The Arts Area and The Benton Museum Present the 3rd Annual Print Pomona Art Book Fair

Published 02/21/2024 | 10:10 am PST

Claremont, CA—The Benton Museum at Pomona College and The Arts Area are pleased to present for the 3rd year, Print Pomona Art Book Fair (PPABF) on Saturday, March 2, 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday, March 3, 11 am to 5 pm at Pomona College’s Edmunds Ballroom located in the Smith Campus Center. PPABF will bring more than 70 national and international exhibitors where San Gabriel Valley meets the Inland Empire to provide a forum for independent booksellers, distributors, and publishers to showcase artist’s books, art catalogs, photography monographs, drawings, and other print ephemera.

The two-day fair will also serve as a meeting place for creatives, book lovers and publishers to discuss and exchange ideas about art making, publishing, and other related topics.

Admission to this event and PPABF are free and open to the public.

Print Pomona Art Book Fair (PPABF) is a 501(c)(3) sponsored by The Arts Area and hosted in partnership with the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. PPABF was founded in 2018 by photographer and co-founder of Mirrored Society Books, Julian Lucas with a goal to promote the recognition, distribution and awareness of artist books and other publications by artists within the region of the Pomona Valley and beyond.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday March 2, 2024
Amalgam #4 Journal contributors
(Mashinka Firunts Hakopian and Alec Mapes-Frances)

Print Pomona Art Book Fair
Saturday, March 2, 11 am–7 pm
Sunday, March 3, 11 am–5 pm
Edmunds Ballroom in the Smith Campus Center, Pomona College
170 E 6th St, Claremont, CA

ADMISSION IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
The Benton’s main parking structure is located at 295 E. First Street. Additional visitor and handicapped parking is available in the Alexander Hall lot (N. College Avenue and Sixth Street). Limited street parking is situated along College Avenue.

About Print Pomona Art Book Fair
Print Pomona Art Book Fair is a 501(c)(3) sponsored by The Arts Area and hosted in partnership with the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. PPABF was founded in 2018 by photographer Julian Lucas with a goal to promote the recognition, distribution, and awareness of artist’s books and other publications by artists within the region of the Pomona Valley.

PRINT POMONA ART BOOK FAIR 
www.PPABF.org

About The Arts Area
Working at the intersection of economic development and the arts. The Arts Area, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, provides fiscal sponsorship, professional development, resource support, and civic advocacy to develop and support economic sustainability and equitable access in the creative industries of San Bernardino, Riverside, and East Los Angeles Counties. Learn more about the fiscal sponsorship and professional business services provided by The Arts Area and join the inland region’s largest professional arts network at TheArtsArea.org.

THE ARTS AREA
2910 S Archibald Ave #A145
Ontario, CA 91761
contact@theartsarea.org 
www.theartsarea.org

About the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College
Now housed in the new Benton Museum of Art designed by Machado Silvetti and Gensler, Pomona College’s collection of art numbers 17,000 objects, including Italian Renaissance paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; works on paper, including a first edition print series by Francisco Goya given by Norton Simon; and works in various media produced in Southern California in the twentieth century. In keeping with Pomona College’s reputation as a leading center of the visual arts, the collection also includes works by such esteemed alumni as Chris Burden ’69, Marcia Hafif ’51, Helen Pashgian ’56, Peter Shelton ’73, and James Turrell ’65. Recognized globally for its commitment to contemporary art, the museum is the home of The Project Series, which has featured more than 50 contemporary Southern California artists since it began in 1999. Through its collaboration with students and faculty, the museum encourages active learning and creative exploration across all disciplines of study within the liberal arts context.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact
Print Pomona Art Book Fair
Julian Lucas
Julian@ppabf.com

Media Contact
Benton Museum at Pomona College
Caroline Eastburn
(909) 607-2291

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Arts Area
Media Contact 

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Curious Publishing Presents Packing House Zine Fest

The Pomonan
Published 10/20/2023 | 12:00 am PST

Curious Publishing presents Packing House Zine Fest: Printed Ephemera Showcase on Sunday, October 22, 2023 from 12 PM - 6 PM at the Claremont Packing House Atrium located at 532 West First Street, Claremont, CA 91711.

The Packing House Zine Fest features 40 artist exhibitors whose practice emphasizes the art of print in formats such as zines, art books, risograph, screen printing, block printing, and cyanotype. This event is free and open to the public and will include artist talks and workshops throughout the day hosted at The Claremont Forum and Curious Publishing’s Art & Bodega. 

The inaugural Packing House Zine Fest took place this past April and attracted 500 attendees, 35 exhibitors, two performers, and two educators from the Foothill Communities.

Curious Publishing is a Fiscally Sponsored Project of The Arts Area, a Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization, and is 100% artist owned and operated since 2017. We tell the stories of artists of all practices who reside throughout San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and the High Desert Communities through one of a kind, small-run art books designed and printed in Southern California. We aim to celebrate the rich diaspora of the Inland Empire, Womxn, BIPOC and Queer Artists first and foremost. 

The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College: Print Pomona Art Book Fair the Largest Book Fair in East LA County Returns!

Courtesy of PPABF 2022

The Pomonan
Published 2/22/2023 7:42am PST

Claremont, CA — The Arts Area and the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College are pleased to present the second annual Print Pomona Art Book Fair (PPABF) on Saturday, March 4 from 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday, March 5 from 11 am to 5 pm at Pomona College’s Edmunds Ballroom located in the Smith Campus Center.

PPABF will bring more than 50 national and international independent booksellers, distributors, and publishers to Claremont to showcase artist’s books, art catalogues, photography monographs, drawings, and other print ephemera.

The two-day fair will also serve as a meeting place for creatives, book lovers, and publishers to discuss and exchange ideas about art making, publishing, and other related topics.

The PPABF kicks off with a series of events at the Studio Art Hall at Pomona College, starting with a talk by Rebecca Ustrell from Curious Publishing on Thursday, March 2 at 3 pm followed by a book launch and reception for the Art + Book exhibition at 4 pm. At 5 pm, artist Lindsay August-Salazar will offer a performance and book signing at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College.

On Friday, March 3 at 7 pm the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College will host an artist’s talk with John Divola followed by a reception.

FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Artist Talk with Rebecca Ustrell from Curious Publishing
Thursday, March 2, 3–4 pm
Theater 122, Studio Art Hall at Pomona College
370 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA
 
Art + Book Exhibition Book Launch and Reception
Thursday, March 2, 4–5 pm
Chan Gallery, Studio Art Hall at Pomona College
370 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA
 
Artist Performance and Book Launch with Lindsay August-Salazar
Thursday, March 2, 5–6 pm
Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College  
120 West Bonita Avenue, Claremont, CA
 
Artist Talk with John Divola
Friday, March 3, 7–8 pm
Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College  
120 West Bonita Avenue, Claremont, CA
 
Print Pomona Art Book Fair
Saturday, March 4, 11 am–7 pm
Sunday, March 5, 11 am–5 pm
Edmunds Ballroom in the Smith Campus Center, Pomona College
170 E 6th St, Claremont, CA

ADMISSION IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Benton’s main parking structure is located at 295 E. First Street. Additional visitor and handicapped parking is available in the Alexander Hall lot (N. College Avenue and Sixth Street). Limited street parking is situated along College Avenue.

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Related Topic
”What is an Artists' Book? Theory Understanding Meaning and Importance”

ABOUT

Print Pomona Art Book Fair

Print Pomona Art Book Fair is a 501(c)(3) sponsored by The Arts Area and hosted in partnership with the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. PPABF was founded in 2018 by photographer Julian Lucas with a goal to promote the recognition, distribution, and awareness of artist’s books and other publications by artists within the region of the Pomona Valley.

The Arts Area

Working at the intersection of economic development and the arts. The Arts Area, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, provides fiscal sponsorship, professional development, resource support, and civic advocacy to develop and support economic sustainability and equitable access in the creative industries of San Bernardino, Riverside, and East Los Angeles Counties. Learn more about the fiscal sponsorship and professional business services provided by The Arts Area and join the inland region’s largest professional arts network at TheArtsArea.org.

Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College

Now housed in the new Benton Museum of Art designed by Machado Silvetti and Gensler, Pomona College’s collection of art numbers 18,000 objects, including Italian Renaissance paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; works on paper, including a first edition print series by Francisco Goya given by Norton Simon; and works in various media produced in Southern California in the twentieth century. In keeping with Pomona College’s reputation as a leading center of the visual arts, the collection also includes works by such esteemed alumni as Chris Burden ’69, Marcia Hafif ’51, Helen Pashgian ’56, Peter Shelton ’73, and James Turrell ’65. Recognized globally for its commitment to contemporary art, the museum is the home of The Project Series, which has featured more than 50 contemporary Southern California artists since it began in 1999. Through its collaboration with students and faculty, the museum encourages active learning and creative exploration across all disciplines of study within the liberal arts context.

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PRINT POMONA ART BOOK FAIR 
2910 S Archibald Ave #A145
Ontario, CA 91761

BENTON MUSEUM OF ART
AT POMONA COLLEGE
120 West Bonita Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 621–8283
Museum Hours:
Wednesdays–Sundays, 12–6 pm
Art After Hours: Thursdays until 10 pm

THE ARTS AREA
2910 S Archibald Ave #A145
Ontario, CA 91761

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The Pomonan is the cultural structure, empowering visionaries to propel the global society to the future.

Photobooks of 2022: Julian Lucas

Eastsiders, Courtesy of Gregory Bojorquez

Reviewed by Julian Lucas
Published 12/29/2022 9:00 Am PST

This Review was Produced by Mirrored Society, A Bookstore on the Arts. The Pomonan is co-publishing this review.

As we wind down and do away with this year, I can say 2022 has been a year has been very busy and productive, and with that equation the result equals success! Beginning with Print Pomona Art Book Fair 2022. Becoming a board member of Photolucida located in Portland, OR. Participating as a pre-judge in both Portfolio Review and Critical Mass 2022. In addition being a part of Photolucida’s Book Fair hosted by the Portland Art Museum.

With all that mentioned, I want to present to you my photobook experience and selctions of 2022.

Eastsiders, Gregory Bojorquez, Little Big Man
This book is a flashback into the 90’s era, my era. Gregory Bojorqez captures the complexities of a reality many of us lived, created by the City of Los Angeles.

It is pleasing to see images humanizing the community at large, while others are only fascinated by the semblance of the harsh realities of life on the east side of Los Angeles. The portraits of adolescent men and women living their teen-age and young adult life as best they can. The parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have an understanding about the unfairness of life, but they remain resilient and hopeful in what the future holds.

The Ecology of Dreams, Ewan Telford, The Velvet Cell
Personally, I appreciate The Ecology of Dreams because it moves the viewer closer to understanding the desperation of immediacy that saturates our environment. The collection of images exemplify the hideousness of the constant bombardment of branding which is a component of a capitalistic centered society that has led to unmitigated problems.

Master Rituals II : Weston’s Nudes, Tarrah Krajnak, TBW
In Tarrah Krajnak's Master Rituals II: Weston's Nudes, the past, and present collide. The body of work emphasizes the lack of women of color in the photographic industry. Tarrah struggles with the complexities of the complicated past of photography. Because photography was considered a 'white mans art', photography has taken on a new life through the eyes of people of color. Although paying homage to Weston’s iconic nudes, Tarrah’s body of work is not only about the exploration of re-creating but rather about empowering the 'nude study' of a woman of color. By placing herself in front of the camera as she is both the recorder and the model; she transforms the study of the nude, by not cropping or strategically hiding her face as traditional photographers would have in the past, but instead, she gives herself a voice, by revealing her identity.

Family Tree 1975-1980, Scot Sothern, These Days
Family Tree 1975-1980 offers a glimpse into the intimate lives of people from all walks cinematically speaking. Scot’s congenial narration is light-hearted many times comical because the viewer can relate to each the family member throughout the book. The images are a consistent examination of real life, which is what I always appreciate about Scot’s photographic work.

Born, Natsumi Takahashi, Dashwood (Zine)
I never feel like my photographic projects are complete, even if I have over 500 images. However only one roll of black and white 35mm film in just a few hours, Natsumi Takahashi was able to accomplish a telling story through her portrait series. Beautiful portraits of "Sarah” in various parts of NYC taken in 2019. Each image is timeless. The styling, clothes, Sarah, and environment leaves you questioning whether the images came from a little booklet from your favorite early 2000s indie alternative band album. And with this little series, I look forward to seeing a book on the horizon in the near future.

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Julian Lucas, (b. 1974 Chicago, IL) is a photographer and purveyor of books. Julian co-founded Mirrored Society Books in 2015. Julian Lucas’ photographic work sits between that hard and soft edge between fine art and photojournalism. His images are the result of a sophisticated naiveté, an experience matched with indomitable curiosity. His seductive and striking contrasts, lush effects challenge us to look at imagery that is often difficult to view. His focus is on traditional darkroom photography utilizing found spaces to create makeshift studios with a minimal of equipment - at times using only utility clamp work lights, or at other times, working outside, using only the high key sunlight and a backdrop, which all mirrors reality.

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Master Rituals II : Weston’s Nudes, Tarrah Krajnak

Interview with Viviana Carlos - Sobre Adaptaciones

Interview by Julian Lucas
Published 9/28/2022 12:00 am PST
This Interview was Produced by Mirrored Society, A Bookstore on the Arts. The Pomonan is co-publishing this interview.

I met Viviana a few months ago at the Print Pomona Art Book Fair. She'd handed me a copy of her most recent book, 'Sobre Adaptaciones.' When I finally had an opportunity to sit down and look at it, I found myself delving further into the book and was blown away by the design, craftsmanship, and, most importantly, the meaning. I was curious about Viviana and what inspired her to create such a gorgeous book.

Can you tell us where you are from?
I am from the northern part of Mexico, Monterrey, Nuevo León. 

Did you grow up in Monterrey, Nuevo León? Is there a art book scene there at all? Did Mexico influence your artistic journey?

Throughout my life, I grew up in many places, which is why most of my work addresses themes of uprooting and nomadism. If I had to recall my introduction to my artistic journey I would have to say that some of it came from my parents although they weren’t artists and were ordinary people. From a young age, my mother introduced me and my siblings to literature - especially fiction - and surrealism, our house was flooded with Frida Kahlo’s remarkable work (it wasn’t as much of a cliché back then) on the other hand my father was fascinated by historical books.

As far as the artbook scene, around 2013 I remember having the itch of using the book or fanzine as a narrative vehicle when I was attending college in Guanajuato, some of my friends back then created fanzines, and then later on I gradually gained courage and started my own projects. Another life influence is that when I moved to the US I spent hours at public and university libraries looking at photo books. However, a big influence on the book art scene I would say came from attending an art residency in Oaxaca in 2020 and meeting Rigoberto Diaz Julian and his practice. I was able to land my concerns about image and text and its possibilities within the book form thanks to talking and collaborating with him. He is the co-editor of this book.

I do think Monterrey has an art book scene but I can’t say from experience since I have not resided there in a long time. Although the project Miradas al Foto Libro led by Celeste Alba Iris has brought to light many enthusiasts and professionals of the artbook scene from many cities in the northern and central part of Mexico.

“Self publications are a tool and narrative vehicle that can help to approach very complex topics such as mental health, grief, and trauma.“

What are your accomplishments that have led to your book? 

Self-publishing the book was an accomplishment in itself. I was able to exhibit it here in San Francisco at the end of 2021 and also at the Print Pomona Art Book Fair early this spring. I was interested in collaborating with other professionals in the process of making a publication. I worked with experienced designers, bookbinders, printmakers, and conceptual thinkers. The most recent accomplishment for the book was to create an exhibition from it. I enjoy exploring the idea of taking the book outside its formal form. The exhibition space allows to amplify the possibilities of reading an artists’ book. The book saw its beginning thanks to a workshop I took with Eunice Adorno during the summer of 2020 thanks to the cultural project Miradas al Foto Libro led by the artist and writer Celeste Alba Iris. This is the first time I get the chance to design an exhibition from an artist’s book. I am very happy and grateful for the results and the opportunity. The exhibition is up until November 6 at el Centro de las Artes in San Luis Potosí, México.

