A collaboration between castillo/corrales, Paris and graphic designer and editor Will Holder, The Social Life Of the Book (2011–15) was a collection of commissioned texts reflecting on books, and how they engage with the circulation of ideas and the agency of social situations. The series brought together artists, publishers, writers, designers, booksellers, etc. who consider books less as finished objects or forms but for their disruptive potential and their ability to produce new relationships, new publics and new meanings.

S. L. O. B. developed as a series of 16-page, saddle-stitched signatures, available on postal subscription and in selected bookstores. In its contents as well as its distribution, the series aimed to focus readers’ attention on not only printed material as such, but also to the ecosystem that knowledge, writing, publishing and distributing form together.

An artist, a musician, and a publisher based in Brooklyn, NY, James Hoff tells here how books got him into art. He considers the complex and stimulating fabric of anecdotes, gossip, secrets, that are shared around artists’ publications, and, further, the role of printed matter in the building of an artist’s community. The essay pays homage to Edit DeAk through its title, and also comprises some pictures of book covers and LP sleeves from Hoff’s collection.

This installment in the series The Social Life of the Book series was commissioned by Frieze Projects 2015, with additional support from Fluxus Art Projects.