The exhibition "Doitsu Art Buchmarkt" delves into the contemporary artbook scene in Germany. Here, we will be showcasing artbooks and zines selected by 5 pioneering curators from the German artbook sphere. In this interview, TABF will be detailing each curator's practice and intent behind their selection. We welcome Michalis Pichler, director of the annual MISS READ: The Berlin Art Book Fair & Festival, who himself publishes books as an artist and editor.

 

ー We have asked you to select artbooks by German-born or Germany-based artists. What are the key points of your selection?

 

Bookworks from Berlin. A bookwork contains primary information, books as art, not books about art.

 

ー What first triggered your interest in artist's books?

 

I was active in the field, before starting to read about it. Around 2002, I got there through my collage practice. Cutting out from books and newspapers, first using the cut-outs for collages, then using the remains for collages, and in a later step, publishing the remains and in some cases the cut-outs.

 

ー You have self-published many as an artist and you have focused on selecting artist's books for Doitsu Art Buchmarkt. Would you think that book making is a more familiar practice for artists in Germany?

 

No, I don’t think so, not necessary more than elsewhere. But it is a familiar practice, with a rich ecosystem around it. Testimony to that are the 107 exhibitors based in Berlin, and 33 exhibitors based in Germany outside Berlin, who showed at MISS READ 2024.

 

 

ー Berlin attracts a lot of artists, making the city as unique as it is. As a born and raised Berliner, what kind of a place is Berlin for you?

 

Berlin was always rather left-wing. This includes political parties, but also the extra-parlamentarian opposition (APO), and artists. When I was born, West Berlin was like an island, surrounded by the wall. And it was the only place in Germany, that did not have military service, which in turn much attracted anarchists and pacifists, to come and live in Berlin.

You do not need to be German to be a Berliner. It is an international city, where many people have fragmented or multiple identities. Or “migration background”, as they call it here.

 

ー A quick message for our Japanese audience?

 

Thank you for engaging.