14 Very Cool Things You Need To Do At The New York Art Book Fair

Let’s not sugarcoat it: The New York Art Book Fair is stressful. With publishers and artists and vendors from all over the goddamn Earth, there’s a ton of beautiful things to see, and even more people trying to see them. In an attempt to make the experience less daunting, we put together a little guide featuring 14 of the things — photo books, tees, a ceramic vase shaped like a penis — worth braving the mob scene for.

1. Hang out in this room of rare punk posters.

Toby Mott installing his PUNK collection to launch his new book at the Andrew Roth project room 2. Fair opens tomorrow for a special preview 6pm to 9pm. Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976 - 1980. #NYABF

A photo posted by Printed Matter, Inc. (@printedmatterinc) on Sep 14, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

Andrew Roth's room on the second floor is plastered with the coolest of cool tour posters and flyers from Buzzcocks, Richard Hell, The Slits, and more. They're on loan from Toby Matt's PUNK collection, which Phaidon published in the form of a 500-page book called Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976-1980.

2. Flip through a photo memoir that'll make you want to hug your best friend.

happy geburtstag to the very best!! ❤️

A photo posted by @damienmaloney on Sep 14, 2016 at 9:14am PDT

Molly Matalon, who sometimes shoots really pretty photos for The FADER, and her collaborator Damien Maloney, just released a new photo book called Olive Juice that's described as "part road trip journal, part romantic travel memoir." Full disclosure: it includes a conversation with The FADER's photo director Emily Keegin, which we can't wait to read. Grab it from the VUU Studio booth on the 2nd floor.

3. Go to an open forum on sex and dating.

Badlands author Larissa Pham with her debut novella #Fantasian! Get your copy at NYABF now

A photo posted by Badlands Unlimited (@badlandsunlmtd) on Sep 15, 2016 at 3:43pm PDT

N.Y.C. publishing company Badlands Unlimited is hosting a short reading Saturday at 4 p.m. called Ask New Lovers with hosts Larissa Pham and Bettina Davis, the authors of the two latest New Lovers erotic novels.

4. Make friends in the queer section of the zine tent.

14 Very Cool Things You Need To Do At The New York Art Book Fair

The FADER

There’s great queer art everywhere at the fair, but it’s maybe most concentrated on the far right row of the zine tent, where you'll find booths from Gayletter, Daily Life Storage, Raw Meat Collective, and more.

5. Revel in the funniest self-portraits on the planet.

Russian artist Ebecho Muslimova's wacky ink pieces feature her illustrated alter-ego exploring her orifices. Swing by the One Star Press room in and be prepared to giggle.

6. Learn about the photo world's Next Big Things.

Come see us at #mattemagazine's #nyabf16 table — we are butt-to-butt with Artforum in the real magazine section!!!

A photo posted by Matthew Leifheit (@mattelife) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:15pm PDT

MATTE Magazine and MOSSLESS — two beautiful, glossy publications featuring photos by and interviews with some of our favorite up-and-coming photographers — share a table on the second floor. Pretty convenient, right?

7. Enjoy poems and pictures that fit together like peas in a pod.

The parallelogram box is now available at the #NYABF A03 & @peradam_press 🌀 this weekend

A photo posted by Aidan Koch (@aidanalexiskoch) on Sep 15, 2016 at 4:00pm PDT

Aidan Koch's set up in the back of "the zine tent," near all the punks, where her gentle drawings and words exist in contrast to some of the more frantic designs.

8. Color in Gucci Mane's face tats.

repost @kayrockscreenprinting my coloring book "color me bad" is now available at their booth at the ny art book fair @momaps1

A video posted by justin hager (@justinhager) on Sep 16, 2016 at 11:43am PDT

Kayrock Screenprinting is selling a hand-bound coloring book in which you can doodle inside (or outside) the lines of E.T. and Gucci Mane's faces.

9. Check out scrappy designs from New York and records from Japan.

#nyabf is STARTING TODAY thru Sunday @ PS1, come say hi to me n crew at table B22 in the dome. ✌️ also say hi to our friends in the zine tent @heatherbenjamin_ , @swimpamela, @jordannassar,@scorpioincharge, inside @wormholemtl n @oogaboogastore 💎 and many more!

A photo posted by Emma Kohlmann (@meiow_mix) on Sep 15, 2016 at 9:45am PDT

Exciting New York artist Emma Kohlmann will be hanging out side by side with Japanese label Big Love Tokyo in the dome — the big space on the left in the courtyard. Find them underneath a poster that says "Fire Alarm" on it.

10. Buy this weirdly beautiful ceramic penis vase.

The FADER

Nos Books is a super cool press from Taipei. Their 2nd-floor table is adorned with ceramics and holographic "flicker cards," a.k.a. IRL GIFs.

11. See some striking composite images about how one artist’s identity was shaped by the AIDS crisis.

We are so excited to have just received the first copies of "Tear Sheets" by Pacifico Silano which will be launched at this years NYABF! We will also be having a signing at Dashwood Books later this September to be announced!

A photo posted by Silent Face Projects (@silentfaceprojects) on Sep 6, 2016 at 2:18pm PDT

In this new book based on a solo exhibition called Tear Sheets, Pacifico Silano appropriates decades-old gay smut for a moving statement about memory, queer history, and his own life. Find it in the zine tent at booth A49.

12. Explore the entire Kim Gordon section.

DESTE at the NY Art Book Fair (MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens, between Sept. 16 and 18)! Visit us at Booth M04! @printedmatterinc @artbook @artbookps1 @momaps1 #deste #destepublications #destefoundation #nyabf

A photo posted by DESTE Foundation (@destefoundation) on Sep 16, 2016 at 8:23am PDT

DESTE Foundation is selling Body/Head records and posters, and Kim Gordon's new book, Noise Name Paintings and Sculptures of Rock Bands That Are Broken Up in the M room on the first floor of the museum.

13. Peruse the selection of really great tees, including one dedicated to Winona Ryder's filmography.

#NYABF public opening today! Now til 7pm then all weekend long. Booth T01 !!! On the 2nd floor at @momaps1 Come thru!

A photo posted by V A C A N C Y P R O J E C T S (@vacancyprojects) on Sep 16, 2016 at 8:53am PDT

L.A.'s Vacancy Projects and Silent Sound's must-see tables are right across from each other, smack in the middle of the fair's most chaotic room. (They don't just have shirts, there are books and pins as well.)

14. Step into a literal tornado of zines.

i survived the #zinetornado, did U❓ #nyabf 📖🌪

A video posted by David Brandon Geeting (@davidbrandongeeting) on Sep 16, 2016 at 5:52am PDT

It’s a $10, 15-second free-for-all, like a challenge from the best DIY-themed game show that never was. Find it outside the dome.