CURRENT PROJECT: ENERGY LANDSCAPES OF ST. LOUIS
In collaboration with a group of artists, scholars and community organizers, MSB is creating a series of published materials, visual and textual, exploring the current energy landscapes of the St. Louis area. Having completed the initial research phase through a residency at The Luminary, MSB is developing prints, zines, and book materials around the complex infrastructure, histories, and eco-social impacts of coal and oil found at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
WHO WE ARE
Mystery Spot Books produces small-run artist books, zines, and other publications that trace the contours and quirks of place-based experience in the human-altered landscape. Named for the tourist trap wonder attractions often encountered on road trips around the United States, Mystery Spot is a project of Minneapolis-based artist Chad Rutter and Austin-based writer Emily Roehl. Mystery Spot investigates the persistence of place in the face of the abstractions and simplifications of the mass media in a way that resists the easy nostalgia of place-bound identities or mythic unities.
STOCKISTS
Brainfreeze (Nashville, TN)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts Shop (Minneapolis, MN)
Minnesota Center for Book Arts (Minneaplolis, MN)
Moon & Arrow (Philadelphia, PA)
Perimeter Books (Melbourne, Australia)
Printed Matter, Inc (New York, NY)
Quimby's (Chicago, IL)
Ti Pi Tin (London, United Kingdom)
Waiting Room (Minneapolis, MN)
Zine's Mate (Tokyo, Japan)
ARCHIVES / COLLECTIONS
Bethel University Library (St. Paul, MN)
Emily Carr University Library (Vancouver, BC)
The Floating Library (Minneapolis, MN)
The Indie Photobook Library (Washington, DC)
Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, SAIC (Chicago, IL)
Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (Los Angeles, CA)
Midway Contemporary Art Library (Minneapolis, MN)
Minneapolis College of Art & Design Library (Minneapolis, MN)
The Natural Collection, Photobook Club (Coventry, United Kingdom)
New York Public Library (New York, NY)
Otterbein University Library (Westerville, Ohio)
St. Louis Public Library (Central) Zine Collection (St. Louis, MO)
St. Olaf College Library (Northfield, MN)
ART BOOK FAIRS
Chicago Zine Fest (Chicago, IL)
LA Art Book Fair, Presented by Printed Matter (Los Angeles, CA)
MDW Fair (Chicago, IL)
Medium Cool Art Book Fair (Chicago, IL)
Overbooked @ The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN)
Philadelphia Art Book Fair (Philadelphia, PA)
Photobook Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia)
Pitch Project Artist Book Fair (Milwaukee, WI)
St. Louis Small Press Expo (St. Louis, MO)
Silver Eye Book Fair (Pittsburgh, PA)
Tokyo Art Book Fair (Tokyo, Japan)
Twin Cities Zine Fest (Minneapolis, MN)
Vancouver Art Book Fair (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
GALLERIES
Art of This Gallery (Minneapolis, MN)
Drift Station (Lincoln, NE)
grayDUCK Gallery (Austin, TX)
Johnson Gallery, Bethel University (Saint Paul, MN)
The Luminary (St. Louis, MO)
MCAD Main Gallery (Minneapolis, MN)
Monash Gallery of Art (Melbourne, Australia)
Peerless Gallery (Omaha, NE)
Soo Visual Arts Center (Minneapolis, MN)
Waiting Room (Minneapolis, MN)
ONLINE FEATURES
2014 Book of the Day, Self Publish, Be Happy (London, United Kingdom)
2012 Book of the Day, Self Publish, Be Happy (London, United Kingdom)