Kickstarter

Howdy!
While you are probably sick of these updates, we do want to be in touch, because we are so short before the end game. 14% to go and it's still steep. It ain't over until it's over. This gives us an opportunity to introduce our contributors – no matter what the outcome.

A big part of being a working artist is to deal with the fact, that you are out there on a limb on your own, building your own infrastructure, context and at the end, audience. While you are growing older the stakes get higher with treading that path. But you do it because you love it. You are not relying on government funding, or big distribution monopoly or some status quo to play the game. When you make the kind of imagery we make, it's also a different tree to climb because the solutions are outside of the applied norm.

We've been extremely lucky to have been supported by the people in Chicago, the Midwest, as well as individuals from overseas. We wouldn't be a working studio without every $10 dollars that comes through our door. Again and again, someone carries us – thus the work. Amongst these very generous people that keep the fire going for us, are the contributors of this book. This is a stellar cast of talent, that know how to work from the ground up and independent. If you have a minute or more to really take a look at why they are part of this project, it might give you a deeper understanding of how this all will come together.

Alex Fuller who is designing the book, is an amazing designer. He does it minimal and critical. But it's more then just that. We worked with Alex in conjunction with the exhibit Waiting out the Rain that was presented at the Family Room. We learned fast how Alex understands to not stress the point while designing. This allows for a great space for content to unfold. Further more, we worked with him in context with his co-run artist book company, 5x7books. It was there where he really pushed us to explore the simple constraints of the project with content development. Having him on this project, will give a great balance of friction and openness for our work. As he lives in Chicago, this will allow a real interaction from going from manuscript to designed object.

Nathan Keay is a Chicago based photographer that comes to the image from many angles. He has a his own distinct body of work while at the same time tackling hardcore skills around reproduction. This balance is important for us. If someone takes a photo of your work, there's always a translation that happens when it get's captured. Nuances are important for our color palette and having someone on board that is a creative person, but willing to do this detailed work is insanely generous. We are in the best of hands and eyes.

Jonathan Messinger and Zach Dodson are featherproof books. The two are an independent publishing force here in Chicago constantly investing into literary talent. We don't quite belong to that group, but they work tirelessly on content and get it out to people. We have had the opportunity to work with these two publishing masters in many different contexts before. Jonathan was a big part in our previous book, Field Integration, serving as editor. Zach is a production guru, visual editing master. We've worked with him in context with the Show 'n Tell Show. Having this team on board gives us four extra eyes, but the two biggest hearts!

Michael Cina is a Minneapolis-based designer and artist. He has forged, over the past decade, a huge body of work and an aesthetic that is now emulated everywhere. We've been long time admirers of his work, as he doesn't care about all the labels between art and design. He is just interested in what visual impressions do, what there impact is. We were lucky enough to connect to this approach first hand while we were working on a collaboration for Ghostly International. When we read his article in Creative Review on a recent design exhibit, it sealed the deep notion, that we wanted him to write a critical preface on our work.

Gus Gavino is a film maker that has pushed us from day one on discussions on what film can be, how moving pictures work, what it means to build a visual language as a director... He was so generous in giving his time to help us put this fundraiser together while questioning our motives and how we wanted to present them. As a film maker in the Midwest, he knows the battles of getting your work out there. We are often in the same point discussing visual culture. We are very humbled that he wanted to be a part of this.

It's the final count down! 60 more books to go!

Nadine and Nick