Publishing Clearing House

Introduction

Strangely, in our 16 years of working together, we had never done a project that was just focused on making publications. When people find out that we run Half Letter Press, they often ask us where our press is located. We have to tell them that we actually work with other printers to make everything. While we probably won’t be making offset printed and perfect bound books in our own facility any time soon, we have purchased our own Risograph duplicator (a.k.a RISO) and a booklet stapling and folding machine–both of which were used to make parts of this booklet.

Publishing Clearing House is an initiative that will be a temporary, fully functioning print shop. Temporary Services–with Kione Kochi, Kristian Johansson, and Leah Mackin–will work with invited collaborators to produce new booklets and printed works during the run of the show, sharing and launching publications.

In banking and finance, clearing denotes all activities from the time a commitment is made for a transaction until it is settled. In Publishing Clearing House, clearing denotes all activities from the time a commitment to an author is made, until the publication is designed, printed, stapled, folded and distributed. Making a clearing is also about creating a space for meeting and making processes visible, open and transparent.

For this effort, we have invited a diverse range of individuals, groups, and organizations with an emphasis on Chicago the Midwest, and artists, activists and authors from marginalized and disadvantaged populations. This includes juveniles and the incarcerated, as well as those who represent or articulate narratives counter to dominant cultural norms. Visitors will be able to meet members of Temporary Services and some collaborating authors on many days of the exhibition, and watch the mechanics of the print shop as works are developed and produced. We will make the entire process of making a book, which is always socially engaged in some manner, more visible than it usually is.

Images of Publishing Clearing House

PUBLISHING IN THE REALM OF PLANT FIBERS AND ELECTRONS

This book is an introduction to Publishing Clearing House. It is a look at our first 16 years of making publications and the role they have played in building up an independent network and community that bypasses traditional gate-keeping and access to resources in the art world. We continue to seek broader audiences that don’t need to make distinctions between art and other forms of creativity.

Title: Publishing in the Realm of Plant Fibers and Electrons
By: Temporary Services, illustrations by Kione Kochi, with help from Kristian Johansson and Leah Mackin
Pages: 28
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph, digital copier, offset
Machines used: Risograph EZ390, Bookletmaster, list others
Color: cover is 3 color offset, interior is 3 color Risograph color
Edition Size: 1000

Printed copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.

THE RED SUMMER SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR: CHICAGO

In the summer of 1919 there were 25 race riots in the United States. This booklet chronicles riots that happened that year in Chicago. It tells the story of this harrowing series of events and provides a map for a self-guided walking tour of some of the sites related to the riot.

By: Melinda Fries
Chicago: Temporary Services, December 2014
Pages: 32 plus 11X17 fold out poster
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft cover
Binding: staple bound
Process: Two-color Risograph
Color: Two-color Risograph
Edition Size: 319

Printed Copy

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PAST LIVES: FOUND RISOGRAPH EPHEMERA COMPILED BY GEORGE WIETOR

For Past Lives, George Wietor unpacks the history of RISOGRAPH duplicators in a short introduction and then delves into traces of how the machines have been used. RISOs create a film or “master” for each copy made and if you buy a used machine, or a used ink drum, it’s common to find an old master from the last print job still sitting in the machine. The contents of these masters on the print drums often say something about the past life of the machine. This booklet presents evidence from the past lives of machines used by Issue Press and other artist presses, including Temporary Services.

By: George Wietor
Chicago: Temporary Services, December 2014
Pages: 24
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft cover
Binding: staple bound
Process: Two-color Risograph
Color: Two-color Risograph
Edition Size: 320

Printed Copy

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THE WC GALLERY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF A VERY SMALL SPACE

For ten years, artist, art historian, collector, curator, archivist and gallerist Stephen Perkins has organized exhibitions in the small first floor bathroom of his family’s home in De Pere, Wisconsin. In this booklet, Perkins lays out his reasons for starting the WC Gallery and describes some of the shows he has organized, which include exhibits by Jean Toche of Guerrilla Art Action Group, Amos Kennedy Jr., David Medalla, Arda Ishkhanian, Jack Hirschman, works on paper from Latin America, Eastern European conceptual art, and more. A chronology of exhibitions and illustrations of ephemera from some of the shows are also included.

