General | 07.06.18

Artist’s Books

Artist’s books

As yet there is no clear definition of what constitutes an artist’s book. Good, artists can keep exploring the boundaries of this genre.

Looking at a small collection of Artist’s books held by the National Gallery of Australia I was struck by the different ways the artists had gone about producing their book. Some were A3 size and were stapled or bound so that they looked like books or loose pages placed in a shallow box. Some limited to an edition of six, others in an edition of a hundred.

History
There is a history of artists making books spanning hundreds of years. What is it about books made by artists that link them together? It is the ability of the artist to have full control over the way the book is created and looks, independent of publishers.

Today new technology, new ideas, and new ways of connecting through social media enhance how these books are produced and distributed. I recently published a book, Between the lines, a small anthology of Haiku inspired verse together with a number of my life drawings. The book is available in limited edition print format or electronically.

Printmakers
Printmakers have often been drawn to produce multiple artist’s books as they have access to multiple copies of their original prints. I recently experimented by cutting up one of my lithographic prints to use in a small hand-made ‘concertina’ book, Dark Matters.

As the book is opened each panel features part of the print accompanied by text.
The book takes the reader on a journey through time and space referring as it does to Stephen Hawking and Black holes and to poets and musicians who have different feelings to express.