What have you learned about your book? What have you learned about yourself while creating the book?

It has errors, but I welcome them. Self publications are a tool and narrative vehicle that can help to approach very complex topics such as mental health, grief, and trauma. Talking especially about trauma can be misleading. I choose to see trauma as a power source to heal. I’ve learned how to harness it in my own work instead of ignoring it or building a stigma around it. Trauma and its representation can be weakening and that only prevents people from healing. There is no shame in healing.

First of all, that knowledge should be accessible to everyone, everywhere. While thinking about the book conceptually, I had access to educational and research tools that I’d never had access to before thanks to the place I worked in. I made this book primarily relying on public archive databases and accessing information freely. Now, I have a different relationship with what intellectual property is or how free culture means and functions. An idea is a precious thing and we are allowed to keep them to ourselves if we decide to. I was one of those persons that held an idea as a treasure but then I asked myself what would happen if I let go and share it. However, I believe that intellectual labor, especially from women need to be rewarded and recognized to avoid following uncomfortable terms and discussions around bropriating. But in the midst of defining that and opening a dialogue of having fair play for everyone and their intellectual labor, this book helped me to cultivate and share a single idea working with other people’s social and collaborative dynamics. The idea branched. I saw its expansiveness and it was beautiful. 

Your work seems to lean towards education as well artistic, was this intentional?

No, but it was inevitable. In the process of elaborating on this artist's book, I combined two things: my personal experience with labor and imagination. If art means expression, then this book’s intention was to speak from a personal voice in how I survived a period of acute grief and how poetry, the city’s nature, and imagination helped me to survive and take care of my mental health due to a PSTD. 

My approach to working with public domain and archival images for this artist's book was because I worked as a cataloguer in a historical photographic archive. The repetitive duties I performed there such as seeing, organizing, and cataloging hundreds (sometimes thousands) of images daily in front of a monitor influenced without a doubt my creative process and art practice. Not so long ago I read a tweet saying that cleaning databases forge your character and I proudly carry that flag with me. There’s no distinction between working in an administration job and being creative, perhaps only the time that is left during the day to create. Thanks to revising thousands of historical images digitally and physically, I started questioning the rigidness of historical documents and also the production of more images. This professional experience created a rupture in what I thought the representation in photography was and naturally, I became extremely aware of who makes the images that we consume in media, and who is behind the lens. For this same reason, I decided to start working with archival images and vernacular photography. It gave me the freedom to explore personal and visual narratives under a different creative scope. In terms of education, I firmly believe in de-romanticizing the idea of when and under which conditions art can be created. Art does not always happen outside or in the studio. Art happens in life, at work, at home, or reading a book at the library. It is a powerful tool for healing. If we as creatives find a method that worked for us maybe we can share it with someone else. Perhaps in the classroom. There is no growth if we don’t let the other grow and heal as well.

You talk about the origin of palm trees and the landscape of California. You also intertwine the pages with some color images of either the interior of a room with a shadow that casts over a bed or the image taken at dusk of a front porch. My initial thought was you were documenting the start of your morning and the end of your day. Can you explain why you choose to include them?

You are right. Both images reflect on the duration of a single day during my life at that time. Also as you mentioned in the book I use palm tree imagery to talk about their transplantation and introduction to the landscape of California. These plants aren’t from here, they are migrants just like me and my parents when they used to live here.  When my parents resided in the US I saw them live in somewhat precarious conditions as many migrants live here without too much open space. People living outside the US usually have an almost idyllic image of how is to live here, especially in big cities. The reality is that most of the time five or six people can share a single household with one bedroom, luckily two bedrooms. Right after my father’s passing, I decided to move to a different city to start a new job. I had to take care of myself. The photo with the mattress on the floor was taken on my last day sleeping at my parent's apartment, while I helped my mom pack her stuff. I slept and woke up there many nights and mornings until I finally moved. These two pictures were taken during a process of grief and the transition of moving into a new city and navigating it as a pedestrian from dawn until dusk.

What are your plans, any new projects in the works? Will it be similar to Adaptaciones? 

I am working on continuing my education and applying to graduate school this fall. If anyone knows about scholarships to fund private education please send them my way. Currently, I am working on some collaborations with other editorials and I am still defining my next publication, it will take some time to cook.

Thank you for the space!

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Viviana is a visual storyteller born and raised in Mexico. During her childhood her family was nomadic. Being an immigrant living in the United States along with these transitions in her personal history, aroused curiosity about the biological and cyclical processes that occur in nature and on the landscape. Read more here.

Julian Lucas, is a photographer, creative strategist, a purveyor of books and writer in training, but mostly a photographer. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking unhoused veterans to housing.

Arcana Presents Russel and Mary Wright: Dragon Rock at Manitoga A Discussion with author Jennifer Golub & Eames Demetrios

Arcana Book on The Arts Presents: A Celebration of the publication,
Russel and Mary Wright: Dragon Rock at Manitoga
A Discussion with author Jennifer Golub & Eames Demetrios
Sunday, May 1st 2022 at 4:00 PM

Jennifer Golub discusses her new book Russel and Mary Wright: Dragon Rock at Manitoga with Eames Demetrios.

“The book fills in the gaps, from how the house evolved to Mary’s involvement. It’s a new deeply considered way to understand the collaborative work. It’s a beauty.” – John Danzer, Munder Skiles, emeritus board of directors, Manitoga\Russel Wright Design Center.

Best known for American Modern dinnerware, Russel and Mary Wright were at the forefront of American mid-century industrial design. Mary’s role as a partner, designer and entrepreneur is discussed here for the first time. Multiple archives have been synthesized exploring the innovation of Russel and Mary Wright’s design practice, their home and the extensive 77 acres of Woodland Paths at Dragon Rock, Manitoga.

Russel and Mary Wright: Dragon Rock at Manitoga is an immersive experience evoking the individuality of these artists, the spirit of architecture and design in the mid 20th century and their ethos which continues to flourish.

Jennifer Jennifer Golub is the author of Russel and Mary Wright: Dragon Rock at Manitoga. Her previous publication was Albert Frey Houses 1+2, also published by Princeton Architectural Press. She has produced award winning branded content for the likes of Apple, Adidas, Levi’s, RayBan, and directed and produced Apple’s Emmy award winning “Think Different”. She is the founder of A-Frame Content, generating communications at the intersection of art and social impact. She has served on boards and developed content for various foundations including the XQ Institute, Conservation International, Virgin Unite, (RED), Rock the Vote, Feeding America and Phillip Johnson’s Glass House. She has produced films for Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, curated art exhibitions, and has commissioned multiple architectural projects. She resides in Los Angeles, West Marin and New York City.

Eames Eames Demetrios is best known in the design world as director of the Eames Office and for authoring several design books — including An Eames Primer and Essential Eames. He has authored 11 books altogether and contributed to many others. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Eames Foundation, responsible for taking care of the Eames House. His current large-scale project is his parallel universe, Kcymaerxthaere, a global artwork of multi-dimensional storytelling. For this Eames has so far installed 143 markers and historic sites involving 27 linear languages, in 30 countries on 6 continents. (There is a ready-to-go design for the Moon.) Demetrios has also made over 60 films (mostly shorts) on topics from the Modern Maya to Frank Gehry, from homelessness to legendary winemaker Peter Gago. Genres include fiction, documentary and animation. Demetrios has given talks in 50 countries, including on the mainstage of the legendary TED conference. Eames Demetrios lives with his family in Los Angeles, California.

Helms Design Center |8745 Washington Boulevard (1/2 block West of Arcana!) Culver City.
Signed copies of the book will be available during the event. If you cannot attend, you may purchase a copy here.

