Le Carnet de Zinc

Lalande Digital Art Press big brother, Polyflash, hit the zinc this week, producing a deluxe volume of ink drawings of restaurants and bistros in the 14th arrondisement, the excellent work of France Dumas.

"We printed up a book for her in record time," says Robert Ruscoe. "One hundred examples, in color, perforated and then bound with, yes zinc screws. It looks the business." The book was launched at the cool Librarie Tropiques, 63, Rue Raymond Losserand, 75014 PARIS.

LES ZINZINS DU ZINC : Guide des meilleurs bars à vins de France

Bistrots de quartier, bars urbains un brin branchés, ambiances feutrées ou portes ouvertes sur les pavés où se prolongent la dégustation, adresses d’initiés découvertes au détour d’une ruelle, d’une nationale – établissements hissant les couleurs bio, internationales ou régionales.

Parmi tous les coups de cœur d’Egmont Labadie, mis en images par Pierrick Bourgault, vous dénicherez vos bars, ces lieux en accord avec vos affinités gastronomiques ou votre humeur du jour, ces endroits où vous vous sentirez bien, où vous trouverez tout simplement votre plaisir. Les auteurs signalent également leurs moins bonnes surprises, ces lieux autoproclamés « bar à vins » et qui n’en possèdent pas les qualités. « La dynamique autour des bars à vins cristallise toutes les tendances positives aujourd’hui à l’œuvre dans le monde du vin: présence massive des jeunes, des femmes, caractère incontournable du vin au verre, absence d’œillères, découverte du bon rapport qualité-prix et de l’incroyable richesse des vins français.»

L'Oeil de la Brousse!

Raphaël Dormoy, poét et écrivain et un ami de Lalande Digital Art Press, vient de sortir "L'Oeil de la Brousse!" – une revue agronomique et bien sûr, poétrique. Vous pouvez télécharger la revue gratuitement en CLIQUANT ICI.

"L'Oeil de la Brousse! est résolument tournée vers la modernité rurale des pays du sud, du monde rural en général, et fait la part belle aux initiatives rafraîchissantes," explique Raphaêl. "Elle existe en version papier. Vous pouvez la télécharger gratuitement sur le site et plus encore la commander. Si vous aimez son esprit, alors diffusez L'Oeil de la Brousse!, la revue d'avant-garde rurale."

Elle est par ailleurs en vente à la Librairie Apsara.

A KICK IN THE KUNST: 6 JUNE BERLIN

A KICK IN THE KUNST, exhibition by Matthew Rose. Opening: Friday, 6 June 2008, Galerie Rossella Junck, Augustraße 28 Berlin. Catalog produced by Lalande Digital Art Press Paris. Download A KICK IN THE KUNST Catalog.

Ricardo Bloch: "HAPPY DAYS" School Gallery

Ricardo Bloch takes the world back to Denver, Colorado 1978. Another time, another world. School Gallery Paris. Exhibition opening on 22 May, from 18h to 22h. 81 rue du Temple 75003 Paris. Tél: 01 42 71 78 20. Lalande Digital Art Press Paris has long worked with Bloch to produce not only his Lifescape Books and artist books, but also the first Happy Days book.

Shootback: Give Cameras To Kids, Change Their World. Exhibition: agnes b. Opens 15 May

GIVE A KID A CAMERA

Dix ans après les premières photographies prises par les enfants du tristement célèbre bidonville Mathare à Nairobi, agnès b. accueille l’exposition Shootback, présentée pour la première fois en France.

C'est Shootback.  Vernissage 15 Mai.

La photographe américaine Lana Wong a débuté le projet Shootback en août 1997 avec Francis Kimanzi, figure clef de l’association MYSA et footballeur reconnu. Equipés de simples appareils photo en plastique, une trentaine de filles et garçons âgés de 12 à 17 ans ont photographié leur vie quotidienne, chaque semaine, durant presque deux ans. Les enfants de Mathare ont ainsi pu raconter leur histoire en s’exprimant librement à travers la photographie.

