1- How and why does an independent publisher work?

2- Could you tell us about your current and upcoming projects?

3- How can an artist book, magazine, any other sort of independent book/publication
express its contents?

4- Are there any new models that you have had to invent/create to find and deal with
distribution? What are your main influences if any? Are there any sort of generic
referents/symbols that you’ve found influential for designing your own editorial criteria?

5- How does independent publishing manage to keep its independence, its autonomy and
how does it succeed in finding an audience?

6- What’s a big audience for you?

7- How can a small independent publishing initiative secure its continuing and lasting
presence in the current publishing situation?

8- Do you think public spaces, art centers, institutions, can operate as sustainable
distributors/providers of free information and communication?

9- Is there a lack of critical position today?

INTER/VIEW
mesostics on the words ARTIST – PUBLISHER – ART – BOOK

perhAps youR quesTion Promptly reqUires Being revoLved: It’s impoSsible tHat
innovativE aRtists shAll Refuse To Bring innOvation tO booKs. Art peRvades everyThing.
Books prOvide One sparK: innovAtive aRtist-publishers guaranTee thIs burnS
independenTly.

our books Permit Us Bringing reLaxed attentIon—thuS outsHining othEr artfoRms—As

containeRs They lIberate readerS' percepTions. As aRtist, poeT & publIsher, thiS
possibiliTy Beguiles, fOr nO artworK Allows ouR creaTivity this (un)enclosed liBerty.

fOr Other artworKs cAn't pRovide Their delIghtful (un)encloSed liberTy.

Books fOrmalise Our thinKing: disPersing thoUghts By pubLic-actIons; Setting-out

Heterogeneous rEading matteR as structured… And Readers, They reAd peRsonally,
independenTly; they Install bookS inTo Bigger stOres Of Knowledge As libRaries; Then
turnIng pageS rhyThmically, mayBe frOnt tO bacK, whAtever theiR benT, reAders
recReate Their Book frOm Our booK.

disPersing yoUr Books aLways wIll preSent Headaches, bEcause they’Re A stRange
combinaTion; beIng bookS, buT stePping oUtside puBlishing’s typicaL desIgn formatS,
establisHed gEnres, oR fAmiliar naRrative Techniques—But sO dO artworKs, And eveRy
oTher Innovative Step thaT Art discoveRs.
The reAl unceRtainty wiTh Books cOmes frOm thinKing About theiR sTatus As sepaRate;
wheTher crItically, aS differenT cAtegorically fRom oTher Art foRms—maTerial apartheId,
Slack Thinking. Also sepaRated, misTakenly, By Our Own outlooKs. mAny ‘aRtists’ That
publIsh bookS aren’T reAlly aRtist’s aT All , unfoRtunately…

The Paradox oUr Books impLy Is thiS : wHy vidEo , oR Any otheR mulTiple, Is Seen To Be
curatOrially OK, Assimilable , wheReas The Book dOesn’t sOmehow worK As ‘artwoRk’ ,
To exhIbit alongSide oTher contemporAry foRms – Typically becAuse they’Re Too
versAtile .

theiR gifT Is thiS versaTility.

Alec Finlay
Information on publications: www.alecfinlay.com