Specific Object / David Platzker is pleased to announce a call for entries for the
Specific Object Publication of the Year Award. Since 2004, Specific Object has annually selected a
Specific Object Publication of the Year. The winner of the award receives a cash prize of $500 and their publication receives the title of
Specific Object Publication of the Year.
The winner for 2011 was
Martha Wilson Sourcebook: 40 Years of Reconsidering Performance, Feminism, Alternative Spaces, by Martha Wilson and published by Independent Curators International [ICI].
The winner for 2010 was
A GUEST + A HOST = A GHOST : Dakis Joannou Collection, by Josh Smith and Todd Amicon, produced by 38th Street Publishers for Dakis Joannou.
The winner for 2009 was
Orchard Spreadsheet, by R.H Quaytman, published by MER. Paper Kunsthalle.
The winner for 2008 was
The Mug, by Sarah Lucas and Olivier Garbay, published by Other Criteria.
The winner for 2007 was
Esopus Magazine.
The winner for 2006 was Vito Acconci & Bernadette Mayer's
0 TO 9 : Limited Facsimile Edition, published by Ugly Duckling Presse / Lost Literature Series.
The winner for 2005 was Philippe Parreno's
Fade to Black, published by mfc-Michèle Didier.
The winner for 2004 was Jonathan Monk's
Cover Version, published by Book Works in London.
Rules for consideration for the Specific Object 2012 Publication of the Year
Work[s] that will be considered are art publications of any kind including, but not limited to:
- artists' books
- audio CDs
- DVDs
- exhibition catalogues
- monographs
- periodicals
or any other physically published work in which an artist has directly participated in the creation.
Special consideration will be given to publications that are highly disseminatable - that is, publications that are published in sizable press runs and publications that are affordable to a wide audience. However, there are no limits to what constitutes these positions.
The physical properties of a work will be considered as will the contents of the work as a whole. That is, great production values will not help work[s] with poorly considered contents and vice versa.
Publications must be published within a given year for consideration as noted by either the date of copyright [2012] within the publication or the publisher’s testament to date of publication.
A physical copy of each work for consideration must be submitted to Specific Object. Work[s] submitted become the sole property of Specific Object. Under no circumstance will work[s] submitted for consideration be returned to the submitter.
Specific Object will not consider work[s] presented by any other means such as, but not limited to, PDFs, web links, dummies, mock-ups, or pre-publication samples. A final copy of the publication MUST be provided to Specific Object for consideration.
Specific Object, and other judges to be named, will judge the work[s] submitted and announce the winner of the Award in March 2013.
Work[s] for consideration for the 2012 Award must be received by Specific Object BEFORE February 15, 2013.
Specific Object will not consider any work[s] for which Specific Object, its employees or contest judges have had any involvement within.
To be considered work[s] must be mailed to:
Specific Object
601 West 26th Street, Room M285
New York, NY 10001
Works should be accompanied by a cover letter stating that enclosed work[s] is to be considered for the Award. The cover letter should make note of the number of copies of the work that have been produced and the work's retail price[s], publisher and / or distribution information, and contact information to whom notification of Award may be sent. Do NOT submit any additional material such as biographies, reviews, slides, or other work[s] that are not for consideration for the Award.
Further questions regarding the Award may be addressed to
david@specificobject.com
About Specific Object
Specific Object is a personal venture to aggregate interesting objects in any artistic medium and present them in a contained venue, as well as to present these objects – and additional objects of interest – online at www.specificobject.com -- and in our gallery.
Specifically, Specific Object is an attempt to isolate distinct works
of value - historically, monetarily and / or personally valuable - and
show them in an isolated context without the artifice of visual
confusion or clutter in hopes of allowing these works, or objects,
their own place, space and time. The materials shown range from
artists' publications, ephemera, prints, multiples and other editions
to literature, music / audio works and unique artworks of the
contemporary world.
From 1998 through 2004 Platzker was the Executive Director of the
non-profit institution Printed Matter, Inc. He is also the co-author,
and co-curator - with Elizabeth Wyckoff - of
Hard Pressed: 600 Years
of Prints and Process (International Print Center New York & Hudson
Hills Press, 2000); and - with Richard H. Asxom - the book and
exhibition entitled
Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters, and Ephemera by Claes Oldenburg: A Catalogue Raisonné 1958-1996 (Madison Art Center & Hudson Hills Press, 1997), which was awarded the George Wittenborn
Award for Best Art Publication of 1997 by the Art Libraries Society of
North America. Platzker has also curated exhibitions of the works of
John Baldessari, Marcel Duchamp, Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman, Oldenburg,
Dieter Roth, and Edward Ruscha in addition to commissioning or curating
exhibitions at Printed Matter of Angelblood, Larry Clark, Erin
Cosgrove, Meg Cranston, General Idea, Jenny Holzer, Reverend Jen, Allan
Kaprow, Yoko Ono, Ryan McGinness, Sonic Youth, Tom Sachs, David
Tremlett, Richard Tuttle and the Guerrilla Girls.
In November 2004 Specific Object acquired the inventory of Barbara Moore’s bookstore "Bound & Unbound." Through her bookshops Bound & Unbound and its predecessor Backworks, founded in 1976, Moore has been a seminal and innovative champion of artists working in alternative mediums.
