Fine Art Guide

Books by artists and books as art /Clive Phillpot -- Cracked spines and slipped disks /Cornelia Lauf -- The artist's book and postmodernism / Brian Wallis -- Perplexed / Renée Green -- Interview with Martha Wilson /Thomas Padon -- Itinerant texts /Jane Rolo -- Artists' books : making literacy pay /Glenn O'Brien

"The spread of printing in the 16th century severed the relationship between artist and book, but modern developments in technology - such as lithography and desk-top publishing - have enabled this relationship to be restored. This book, which explores the history of artists' involvement with the book format in the 20th century, provides the historical, philosophical and artistic background for practitioners and art historians." "The book considers the pre-history of the artist's book, beginning with the work of Mallarme and Apollinaire, Cubist, Futurist, Dada and Fluxus books; the upsurge of manifesto, serial and conceptual works of the 1960s and 1970s and the growth of a self-conscious artists' books tradition in the 1980s and 1990s. The development of the artists' books are placed in the context of technological changes and movements in the history of modern art." "Comprehensive reference material is provided by a bibliographic listing of over 500 key artists' books, an exhibition chronology, invaluable practical advice for the collector and librarian and an extensive index."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This anthology is the first in-depth look at artists' book works. A series of essays, written by longtime participants in and observers of the field, address the following questions: what are the origins, attributes, and what is the potential of artists' books; what are their historical precedents; what issues are they addressing; who is making and publishing them? The essays are supplemented by extensive bibliographies and a list of collections.

Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-98) was a French Symbolist poet, theorist, and teacher whose ideas and legendary salons set the stage for twentieth-century experimentation in poetry, music, theater and art. A canonical figure in the legacy of modernism, Mallarmé was also a lifelong champion of the book as both a literary endeavor and a carefully crafted material object. In The Book as Instrument, Anna Sigrídur Arnar explores how this object functioned for Mallarmé and his artistic circle, arguing that the book became a strategic site for encouraging a modern public to actively partake in the creative act, an idea that informed later twentieth-century developments such as conceptual and performance art. Arnar demonstrates that Mallarmé was invested in creating radically empowering reading experiences, and the diverse modalities he proposed for both reading and looking anticipate interactive media prevalent in today's culture. In describing the world of books, visual culture, and mass media of the late nineteenth century, Arnar touches upon an array of themes that continues to preoccupy us in our own moment, including speculations on the future of the book. Enhanced by gorgeous illustrations, The Book as Instrument is sure to fascinate anyone interested in the ever-vibrant experiment between word and image that makes the page and the multi-sensory pleasures of reading.

“A folded fan, a set of blocks, words embedded in lucite: artists' books are a singular form of imaginative expression. With the insight of the artist and the discernment of the art historian, Drucker details over 200 of these works, relating them to the variety of art movements of the last century and tracing their development in form and concept. This work, one of the first full-length studies available of artists' books, provides both a critical analysis of the structures themselves and a basis for further reflection on the philosophical and conceptual roles they play. From codex to document, from performance to self-image, the world of artists' books is made available to student and teacher, collector and connoisseur. A useful work for all art collections, both public and academic.” Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Library, Library Journal

This splendid celebration of the illustrated book as an art form begins with remarkable works produced in France by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin at the end of the 19th century, and traces the international development of the modern illustrated book to the last decade of the 20th century. Major artists of the modern movement, among them Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, turned to the "illumination" of poems, classical literature, and their own writings to make books that are now collectors' objects, luxuriously produced. Such limited editions have continued to be produced alongside other types of artists' books aimed at a much larger audience. The more available artists' books have served a different purpose, often expressing aesthetic and political principles, in the hands of such artists as Kasimir Malevich, Marcel Duchamp, Ed Ruscha, Joseph Beuys, and Barbara Kruger. Accompanying texts consider the historical background, complex relationships between artists and book manufacturers, technical constraints, and recent changes.

- Cutting-edge idea - Titles on altered books are topping sales charts - Packed with valuable artists' resources--galleries, bookstores, Web sites, book fairs, exhibitions Famous artists from David Hockney and Andy Warhol to Gilbert and George have created their own books--distinctive bound collections of work, sometimes variations on the popular altered-book craze. Now any artist can follow in the booksteps of these well-known muses, with the help of Creating Artists' Books. Author Sarah Bodman, an expert on artists' books, gives wonderful inspiration and practical guidance on printmaking processes for making books, digital output and computer-based books, assembling books with limited resources, and creating altered books. An invaluable appendix lists bookstores and galleries that sell and exhibit artists' book; book arts collections, archives, and organizations; book fairs; related Web sites; and more. Creating Artists' Books is packed with ideas, inspiration, and information from cover to cover.

Describes the techniques and equipment used in making books, provides instructions for making accordion books, journals, scrapbooks, and other projects, and offers a selection of artists' books.