ABM Studio

ABM Studio gather L775 and PBNL. Can you tell us the story of your studio ? The majority of us had crossed experiences in collectives that are disappeared nowadays: Ultralab™ and Labomatic. David Longuein joined Jean-Luc Lemaire to create L775 in 2008. They were sharing premises with PBNL, Olivier Körner, Pascal Béjean and Nicolas Ledoux. We decided to gather under the same banner three years ago : ABM Studio, following the creation of the digital bookshop Art Book Magazine and the desire to develop a project and common skills. Carole recently joined the team following her internship. We come from different backgrounds : graphic design, fashion, digital, architecture and contemporary art. We are a versatile and complementary team that is able to address all areas of creation, all languages ​​— cultural or corporate. Our story is written over encounters and projects, according to our curiosity and our desires.

We meet increasingly creatives assuming a panel of varied skills. ABM encompasses many facets of business, being both producers, editors and advisors. How did you come to offer this particular services ? Could you tell us more about your role in supporting producers in creation ? Labomatic was built on a graphic review called Bulldozer. We quickly edited and wanted to share both the experiences of artists with whom we worked, but also our projects and ideas. We currently co-publish the magazine of contemporary art and experimental music OpticalSound, and with Art Book Magazine, we are heading a theoretical texts collection around contemporary art. We seek autonomy and a form of freedom that allows us to take risks, to experiment and push projects as far as possible. For example, we have produced the first reasoned catalog of a contemporary artist as an evolutive application for iPad with Claude Lévêque, and of course the Art Book Magazine bookshop, we develop nowadays with Vincent Piccolo. These projects have had some success and naturally people came to ask us advice. Regarding accompaniment : we are vigilant to know our place by intervening with more accuracy, rigor and acuity as possible, to create a climate of trust and cooperation, to maintain a form of desire.

You created the Art Book Magazine application in 2011, a bookshop distributing digital publications on contemporary art. How does the selection of this bookshop work ? Has it evolved over the years ? Are you particularly interested in some writers ? It is a long and exciting adventure, both experimental and technological but above all cultural : fighting against the disappearance of books and offering tomorrow's books, an alternative design, distribution and financing in the field of coffee table book, artist book and theoretical essays. We wanted to develop a digital bookshop dedicated to contemporary art, design, photography... The selection of books is done in small groups. A month ago, we have linked the bookshop to the flows of major publishing houses and then we can also choose from their catalogues. The selection is still limited but is constantly evolving. We would like to be a reference for all those interested in the field of creation and offer an open but sharp selection, a real qualitative alternative to supermarket distribution.

You are particularly interested in the relationship between the cultural field and digital media. How has it changed since you started exploring it ? Are cultural institutions asking for innovative applications ? We started when Internet began, with the first Macs, floppy disks… so we created the first websites with new uses, new interfaces. Our developer Olivier did a post-graduate program in digital media at the ENSBA in Paris. The issue of technology has always interested us, as an experimentation and creation tool. We are currently working a lot on digital book formats, mobile applications, where art direction, graphic design and ergonomics — combined with a proper software development — can be powerful tools, in terms of communication, marketing or production of cultural contents. In the cultural field, communication is often a question of trend. We always try to experiment new things with small organisations, and major institutions follow… or not. It depends a lot on investment strategies and the vision of decision-makers. Many have a good understanding of digital tools, but for others, this remains unnecessary or even science fiction. Some of them are only interest in cost and features, then neglecting editorial content, ergonomics, graphic design, and thus digital productions. It requires us a lot of support and pedagogy. Our interlocutors usually think digital in terms of economy : this is a serious mistake. Interview conducted in March 2016 ©ktlg