Print Pomona Art Book Fair’s Inaugural Returned to the Benton Museum After a Two Year Hiatus Due to the Global Issue

By Kevin Green
Published 4-7-2022 10:22Am PST

Visual art book lovers throughout Southern California were able to finally enjoy an art book fair. Print Pomona Art Book Fair took over the city of trees and PhDs last weekend, while other art book fairs and book markets did not open as usually scheduled this year within Los Angeles county. Book lovers were able to travel to East Los Angeles County to Claremont, CA, just on the border of the Inland Empire. There were four days of art books with lectures and book signings included. With the guidance of Justine Bea Bias, the communications and engagement manager at The Benton Museum at Pomona College, hosted its first artists’ book fair, which included zines and other forms of printed materials.

Founder Julian Lucas said, "This is not a reinvention of the wheel - there are book fairs throughout California and across the globe. However, I was able to recognize there was a need and I took initiative to create a platform for independent publishers, zine makers, and print artists right here. - It’s an opportunity to introduce something new, dope, and exciting right here."

Print Pomona Art Book Fair is sponsored by The Arts Area as a fiscal sponsor and has an open submissions call welcoming those who would like to apply for a table. PPABF will also look to expand in other ways by offering other types of book-related

Paul Guilmoth: At Night Gardens Grow

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Text by Laura Chen
Published February 1, 2022 9:57 Am PST
This Review was Produced by Mirrored Society, A Bookstore on the Arts. The Pomonan is co-publishing this review.

In between dusk and dawn, the world gives rise to darkness. In the dead of the night, emotions and atmospheres are heightened by the intensity of near absence. Lack of light means lack of vision but stimulates vivid dreams and vivacious imagination. We see and hear things that may not be there, and even places that are most familiar to us can change within the murky depths and moonlit shadows. However, this nocturnal interval does not only equate to that which is daunting. Rather, we can liken it to the Chinese philosophical concept of Yin and Yang, which describes the duality of life: how everything is twofold. The opposing forces of “dark and light” prevail the 124 pages of Paul Guilmoth’s most recent publication ‘At Night Gardens Grow’, in which elements of menace melancholy and blissful hope peacefully co-exist.

When we think of a garden, the conventional image that comes to mind is one on a sunny afternoon, yet the title of this book suggests a different account. Here, the garden — the periphery between the home and the outside world — is depicted at a time when most of us are fast asleep, safely tucked in bed. Using a harsh flash, Guilmoth captures the garden and its surrounding fields in rural New England, and all the flora and fauna that breathe, linger, lurk, creep, and crawl there. Unfurling from the landscape the artist calls home, the transmute hours of the night become a stage for a mystifying tale.

Courtesy of Stanley/Barker

Eerie and spectral in appearance, the black and white photographs feature the land and its inhabitants in an ethereal state, at times as if caught in the midst of some age-old ritual or ceremony. From births to baptisms, funerals, and folklore, a myriad of symbolic and religious references prevail in the work. We see nymph-like women bathing in water and bodies buried underneath layers of soil. A bearded man lies down on leafy and earthy ground, pointing at something outside of the frame. A woman stands by a door opening, bewildered as if sleep-walking. Both are dressed in a delicate white nightgown. Elsewhere, a smoldering fire engulfs a house in such a way that it looks like the whole structure was made from paper and was set alight by just a single spark.

In another, we see a cycle of life, a biorhythm: a tranquil-looking newborn baby surrounded by a circle of mushrooms, presented as a sacrifice or offering for worship of the innocence of youth. We see two children with maturing faces and vacant stares amongst pungent plants, foreshadowing the image of a lonesome man sitting on a bed of flowers, with his hands in his hair, seemingly in a state of despair. We arrive at a predicated realisation: how did we grow up so quickly? The fragility of life is that it comes to us in fleeting moments.

As the boundaries between reality and fantasy are indiscernible, it becomes difficult to tell whether a scene or gesture was found or fabricated. As a result, the viewer is invited to fill in the blanks, bringing their own beliefs to the narrative.

Along with the magical and spiritual, there is also a sense of longing that protrudes from the work. The artist explains: “The photographs have one foot in modern America and the other in a land of the past. Any clear sense of locality is lost in favour of a more fluid and universal language.” In one image we are stood in the middle of an empty road, watching flames appear like clouds of smoke in the shape of lost souls, followed by an image of another impenetrable road with two deer — one stood on either side — drawing us further into the vacuum void beyond. Later, a ladder occupies the inner walls of a cave, resting against the entrance that dwindles to a vanishing point. These are images that offer an escape from reality; a gateway into Guilmoth’s haunting world that is laced with the subtle sentiment of grief and tenderness.

We are carried through the sequence of the book at an apprehensive pace, but according to an observant and deliberate edit, one that flourishes in a poised and palpable way. Though it may feel calm and quiet at times, ‘At Night Gardens Grow’ is never mute: stark bursts and blinding rays of light enter through the gaps of a condensed family of trees and shrubs, revealing buzzing swarms of insects, bats, and birds that fly across the pages. Filled with a bewitching and turmoil energy, the light further illuminates dew and raindrops on spiderwebs that form floating silk constellations between the branches, far and wide. In some images, Guilmoth has captured infinite exposures of stellar skies within the same frame, creating an abundance of corporeal and visceral presence.

Courtesy of Stanley/Barker

Courtesy of Stanley/Barker

From desolate forests to streaming waterfalls and carved rocks — Guilmoth’s allegorical images show the non-permanence of everything around us, and the intrinsic relationship between humans and nature. Though there is no text in the book, a thank you page at the end calls for another layer of understanding. It reads: “For Trula Drinkard-Goolsby (1915-2021).” Evidently, this was someone close to the artist. In their statement, Guilmoth reveals how they decided to centre this photographic study around Trula’s last day spent laying in the field, before she passed away on July 17th. In their own words: “The week before Trula died, she began spending entire days reclined in her field. Her body would be so still we would come up closer to be sure she had not left us. A slight movement of her head chasing a loose swallow, or a finger grazing a plucked blade of grass was enough. Tuesday night she had come into the kitchen after a particularly long 12 hours in her field. Her hair disheveled like a bird’s nest. She looked at a rhubarb stalk on the table and said to us ‘all this time I have never seen the flowers growing, but they are taller every morning.’”

The full story behind Guilmoth’s muse remains a mystery, but regardless of how little we are told, we might read and see her in some of the photographs that commemorate her in a way words never could. The penultimate image in the book features a cave-like passage once more. It is partially lit up by a graceful and heavenly incoming source of light that casts a shadow of a person. A goodbye: the final appearance of Trula, perhaps?

Because of the minimalist blank layout of the book, a recurring motif becomes apparent when we come to its end: spiderwebs. Spread out across several pages, we are lured in like prey. They not only break up the sequence of the work but also act as a metaphor for the overarching message, which is one of potency, endurance, and resilience. More than anything, ‘At Night Gardens Grow’ is an elegy to a queer world and the ubiquitous terrains of identity. It is about the island it was created on, just as much as it is about the worlds and loved ones we carry within ourselves.

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Paul Guilmoth (b. 1993) is an American photographer currently based between the UK and New England, USA. They graduated with a MFA in Photography from Maine College of Art in 2015 and co-founded the publication studio Wilt Press. They are focused on bookmaking, photography, and their intersections. Guilmoth’s photographs utilize subtle levels of interference and performance that exaggerate uncertainty over truth while describing a world strangely familiar and palpable. They have had exhibitions globally, including at Leica Gallery London, Aviary Gallery Boston, Red Hook Labs New York, among many others. Most notably, their collaboration in the collection ‘Sleep Creek’ is featured in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. ‘At Night Gardens Grow’ was released in 2021 and is available for purchase from Stanley/Barker.

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Laura Chen is a Dutch image maker and writer based in London, UK. Working within the fields of photography, mixed-media, and found or archival material, her multidisciplinary practice associates a fine art and documentary approach where research, implementation, and intervention are closely intertwined. Recurring themes and interests include identity, memory, tactility, the marginalised, disregarded, and overlooked - whether in everyday objects or groups of people who live and work on the fringes of society. Her work has been featured in and published by British Journal of Photography, Photo London, Lensculture, Canon, PhMuseum, GUP, amongst others. In 2020 she graduated from Birmingham City University with a BA in Photography. She is currently undertaking an MA in Photography Arts at the University of Westminster London.

