Book showcasing the three Art Basels spells end of traditional printed catalogues

When Art Basel landed in Hong Kong last year, taking over the five-year-old Hong Kong International Art Fair (Art HK), it prompted the fair directors to think about what it meant to be in Asia and what it meant for the galleries. That process led to Art Basel | Year 44, a book showcasing a year in the life of the three Art Basels - in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong - which was launched in March.

"Coming to Hong Kong made us think differently about what Art Basel was. We said, 'OK, is this three different events or is it three different articulations of a single organisation?' " says Art Basel director Marc Spiegler.

The art world was a very different place in 1970 when the first Art Basel opened in Basel. Art Cologne was the only other fair and it didn't invite American galleries.

Art Basel, on the other hand, invited American galleries from the get-go. And in 2002 came the second fair in Miami Beach. They were both art fairs, but on opposite sides of the Atlantic and they served different markets. Did they have much in common? Spiegler gave it little thought until Hong Kong joined the fold.

"There are three Art Basel fairs in three different cities, but in a sense all the galleries - and there are more than 500 galleries within these fairs - are Art Basel galleries," says Spiegler.

The 780-page Art Basel | Year 44 captures the three shows in one book. It's a hefty tome, weighing in at 2.7kg and detailing the galleries, places and events that shape today's art world. "We are taking a thematic approach rather than a chronological approach - it's an A-Z rather than a show by show, blow by blow account," says Art Basel Asia director Magnus Renfrew.

The book replaces the annual Art Basel catalogues. When the old-school directories began, they were intended as sales catalogues, so people could see what was coming up and they were specific to each show. The internet has put paid to the need for that. What's more, because the art world moves so fast today almost as soon as the catalogue was released it was outdated as artists changed galleries and pieces were sold. The catalogues will still be available, but only in digital format.