W&W: Hi Rosie. Tell us a little about your work as an artist and publisher.
Rosie: Hi. My work as an artist is driven by my desire to tell stories every way I can. Storytelling and art have been at the heart of my life for as long as I can remember so it is unsurprising to me that the two things have become intrinsically linked. It is what first drew me to photography, as it is such a potent medium with which to tell stories and it is what continues to draw me to books of every sort.
I have been working with artists’ books for years now and the potential of the book never stops exciting me. As Yet Untitled is a reflection of all of that.
W&W: Tell us about As Yet Untitled?
Rosie: As Yet Untitled is an independent publishing house that specialises in limited edition, hand made artists’ books. At the heart of the company lies my interest in narrative and storytelling, and every new book published by As Yet Untitled will use the books form and structure in new and different ways to tell stories or explore how narrative works. I will be working collaboratively with poets, visual artists, writers, historians, musicians and more to make new, exciting and different books.
W&W: Where did the title for the press come from?
Rosie: As Yet Untitled is a personal joke. I love fantastic titles; I even have a list with my best friend of all the really wonderful titles we come across. However I struggle hugely with titling my own work. I always save new projects as AYU meaning As Yet Untitled. It seemed an appropriate name for a publishing house that is going to work collaboratively on projects from the very inception of an idea right through to publication. After all, everything we work on will be untitled at first.
W&W: Can you explain what
an artist’s book is for those that don’t know?
Rosie: It can be almost
anything really. Artists’ books can take any form, shape, come in every medium
and fit in every “ism” of art and literature. At its core is the book as an art
object. A book for which form and structure create meaning and the object
itself is as important as what lies on its pages
W&W: As Yet Untitled was originally formed in 2012. Tell us about the
first few years of the press.
Rosie: When I first started As Yet Untitled it was nothing more than
a line on the back page of Elbow Room, our journal. I knew even with the very
first volume of Elbow Room that I wanted the potential to create more books
that would all fall under the same umbrella, the same independent publishing
house. As my artistic practise grew As
Yet Untitled became the name under which I produced my own artists’ books.
Since the name first appeared in Elbow Room we have taken part in book fairs,
got work into bookshops and special collections and taken part in exhibitions.
This growth has all been organic, until now I
haven’t had any particular plan about where the press was going. That changed
this year when I did a bit of work on The Princes Trust enterprise program, now
we have a proper business plan with ideas set out for the next 5 years.
W&W: You mentioned Elbow
Room. Can you tell us a little more about it?
Rosie: Elbow Room was
started in 2012. It is an indie journal that celebrates art in all guises.
Every volume includes a carefully curated selection of new writing and art
sitting page to page. It was started out of my frustration that art is so often
segregated from itself- poetry put over here, photography over there, music in
that corner, literature in another. As an artist I am as likely to be inspired
by a medium I don’t work in as I am by one I do. I wanted Elbow Room to be a
reflection of the relationship between the arts.
It has become the flagship publication for As Yet Untitled and reflects many of the
values of the press. Every volume of Elbow Room is hand made, numbered and
produced as a limited collectors edition. We want to make an object people want
to collect.
Since its launch we have made eleven volumes,
three special editions in collaboration with the writers and UEA and run our
first competition. We also host series of live events that brings art off the
page and gives us a chance to showcase artists we can’t publish, animators,
film makers, musicians. Its an exciting a diverse project and we are really
looking forward to moving forward with it as the press expands.
W&W: You’ve decided to put As Yet Untitled on Kickstarter. What
drew you to crowd funding?
Rosie: Crowd funding is
something I feel passionately about. Funding for the arts becomes more and more
difficult for everyone to access, particularly individuals and small
businesses. The government is gutting public funding, demonstrating how little
they believe in the importance of art. Crowd funding is a truly democratic
process, a way for the public to act as patrons for the arts. It is a way not
for the super wealthy but for everyone and anyone to show that they believe art
matters, by helping to support artists in an incredibly grass roots way. I
think it is incredible. I have pledged to numerous projects, big and small.
When I was considering ways to fund my plans for the next stage of As Yet Untitled crowd funding seemed to
obvious step. It isn’t an easy solution; it takes a huge amount of hard work to
run a successful crowd funding campaign. But its worth it, getting the kind of
support we are getting is incredible.
W&W: Tell us how
Kickstarter works.
Rosie: There are a lot of
crowd funding websites out there but Kickstarter is my favourite because it is
risk free for the artists and their supporters. It works on an all or nothing
basis. We need a particular amount of money to do all the things we are
planning on, if we didn’t have enough the project would fail.
With Kickstarter you don’t get any money unless
you reach your target amount, the amount you need to fulfil your promises. I
like that because I want to be able to give everyone who has supported us
exactly what we promised.
And of cause, if you are really lucky you can
raise more, many Kickstarter projects are funding beyond the target amount.
W&W: What kinds of rewards
do you have for people who donate?
Rosie: We have all sorts from
bookmarks to back issues of Elbow Room or vouchers for our online shop. We have
Kickstarter exclusive posters, limited edition photographs and portfolio feedback
with my co-curator at Elbow Room and myself.
The rewards start from as little as £3. I think
people imagine that the small pledges can’t really help so they have to give
lots or none at all, but that’s not true. Every penny helps.
W&W: How much money do you
hope to make, and what will it be used for?
Rosie: The target is £2000.
Though obviously the dream is to make as much as possible. It is all going to
be spent on materials and equipment, things we will be able to use for years to
come. A pledge now is an investment in the very foundations of the press.
I’ve been talking a lot in the promotion of the
Kickstarter about paying it forward. Every pledge to As Yet Untitled will help us to make countless artists’ books. The
money people are giving won’t just help me but every artist and writer we work
with.
W&W: Tell us a little
about the books you plan to make?
Rosie: That’s hard to do, as
I don’t know what they will be yet. What I can say is that every book we make
will be different, unusual, experimental and fantastical in some way. As for
the first titles, the ones due out next year, I can say that one is mine, a
book called The Ellentree that has been waiting a long time for become real.
The other two are going to be made in collaboration with two different poets,
Zelda Chappel and Ella Chappell (not relation). Exactly what they end up being…
hopefully enough people will pledge for us to find out!
Rosie is a multidisciplinary
artist, independent publisher and scholar with an MA in Book Arts from
Camberwell College of Art. Running her own independent
publishing company she also works as a visiting lecturer at
Universities across the country. This year she has taken part in group
exhibitions at both The Southbank Centre and the Oxo Tower Gallery. Her work is
housed in special collections both national and international including the
Tate Library and Archive, The Poetry Library and the State Libraries of both
Queensland and Victoria, Australia.
