Application as Artwork is the first in a series of work exploring the creative potential, as well as as, the horrible realities of the application process.

The publication is centered on the core question of

Dear Artist, how much time did you spend last year on applications? I hope it’s as much as you did on your own artwork?

From the opening essay:

“The application circuit in the art world feels like playing the lottery. Within my own practice, I have all but given up on applications. It doesn’t sit well with me spending hours upon hours in the off off off chance of getting funding when thousands of other people are doing the exact same thing. I instead focus on using whatever resources I have to make and publish my own work. To me, spending time creating new work to possibly sell instead of wasting time on applications is always a safer bet. I find applications a racket that would ruin my ability to be an artist in the way I have taught myself how to be.”

The foundation of Application as Artwork is centered around my submitted application to The Printer Matter Publisher Work Grant. The grant states that it “acknowledg[es] awardees’ accomplishments in past work and provid[es] the capacity-building funds to enable future book projects and publisher sustainability.” This is the first grant I have applied to in my almost 10 years of running GenderFail. By publishing my application as a fine art publication I am almost but ensuring that my countless hours of work on this application result in some funding my purchasing this publication.

In addition, 25% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to other publishers whose were rejected by The Printer Matter Publisher Work Grant. I also want to add that at the time of this post and publication the winners have not been announced for the grant.

While working on this grant, I realized that the application was mainly asking questions that I felt might be useful to other working class publishers, artists and writers alike trying desperately to make a living in our hellish capitalist nightmare. This publication acts also as the follow up to Publishing Now: GenderFail’s Working Class Guide to Making a Living off Self Publishing.

All books come with a free copy of our Imperfect Publishing: 10 years of putting everything I have into GenderFail- 10 year 6 page Broadsheet - Publisher