artists' book

Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that engage with and transform the form of a book. Some are mass-produced with multiple editions, some are published in small editions, while others are produced as one-of-a-kind objects.

There is not a singular definition of an artist's book, and formulating a definition is cumbersome and subject to debate. Importantly, the creation of artists' books incorporates a variety of formats and genres. They have a complex history, with a particular focus and growth in contemporary artist movements. They also have recently grown in popularity, especially in art institutions, and have become popular in art library reference workshops. The exact definition and usage of artists' books has become more fluid and porous alongside the growth in popularity of artists' books.

Overview

Artists' books have employed a wide range of forms, including the traditional Codex form as well as less common forms like scrolls, fold-outs, concertinas or loose items contained in a box. Artists have been active in printing and book production for centuries, but the artist's book is primarily a late 20th-century form. Book forms were also created within earlier movements, such as Dada, Constructivism, Futurism, and Fluxus.

One suggested definition of an artist's book is as follows:

Generally, an artist's book is interactive, portable, movable, and easily shared. Some artists' books challenge the conventional book format and become sculptural objects. Artists' books also may be created in order to make art accessible to people outside of the formal contexts of galleries or museums.

Artists' books can be made from a variety of materials, including found objects. The VCU Book Arts LibGuide writes that the following methods and practices are common (but certainly not the only methods) in artists' book production:

* hand binding
* letterpress printing
* digital printing
* photography
* printmaking
* calligraphy and hand lettering
* painting and drawing
* graphic designing
* paper engineering
* automated/machine production

Early history

Origins of the form: William Blake

Whilst artists have been involved in the production of books in Europe since the early medieval period (such as the ''Book of Kells'' and the ), most writers on the subject cite the English visionary artist and poet William Blake (1757–1827) as the earliest direct antecedent.

Books such as '' Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' were written, illustrated, printed, coloured and bound by Blake and his wife Catherine, and the merging of handwritten texts and images created intensely vivid, original works without any obvious precedents. These works would set the tone for later artists' books, connecting self-publishing and self-distribution with the integration of text, image and form. All of these factors have remained key concepts in artists' books up to the present day.

Avant-garde production 1909–1937

As Europe plunged headlong towards World War I, various groups of avant-garde artists across the continent started to focus on pamphlets, posters, manifestos, and books. This was partially as a way to gain publicity within an increasingly print-dominated world, but also as a strategy to bypass traditional gallery systems. This allowed for the dissemination of new ideas and the creation of affordable work that might (theoretically) be seen by people who would not otherwise enter art galleries.

This move toward radicalism was exemplified by the Italian Futurists, and by Filippo Marinetti (1876–1944) in particular. The publication of the "Futurist Manifesto", 1909, on the front cover of the French daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'' was an audacious coup de théâtre that resulted in international notoriety. Marinetti used the ensuing fame to tour Europe, kickstarting movements across the continent that all veered towards book-making and pamphleteering.

In London, for instance, Marinetti's visit directly precipitated Wyndham Lewis' founding of the Vorticist movement, whose literary magazine '' BLAST'' is an early example of a modernist periodical, while David Bomberg's book ''Russian Ballet'' (1919), with its interspersing of a single carefully spaced text with abstract colour lithographs, is a landmark in the history of English language artists' books.

Russian Futurism, 1910–1917

Regarding the creation of artists' books, the most influential offshoot of futurist principles occurred in Russia. Centered in Moscow, around the Gileia Group of ''Transrational'' (''zaum'') poets David and Nikolai Burliuk, Elena Guro, Vasili Kamenski and Velimir Khlebnikov">Vasili Kamenski">rus, Гуро́, p=ɡʊˈro, a=Yelyena G ...