Le résultat, fruit du travail d’enfants qui n’avaient jamais tenu un appareil photographique de leur vie, est poignant, émouvant, drôle, étonnant ! Ces images spontanées sont devenues les fondements de l’ouvrage Shootback : Photos des Enfants des bidonvilles de Nairobi (Booth-Clibborn Editions, Londres, 1999). Ce livre, publié à l’occasion d’une exposition itinérante débutée au Barbican à Londres, est aujourd’hui épuisé. Les photos du projet Shootback ont ensuite été exposées au Centre Kennedy de Washington, à la Staff USA Gallery de New York, au Festival Mondial de Tilburg aux Pays-Bas, au Bildungzentrum des Handwerkshammer de Berlin, ou encore aux Rencontres de la Photographie Africaine de Bamako au Mali. 

Les images et les mots des enfants de Mathare constituent un témoignage bouleversant du pouvoir qu’a la photographie de transformer le quotidien. Grâce à ce projet initié il y a plus de 10 ans, des enfants de Nairobi continuent d’être formés à la photo, et leurs travaux sont exposés aussi bien dans les bidonvilles que dans le cadre d’expositions internationales. Issu d’un des quartiers les plus pauvres d’Afrique, Shootback permet de découvrir des histoires intimes, chargées d’espoir, ainsi que des travaux récents effectués par les participants au projet, devenus pour certains photographes professionnels. L’aventure Shootback regroupe des individus exceptionnels aux histoires atypiques, l’exposition chez agnès b. activités veut rendre hommage à ces photojournalistes hors du commun.

Le projet Shootback fait écho à l’engagement d’agnès b. dans la promotion de la culture au sens large et à la mise en avant d’artistes indépendants de toutes disciplines et horizons, que ce soit via ses boutiques, la galerie du jour, Love Streams agnès b. Productions, le Point d’Ironie…

Séance de projection de Shoot Back! le film, (83 minutes): Jeudi 22 mai à 19h. Dirigé par quatre membres de Shootback (Julius Mwelu, Fred Otieno, Maureen Atieno, Serah Odeke) et produit par Prounen Film (Allemagne). Entrée libre dans la limite des places disponibles Conférences de L’institut du Tout Monde d’Edouard Glissant : Zineb Alibenati le 26 mai à 19h Edouard Glissant le 30 mai à 19h. Entrée libre dans la limite des places disponibles.

Infos:  agnès b.  SHOOTBACK

SHOOTBACK OPENS 15 MAY

Ten years after the Shootback kids took their first groundbreaking pictures in Nairobi’s notorious Mathare slum, agnès b. is proud to present the original Shootback exhibition with recent work from these inspiring young photographers.

Shown for the first time in France, Shootback’s unique perspective of daily life in a country better known for its wildlife safaris takes the viewer on an unexpected journey to places where tourists rarely go. In this new show, a selection of hard-hitting images from the recent unrest in Kenya adds fresh insight into what it’s like to live in one of Africa’s toughest urban environments.

American photographer Lana Wong started the Shootback Project in August 1997 with MYSA youth leader and renown footballer Francis Kimanzi to help give young people in Nairobi’s Mathare slum a voice to tell their own stories. Equipped with 20€ plastic cameras, a group of 31 boys and girls, aged 12 to 17, photographed their lives and wrote about them every week for almost two years.

The results, from kids who had never held cameras before, were honest, raw, amusing and beautiful- these visceral images became the basis of a book called Shootback : Photos by Kids from the Nairobi Slums (Booth-Clibborn Editions, London 1999). The book was launched at the Barbican Centre, London with an exhibition that traveled to the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC ; Staff USA Gallery, New York ; Festival Mundial, Tilburg, the Netherlands Bildungszentrum der Handwerkskammer, Berlin; and Rencontres de la Photographie Africaine de Bamako, Mali.

The pictures and words of this talented group attest to the power of photography to transform the lives of disadvantaged youth. More than a decade after it started, the Shootback project continues to train young photographers in Mathare and their photos are displayed both in the slum and in international shows.

