The Book Society is a project devoted to the most experimental forms of production in publishing, which Peep-Hole is organizing in collaboration with the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce in Genova. The first reading room is dedicated to Book Works, which presents a selection of their artists’ publications, alongside a short film about Book Works, posters by Jonathan Monk, and other printed matter drawn from their recent touring project Again, A Time Machine.

Publishing, in its multiple manifestations, from catalogues to art books and magazines, is a space in which not only is something conveyed, but contents are developed and created. Countless independent publishers, both established and newly founded, and the many artistic practices based on the text that investigate the act of “translating” from a visual to a textual form, have accelerated the development of this format as one of the most interesting on the current artistic panorama.

The Book Society involves creating a reading room in the Museo di Villa Croce, where some of Europe’s most interesting publishing houses will be presented. Over the course of two years, young publishers will take turns illustrating their works and will set up a seminar with students and young artists/curators/designers on the process involved in putting out a publication. In 2013 Book Works (London), Paraguay Press (Paris) and Archive Books (Berlin) will participate in the project.

BOOK WORKS
Book Works was established in London in 1984 and is a non-profit art commissioning organisation specialising in artists’ books, spoken word and printed matter. Recognised as a leading independent arts publisher, Book Works is dedicated to supporting new work by emerging artists, and their commissions are initiated by invitation, open submission, and through guest-curated projects. In addition Book Works has a studio specialising in hand bookbinding and the production of artists’ books and multiples. www.bookworks.org.uk

On Thursday 9 May Book Works and Francesco Pedraglio will organise a day of events as follows:

Artist Editor Publisher: workshop
A workshop led by Jane Rolo and Paul Sammut of Book Works, open to artists, designers, curators, publishers and students who are curious in how an artist’s book takes shape.

Artist Editor Publisher: talk
The overlapping roles of Artist/Editor/Publisher will be discussed in a talk by Jane Rolo and Paul Sammut with Francesco Pedraglio (artist, curator and editor, currently working on his forthcoming book, A man in a room spray-painting a fly (or at least trying to), for Book Works).

Performance / reading by Francesco Pedraglio

The reading room is set up with original recently restored furnitures designed in 1934-1935 by rationalist architect Mario Labò for the University Library in Genova. The Book Society is part of a bigger project, “Shrinking World”, conducted with the contribution of the Fondazione Cariplo.