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Book Arts and Artist's Books: a page of resources for those interested
in the history and craft of the book.
These links were originally collected to help
students with a project option, but I've included them primarily because
the book arts are one of my major interests. An artist's book is still
a possibility for an individual creative response to a group project,
so f you're interested in doing something along this line, please look
through these links and then discuss any resulting ideas with me. (I haven't
had time to update them as of 09.09.10)
Ever
since the invention of writing, some form of book has provided the means
for communicating stories and other aspects of human culture. In the modern
world, where we have innumerable ways of communicating stories, ideas,
and information, books serve other purposes as well. In fact, interest
in the making of books and in fine-press printing has risen among artists
and designers alike. They have become not only a communicative tool, but
of artistic expression as well. This list is divided into the following
segments:
Book
Arts l Artist's Books l Book
History and the Future of the Book l Pop-up
Books and Paper Engineering
Book
Arts
Generally
speaking, "book arts" refers to the craft of making books, from
papermaking to bookbinding to illustration and illumination.
The
Book Arts: An Introduction from the Canadian Book Binders
and Book Artists Guild. It's a concise description and history, with
some links at the bottom. The rest of the site is also useful--check
out the gallery and exhibitions pages.
The
Book Arts Web This site is maintained by a book artist and
includes many useful links, as well as a discussion on "defining"
what is meant by "book arts" and "artists' books."
The
Bonefolder: An e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist: a new
'zine with articles in .pdf format.
University
of Pennsylvania Library Exhibitions: Household Words An
exhibit of works from the Aresty Collection of Rare Books on the Culinary
arts; this is a good inspiration page for culinary arts students who
are interested in creating a book.
About
Artist's Books A terrific site with information on book history,
book arts, and artist's books
Medieval
Art This site contains links to Medieval manuscript exhibits,
some of which I've listed.
Manuscripts at the
J. Paul Getty Museum: Several recent exhibits on Medieval and
Renaissance book and manuscript illumination might prove inspiring.
Fit
For A King: Courtly Manuscripts 1380-1450. Seeking
Illumination: Monastic Manuscripts 800-1200. The
Glory of the Gothic Page. Transforming
Tradition: Ancient Motifs in Medieval Manuscripts. The
Making of a Medieval Book. Illuminating
the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe
(this is a beautifully realized interactive exhibit). Five
Hundred Years of Manuscript Illumination. The
Medieval Bestseller: Illuminated Books of Hours. Songs
of Praise: Illuminated Choir Books.
More links to manuscripts
are listed in the Book History section below.
Artist's
Books
An "artist's
book" may be a finely crafted book in a traditional format, but the
term also refers to books in experimental forms which can themselves be
works of art. I've recently updated this section, but mostly
to clear out cold links. I welcome suggestions for pages to add here.
This article in
the Penn Gazette focuses on a recent exhibit, The
Library is Burning: Text, Image, Object at the Van Pelt-Dietrich
Library at the University of Pensylvania. Several images of featured
books are included.
Reed
College's page on Artists' Books features a variety of book styles,
from conceptual to contemporary.
The Victoria and
Albert Museum in London sponored an exhibition on The
Art of the Book: Blood On Paper in 2008, which focuses on artists'
books from the 20th and 21st centuries. Many of these were produced
by well-known artists we study in our art history courses here at AiDallas.
Johanna
Drucker: The Artist's Book as Idea and Form Johanna Drucker,
who once taught at UT Dallas, has written on both the historical and
theoretical aspects of the book--and has created artist's books of her
own.
Granary
Books is a veteran organization devoted to contemporary book arts.
Links to several theoretical articles are available for those interested
in a scholarly/philosophical exploration of book arts.
Colophon
Gallery Home Page This group also has a site on digital artist's
books: Ex
Libris.
Coptic
and Collage: Ancient Technique, Modern Application Both of
these sites offer interesting information and images on/of the book
as a work of art.
Science
and the Artist's Book: An exhibition by the
Smithsonian Institution Libraries and the Washington Project for the
Arts. This
exhibit features artists' books inspired by earlier scientists' books.