This exhibition resonates with the engagement of agnès b. in the promotion of culture in the broadest sense and the support of independent artists from all disciplines and horizons, whether via her boutiques, la galerie du jour, Love Streams agnès b. Productions, le Point d’Ironie… 

Film screening of Shoot Back : 22 May at 7pm Shot and directed by 4 Shootback members (Julius Mwelu, Fred Otieno, Maureen Atieno and Serah Odeke) and produced by Prounen Films, Germany. Free entry, limited seating. Lectures from Edouard Glissant’s L’Institut du Tout Monde: Zineb Alibenati 26 May at 7pm Edouard Glissant 30 May at 7pm. Free entry, limited seating.

MORE INFORMATION: agnès b.  SHOOTBACK

Ricardo Bloch Chosen By Vis à Vis, "HAPPY DAYS" Exhibition At School Gallery Paris

Photographer and Lalande Digital Art Press client Ricardo Bloch has been chosen to be a part of Vis A Vis’ “Online Selection” this past month. Six of Ricardo’s portraits of children, made in Denver in 1978, were selected. Ricardo will open a show of these images, entitled "Happy Days" on 20 May at School Gallery, 81, rue du Temple, 75003 Paris.

In the meantime, visit Ricardo's blog, an image and sound journal, AMPHIBIOUS ANDROMEDA.

From School Gallery: 22 mai / 30 juin Ricardo Bloch "Happy Days"

Datant de la fin des années 70, la galerie de portraits noir et blanc "Happy days" du photographe mexicain Ricardo Bloch, surprend par son côté surannée. Emprunte à la fois de nostalgie et d’une certaine modernité de la fin des 30 glorieuses, cette série montre l’avènement de la société de consommation et du confort domestique.

Au gré de ses rencontres de voisinage, le photographe a su saisir la beauté et la fraîcheur ingénue de l’enfance, le temps des jeux guerriers, des cow-boys et des indiens, des promenades en landaus, des premiers gadins à bicyclettes, des images qui rappelle l’univers de la mythique série TV « Happy days », un feed back des « jours heureux » qui a valeur de témoignage sociologique sur l’Amérique de la fin des années 70 et de l’avènement du tout pavillonnaire, symbole de réussite sociale de la middle class.

Amy Ross : Bird Heart at Keep Calm

Amy Ross has birds in her heart, and her newest print, ‘Bird Heart’ a signed and numbered limited edition of 80, 10 by 10 inches, proves it. Printed by Lalande Digital Art Press Paris for Keep Calm this print is taken from an original collage of bird heads cut out of the pages of an old field guide. "

All of the material that goes into Amy’s collages is found on the shelves of used bookstores, from field guides to auction catalogues and art history books to illustrated encyclopedias. "The idea for this particular collage came to Amy while baking Valentine’s Day cookies with her daughter, when she used a cookie cutter as a guide for the heart shape," writes Lucas Lepola, director Keep Calm.

The print is available directly from Keep Calm, they ship anywhere! Prints are wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and sent in extremely durable mailing tubes.For UK orders prints are sent via next-day Special Delivery. For international orders prints are sent via International Signed-For Air Mail. PRICE FOR BIRD HEART: £25 plus postage. Contact Keep Calm.

Elam : Livres d'Amour

"Les feuilles de papier intérieures sont coupées, puis cousues une à une pour former des liasses. Passées au massicot, leur dos est encollé et l'arrondi est façonné par légers coups de marteau," raconte notre ami, Nicholas, createur d'une boîte specialisée en carnets de voyages, fabriqués à la main en Egypt. Beaux papiers, couvertures en cuir, fidèle compagnon de route – Les pages sont cousues une à une à la main pour garantir longévité à ces albums de papier vergé Fabriano. (Papier garanti neutre.)

