Contemporary Artists' Books Conference in NYC: Quotables

More later on this amazing event, but I just wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from the panelists and speakers over the three day event:

Emily Larned from Booklyn advised any thrifty artist to invest two grand in a letterpress and some cases of type. They don't need to be upgraded every few years like your laptop, and you can take comfort in the fact that they don't become more obsolete than they already are.

Matvei Yankelevich from Ugly Duckling Press, an independent publisher of poetry:
We are publishing a lot of contemporary work, and no one likes that.
Poetry is not worth the paper it's printed on.

Elisabeth Long of Chicago preaches book arts gospel:
I stumbled into criticism as a way of being an artist.
Reading an artist's book is a whole brain experience.
It's expensive to get into this field.

Buzz Spector:
Writers write books, authors pose for dust jackets.

Dr. Cornelia Lauf breaks down the book artist/ artist who makes books debate:
Creativity is not medium-based. Gerhard Richter makes great artists' books because he makes great art.

Jason Fulford of J&L Books:
When deciding how to layout the book, Harold says the content should dictate the form, and you can save yourself a lot of energy by following that.

Luc Derycke of Imschoot:
There is something mental about books. In this idea, he explains that the book work acts as a traveling exhibition. When you look at the image, what is not there (the work) is suddenly there (in your mental space).

David Senior, Bibliographer for the MoMA:
I realize setting up a panel of non-profit art publishers, it's a redundant term.

Joachim Schmid:
There's not many decisions in my life. Most things just happen.
If you want a book by me, you'd better buy what I offer.
Books are the kind of thing, you should have a sandwich in one hand and a book in the other.

Sandra Kroupa, University of Washington Libraries:
It's not my job to collect pieces that I like or speak to my personal interest.
I'm puzzled by the fact that we struggle to say, this is an Artist's Book... I'm puzzled by this field's need to make this narrow definition.

Barbara Bader, on the same panel on criticism as Sandra Kroupa, on why she undertook a study of the field:
... after 30 years of discourse, one still can not find a definition of what an artist's book is.

Sara Reisman, curator:
There are these rituals attached to books that we don't even think of.