Perfectly Acceptable Press | Contact

Perfectly Acceptable Press is a risograph print studio and small publishing house based in Chicago. Beginning solely as a commissionable risograph printer, they eventually began releasing publications; primarily artist books, graphic novels, and zines.

They've built up a really varied and interesting repertoire of titles, involving a host of international artists and illustrators from Anna Haifisch, Hiller Goodspeed, and Sonnerzimmer.

I decided to contact founder Matt Davis to find out about what they do and how they operate as a press. I have my own ambitions surrounding printing and publications, and how to do this self-sufficiently and thought they may have some advice.

Questions

1. Where did your interest in independent publishing begin?

2. Can you tell me a little bit about what you do, how you operate as a small publishing house?

3. Do you see Perfectly Acceptable as a sort of record label, repping artists you enjoy and giving them a platform for their work?

4. From your own experience, what are the challenges and rewards of being a small publisher?

5. Do you have any advice for someone wanting to get involved in or set up their own independent publishing venture or press?

Contact

1st email

Reply

Questions

Self Graduate Residency 2018

Serf is an arts and project space based in Leeds, and today they released application forms form a graduate residency programme. It runs from July - December 2018, and allows chosen candidates to use a free deskspace and make use of the project space.

I thought this would be a worthwhile opportunity post-uni as I am staying in Leeds, as it would allow me access to a dedicated space for working, and a chance to become part of that creative community.

I filled out the application form, writing a short statement about my work and why the residency would be useful to me, as well as sending across images of my work.

Portfolio Research | Publications

Aside from the more traditional portfolios that we have to fill to display at the end of year show, I've also been thinking about other methods of presentation for my portfolio.

One specific option is to come up with some form of publication, which will act as a sort of catalog for my work. This has been done by a number of practitioners previously, and often acts as a really nice physical object that they send to clients and other professionals.

I feel that this would also be relevant to my practice as publications have cropped up a number of times. As mentioned previously, this publication-type-portfolio could be a way for me to not only showcase certain images of my work, but present them in an interesting way as I would play with arrangement and page layout.

NEASDEN CONTROL CENTRE

Gestalten is the first collection of works by NCC. Pages of drawings, photocopies and scanned images, photographs, found objects, and typography. All of these disparate elements come together to give a sense of the artist/artists who collaborated on this collection. Experimental, process-driven, playful.

 

Unusual layouts, double-page spreads, full page images next to tiny scaled images too. There appears to be no common thread besides the work belonging to the same person/people. I also like how the pieces aren't labelled with 'editorial' 'exhibition', or other uses they may have had. This leaves the artwork open to many different contexts and applications for those reading or even those commissioning.

SCOTT BAKAL

Copies of this portfolio were available to look at in the studio. Slightly more straightforward in terms of content compared to Neasden Control Centre, this publication featured full page images of his work, accompanied by small captions that outlined context and clients.

A simpler approach to layout and aesthetic but still effective and successful as a finished object.

HENRIK DRESCHER

Not so much a portfolio, but a fully published book by Chronicle Books, this is a loosely narrative collection of works by the artist. It's reassuring to me that an established publisher would put out work like this, not just 'clean' illustration/art.

Visiting Professional | Scott Bakal

Unmasking the Mad Bomber
for Smithsonian Magazine

NOTES FROM TALK

• Was always involved in many forms of creativity; music, photography, video, art.

• Separated being an artist and illustration, as they are often two different things

• After graduating, tended to create work to satisfy a particular market. Got commissions from law and finance magazines, who often asked for variations of the same image. Was getting work, but wasn't proud of what was being made.

• Being part of an artistic community is important. Took a few years after graduating to integrate with a creative group again; joined societies, took part in events.

• Experimentation is a space for figuring out your practice. Time for mixing mediums and techniques is important as you can find new ways of working. 

• Alongside more commercial work in editorial and advertising, still took the time to set up exhibitions and group shows and even publish zines and such.

• Work usually features some form of research, especially the editorial pieces. However this gives the work much richer content and meaning (e.g. Robert Johnson works, historical pieces...)

1 of 4 postcard designs
Mary I for Liberty Magazine

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

• After the talk, Scott also gave out postcards. Not only were these nice images/objects to keep, they also would remind people of him/his work/the talk. Something to also consider for myself.

• A copy of his portfolio was also available to look at. I really enjoyed the publication format of this portfolio, almost like a magazine for his own work. I have been thinking more about my own promotional material and feel this could fit well with my practice.

• The publication format could also mean that I could be more playful with layouts and page ordering, as opposed to a very traditional definition of a portfolio.

Memoirs of a Revolutionary's Daughter
for The Baffler

Visiting Professional | Laura Carlin

Le Grand Meaulnes, published by The Folio Society

• What was around you visually when you were younger?

• What is it that inspires you, what do you like?

• What makes you sad/laugh/what should I make in my work?

