CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/21/2015

Lionel Bovier: 10 Years in Art Publishing

On the occasion of the super-festive, always authentic New York Art Book Fair, we highly recommend 10 Years in Art Publishing, JRP|Ringier publisher Lionel Bovier's concise A-Z memoir detailing all of the key truths he's absorbed over the course of his past decade as a devout art book publisher. Case in point, Bovier's entry for the letter "Y" is "YELLOWPRESS."

ABOVE: JRP|Ringier's preferred printer, Musumeci, 2011. Photograph by Walead Beshty.

He writes, "It's a well-known paradox: the worst topics, intellectually speaking, seem to sell the best. But before succumbing to the temptation of publishing a famous filmmaker's horrendous paintings, some top model's favorite artists, artists' collections of recipes, or anything you don't believe in or simply wouldn't buy yourself, think about what my partner, Michael Ringier, once told me when discussing a possible series of money-making books: this type of publishing only works if you actually make good money. In these instances, the only validation comes from the revenue. So imagine if it's not that great, if you hardly break even—suddenly the whole process will be seen in its true light: a mere sellout. And everything else you have built will be tainted by it. So, unless you are 100% sure of the outcome, don't!" Other entries range from "ART PUBLISHER" to "CONTENT," "FRIENDS," "OBSOLESCENCE," "X-RATED," and "ZOMBIE BOOKS"—which he describes as "the projects that are in a state of non-death: they are not actively in the making, they are not officially stopped, so they weigh on you, on your program’s list, being revived every now and then by someone who does not want them to die, without being able to make them exist. These books are going to haunt you for years and take up your precious time for nothing; they can’t be 'killed' simply by shooting them in the legs or arms: aim for the brain!"