Artist Books

Artist Books

Artist books defy easy definition (Farman 319-320). In the simplest terms, “artist books are books made or conceived by artists” (Artists' Books - Victoria and Albert Museum). More specifically, artist books are books made by an artist or group of artists which are intended to be viewed as original works of art. Art libraries, both museum and academic, are the principal collectors of artist books. Consequently, it is important for art librarians to be familiar with them. The primary users of artist books will vary by institution. In a museum art library, the primary users are likely to be researchers or curators interested in a particular artist, artistic movement or in the format itself. In an academic art library, the college or university’s art and art history professors and their students are likely to be the primary user group. 

Although, early precursors to the artist book can be seen as far back as the late eighteenth century as exemplified in the works of William Blake, the artist book as a genre is a product of the twentieth century (Introduction | Smithsonian Libraries; Artists' Books - Victoria and Albert Museum). Early twentieth century examples of artist books can be found in the works of Avant-guard artists including those involved in the Dada, Futurist and Constructivist movements (Verheyen). However, it was not until the 1950s and 1960s with the work of artists such as Dieter Roth and Ed Ruscha that artist books began to take shape as a recognizable artistic genre (Artists' Books - Victoria and Albert Museum).  During the 1960s and 1970s artist books became increasingly popular and the number of artists producing works in the genre has continued to grow. They range from infinitely re-publishable works to limited edition and self-published works to unique items.

Important issues related to the collection and maintenance of artist books include:

• Difficulty cataloging. Artists books often defy easy classification and lack the features of ordinary books such as a title page or even a publisher. (Chemero, Seigel and Wilson 23-24; Farman 324; Introduction | Smithsonian Libraries)

• Artists books can be non-standard in size and shape making them both difficult to describe in the catalog and problematic to shelve/store. (Chemero, Seigel and Wilson)

•  May be made of unusual materials which may cause preservation issues.

•   Question of where it belongs (in a museum display case, special collections, open stacks)

• They are meant to be interactive, to be felt as well as seen, but because they are often fragile, valuable or rare the library and librarian must balance the need for access to the materials with preservation concerns (Chemero, Seigel and Wilson 23-24; Farman 324; Introduction | Smithsonian Libraries).

Useful Resources on Artist Books:

Online Resources

Victoria and Albert Museum: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/books-artists/

Book Arts Web: http://www.philobiblon.com/DevArtistsBook.shtml

Smithsonian Libraries:  http://library.si.edu/collection/artists-books

Printed Matter: https://printedmatter.org/what_we_do/overview

Print Resources

Drucker, Johanna. The Century of Artists' Books. New York City: Granary Books, 1995.

Wasserman, Krystyna, ed. The Book as Art: Artist Books from the National Museum of Women in the Arts. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007.

Works Cited 

Artists' Books - Victoria and Albert Museum. 2015. 1 October 2015. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/books-artists/>.

Chemero, Andrea, Caroline Seigel and Terrie Wilson. "How Libraries Collect and Handle Artists’ Books." Art Documentation 19.1 (2000): 22-25.

Farman, Nola. "Artists’ books: managing the unmanageable." Library Management 29.4/5 (2008): 319-326.

Introduction | Smithsonian Libraries. n.d. 1 October 2015. <http://library.si.edu/collection/artists-books/introduction>.

Verheyen, Peter D. "Development of the Artist's Book - Peter D. Verheyen || The Book Arts Web." 1998. Book Arts Web. 3 October 2015. <http://www.philobiblon.com/DevArtistsBook.shtml>.