By: Stephen Perkins
Chicago: Temporary Services, December 2014
Pages: 24
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft cover
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph and photocopy
Color: Two-color Risograph
Edition Size: 303

Printed Copy

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MADISON, WISCONSIN: A CITY IN NINE OBJECTS

This booklet, which features illustrations by Kione Kochi, presents nine smart and sometimes pretty funny critical essays about race and class relationships in Madison by these engaged residents.

Title: Madison, Wisconsin: A City in Nine Objects
By: Madison Mutual Drift (Karma Chávez, Brigitte Fielder, Colin Gillis, and Dan S. Wang)
Pages: 28
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph
Color: Risograph color throughout
Edition Size: 360

Printed Copy

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CULTURAL REPRODUCERS: PROPOSITIONS, MANIFESTOS & EXPERIMENTS

This is an ad hoc handbook for anyone interested in the intersection of art practice and family life. With contributions by: Christa Donner, Candida Alvarez, Laura Berman, Andrew Yang, Lise Haller Baggesen, Keiler Roberts, Lenka Clayton, Jennie Temple, Stephanie Diamond, Selina Trepp, Chiara Galimberti, Lauren Weinstein, Alberto Aguilar, Fred & August Sasaki, Orla Whelan, Crystal Ann Brown & Eliot Hown, Libby Clarke, Broodwork, Plotform, Kyle Schlie, Melissa Potter, Claire Ashley, Andre Francke & Kim Dhilon

Title: Cultural ReProducers: Propositions, Manifestos & Experiments
Edited by: Christa Donner
Pages: 48 plus bound-in folded 11X17 poster insert
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph, digital copier
Edition Size: 400

Printed copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.

KOSHKA #4: THE MIDWEST ISSUE

Title: Koshka #4: The Midwest Issue
By: Kaitlin Kostus
Pages: 36
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph, digital copier
Edition Size: 330

Printed copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.

LEFTOVER RIGHTUNDER 2: PEOPLE MAKING THEIR WAY

A man occupies a dump truck in Addis Ababa. A mother squats in a Sri Lankan war zone. Barbaralee and James live on a sidewalk in Indianapolis. LEFTOVER RIGHTUNDER 2 suggests: they might not need your help.

Title: Leftover Rightunder 2: People Making Their Own Way
By: Wes Janz, book design by Marcia Stone and Jerome Daksiewicz
Pages: 40
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Offset
Edition Size: 300

Printed Copy

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CHIRAQ AND ITS MEANING(S)

This publication explores the contested meanings of the term “Chiraq” that conflates the violence of Chicago and Iraq during a time of harrowing gun violence and severe government austerity.

Title: Chiraq and Its Meaning(s)
Edited by: Project NIA
Pages: 20 plus bound-in folded 11X17 poster insert
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph
Machines used: Risograph EZ390, Bookletmaster
Color: 2 color
Edition Size: 300

Printed Copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.

DUE TIME

This booklet, designed by Temporary Services, is authored and illustrated by an Illinois-based group of artists, teachers, activists and prisoners. It sensitively explores the movement in time in prison, as compared to the speed of life and labor on the outside.

Title: Due Time
By: ‘Fats’, George Frison, William Jones, Erica R. Meiners, James Piggues, Sarah Ross, Johnny Taylor, Devon Terrell, Feresteh Toosi, and Alan White
Pages: 20
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph
Machines used: Risograph EZ390, Bookletmaster
Color: 3 color
Edition Size: 420

Printed Copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.

AGAINST COMPETITION

This is a reprint of a popular text, by Marc Fischer, that reflects on the competition that pervades contemporary art and how to work against it. The essay gets an upgrade, with illustrations by Kione Kochi, and a new afterword by Fischer.

Title: Against Competition
By: Marc Fischer, illustrations by Kione Kochi
Pages: 16
Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Cover: soft
Binding: staple bound
Process: Risograph
Machines used: Risograph EZ390, Bookletmaster
Color: 3 colors
Edition Size: 447

Printed copy

Follow the link to get a copy of this booklet from our store.

Digital copies (PDFs + epub)

We offer multiple formats for you to choose from in various resolutions. Follow the link to see the options of various PDFs or an ePub.

FREE PDF (72 DPI)

Here is a low resolution version of the booklet.