1. Mai 2026 – rsc_39 / Library of Artistic Print on Demand (A Gilbert / A Bülhoff)
Sie sind herzlich eingeladen / You are kindly invited
Library of Artistic Print on Demand
Post-Digital Publishing in Times of Platform Capitalism
Annette Gilbert, Andreas Bülhoff (Ed.)
rsc_39: 01.05. – 22.05.2026:
Publikation: etkcontext 077, DOI: 10.17436/etk.c.077
Vernissage / Apéro: 1.05.2026, 18:00
Ausstellung, Einführung und Präsentation
von und mit Andreas Bülhoff
Kühle Getränke, Snacks, Kassettenmusik
@ etkbooks store, Monbijoustr. 69, Bern, etkbooks.com/store
Print-on-demand has revolutionized the world of books. As analogue-digital hybrids, PoD books epitomize the post-digital age. Digital printing and low-threshold online platforms like Blurb, Lulu, and Kindle Direct Publishing in principle allow anyone to publish work immediately across the globe without the need for any financial investment or risk. This opens up space beyond the classical book market and helps democratize production. At the same time, the new scope this offers is contingent at a fundamental level on the specifications and interests of the platforms. This dynamic has given rise to an entire subculture that is once again probing the medium of the book in search of possible content, aesthetics, materiality, economies, and publics, while at the same time critically reflecting on and negotiating our digital present. With 244 items, the Library of Artistic Print on Demand maps this experimental field for the first time, exploring its global spread, historical depth, and political relevance. All publications are documented extensively in a web archive, accessible via https://apod.li/. A detailed catalog including essays by key practitioners and thinkers of the field was published by Spector Books in 2025. This exhibition features most of the Lulu-books in this collection from the holdings of the University Library of Bern. Co-editor Andreas Bülhoff will introduce this project.
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