The link should work now; after some detective work, I've discovered
the new URL for the Smithsonian Libraries.
One of my favorite
book artists is Timothy
Ely, whose Flight Into Egypt I have in my office if anyone
would like to see it. A video
(57 minutes) from Gonzaga University features Ely's discussion of one
of his books, and on altered books in general.
Another artist whose
work is worth taking a look at is Tom
Phillips. His "treated book" A
Humument marries the text of a Victorian novel with Phillips's mixed-media
augmentations; a film
about the book (which you can view online with a high-speed connection)
is available through the Roland Collection. Phillips has also produced
an illustrated edition of Dante's Divine Comedy [an image from
the book is available here].
I now have a copy of this book, thanks to the generosity of one of my
best-ever students, and will bring it to class.
A page on Altered
Books from the Incredible
@rt Department (a school-oriented web page with some nifty ideas).
Book
Lab II--visions and innovations for the traditional book I came
upon this by accident, but it includes some very useful information
on bookbinding; it also includes a section on Artist's Books.
Book
History and
the Future of the Book
The
Book and Beyond, Electronic Publishing and the Art of the Book:
a rather interesting online exhibition on the artist's book in the era
of igitalism. It includes works by Tim Ely and others.
Visual
Telling of Stories Archive. The main page contains an alphabetical
treasure trove of design ideas and miscellanea. It's in the process
of being rebuilt after changing servers, and it loads very slowly (it's
pretty image-heavy), so patience is the key here. The section on the
Elements of the Book (not yet up, but under "B") is especially
valuable.
For a history of
artists books, take a look at The
Book Art Movement, 1974-1999 by Richard Minsky, who is something
of a book arts guru.
A good collection
of illuminated manuscript image links is available under the "Medieval
Manuscripts" section of Part 3 in Chris Witcombe's Art
History Resources on the Web. For other good sources on book history,
check out the following:
Art
and Books: The Future of the Book, part of the Art
and Books Website from Charles Sturt University in New South Wales,
Australia. Book
Arts: Is it a book? A page from a larger
site concerned with the history and uses of the book, this essay
by Emily-Jane Dawson discusses the nature of the book and its future.
If you're really interested in where the book is headed, this is a good
place to start.
The
Medieval Page: Sources for Medieval Studies on the WWW.
This site is vast, and I include the home page for general reference
purposes. The pages on Medieval Manuscripts can be found here.
On-Line
Reference Book for Medieval Studies. The structure
of this site has changed since I last used it, but there are several
links to manuscripts that can be useful.
William
Morris and the Printed Page.
Morris was significantly responsible for the resurgence of the fine
printed book in the nineteenth century. For a look at Morris's immense
body of work and influence, go to the William
Morris Society home page.
Oxford
University's Early Printed Books Project. The Early Printed
Books Project is a substantial effort co-ordinated by Oxford University;
the site offers information and links.
The
Electronic Labyrinth. This is an important source for information
on the history and future of the book. Although its emphasis is on the
emerging technologies of hypertext, it also explores the history of
book forms. Especially useful is the section on Literary
Formats from Manuscripts to Electronic Texts.
The
Body in the Virtual Library: Rethinking Scholarly Communication.
Don't look at this site unless you're seriously interested in the
philosophical issues surrounding the future of the book, especially
as a medium of communication among scholars. If you are, this is an
interesting and important essay.
Pop-up
books and paper engineering
The
Pop-up World of Ann Montanaro The
Rutgers University Library has provided this new online exhibit of pop-up
books from the collection of Ann Montanaro. It contains information
on the history of pop-up books, as well as many images of examples.
Pop
Goes the Page: Moveable and Mechanical Books from the Brenda Forman
Collection at the University of Virginia Library.
Pop-up
and Moveable Books: A Tour Through Their History and The
Great Menagerie: The Wonderful World of Pop-up and Moveable Books, 1811-1996.
Both of these are from the University of North Texas Library.
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