ON BOOK PUBLISHING AS THE PROCESS OF TELLING A STORY

On December 3, 2021 the exhibition ‘The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books opened at the SixtyEight Art Institute. The exhibition is part of SixtyEight’s annual December Bookshop series supporting independent arts publishing in Europe to foster new conversations around the emerging field of editorial research. The most recent bookshop project (open until 20 January) is building on Jap Sam Books publishing strategy to generate new multidisciplinary approaches and cross-border thinking.

The exhibition makes a large selection of books available for the first time in Copenhagen, which have been published in recent years by this Dutch publishing house, and it reflects on books as art objects by presenting several volumes that possess different forms of materiality and visuality.

Titles such as Before I Was Born, in which artist Tja Ling illustrates the story of her family’s journey from China to the Netherlands through 14 interconnected pencil drawings that unfold through a 4,5m long leporello style binded folio. Another book available is the artist Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, which is an attempt to create a cinematic experience, without actually making a film. Or Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, which consists of three separate magazine-like folios that illustrate – through photography, drawings and installations – the artist’s take on the sublime and nature in this anthropocene.

Tja Ling's Before I Was Born, 2020. Book design by Tina De Souter.
Photo: Justina Nekrašaitė / The Book Photographer.

Tja Ling's Before I Was Born, 2020. Book design by Tina De Souter.
Photo: Justina Nekrašaitė / The Book Photographer.

Tja Ling's Before I Was Born, 2020. Book design by Tina De Souter. Photo: Justina Nekrašaitė / The Book Photographer.

Tja Ling's Before I Was Born, 2020. Book design by Tina De Souter.
Photo: Justina Nekrašaitė / The Book Photographer.

Tja Ling's Before I Was Born, 2020. Book design by Tina De Souter.
Photo: Justina Nekrašaitė / The Book Photographer.

This edition of the December Bookshop continues SixtyEight Art Institute’s tradition of presenting art publishers into exhibition formats, such as How we let Venice flood and other stories with Beam Editions/Rab-Rab Press, 2019 and Less Influencers, More Poets with Space Poetry, 2018.

It also builds on the institute’s ongoing work in the field of editorial research being proposed by its own editorial and publishing arm, Really Simple Syndication Press. SixtyEight’s press aims to provide new answers to the increasing demand to theorise, report and publish developments in art and literature that can continue to transverse disciplines, forms and modes in the production of knowledge. It is also a collaborative endeavour that is achieved by inviting other publishing presses to Copenhagen to present their catalogues to new readers. Like the previous exhibitions, the December Bookshop is realised as an exhibition format at SixtyEight’s gallery space and made available to visitors as an interdisciplinary effort by combining artistic, curatorial and editorial creative practises through each of these surveys.

Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, 2020. Book design by Mainstudio. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mainstudio.

Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, 2020. Book design by Mainstudio. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mainstudio.

Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, 2020. Book design by Mainstudio. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mainstudio.

Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, 2020. Book design by Mainstudio.
Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mainstudio.

Maurice Bogaert’s The Walter Benjamin and Albert S. Project, 2020. Book design by Mainstudio.
Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mainstudio.

Jap Sam Books is an independent international publishing house based in Prinsenbeek, Netherlands. The press publishes titles that explore developments in architecture, art, philosophy, design, photography and theory as well as the fields that touch them, such as urbanism, landscape, sociology and history. Furthermore, Jap Sam Books was established to reflect, connect and respond to developments in these fields, by publishing a range of critical and reflective books for an international audience. For this interview, I decided to elaborate on the public talk I had at the exhibition opening (on December 3) with the owner and editor of Jap Sam Books, Eleonoor Jap Sam and take the opportunity to talk more about art publishing, cross border collaborations, and editorial research. The exchange took place over email through most of December.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021.
Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

Public Talk between Eleonoor Jap Sam and Denisa Tomkova at the exhibition opening at SixtyEight Art Institute, December 3, 2021. Photo: Alison Hugill.

Denisa Tomkova (DT): You studied art and architecture history, design and communication, and you worked as an independent researcher, critic, publicist and editor-in-chief. How and why did you start your own publishing house? Can you tell me more about the beginnings of Jap Sam Books?

