The material aspects of the book as well as its properties as a form of communication lies at the heart of many artists’ books. The same is true for magazines and newspapers and the artists who take them on as their palette and canvas. For finding examples of print works exploring the medium in its own right, Hubert Kretschmer’s exhibition catalogue Objekt Magazine Object (2018) provides a useful resource alongside his Artists Archive Publications in Munich and this entry on a similar exhibition in Vienna the same year — Publishing as an Artistic Toolbox.

Objekt Magazine Object (2018)

Objekt Magazine Object : Archive Artist Publications, Sammlung Hubert Kretschmer, München/Munich (2018) 
Rainer Resch, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Béatrice Hernad and Hubert Kretschmer.
Perfect bound paperback. H230 x W155 mm. [256] pages. Acquired from Hubert Kretschmer, 11 July 2019.
Photo: Books On Books Collection.

As well as an archivist, Kretschmer is also a prolific practitioner of zine and book art. Here are two equal opportunity examples.

To See and Not to See (2014)

To See and Not to See (2014)
Hubert Kretschmer
Saddle-stitched booklet. H147 x W105 mm. [8] pages. Acquired from the artist, 11 July 2019.
Photos of the work: Books On Books Collection.

Various Small Dicks (2013)

Various Small Dicks (2013)
Hubert Kretschmer
Saddle stitched booklet. H149 x W105 mm. [8] pages. Acquired from the artist, 11 July 2019.
Photo: Books On Books Collection.

Further Reading and Viewing

“Publishing as an Artistic Toolbox, Vienna, 28 January 2018“. 31 January 2018. Bookmarking Book Art.

Smyth, Adam. 27 February 2024. The Bodleian Zine Fair. Oxford.