Mirrored Society Books: Photobooks of 2021 - Julian Lucas

This Article was Produced by Mirrored Society, A Bookstore on the Arts. The Pomonan is co-publishing this article.

Text Julian Lucas
Published 12/29/2021 8:30 Am PST

Wow! Where did 2021 go! This has been a year of hesitation due to the uncertainties. I am happy that publishers continued to publish photobooks even though we are all dealing with stressors. I truly believe photobooks and zines help our mental health as we can escape our realities like a movie.

Anyway enough of that. I want to present to you my list of photobooks for 2021.

Rahim Fortune, I Can’t Stand to See You Cry
Rahim Fortune's I Can’t Stand To See You Cry seems like reminds me stills from a short film the way images strikingly appear popping from the pages. The portrait of a man with an enticing expression acts as an offering of warning before going further. The images just give a hint of the setting, the environment, and the climate. Indoors, is full of nostalgia - at least for me - the focus of the lantern rested on a side table, the tying of the scarf to keep every strand of hair wisp-free, the French armoire, the glass nightstand, the tangled wires that calmly hang are like déjà vu.

Imagery, emotionally driven; the interaction, delicately structured - all define Black life in the South. The house represents not only the setting but also life and how to maintain it.

Will Harris, You Can Call Me Nana
You can call me Nana portrays the struggle of enduring difficult times with an immediate relative who suffers from dementia. A personal documentary of images and ephemera includes a double-sided advertisement of the new home tract. a grocery list. The diamond-cut Victorian doorknob.  the exposed wood frame from the crumbling plaster wall. the image of the veteran definitely takes me back in time.

Fulvio Ventura’s Sagacity
Sagacity is a cohesive body of photographs compiled and archived for 40 years as an open-ended project. Poetically striking on one hand, and intentionality as a matter of fact on the other. Beautifully arranged.

Linda Zhengova, Catharsis, Self Published
Linda Zhengova’s, Catharsis confronts traumatic events. The imagery adds a whole new dimension to photography. The use of vibrant and hypnotic colors against the human figure is exceptional. In contrast, the artwork defines emotions that appear to be playful and gives clues of an event of the past. 

Void Tokyo, Zine
Void Tokyo VOL 7 2021 presents their zine’s newest edition with an array of breathtaking images from 14 superb photographers, highlighting the culture and its response to a widespread pandemic that has, with great force, affected daily life. It’s an ongoing investigation with various photographers each with their own distinct perspective.

In this fast-evolving environment, our metropolises continue to expand and advance or retreat. It’s a shift or an invasion of new definitions of culture or class. Some see it as a step in the right direction - however, current global issues have created a slew of unexpected challenges, a step forward or removal of culture has both slowed down or speeded up.

Tim Carpenter and Nathan Pearce, South of Chicago
South of Chicago is about rural landscape and space. Unmanicured brush, tractor tracks, and the open road to land, acres of land for miles, and life that exists outside of the metropolitan city of Chicago.

Julian Lucas, is the founder and owner of Mirrored Society Books. Julian is also a fine art photographer, and documentary photographer. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking unhoused individuals to housing.

Mirrored Society Books: Photobooks of 2021 by Linda Zhengová

This Article was Produced by Mirrored Society, A Bookstore on the Arts. The Pomonan is co-publishing this article.

Linda Zhengova
Published 12/21/2021 3:40PM PST

Photobooks are a great resource, especially during the pandemic as they provide a space to immerse ourselves into someone else’s world. Like a small-scale intimate exhibition that is available at a particular moment only for us to see…

I was invited to curate a selection of photobooks that caught my eye during the course of 2021. As an editor and photographer, I came across many books throughout the year, yet there were only a few that genuinely moved me. I have, therefore, decided to select my top 5 photobooks that I thought not only showcase aesthetically beautiful images but rather pursue something stronger, be it emotional intensity, existential quests, or just unconventional representations of daily life.

I will not prolong this further and delve into my favourite photobooks of 2021.

Figure 1 - Courtesy of Theo Elias

Theo Elias – Red/January 2021 (Self-Published)

Elias’s self-published monograph captures the secluded Swedish landscape during the coldest month of the year – January. There are apparent contrasts and metaphors present in the book and the colour red tends to predominate. Submerged in these intensive hues, one immediately gets to feel the atmosphere through the images. Through his use of experimental analogue photography processes alongside thermal and trail cameras, he manages to compose an intriguing publication dealing with the themes of intimacy and existence where both personal and universal narratives intertwine.

Figure 2 - Courtesy of AKAAKA-sha and inri

RongRong & inri – Symposion About Love 1996-2000 (AKAAKA-sha)

 ‘Symposion About Love 1996-2000’ is a comprehensive collection of inri’s works composed from four series prior to meeting her partner RongRong – “Selfportrait”, “Maximax”, “Gray Zone” and “1999 Tokyo” that are now conceptually connected by the theme of love. The photographs presented are dark, yet colourful having both grotesque and performative elements. Her representation of bodies in alien-like poses and greatly expressive gestures in combination with flowers and flowy kimonos provide a great insight into Inri’s innovative approach to the medium.

Figure 3 - Courtesy of Art Paper Editions and Rita Lino

Rita Lino – Replica (APE)

 ‘Replica’ presents a futuristic vision that aims to showcase the body and the model as a pure image without any prescribed inherent identity, escaping the expectations of the self today. The publication can be considered as a detailed study of the female body which is liberatingly de-sexualized, rather its form and shape are put into the forefront, having an almost dehumanizing effect. Lino’s self-portraiture is controlled, her body is presented in a machine-like manner, exposing the questioning of her role in front and behind the camera.

Figure 4 - Courtesy of Dienacht Publishing and Dinaya Waeyaert

Dinaya Waeyaert – Come Closer (Dienacht Publishing)

 Waeyaert has now published her second photobook ‘Come Closer’ which presents a love story of two women – Dinaya and Paola. The combination of Dinaya’s photographs with Paola’s written notes create a deeply intimate and diaristic publication, showing both the couple’s ups and downs. ‘Come Closer’ additionally includes numerous hand-made elements which add up to the book’s authenticity and personal nature. Through the presentation of their four-year relationship, we get a glimpse of their close-knit world.

Figure 5 - Courtesy of Stanley & Barker and Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg – Fingerprint (Stanley & Barker)

 Jim Goldberg is known for his seminal project ‘Raised by Wolves’ in which he documented the troubled youth of California between the years 1985-1995. Goldberg not only portrayed their harsh reality filled with addiction, abuse, and violence, but also invited his subjects to write their thoughts, dreams, and desires on top of the photographs, giving voice to those who often remain on the fringes of mainstream society.

 Now, after 26 years, the photographer decided to publish previously unpublished Polaroids from the project which were originally gifts for the people he photographed. In the end, the combination of text, imagery, and way of printing function as vehicles to arouse emotions and empathy in the audience – something quite rare to witness…

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Linda Zhengová is a Czech photographer and writer currently based in the Netherlands. At the moment, she is editorially contributing to GUP Magazine and Discarded Magazine. She is also the curator of XXX - a new section of Discarded Magazine showcasing the vision of contemporary erotic photography. In photography, she uses the medium to challenge the existing boundaries and taboos surrounding the themes of gender, sexuality, and trauma.

Garages Aren’t Just For Storage, Doing The laundry, Or Shitty Scream Metal Bands Anymore

Text & Photography Julian Lucas

When all events were forced to cancel and or postpone back in 2020, the art world has been taking things online for 2021. As we all brace ourselves and get closer to bringing the book and art scene back to real life, many have been taking baby steps to full-on public socializing. This past weekend there was a micro art event inside a garage and backyard, entitled “Garage Sell Book Fair.”  The book fair included artists’ books and out-of-print editions from about 12 exhibitors.