Eleonoor Jap Sam (EJS): I have always worked as a generalist in the fields of art, design and architecture. In 1998 I became the Director of the Docomomo International Secretariat. One of our goals was to bring the work of this non-profit organisation to the attention of a wider public worldwide. The publication of a journal and various publications was one of the ways of achieving this. In 2002, the International Secretariat moved to Paris and since then I really enjoyed making these wonderful books and my work as an editor for Docomomo. I changed course, and the same year I founded episode publishers with a business partner who also wanted to start her own press. It was an intuitive choice. I really saw it as a great challenge, and it also gave me the opportunity to continue working internationally.

One of our first clients was The Berlage Institute, and we were allowed to publish Hunch, edited by Jennifer Sigler. In 2003, we presented our first titles at the Buchmesse in Frankfurt, which is still one of the most important book fairs, also in terms of positioning within the book trade, dialogues with fellow publishers and distributors. It was an incredibly inspiring and educational journey, a process of trial and error, incredibly hard work and then the gift of all those beautiful books. In 2009, we split this publishing company into two new ones, and I continued under my own name.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021. Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021. Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

DT: What methods do you use when researching what to publish?

EJS: The program of Jap Sam Books explores developments in a range of different fields, such as architecture, art, theory, urbanism, landscape, philosophy, sociology, and history. Next to this we try to focus on urgent social or cultural topics, such as social change, decolonising, cultural diversity, or representation. Every month the publishing house receives new book proposals. From these, we look for proposals that are in line with our working methods. Subjects or collaboration opportunities where we feel that our input can also be important to take the book further, to develop it further, or sometimes to publish it in a special form. I think we select about 60% of what we publish from these book proposals.

But we also initiate our own projects, for which we handle all fundraising and also establish new partnerships. We have built up a large network over the years, and from these contacts and collaborations also come new book proposals. Often, we are approached from the first idea, and work together in all aspects of the realisation until the final book. We are particularly interested in people’s relationship with nature and have published several books on the relationship between nature, landscape, the rural and visual art, design, or architecture. Many artist books or monographs by artists who give nature a central role in their work, but also academic titles or, for example, a long-term cooperation with Myvillages or M12 from the US.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021. Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

DT: How would you define what 'editorial research' is? Maybe even in comparison to 'curatorial research' or 'artistic research'.

EJS: Currently, we publish a variety of artist books and monographs, series, magazines/academic journals, or books on current and theoretical subjects every year for an international audience. As an editor, you are responsible for compiling, analysing, coordination, and selecting external authors, for example, to determine how the book relates to current discourse.

A book has so many different features. Of course, you always start with the content: How to tell the story? What is the balance between text and images? And how do you treat the images? Who are the readers, and are there any communities linked to the topic?

In a monograph of an artist, it is a challenge to go beyond a mere representation of the work, the traditional catalogue. It is more interesting to search for new perspectives and meanings, and to enter into a dialogue with the works. For this, it is important to pair the artist with a designer who can reinforce this process. When we publish a PhD, a large part of the research consists of conversations with the author, what perspectives do we want to bring out in the book. How can we translate the PhD into an attractive book for a wider audience? What layer of images do you add to achieve this? A book also has a lot of rules, and it is interesting to see how you can extend or stretch these rules.

To give an example, we’re currently working together with the Dutch solar designer Marjan van Aubel on her new book on solar design in relation to historical and contemporary projects, but also speculative concepts aimed at the future, (new) thinking about solar energy and the energy of the sun. We introduced her to designer Joost Grootens, and together with him we developed an interesting book concept: an illustrated encyclopaedia, divided in three sections: past, present, future. It is interesting to see how this publication will develop in the end, we will present the book at the upcoming Solar Biennale, initiated by designers Marjan van Aubel and Pauline van Dongen, in September 2022 at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021. Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

The Book as Art and Vision by Jap Sam Books. December Bookshop, 2021. Photo: SixtyEight Art Institute.

I think editorial research, curatorial research and artistic research are all about the production of meaning. Meaning through text, images, combination of artworks, films, websites, design, publication, photographs, archive research, and so on. As an editor, you must think about what position you are taking, what is the cultural and political context? What is your starting point? How do you incorporate contemporary developments?

