Hypercodex is a research-creation project at UQAM exploring hybridity at the intersection of so-called traditional techniques and emerging practices. In order to fully grasp these issues, we decided to first meet various actors working within the book trades and alternative publishing sectors of Montreal.
The objective is to discuss our respective approaches in order to elucidate the reasons that motivate us to continue our explorations with print media in the current context of the proliferation of digital possibilities. Whether a question of markets, niches or environmental conscientiousness, current trends seem to point towards smaller print runs, following in the long tradition of artists’ books or small presses. As Alessandro Ludovico noted in his 2012 book Post-Digital Print: “traditional print publishing […] is increasingly presenting its products as valuable objects and collector’s items, by exploiting the physical and tactile qualities of paper.” In order to ensure the survival of the printed book, must its status be elevated to that of a precious object?
The question of tools and processes is of particular interest to us, because the know-how around various printing techniques – such as risography, letterpress printing, bookbinding or paper making – seems today to continue to seduce a new generation of contemporary artists and designers. Is this DIY movement a return to the past or a reconfiguration of the present? New digital liquid ink presses are also of note since they incorporate this need for limited editions. The curtailment of paper choices and current obstacles to their accessibility are other aspects that concern us. It is difficult to predict whether these post-pandemic shortages are temporary or a sign of a larger decline, and whether they will transform processes and uses in the field of print media.
Rather than addressing these questions and trends through an abstract research approach, we’ve decided to begin on the ground, with fieldwork. By painting even a partial portrait of the creative and innovative effervescence within publishing in Montreal, the Hypercodex project seeks to inventory and study the new reading experiences allowed for by various manifestations of hybridity. “There is no one-way street from analogue to digital; rather, there are transitions between the two, in both directions. ”
(Ludovico, 2012)
Ludovico, A. (2012). Post-Digital Print: The Mutation of Publishing since 1894. Onomatopee.