These Days, The Ice Plant, and &Pens Press were present and Dead Beat Club Press kept cups filled with Dead Beat Club Coffee as well as our eyes glued to their opulent collection of photo-books. As people sat out picnic style you can hear the conversations of what a joy it was to be able to meet in person again, and topics of what books to collect, what artists to keep a watch on and what projects indie publishers are working on. Enjoying the outside air was Hot Dog Energy Fruit, Either Way LA, Darrin Klein (Box of Books) Louis Schmidt and more.

Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

Curious Publishing and Cappuccinos & Drip Hosted a Zine Fest with 250 in Attendance

Text and Photography Julian Lucas

It was a weekend of zine collectors, enthusiasts, and collectors of printed matter emerged from transitional quarantine to attend, Zine Fest presented by Curious Publishing and Cappuccinos & Drip coffee shop (Caps & Drip) located inside of O'Donovan's Restaurant & Pub in Pomona this past weekend.  

The fest included around 20 print artists and artisans from the surrounding and local community, featuring notably, Hella Awkward Shop, John Dishwasher Zine, Cops are Robbers, and Cheyne Ellot just to name a few.. Handmade accessories by Orange Grotto, and Mirrored Society Books stepped up to the plate and showcased a small curated collection of imported photo-books from Europe, Mexico City, Japan, and Singapore, including Books by Los Angeles photographers.

It didn’t just stop at zines and printed matter, Christian Cuevas Caro led an exciting hands on workshop on the Cyanotype process. Which is defined as, a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. 

It was definitely a beautiful time meeting and hanging out with fellow artists listening to music by Reneetalks sipping coffee by the homies from Caps & Drip and beautifully crafted cocktails by Pomona’s one and only P.town Social. 

DID YOU KNOW
In various subcultures, zines have been a major media of communication. The oldest zine festival on the west coast dates back 20 years to the Portland Zine Symposium which began in 2001. The Los Angeles Zine Fest was established 11 years later, and was first held at the Last Bookstore in 2012. The Los Angeles Public Library launched a circulating zine collection in partnership with the Los Angeles Zine. LAPL states, “zine content can be personal, political, niche, artistic, visual—there are no rules! We have zines for all ages by local and international zinesters.”

Because zines have cultural and academic value, major libraries and museums such as the British Library and the TATE have also created a zine archive, again without any RULES! - HINT! HINT!

Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

What is an Artists' Book? Theory Understanding Meaning and Importance

Mirrored Society Books 2016
Specializes in Imported Photobooks
Usually Books that aren’t distributed

By Julian Lucas
Published 4/29/2021 12:00Am PST
Photo Courtesy Mirrored Society Books

I've had a numerous discussions in which I attempted to describe what an artist's book is. I usually end up banging my head on the wall out of frustration because of the disconnect. I'll attempt to describe in more depth, highlighting intriguing pieces of book art, mainly photo-books, which, I have been collecting for quite some time. 

But what exactly is an artist’ book? More than likely, you can't simply tell just from looking at the piece itself.

The simple answer to someone not familiar with artists’ books might be: art in book form. But they are not quite so simple…

An artists’ book would be any work of art held in book form, meaning the book is the medium of artistic expression that uses the form or function of “book” as inspiration. The book as a whole, not just the photographs within it would be an art piece, the sculpture. Think of it this way. 

For me, as a purveyor and collector of artists’ books, a photo-book is any book with a very limited amount or without text, in which the image takes center stage. The book will simply be a medium for authors to show their work (the photographs). 

Elizabeth Shannon, in her The Rise of the Photobook in the Twenty-First Century essay, likes the definition of Ralph Prins better:

A photobook is an autonomous art form, comparable with a piece of sculpture, a play or a film. The photographs lose their own photographic character as things ‘in themselves’ and become parts, translated into printing ink, of a dramatic event called a book.

The artist's purpose is what really defines an artist's book, and artists have been using the book as inspiration in a number of contexts and methods, ranging from conventional to unconventional.

Book printing and finishing techniques have become much more inexpensive and more widespread in recent years, allowing artists and or photographers more access to these resources, approaching an aesthetic that has always been used in artist books. Usually artists’ books are unique and limited in editions, sometimes produced in multiple copies. Nevertheless, with many ideas behind them, artists continue to challenge the idea, content and structure of the traditional book. 

BRIEF HISTORY

The first forerunner to contemporary artists' books is probably the British artist William Blake, who worked in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Blake was a poet, painter and printmaker. He wanted to integrate his visual and written work. While Blake produced traditional format books, he was radical in his desire to integrate the text and visuals on each page. He developed a new printing method that allowed for this integration.What is especially notable about Blake is his role as a predecessor of the sentiments expressed by book artists of the 1960's. Blake was "seeking a means of bringing the production of illustrated texts under his own control so that he could become his own publisher, independent of commercial publishers and letterpress printers." This independence is key to the creation of an artist's book. Yale University Library

To sum it all up there is books about art or photography, but in the artists’ book world, the book is the art. Oh and please stop calling artists’ books, “Coffee Table Books”, to me it devalues the art, and trust me you wouldn’t want your expensive artists’ or photo-book sitting on a coffee table next to a bag of greasy pop corn or a cup of joe.

ZINES

ZINE (n): pronounced "ZEEN" which is short for MAGA-ZINE, not pronounced ZYNE” damn it!

A zine is a self-published, non-commercial print-work that is typically produced in small, limited batches.  Zines are created and bound in many DIY ways, but traditionally editions are easily reproduced—often by crafting an original “master flat,” and then photocopying, folding, and stapling the pages into simple pamphlets.  Zines may also be sewn, taped, glued—or even exist in unbound and other non-folio formats.  The main rule is that there are no rules!

​People who create zines [“zinesters”] are likely to be more motivated by self-expression and artistic passion than they are by profit: zines are usually inexpensive and sometimes distributed for free or in trade for other zines, goods, and services. 

​Zines can touch on a variety of topics from music and art, to politics, sexuality, humor and personal memoir.  Their content may be written, drawn, printed, collaged, or any other form of combining words and imagery—a zine’s structure may be narrative, journalistic, comic-like, or completely abstract. - The Bindery

FAR AWAY FROM HOME by 35mm Mistress (Zine)

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To Find out more about the history of zines please visit here . Also as things begin to open back up please be sure to keep a look out for Art Book Fairs happening, locally such as Print Pomona Art Book Fair and globally. Just know Art Book Fairs can really be overwhelmingly packed. View the sample video of LA Art Book Fair below.

To Find out more information about Artists’ Books and Photobooks please see links provided below.

Book Art Resources: Brief History of Artists' Books

The Journal of Artists’ Books

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist.

Printed Matter: non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of publications made by artists.

Artists’ Books: a critical anthology and sourcebook. ed. Joan Lyons. Rochester: The Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1985.

Bury, Stephen. Artists’ Books: the Book as a Work of Art, 1963-1995. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1995.

Castleman, Riva. A Century of Artists Books. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1994.

Drucker, Johanna. The Century of Artists’ Books. 2nd ed. New York City: Granary Books, 2004.

Artist/Author: Contemporary Artists’ Books. Eds. Cornelia Lauf and Clive Phillpot. New York: Art Publishers Inc., 1998.

Perrée, Rob. Cover to cover: the artist’s book in perspective.  Rotterdam : NAi Publishers, 2002.

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Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW PRINT MATTERS: CURIOUS PUBLISHING & CALAMITY OPEN'S THE NIGHT WITH A MAGAZINE RELEASE AND IT'S SOLD OUT

Text & Photography Julian Lucas

Who needs an art walk when you have a network of supporters, collectors and enthusiasts. Aaron Longsleeves and Rebecca Ustrell of Curious Publishing drops Calamity this past weekend.

It was more than a party of people drinking free cheap wine and cheese. In fact there wasn’t any bottles of 2 buck chuck or cheese trays from Trader Joes, just a late afternoon and late night with art enthusiast who understand the importance of print.

The book/magazine drop began at Vital Pomona and ended at Hylvl with a pop-up by The Intercom and beats by Jimmy Krates, Devf Ears, and Junie. The walls were covered by artist Zottie.

Arron Longsleeves of Calamity Magazine
Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Rebecca Ustrell of Curious Publishing
Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

View fullsize

Sisco Tacos
Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Artist Zottie
Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

The Crowd at Hylvl
Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2021

NOTE: As many of you know I don’t usually cover events. However, since this event had to do with PRINT, I didn’t mind, since I also understand the importance of print and print matters.

