Archive for Small Press & Publication (A.S.P.C.)

Archive for Small Press & Publication (A.S.P.C.)

Out of the circumstances which have to be characterised by a general lack of interest in this then new genre of art, the publications by Guy Schraenen Éditeur had only a limited commercial success. But the initial idea of removing from the limited context of an institutionalized gallery to a wider audience remained successful. It was ensured by the international network, which grew up during the 1960s by using the postal system. Thanks to this new cultural strategy, Guy Schraenen Éditeur publications were exchanged with the works of contemporaries from all over the world. The richness and diversity of the compiled works resulted in the decision to found the ARCHIVE FOR SMALL PRESS & COMMUNICATION (A.S.P.C.) together with Anne Marsily in 1974. The aim was "...to collect and preserve all types of art documentation, emanating principally from artists’ initiatives and covering all fields the contamporary artist is active in." (Manifest A.S.P.C.).The A.S.P.C. consists not only of a section Printed Matter, but also of a section Sound Art; both are today the most extensive collections in their fields.

Connected with the A.S.P.C. was an uninterrupted activity of exhibitions, performances and lectures; first in the Galerie Kontakt, and from 1979 on in the ARCHIVE SPACE. Public access to the archive was also given through his radio program I AM AN ARTIST, through essays, lectures. All this happened on individual base and in collaboration with artists, artists’ run spaces, museums and cultural centres in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary, the Soviet Union, etc. In this frame he developed a close relationship with the Latin American and the Eastern European art scene.

The A.S.P.C. remains an important contribution to the knowledge of the then neglected international art scene of the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, it testimonies the power of freedom and independency from the the definitions and ideologies of established institutions, critics and academics through individual acts and new artistic languages. For this reason, it is not only as an artistic statement, as Guy Schraenen states, but also as a political one.