the unemployed lesbian feminist Lola, trying to get a job. Cornel Windlin wrote:
“Two tits, one cock ⎯ and nowhere to go. A gender-bending rollercoaster ride to hell … and back! Probably the best book in the world. Refreshes the parts other books cannot reach. And when we say parts, ⎯ we mean private parts!”
The book also includes a poem written by Karl Holmqvist for Sany.
44 pages, 20.5 × 27 cm. Edition of 100, 2012. Two colors Litho cover, black Risographic print. (Sold out)
Reproduction
A book by american photographer Amanda Marsalis.
“I shot these photos with the end of my polaroid stock. So there is even something more fragile in them since even now I could not take these photos again. It is gone. The time came and went. [...]
Reproduction for me is three things: The purpose of a flower, the way the book is being printed, and a woman’s fertility/sexuality. Myself being the woman. I feel in a tradition of classic photographers shooting still lives as an exercise in image making and self examination.”
102 pages, 24 × 32 cm, edition of 100, 2012. Blue and Red Risographic print
(Sold Out)
Three Hundred Sixty
Artist’s book by german Ignacio Uriarte. Three Hundred Sixty is a collection of 49 drawings of the size of an LP vinyl record sleeve, where an inner and outer square perform a 180 degree clockwise spin each, adding up to 360 degree. The filling is made monochromatically with a document proof blue pen, placing this way the work in the context of office work.
Three Hundred and Sixty is the result of Ignacio Uriarte’s personal reflection on the everyday office routine combined with clear references to the conceptual and minimal art practices from the late 60’s and 70’s.
98 Pages, 29 × 29 cm, edition of 100, 2012. Blue Risograph print, silkscreen cover
Drawings From my Previous Life
Artist’s book by Mai Ueda. Drawings From My Previous Life is a collection of Mai Ueda’s closest friends watercolor portraits that the artist created during the last decade, when she was part of the so called Neen art movement.
“Neen did represent for me a new and different approach to the contemporary art world and practice. It is surprising to see how you can produce poetry and beauty with the use of technology and the Internet devices”.
The book includes portraits of Greek architect Andreas Angelidakis as he is taking a bath in Christian Mollerʼs Jacuzzi in West Hollywood, just wearing black sunglasses; Dutch artist Rafaël Rozendaal that is instead portrayed swimming and floating in a red lifebuoy in a pool in Rio de Janeiro; artist Mai Ueda herself in a sweet friendly hug with Neen’s founder Miltos Manetas or as she is having fun dressed up with her favorite Yohji Yamamoto white jacket. Portraits of artists and friends Angelo Plessas, Nora Lowinsky, Mike Calvert and Serge Becker are also included in the book.
44 pages, 19 × 28 cm, edition of 100, 2012. Silkscreen cover, blue and red Risographic print
Vodun
Vodun is a twentyfour pages black and white book comprising the ten 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 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.
24 pages, 19 × 28 cm, edition of 100, 2011. Black Risographic print, Silkscreen cover
Robot Poetry Reading
A book by Greek/Italian artist Angelo Plessas. Robot Poetry Reading is a compilation of poems taken from a website and a perfomance project called RobotPoetryReading.com. On this website users write poetry in collaboration with a “Robot”. The “Robot” in question is an open source software that “proposes” random popular words from different search engines. When poem is formed then the “Robot” publishes on the main page of the website. On this special publication the artist compiled a number of published poems from the website but also compiled a number of unpublished ones.
196 pages, 11 × 17 cm, edition of 100, 2012. Black Risographic print
Earth Bound, Sky Bound
A book by english artist Daniel Eatock. Daniel Eatock says: “The photographs are not precious and special, they are just a set of snap shots that are unified by the horizontal line of the horizon. When I took the photographs I was happy and inspired in a cliche way, a took a snap shot of the view to mark the special moment. I did not take them as ‘beautiful photographs’ instead see them a amateur snap shots of ‘beautiful moments’. They have not been taken consciously in preparation for a project, unlike the other sets of photographs on my website. I only noticed them as a set by chance as I was sorting through my photo archive and wanted to unify them and work with them. Not highlighting any one picture or showing how beautiful they are but to deal with them in a semi rational way. Then I arrived at the idea of hiding the line of the horizon in the margins of a book. Hiding the point of interest.”
108 pages, 17 × 24 cm, edition of 100, 2011. Blue Risographic print
(Sold Out)
Domain Names 2010—2001
A book by Dutch artist Rafaël Rozendaal. 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.
122 pages, 21 × 29.7 cm. Red, Blue and Green Risographic print. Edition of 150
Automatic Books is an independent publishing house, producing artist’s books, which reflect the idea of a specific curatorial project.
All phases of the book production process are shared and determined by the interaction between the artist and the publishing house.
Consistent with the original spirit, Automatic Books’ titles are and will remain affordable in order to facilitate the diffusion of artists’ works.
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