"Au Caire, j´ai redécouvert le travail ancestral de la reliure, tradition remontant à l’époque de l’expédition de Bonaparte. J’ai observé des artisans mettre l´amour dans le geste et donner une âme aux livres qu’ils reliaient. Ils offraient de leur temps pour que le fruit de leur travail y résiste."

Sketchbooks, travel and photo albums, guest books, notebooks, Elam Books are so gorgeous, you might not even want to mark them up. Nicholas, a long-time friend of Lalande Digital Press, believes in old fashioned quality. His books are a treasure. Follow the link below to see his site (in French and English).

Visitez notre ami, Nicholas et regardez ses livres, carnets du luxe. Or go directly to his online store: ELAM.

Nu

Paris-based, Dutch photographer Jeremy Stigter exhibits his black and white nude portraits at 45 rue Babylone, 75007.  Vernissage vendredi 25 avril à paritir de 17h. 

Lalande Digital Art Press Paris has produced this announcement card for the exhibition. Need annoucement cards for your next exhibition?  Get in touch.  

"45" is owned and operated by Gérard Katz, who also runs our favorite cave à vin, La Cave des Papilles, 35 Rue Daguerre, 75014 Paris.  Natural, vins-bios.

Wahsoh: New Print For Keep Calm UK

Keep Calm and Carry On: A new print, Wahsoh (2008) by Matthew Rose for KEEP CALM GALLERY is now available exclusively through the web site.

The edition is signed, dated and numbered, edition of 50, A2-sized (18" x 25") full-color print on fine acid-free paper, printed by Lalande Digital Art Press Paris. Price: 55 UK Pounds. This print is typical of Matthew Rose's increasingly mad world. Originally a 50 x 50 cm collage exhibited in "Herzschmerz" in 2006 Berlin at Gallery Tristesse Deluxe, the piece was destroyed (and has subsequently been remade). Here, obsessive worlds of sex and language collide in a miasma of metaphor and mistaken identity. The artist takes his collage technique to not only reading and spelling, but seeing and hearing, with this unique "all-over" piece.

Click on the image above to enlarge Wahsoh.

Two exhibitions by Matthew Rose are planned for May and June. In May, The David Turner Gallery, in Atlanta, Georgia will present more than 30 large-format prints from the A Perfect Friend series as well as a series of drawings and collages for the gallery's inaugural exhibition. In June, Galerie Rosella Junck, Augustrasse 28, Berlin will feature new collage works, drawings and objects in a show entitled "A KICK IN THE KUNST."

E-mail Keep Calm's Lucas or Hayley to purchase by clicking here : KEEP CALM.

Space Exploration: CSIS

Space and time, thanks to Einstein, has been inextricably linked. But the connection is complex and there's an endless (human) need for explication and education about exploring these bedfellows. Lalande Digital Press Paris helped in its way working with the Washington D.C. group, Center for Strategic and International Studies.



We received an urgent e-mail message from Ryan Faith at CSIS about an international meeting to be held in Paris in late March. CSIS required 100 copies of a 24-page book for the meeting. "Could it be delivered in three days?" he asked? Yes, we could and did (actually two days). Files were transferred and Lalande Wizard Robert Ruscoe worked late into the starry night to get the job done and delivered before the meeting began. Ryan was happy to have an English language printer based in Paris to help make the conference a success.



The CSIS provides strategic insights and policy solutions to decisionmakers in government, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society. A bipartisan, nonprofit organization the group with some 220 full time staffers conducts research and analysis and develops policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. CSIS is primarily focused on defense and security, regional stability, and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global development and economic integration.



Lyn Wigbels, Senior Associate, CSIS, was in Paris to receive the books for her meeting. Her note: "Thank you for the wonderful printing job you did on the Center for Strategic and International Studies Human Space Exploration Education report. My colleague, Ryan Faith, and I were very impressed with how you responded to our need to have the reports ready by Wednesday, 26 March, for our meeting with experts from all over the world. The documents you delivered were quite attractive, very professionally produced, and arrived in good shape. We greatly appreciate your professionalism and responsiveness to our business needs!"