Developing and publishing books is all about working together, thinking about how to tell the story and publish it in book form, and which peripheral elements you add such as an exhibition, a seminar or even producing a short film. And not to forget, of course, to look for financial means to realise all these plans. That is why it is important to be involved as a publisher/editor right from the concept stage. So that you can continuously discuss how the content of the book will be built up, and for which target groups (artists, the general public, scholars, cultural workers, etc.). And do not underestimate the audience. What do they add themselves while reading, where can you surprise them or bring them to other and new thoughts? Or where do they connect with you from their own perspectives?

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

DT: Speaking of the audience, can you please tell me about your approach of confronting your readers with the content and the form of the books that you publish? Is it important for you to challenge our understanding of what books should look like?

EJS: I think the form and tactile quality of a book is very important. Also, the cover of the book, the right choice of paper and binding, that a book falls open properly and really invites you to get going with it.

It is also important that within the book, the reader is given the freedom to really connect with the book. Many people 'find' books or are really looking for a particular book. Sometimes just to absorb the content, but often also just to have the book in your home bookcase. It remains a fascinating process, the richness of having books. In my youth, unlike today's generations, there were no online resources (Google, Instagram, Facebook) available at home, and then you were very happy with a well-stocked bookcase, your own 'home library' with inspiration books, references, ideas. In that respect, I also think that the printed book will never disappear.

A book is a great medium to tell a story. But books also have limitations, which is why you should always investigate whether the book is the right medium to tell the story. In the meantime, we have also initiated exhibitions, made films, published multiples and special editions of screen prints, published books with a podcast or sound cart. We have also released LPs and 7' inches to accompany books, not something we had thought of beforehand. We seem to be moving more towards these hybrid forms.

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Erik Odijk’s The Academy of the Sublime, 2020. Book design by Studio Joost Grootens. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

DT: You mentioned the production of meaning through the process of publishing a book. Can you maybe elaborate on how you see editorial work in terms of production of new knowledge?

EJS: Jap Sam Books is dedicated to publishing art, architecture, design and urban research. To this end, we collaborate with various academic universities and university colleges, such as Delft University of Technology, University of Amsterdam, Design Academy Eindhoven, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design and various PhD researchers. Jap Sam Books can support research through the books we publish, promoting it as a means of understanding culture and society. As a publisher/editor I strive to create a catalogue of critical and reflexive publications with a breadth and depth of thought that enrich the various disciplines and produce new knowledge, conceptual methodologies, and original insights. We have published several books that have been received with open arms by professionals from the various fields because they brought new perspectives. One of these books, for example, is The Artist interview. For conservation and presentation of contemporary art. Guidelines and practice, published in cooperation with the Foundation for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (SBMK), the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) and the University of Amsterdam.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Sanneke Huisman, Marga van Mechelen [eds.], A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies, 2019. Book design by Mind Design. Photo: Jap Sam Books/Mind Design.

Another example is the publication A Critical History of Media Art in the Netherlands. Platforms, Policies, Technologies. This volume, edited by Marga van Mechelen and Sanneke Huisman, offers an in-depth exploration of Dutch media art since 1985 from many different perspectives. Ultimately, more than 20 essays are included in this book, with an introduction by the editors. This introduction became steadily more extensive because during the writing and development process of the book, further information came to light that the editors did not want to leave untouched. In the end, the introduction runs to over 60 pages, and the total page count is 376 richly illustrated. The book design is by Niels Schrader of Mind Design. An interesting design feature is that the book is printed on wine label paper. We had planned several book launches, but due to the Covid-19 restrictions we had to change things around. In the end, with the help of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, we realised a week-long online event programme (YouTube) and a 1.5-hour film with an introduction by the editors and an in-depth dialogue with two artists from two different generations in media art and a presentation of their work is just finished. We hope to present it at several media art festivals.

DT: Jap Sam Books's multidisciplinary approach can be seen as an important proposition in terms of editorial research. Why is the combining of multiple disciplines in an approach to a topic in your books important for you?

EJS: I find it particularly interesting to see how you can bring different perspectives from different disciplines together in a publication. This leads to interesting collaborations, exchanges of ideas and visions. I think it is important to get out of your comfort zone. To immerse yourself in the other, or to invite the other to contribute. For example, are we making an architecture book only for architects? Or can other disciplines also learn from what is happening in this field? When you form a book team, it is important to look at who you are inviting to participate; for example, are there enough different perspectives among the selected authors?

