Based just west of Chicago's West Loop, Front40 publishes art books that discuss political, artistic and cultural issues through photography, art and text. In April 2007, Front40's second publication Graffitecture (a clever merging of "graffiti" and "architecture") was included in P.S.1's MoMA event "Fine Print: Alternative Media"—an event that put them on the national map. Their newest publication, Signs of the Apocalypse/Rapture, which I reviewed for the Chicago Artists' Newspaper, uses visual art and audio as a springboard for discussing this timely topic—something that has become especially relevant in our current economic state. On a cold winter morning, I talked shop with Doug Fogelson, Publisher of Chicago's own Front40 Press.

So tell me, how and when did Front40 start?
We started printing books offline in 2007, but we unofficially began in 2004 as an online, virtual publisher with eBooks, zines and even a virtual newspaper.

Why the switch from online to print? Seems like everyone's going the opposite way these days.
I was collaborating with others on a website project—we had music and CDs, and it was turning out too good to leave online. Also we wanted to thank the collaborators by getting actual physical work into their hands. Then we thought, hey, we should try to sell this stuff.  

What do you add to Chicago art book scene?
A lot of quality. We have eight titles, they're all art books, and they're all beautifully produced and focused on relevant and exciting stuff. Almost all of them use Chicago or Illinois contributors, most of the time to a great extent. Not always everything is fully Chicago, but Signs of Apocalypse/Rapture has eight or ten local contributors; other projects have 90 percent Illinois contributors.

What's the current project?
A photo book called The Time After. It utilizes my art photography and essays by three writers, two of which are Chicago-based. They are Eiren Caffall, a Chicago-based musician/writer, as well as Bridget McCullugh-Alexander and Derek Jensen, very well-regarded environmentalists. The designer is Tim Hartford from Hartford Design, who is a big name in design. The Time After addresses the mentality of the post-climate change generation, musing on the human-to-nature balance through a visual story. The Time After asks what would happen if you came down for a brief visit from outer space and spent some time in nature and the city? It's all very time-based, exploring a temporal experience. It comes out next month, and orders are processed around April 1. We also have a grant proposal out right now, but I don't want to talk about that with the fabulous economy we're in.

So I hear you have a show coming up at the Hyde Park Art Center based on Signs of the Apocalypse/Rapture?
Yep. It's up July 19–September 20, and will include a lot of images and alternative images from book, as well as a couple of live musical performances, discussion groups, and lectures talking about the book content. It's mostly visual, but includes some sound and discussion. Also, Andrew Schulz will do a giant wall drawing.