Peace and Dred Lock Grease!

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Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

Pomona Houses by Marcia Hafif

Photography John Cizmas

Text Julian Lucas
Photography John Cizmas

One positive thing about 2020 is I received a really, really, I mean really, nice gift from a really nice friend. I rarely receive gifts, especially a gift such as what I received. This got me thinking why don’t I receive receive gifts often? It might probably be because of my blunt nature, but then I realized, nah, whether I am outspoken or direct, people who really know me understand where I come from. Anyway, let me give you the tea about Marcia Hafif, the artist, and who she was, so that I could get the gift.

Marcia Hafif born Marcia Jean Woods in 1929 in Pomona, CA attended Pomona College and received her master's at UC Irvine. Hafif later moved and resided in the same neighborhood as the prominent Ferus Gallery on La Cienega in Los Angeles. She eventually travelled to Rome, and what was supposed to be a year-long trip ended up an 8-year stay. During this time, in 1964, she had her first solo show at Galleria La Salita, had a child who is her surviving son, Peter Nitoglia, and created some of her most notable, vivid Pop-Minimal works of art. Her exhibition, Italian Paintings, 1961 - 1969, based on this period, she displayed in her New York gallery.

Installation view of Marcia Hafif Remembered at Fergus McCaffrey, New York, 2018 (image © The Estate of Marcia Hafif © Marcia Hafif Trust, image courtesy Fergus McCaffrey, New York)

Hafif relocated back to California in 1969 to be part of the University of California at Irvine's inaugural MFA class. For many years, she put painting aside, and began to concentrate on photography, sound, and sculpture. She then traveled to New York, first with her series Pencil on Paper (1972-1976), where she delved into drawing, and then started painting again, progressing into creating the monochromatic works that characterized much of her most mature series. For the rest of her six-decade-long career, she kept working through mediums, including performance. Sometime when arriving back in California, Marcia had made a book entitled, Pomona Houses.

Courtesy of the Julian Lucas Library

Pomona Houses, consists of black-and-white photographs of suburban homes in Pomona, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Published by Motherlode Editions 1972.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

When Marcia Hafif returned home to her Pomona, California suburb after a decade of living abroad, she found that her childhood home had been demolished. In an exercise to recreate memories of the place, she photographed other houses in the neighborhood, of which a selection are collected in this book.

Similar in format, style and subject matter to Ed Ruscha’s Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Pomona Houses was published several years afterward to accompany an exhibition at Ivan Karp Gallery in New York. Hafif, whose oeuvre is largely painting, said that she didn’t know of Ruscha’s work at the time of photographing the series, and that it was Ivan Karp who designed and produced the book.

I honestly chuckled when reading the description of the book. I couldn’t believe what I had read. I read it again and this time I smirked in disbelief shaking my head: “She found that her childhood home had been demolished”. I then thought to myself demolishing houses and buildings is an issue in Pomona.

Furthermore, as a fine art photographer and a photojournalist and one who has made photo-books in the past, Pomona Houses, has definitely highlighted the importance of documentation.  

To any creative person interested in architecture, experience, history and photojournalism – I strongly recommend making attempts to find this book and purchase it. Just know there were only 300 copies printed, so you will have to search far and wide.

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Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer and photojournalist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

Curious Publishing Virtual Zine And Print Fair

A Virtual Zine and Print Fair
April 11th-24th at Curious Publishing

Curious Publishing presents a virtual zine and print fest celebrating the exciting world of printed ephemera. This exciting event invites patrons and community members of all backgrounds serving as a virtual meeting space for artists, indie publishing houses and book enthusiasts, as well as a space for dialogue and exchange around all facets of arts publishing. Enjoy printed media in forms such as: cyanotype, risograph, block prints, photographs, hand bound zines, posters, art-books, and much more. Our virtual Zine and Print Fair will allow you to view and purchase from the comfort of your phone or computer! This 14-day fair is the first Virtual Fair presented by Curious Publishing, and will incorporate dozens of vendors and a print sale to benefit Curious Publishing’s efforts toward opening their print studio in 2022. To support the independent zine and print makers participating, all vendors participating will receive 100% of the sales made!

Curious Publishing is a fiscally sponsored project of The Arts Area, a 501 C (3) Non-Profit Organization. Curious Publishing is 100% artist owned and operated since 2017. We tell the stories of artists of all practices who reside throughout San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and the High Desert Communities through one of a kind, small-run artbooks designed and printed in Southern California. We aim to celebrate the rich diaspora of Inland Empire, Womxn, BIPOC and Queer Artists first and foremost.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH HUDA AZZIS OF YOUR LOCAL NEWSSTAND

Huda Azzis
Your Local Newsstand

Interview by Julian Lucas

Huda Azzis is a Singapore based freelance video editor, but she doesn’t stop there. Huda is also the founder of the independent publishing group, Your Local Newsstand. Huda has many goals, but one goal that stands out to me was to create a platform that was inclusive to many photographers across the globe.

So you are a freelance video editor living in Singapore. Are you from Singapore? How did you get into freelance video editing?

Yes I am! I was born in Singapore and have been living here all my life. I studied film in school and right after graduation got my first job as a junior video editor at a small production company specialising in television dramas. After a few years, I took a gap year and eventually began freelancing. That was when I was first introduced to other formats of filmmaking such as documentaries, short films, tvs and corporate projects. I have been freelancing for the past 6 years or so. 

 Have you made any short films? What Genre do you focus on?

My job requires me to work on many different genres and formats. I mostly work on longform documentaries for broadcast networks and channels such as Channel NewsAsia, National Geographic, Bloomberg, Al-Jazeera etc. But since a lot of content has been moving online, a lot of the projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on also have moved to various digital platforms in various formats. 
I would say the only content that I’ve ever directed/produced was solely for Your Local Newsstand. Last year, I decided to launch NEWS Presents which is a series of mini docmentaries featuring various photographers. It’s kind of a vignette - very short form documentary. That was something that was very exciting. I’ve always wanted to make something of my own and having this great opportunity to talk about photographic works by photographers I admire and respect is a very exciting process!

I also read you were also a photographer. Do you have a concentration on subject matter? How long have you been making pictures?

Honestly, I wouldn’t consider myself a photographer. I’m still a hobbyist at heart! I still enjoy portrait photography but I don’t really limit myself to anything really.

Hito Bito
Huda Azzis

“Zines are important to our society because it’s not being pushed by any bigger agenda”.

Did your photographic experience lead you into making zines and owning and operating your publishing company, “Your Local Newsstand” ? By the way It’s such a great name, actually catches the attention. Why publishing?

Haha, thanks! The name was actually derived from a Frank Ocean article I read once and thought that it really explained what I wanted to do with zines and publishing really well. YLN really started from my love of zines and zine making. I’ve been collecting zines for almost a decade now and I really like the idea of what zines meant. Zines can mean many things to different authors and anyone can make zines. That’s the allure of publishing zines for me. Photography on the other hand was something that came later on. I guess it was just something that gradually happened you know - publishing photography zines. 

 
What do you look for as a publisher, meaning how do you choose who you want to publish? Is it both you and the artist collaborating or do you have total creative control?

I think for me, story is king. When I look at a photography project, I will never read the descriptions or statements first. I would look at the images and if the images are compelling enough to make me want to know more about the project, that’s when I would read up on it. Because every photography project is different and takes on different forms, I don’t have any pre-requisite on what we should/should not publish under YLN. 

“Give The Devil His Due”
by Louis Leeson
Your Local Newsstand

With zine publishing on the other hand - I give pretty much full creative control to the photographer however they want to tell the story within a zine format. I do this because I believe that this is their story and so they should at least have some sort of freedom to do what they feel is best for this story that they’ve been working on for months/years. I’ll come in halfway to collaborate on image sequencing etc but at the end of the day I would say my involvement is more collaborative rather than coming in with an “Editor/Publisher” mentality. One of the main reasons I was attracted to zines was because it was so unconventional.

