- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Artists' Books / Book Arts
- Researching the Book Arts
Artists' Books / Book Arts : Researching the Book Arts
This guide describes artworks which use the book as medium. Additional resources describe the history of this field, the different methods used to create and publish these works, as well as links showing where these books can be found at UW-Madison.
Resarching Artists' Books
This page contains resources for conducting research on artists' books, including source books and journals publishing on the book arts, as well as blogs and vendor sites that contain reviews and information about news and trends in book arts.
This anthology of children's artists' books from the PLA Archive (Oasis for Art Books) in Merano, Italy reproduces rarely seen books by John Armleder, Keith Haring, Bruno Munari, and Andy Warhol, among others
Blogs & Web Resources
- Book Arts produces several free Book Arts Newsletters a year sharing events, reviews, and highlights from the book arts world. Book Arts also publishes the annual Artist's Book Yearbook which is a reference source documenting the year in artist's books.
- The Book Arts Web indexes online resourced related to Artist's Books.
- Artists' Books Online was an online repository for searching artists' books, including facsimiles and scholarship. It is no longer updated but contains a large archive of historical artists' books.
- Getty Research Institute houses many databases, as well as the Getty Library, which contains searchable digital resources related to artists' books.
- Printing and Binding glossary from Printed Matter, Inc.
Journals
- Book Arts Review (BAR) is a biannual journal published by New York's Center for Book Arts to collect and promote criticism of the artists' books.
- The Journal of Artists' Books (JAR) is a periodical publication that highlights both criticism and creative endeavors related to the book arts. It is accessible through the UW Catalog with a NetID.
Bibliography
Below are books available at the Kohler Art Library about artists' books. Select the information icon (ⓘ) next to each title to view its description, and click the hyperlinked title to view more information, including checkout information, in the library catalog.
Artists Who Make Books by
A vital survey of 32 internationally recognized artists who make books as part of their creative practice - features 500 images of these rarely seen works. This volume features a selection of books -- many rarely seen -- by every artist included, an accompanying text providing further context, and over 500 illustrations of covers and interior spreads.
Publication Date: 2017
Artists and Their Books, Books and Their Artists by
This stunning volume illuminates the current moment of artists' engagement with books, revealing them as an essential medium in contemporary art. Ever innovative and predictably diverse in their physical formats, artists' books occupy a creative space between the familiar four-cornered object and challenging works of art that effectively question every preconception of what a book can be.
Publication Date: 2018
Materialia Lumina: Contemporary Artists' Books from the CODEX International Book Fair
Published in conjunction with an exhibition at Stanford University Libraries and the Boston Athenaeum, this volume shows how contemporary artists' books integrate concept, materials, and technique in a way that allows high craft to converge with high concept and result in a book art object. The selection appears as part of an archival enterprise geared towards a cultural record of this moment in which we live. Each artists' book has been diligently presented on the initiative of the CODEX Foundation, which aims to preserve and promote the handmade book as a work of art, bringing public recognition to the artists, craftsmanship, and rich history of the civilisation of the book. Exhibition: Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, USA (24.02-28.08.2022) / Boston Athenaeum (Fall 2022).
Publication Date: 2022
The Century of Artists Books by
"Over the last ten years this book has become the definitive text in an emergent field: teachers, librarians, students, artists, and readers turn to the expertise contained on these pages every day."
Publication Date: 2004
Freedom of the Presses: Artists' Books in the Twenty-First Century by
The artist's book as activist tactic: a toolkit Freedom of the Presses is at once a textbook and a toolbox for using artists' books and creative publications to further community engagement and social justice projects. Far from being a staid survey of an art historical practice, Freedom of the Presses intervenes in an ongoing discussion about art and activism in the present day by considering the place of the art book in the 21st century.
Publication Date: 2019
Book Art Object 2 by
Book Art Object 2 serves as a record of the third biennial Codex Book Fair and Symposium, "The Fate of the Art," held in Berkeley, California in 2011. The event showcased contemporary artist books, and fine press and fine art editions produced by the world's most esteemed printers, designers, book artists, and artisans.
Publication Date: 2013
Unshelfmarked: Reconceiving the Artists' Book by Publication Date: 2015
Children's Corner by
This anthology of children's artists' books from the PLA Archive (Oasis for Art Books) in Merano, Italy reproduces rarely seen books by John Armleder, Keith Haring, Bruno Munari, and Andy Warhol, among others.
Publication Date: 2008
Book Art Object by
Book art object is a record of the first biennial Codex Book Fair and Symposium: The Fate of the Art, Berkeley, California, 2007. The event showcased contemporary artist books and fine press and fine art editions produced by some of the worlds most esteemed printers, designers, book artists, and artisans. The book includes transcripts of the lectures.
Publication Date: 2010
Cover to Cover by
Cover to Cover looks at the history of artists' books within the context of art history. Concentrating on those created during the heyday of conceptual art, this volume describes the leading motives of publishers, collectors, and buyers.
Publication Date: 2002
A Century of Artists Books by
Published to accompany the 1994 exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, this book constitutes the most extensive survey of modern illustrated books to be offered in many years. Work by artists from Pierre Bonnard to Barbara Kruger and writers from Guillaume Apollinarie to Susan Sontag. An importnt reference for collectors and connoisseurs. Includes notable works by Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.
Publication Date: 1994
Artist/Author: Contemporary Artists' Books by Publication Date: 1998
Artists Books: A Critical Survey of the Literature by
Artwork by Stefan Klima.
Publication Date: 1998
Threads Talk Series by
THREADS, a series of talks devoted to the art of the book, includes poets, artists, and publishers. It explores and enriches relationships between various strands of book culture that are often approached in isolation: poetry and writing; visual and performing arts; collaboration; design; printing; independent publishing; literary history; critical theory; and material culture.
Publication Date: 2016
Looking for a place to start? Learn about the history, components, and collection of artists' books at Kohler Art Library through this interactive module!
Classes at UW-Madison
Below are a sampling of course offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate level that are relevant to those interested in artists' books. UW-Madison hosts many more courses across the university that may be of interest to book artists and the study of the book arts. More information can be found be found by visiting the offering department's website or viewing their full course offerings (linked in the department codes below).
Additional University Resources
- Silver Buckle Press Collection - Once a physical presence on campus, the Silver Buckle Press is now part of the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, located just north of Manitowoc on the shores of Lake Michigan.
- UW Digital Collections contains an illustrated, descriptive index of Artists' Book Collection. New objects continue to be added.
- UW-Madison Book Arts: An Oral History archives bios and interviews of book artists from the collection's history.
- Interviews on bookmaking with Professor Emeritus Walter Hamady
External Resources
How-to's and demos
- Pratt University's index of tutorials
- University of Kent's "How to make an artist's book"
- Professor Emeritus Jim Escalante's book arts YouTube channel
Peer artists' book collections
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Joan Flasch/John M Flaxman (School of the Art Institute of Chicago)
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Smithsonian Institution Libraries
- Reed College
- Oberlin College
- Emory University
Artists' book catalogs