Lectures on LP

The other day I thought that I'd died and gone to art book heaven, and its name was Pro QM. If there was one thing that I've been missing for the last 5 years it was a comprehensive book store with an up-to-date stock of art publications. I never could understand why San Francisco, such a literary city, could not scratch this itch. It was hard to even find a store that carried a selection of art magazines. (Now I am kind of Ranting, but it seemed common sense to me that a book store like this would thrive in the Mission. I mean, there are 5 MFA programs in the Bay Area.)

When I discovered that Pro QM was just blocks away I felt the euphoric anticipation of that itch being scratched. But if there is one thing that I've learned in the past decade (and thousands of tuition dollars later) it is that buying art books is an addiction. Yes, they are research material; and yes, they can be written-off as a professional expense for taxes (if you're making a profit off of your artwork), but they are not art. Even though it kind of felt like it when I recently saw a Basquiat monograph that I own listed for $400-1000 on e-bay. Knowing my predisposition to this addiction I had already made the decision to practice restraint in this area (but now I know where to find it).

The bookstore if very reminiscent of the salon next door, sparse, white and well-lit. There are few obtrusive bookshelves to negotiate, even their staircase is a slab step design allowing for maximum transparency. However, there are very few places to sit and read. The books are often stacked directly on the floor and cover table tops, like any bibliophiles apartment it is hard to distinguish between the furniture and the books themselves. Reinforced by a phonograph in the back of emiting ambient sounds of an artist lecture series.

I did buy two things while I was there but they have been on mental lay-away for months: the recently released 'Proxemics: Liam Gillicks Selected Writings' and the newest copy of 032c magazine.