When I was younger, I was amazed that zines was something that anyone could make. I didn’t know anything like that. I was into magazines a lot so coming across zines was like “Woah” yknow. You don’t need fancy equipments or materials or anyone to vet your work or anything like that. It was just something that you could do with a photocopy machine and some photoshop. So with YLN, I try to adopt that same mentality where the photographer gets pretty much complete freedom in the way they want to tell their story.

5651Km Around the Iberian Peninsula, 2019
Giovanni Riccó

Before the pandemic have you published any zines on occasion of an exhibition?

No, I haven’t yet. It’s something on my mind but it’s financially restraining. Organizing an exhibition is not cheap and as a independent publishing group where everything is out of my own pocket - it’s difficult to justify producing a photo exhibition. But it’s something that’s definitely on my mind. Hopefully, it’s something that is slightly more feasible in the future. 

 
What do you find interesting about publishing?

I think the format itself is very interesting. Photography itself is a visual medium. Books/zines are also visual medium but they create a more tactile experience for its audiences. So the meld of these two very very visual mediums together is something that I find interesting. It’s very casual (because we touch things everyday) but also very intimate and dynamic. If you were to view a photography exhibition virtually vs being on the ground and walking through the spaces - it’s very different. Same thing about publishing.

The joy of photography books/zines to me is always my very first experience with it - opening the pages of each book.

 
Why do you find zines important to our society?

Zines are important to our society because it’s not being pushed by any bigger agenda. It’s completely independent. And because it’s much more accessible to produce, anyone with a desire to tell a story can make one. Especially things that are not talked about/taboo to speak about on mainstream media. It’s like how New Media has paved the way for so many unconventional topics to be talked about - something that you previously cannot speak about on traditional media. But I do believe on the other hand zines is a great tool for self expression and experimentation. If you are interested in creating something but don’t know what works for you, making a zine is always a good learning experience! 

Baby It’s A Heatwave
John Sage

Are you a collector as well? What was the last zine you purchased? What was the last photobook you purchased?

Yes definitely. I have a ton of zines that I’ve been collecting since I was 14 years old. And I would keep my zines in plastic and put them in alphabetical folders haha! But space is a constraint at the moment so I try to limit myself to not compulsively purchase crazy amounts of zines haha. Recently I’ve been purchasing quite a number of photobooks though. The last photobook I purchased was by Chinese photographer RongRong’s ‘Bejing East Village’ I think that’s my favourite book at the moment. It’s just so good!

 What are your plans for the new year any new projects in the works?

I definitely have my eyes to producing more minidocumentaries. A group zine is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. But it’s hush-hush for now. Nothing is in the works at the moment, but I think with a group zine - there’s more room to experiment and on my part much more collaborative and curatorial works - which is something I’m looking forward to trying my hands on.

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Website
yourlocalnewsstand.com
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Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.

Independent Bookstores Are Not Dead in the Inland Empire Curated Chronicles is Living Proof

Melanie Walden owner of Curated Chonicles

Interview & Photography by Julian Lucas

I was able to speak with Melanie Walden the founder of Curated Chronicles. Curated Chronicles is a nice change for downtown Upland as well the Inland Empire. I was pleasantly surprised when I learn Curated Chronicles had just about finished remodeling and was going to open, even during a pandemic. Finally, a bookstore in the IE focused on art and design, what more would a person want!

I’m not going to write a long drawn out introduction, but let me write this, if you have any last minute holiday shopping, you better get your ass down to Curated Chronicles an art focused cool vibrant bookstore and SUPPORT!!!

Do you have a background in art? What was your most favorable courses while studying abroad? How did studying in Europe shape who you are as an artist? 

My background in art really cultivated within my family through my entire childhood. My parents started a wooden toy business when I was a baby and successfully carried it on until I was about 8 or 9. I grew up immersed in the creative conceptual process down to the operations and going to trade shows and craft fairs. Additionally my Mom has worked from home as a seamstress for over 50 years now. Fast forward I ended up studying in London at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design. I had to fund my education and was only able to afford my foundation year there. I focused on coursework called Artifact with a goal in prepping for a BA in Design for Performance if I were miraculously to stumble upon a pot of gold to pay for the rest of my education. I did not find that pot however I learned some incredible basics skills that I carried throughout my creative process to this day. Not to mention the incredible life changing experience of living, working and studying in that amazing city. Not to mention the life changing event of living there during the 2005 bombings. After returning back to CA I had a brief time studying at The Academy Of Arts in San Francisco but lack of funds cut that short as well.

When and why did you want to open Curated Chronicles Book dedicated to art books and zines? 

I have a cumulative of about 16+ years working retail coupled with my experience showing in art galleries.  Having been crazy inspired by walking into similar style shops while living in London I kind of pooled all of my experiences together and this concept store came about.  Aside from the concept I really wanted to provide a space that Inland Empire creatives could come and be inspired and find materials to enhance their own creative process.  I also want to be a place for those that may not understand the creative arts to come in and explore, ask questions and hopefully leave with a creative understanding which I think resides in all of us.  Books and zines for me personally pose as creative reference materials in my own work and I still draw different inspiration from when turning the pages.  They give insight into biographies of artists, provide helpful how-tos, and in the case of a lot of zines and independent published work...little pieces of bound art.

You and I both understand the importance of an artists’ book how do you interpret this information to your audience who may not be aware of this medium? 

An artists book can provide the viewer a gallery showing within reach of a bookshelf or wherever ones books may reside.  My absolute favorite artist book are those that include and most fascinating to me, the process of their work.  For those that are just tapping into their creativity or tapping back into it, I feel seeing these kinds of books and printed matter are really inspiring.  Especially if their final pieces came about in an unexpected way.

We also understand zines date back to the 1930’s how do you communicate the importance of zines in your region?

Zines are such a great tool for artists and creatives.  They can be a few pages Xeroxed, stapled and done for little to nothing making it an affordable option for starting out artist to sell and invest back into their craft or to give out for free.  When sauntering around London as a broke, foreign college student I would always delight in free zines, magazines and stickers.  Even being broke I would always figure out how to buy the hand made zine or indie book because I loved the content but it also made me feel it was attainable for me to do the same.  Put my work into a printed piece and put out into the world.

What are you most 5 favorite art books at the moment? 

1. Gift x Mari Katayama

2. Lines x Shantell Martin

3. Art Of The Fold 

4. Louise Bourgeois | An Intimate Portrait

5. Risomania | The New Sprit Of Printing

After the pandemic are there any plans to have lectures? Can give us a hint of who would be in your line up?

One of the plans for opening the store was to host creative workshops that the space could facilitate. Anything from basic how-to’s in using computer programs like Adobe Suite to shoe making to creative writing. Being newly opened and still navigating the daily operations through this uncertain time, I haven’t been able to reach out to anyone specifically. We do have artist lined up until about April/May of next year and once I get the groove of these shows then I plan to really structure ( if it’s at all possible in the next year ) to reach out to working professionals to host the workshops and create a calendar of events.

When I sold books or had exhibitions through my physical store Mirrored Society, while in conversation with visitors or customers, they would consistently tell me to “Be careful” because of the content within the books or the art on the walls. Of course I didn’t listen and continued to push the envelope. I’m not into censorship nor do I conform.

Have you gotten this feedback and what is your approach to explaining? 

Not to often but I suppose it’s to be expected when it comes to the creative arts.  Someone’s art could be beautiful and moving to one and to the next be deeply offensive.  I guess that’s one of the powers of art.

Would you like to mention any new zines or mention any local book makers and or zinesters?  

Rebecca Ustrell of Curious Publishing for sure!  She has been great with promoting and generating excitement from Curious’ fan base for my shop.  When I first came across Curious I was so excited to know of an independent Publisher in the IE putting out fresh and local artists.  I was hoping to meet new publishers and zinesters at the book fairs but alas they were cancelled before I could attend any.  I did go thorough lists of venders that were listed on digital fairs and have come across some great independents such as Can Can Press in Mexico or Cold Cube Press in Seattle.  Both of which you can find selections in the shop.

Original post here

Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.