Now for example we are working on a special artist book jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome by visual artist Antonis Pittas.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

The book brings together writers from a variety of fields (curating, architecture, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, poetry, art) who reflect on the legacy and failures of modernism from the perspectives of their individual backgrounds and expertise. Brought together, it shows the interconnectivity of a network of discourse across time periods.

DT: How do you understand 'editorial research' as a field? Why do you think there are no specific academic degrees specialised in 'editorial research' yet? Can we see it as an emerging field?

EJS: Interesting question, but as a generalist I think there are a lot of fields that can contribute to the work of an editor. In my work, I have always worked with professionals/makers from many different disciplines and levels: artists, architects, designers, researchers, image makers, policy makers, museums, art institutes, private organisations, etc. I think I was always more interested in the story or the topic than from which field it came.

Publishing, especially in the field of art and culture, also gives you the opportunity to be a link between the different practises, to connect them. We work with artists, with art institutions, with museums, with galleries, the academic world, the business world, distributors, bookstores, etc. Being a spider in a web must be something you like, and I don’t think that you can only learn this at a university. In the Netherlands, we have several Art & Culture Studies, but many art professionals also continue to develop and look for a balance between practice and research. So, I think that with many different backgrounds you can contribute to the field of editorial research.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

Antonis Pitta’s jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome, 2022. Book design by Alex Farrar. Photo: Jap Sam Books.

DT: Why are cross-border collaborations so important for independent publishers in Europe?

EJS: For independent publishers, it is important to look at how you can keep connecting to new target groups, new communities and different stakeholders. Especially with the rise of social media, online shopping, etc., we are becoming increasingly connected. From behind your computer, you can wander around the world and get ideas. In addition, readers/buyers can search for interesting books online from home all over the world. It is important to look at the local environment, local communities, but ultimately, we are connected globally. The current pandemic shows again how dependent we are on each other, and that current local problems often also apply worldwide, or can have their origin there. When developing books and positioning books, it is important to look at what has already been written, relevant research that the content should relate to, connect to, and build on.

Another important aspect is the function of the (art) book fairs in Europe and beyond. There are times when you can talk to like-minded colleagues, meet your audience. Book fairs are happy places.

We try to attend several fairs per year. The invitation from SixtyEight Art Institute and Really Simple Syndication Press to show our books, in combination with a selection of art works by the artists we work with, to new readers in Copenhagen is really a great opportunity.


Eleonoor Jap Sam (b. 1968) studied art & architecture history, design and communication. She works as an independent researcher, critic, publicist, editor-in-chief and publisher. Her essays and reviews have been published in journals and magazines such as de Architect, Frame / Interior design and architecture magazine, BOUW, and Decorum.

From 1998 until 2002 she was the director of the DOCOMOMO International Secretariat, an international network with 77 chapters worldwide for the documentation and preservation of the architecture and urbanism of the Modern Movement, and co-editor of the DOCOMOMO Journal. She was one of the co-founders of episode publishers vof [2002-2009], independent publishers of books on art, culture, architecture, and science in Rotterdam.


The exhibition DECEMBER BOOKSHOP: THE BOOK AS ART AND VISION BY JAP SAM BOOKS will be open for visitors until 20 January at SixtyEight Art Institute on Gothersgade 167, Copenhagen K.


This interview is part of an initiative to foster Danish and English Language critical writings and positions from a range of new and established talents across the visual arts and arts publishing; and as part of a partnership between I DO ART and SixtyEight Art Institute.


Denisa Tomkova (b. 1989) is a Curatorial and Publications Research Fellow at SixtyEight Art Institute. She holds an MSc in Modern and Contemporary Art: History, Curating and Criticism from The University of Edinburgh and PhD in Visual Culture from the University of Aberdeen (2019). Her PhD research focused on socially engaged art from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Between 2015-2018, she was a member of the international research project ‘Comparing WE’s. Cosmopolitanism. Emancipation. Postcoloniality’ based at the University of Lisbon. Between 2019-2021, she worked for the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) in Berlin, as a research fellow, curator and a project coordinator.