Art Business News (Calgary, AB: January, 2006)
full article at Art Business News
[excerpt] Todays art books are providing the credibility artists need in order to be commercially viable; the added sales and marketing “might” for which savvy galleries and publishers are always searching; and the information about artists lives that collectors desire.
The books themselves fulfill a variety of missions, says Geoffrey Bonnycastle, whose Alius Corporation, Duarte, CA, recently published Jia Lu, a 176-page, full-color art book featuring the work of its artist Jia Lu. Bonnycastle says this book “has served the artist as a portable showcase of her best work; the publishers as a promotional tool that generates revenue; the galleries as an effective sales tool; and the collectors as an informative introduction to the life of the artist in whom they have invested.”
...A book may eventually pay off, according to Bonnycastle. He says that Jia Lu, while expensive to produce, was a value-added item that has earned a small profit and has been invaluable for its promotional value. “It is substantial enough to sell for a modest price so that unlike advertising, it pays for itself and earns a small profit in the long run, it is an easy package to send to prospects and allows customers to stop and look carefully at the work after an interview or sales call.”
...Bonnycastle also points out that an art book gives collectors more reassurance about an artist’s longevity. “When an artist's work is recorded in a book, it is there for posterity,” he says. “An art book says the artist is thinking about the place of her work in relation to history and to her contemporaries.”
A copy of Jia Lu, by Geoffrey Bonnycastle, is shown with a spread featuring an illustrated biographical essay and a typical page showing artwork and a preliminary sketch. The publisher is Alius Corporation.