Interested in printing in Paris? Do you want to work with English language-based printers? Click here for our free guides. We speak your language. (Oh, oui, français, aussi!)

La Vie En A4

Thank you, Wikipedia for the discussion of paper sizes. Feel free to click and enlarge the diagram at left and keep on your desktop for a handy reference. Lord knows I need to consult this all day long. It's extremely helpful for those looking to print large format digital prints and for figuring out how to cut a large sheet into standard sizes.  

Keith Donovan: Collage Master

Keith Donovan is a long-time collage artist with a taste for the oblique. The Canadian who moved to Switzerland some 30 years ago (and Paris about 10 years ago), has long been a fan of de Kooning, but he's also addicted to Disney and type and packaging material. His process is ultimately hand-made, but getting there Donovan has begun to employ a variety of machines in the process of "building" his canvases. He still uses a light projector to beam images across his studio onto specially produced canvases; more recently he's been scanning images and distorting them, printing then and inserting them into his projector. The addition of digital manipulation has moved his work to the Old Masters (Breughel among them) and some other more modern masters (Walt Disney) to exceptional effects.

Keith has been making art for decades and the venture into a slightly more digital realm has permitted him to work with a variety of collaborators. A year ago he produced a series of pillows in Lyon, France during a residency at URDLA, Centre Internationale de l’Estampe using digital collages to print on canvas. His series, The Seven Deadly Sins (after Breughel) were a hit. He is now reworking a range of Old Masters in his signature collage style in his studio in Le Jouhet, France.

He is currently working towards an exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland at Galerie Foex, his long-time European dealer. (I first exhibited with Keith in 1999 at galerie eof, Paris, along with Caterina Verde in a show called "New Zoo." We also exhibited in Antwerp at Factor 44, along with the late, great artist (and friend), Tony Morgan.

Donovan is currently stretching canvases and using his scanner and camera more than ever. Take a look at more of Keith Donovan's new work here.

The Wormton Cat : Bob Blackman

Two new one-page books from UK artist and writer, Bob Blackman. Here are The Soul Transference & Necromancer's Trade Association and The Wormton Cat. Download the PDFs and then print them out at your home, A4 size.

Bob Blackman writes about the One Page Books: "I was looking for a promotional item for my media pack and reckon One Page Books are a brilliant way of introducing people to print-on-demand and self-publishing.

"I've designed them so they match the look of my novels. There's An Introductory One Page Book to the Self-Regulating, Incorporeal Professional Body, The Soul Transference and Necromancer's Trade Association, which supports The Horsepower Whisperer, and The Wormton Cat, which serves as a taster for The Wormton Lamb. Each novel and its associated One Page Book features the same colour co-ordinated go faster stripe."

The one-page book is one of the most elegant and economical ways to produce an eight page book, in A4 or A3 sizes (or US letter and larger sizes), by simple folding and a single cut.  Perfect for artists, boutiques, and any sort of promotional efforts, a single one-sided print is all you need to create a fantastic piece for whatever you're doing – recipe books, agendas, product descriptions, catalogs, short stories, limited editions.  Get in touch if you're interested in producing your own One Page Book with Lalande Digital Art Press Paris.

Click here to download Blackman's two books.

Cupid et Psyche : St Valentin

Vous cherchez un cadeau extraordinaire pour votre amant pour St Valentin? Porquoi pas un "Face Card," une carte de visite comme notre Cupid et Psyche. Porquoi pas vous deux sur la même carte? Facile, rapide: envoyez nous une image (.jpg), et vos details. Contactez: LALANDE DIGITAL PRESS PARIS pour votre Face Carte d'Amour! 1000 Cartes, quadri couleur, seulement 90 euros.

Looking for a digital printer in Paris? That's us : We speak French and English and we make pretty much anything that can be printed. Fast, reliable, expertly done, Lalande works with clients from all over Paris and the world. LALANDE DIGITAL PRESS PARIS ... YOUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRINTER IN PARIS.