• Looking at your work from an outsider's perspective can be difficult - identify what works, and what doesn't. Or get another pair of eyes to do this.

• Laura kept work in sketchbooks throughout her studies, but this didn't apply to outside illustration, didn't reach an audience or viewership.

• Try unusual routes to contact people and make things happen. Be selective and appropriate with who you contact.

Ten Days in Tokyo, self published

• Ten Days in Tokyo - enlarged sketchbook pages and made into a book using an architectural photocopier.

• With the book, she learned to edit work, and omit what wasn't important. Thinking of page order, compositions...

• The illusion that creatives are always inspired isn't true. Laura keeps folders of images, books, photographs, historical images, that inspire her. Eclectic inspirations keep things interesting.

• Sense of play - Saul Steinberg, Picasso. Harnessing this gets harder as you get older.

Anton Chekhov Collected Stories, published by The Folio Society

• Not everything should be illustrated - sometimes the visual would ruin what the imagination could depict. This applies to books, poems, etc. Sometimes words are sufficient.

• Social media - Laura chooses not to use this and admits it isn't her strength. It's needed, but doesn't work for her.

• Editing process - laying out work, physically or in storyboards, helps you to see the completed project (usually with books, or series of images)

• Artistic devices, processes, and mediums to keep up the energy and intrigue when making. New ways of doing things, new methods of creating images and working.

"Don't sell your soul" • "Make work with integrity" • "Nothing is final"

Print Stuff, York

It's Art, Karen attended Print Stuff in York, representing 5 of us from the course. It was my first experience being a stallholder at this type of event. 

In the weeks running up to the fair, a lot of hard work was put in from all of us involved. I took it as an excuse to go into the print room more, and create additional screen printed stock for myself. As well as generating extra copies of publications I'd made previously.

After creating, packaging, pricing, promoting, and finishing up smaller details the actual event rolled around quite quickly.

IMPRESSIONS

Overall it was a positive experience. Displaying my own work publicly, chatting with both visitors and other exhibitors as well as people with creative experience. However not many sales were made.

Of course this did knock my confidence in some ways, and I thought of factors as to why this could be; did people just want to buy smaller products for less money? did I price things too expensively? Were people just not interested? Was it just the wrong audience or place for me? I wasn't sure.

I definitely left with a few things to think about.

THOUGHTS AFTER

PRICING - This was a subject that cropped up a lot throughout the day. When I was pricing my own stock, I took my time and considered the following:

- The medium (screenprint - edition number, zine - how many pages?)
- Production costs (both my time and own expenses)
- Production labour (pulling layers of ink on a screen, cutting, stapling, packaging - all done by myself and by hand)
- Longevity (e.g. screenprints are archival and last forever, viewed as a 'high quality' print, a digital print will fade over time)

At the fair there was an instance of an established designer/collective selling a publication - on decent stock, with a decent amount of pages, for £3. Although this could have been old stock they wanted to get rid of, I wondered if the price even covered production costs. I was selling my own 20-page digitally printed zine for £4. 

I think pricing is something that can be really detrimental to yourself and others if not done correctly. Although it would be impossible if not difficult to standardise pricing. If people sell things for cheap, the general audience will value these things cheaply.


BEST SELLERS - It was interesting to see what types of items sold well or were asked most about by visitors. T-shirts and wearable goods proved popular. And a lot of sellers displayed enamel pins, which are in high demand with lots of people.

This made me think, do I take this into account when making my own products? Should this impact on the type of work I create? If I do, does this cheapen it?

In some ways it goes two ways: consider what sells, as it could boost your sales and point more people to your work. But does jumping on a bandwagon just perpetuate some things?

It's Art, Karen

IT'S ART, KAREN

A few months ago when I applied to exhibit at Print Stuff, as a few of us were sharing a table we needed a name to represent all of us so the organisers could name us collectively on their site. The name began as something I came up with jokingly but I've really began to enjoy it and what it means.

In the weeks running up to the print fair I created a temporary landing page for the group of participants in the form of a tumblr page. I also created a number of small promotional images and short clips to generate interest/acknowledgment of It's Art, Karen.

During the print fair people really seemed to engage with the name and kept asking what it meant and where it started. Stickers with the slogan on proved popular too. I think people liked the sarcastic/joking/tongue-in-cheek tone of it all.

At the end of the day I decided to set up an instagram for it. I may or may not continue to use this in future, however it has became a very tiny art platform that I could expand on if I want. Without meaning to I've created a mini-brand which is something I wouldn't usually set out to do. I think the general idea behind it is to support artists/peers/myself in a non-professionally professional way.

My own reasoning for it is that it's very diy, which I think transfers across from my own practice too. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is a sort of justification of what I'm doing and other people are doing. I don't want this to eclipse what I'm doing individually as a practitioner, but maybe just accompany or amplify it.