Transcript
Page 1: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s Book as an original, thematic and handmade work of art

Prepared by

Student

Course

University

Page 2: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Table of Contents Artist’s Book as an original, thematic and handmade work of art ......................................................... 3

Artist’s book as Concept and theme ....................................................................................................... 4

Artist’s book as Verbal exploration ......................................................................................................... 7

Artist’s book as Agent of social change ................................................................................................ 10

Artist’s book as Documentary and archival .......................................................................................... 11

Artist’s book as Narrative ..........................................................................................................................

Page 3: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s Book as an original, thematic and handmade work of art

Some works of art are realized in the form of book and so called as Artists’ books. These artists’

books are published in very small editions and sometimes these are published as a kind of project

work and referred as ‘unique’. There have been available number of forms and wide range of the

artists’ book that include scrolls, concertinas or loose items contained in a box, fold –outs and bound

printed sheets. For the many years the artists have been involved in the production and printing of the

books but from the 20th century the artists’ boo have been came in to existence and made it

revolutionize. Even though not all books are issued in the editions but some of them issued. Artists’

work is very unique and it is a very highly limited edition or a direct expression of the aesthetic ideas

in a book form. At a first sight if you see then the definition of the artists’ book is quite clear and easy

to understandable. It can be say that it is simply a book design or book art, that has been produced or

illustrated by an artist’ individually and uniquely. For example a book as named ‘ ABC of Bookbinding’

developed by Jane Greenfield and published by Oak Knoll press in 1998 which is a unique work art of

a artist’. The things need to understand as the does each individual artists’ has the unique book art or

it can be a edition of the different artists’ for the number of copies. In traditional ages the artists were

aware of the printing of the books etc. but from the 20th century the evolution of the artists’ book

changed the thinking and methodologies of presenting the idea of the books.

According to the Art Libraries Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland the definitions of the artists’

books have been changed as it turns in to a new revolutionary environment. The Art Libraries Society

of the United Kingdom and Ireland produced the library catalogue for the artists’ book or book like

subject where the artists’ can make input through the imagination and beyond the illustration using

visual thinking and thus the final appearance of the book will be based on the author’s thought and

interference or participation. By this the book is itself will be a work of art. Till yet the artists’ work is

greatly flourishing this means that the artists’ work has its own importance where the work of art is

represented in form of the books. The national library of Scotland has multiple collection of the artist’s

book from the ancient to the modern collections. Here these artists’ books as not published or if

published then as limited edition then it might happen that some of them may fall outside the legal

deposit laws and that’s why not deposited in the libraries. These artists’ books are very limited in

edition so there are rarely found on all places. Scottish producers of artists’’ book have a collection of

many artists’ books including Jean Johnstone and Elizabeth Hobbs. John Johnstone produced the

book in year 1998 and the used images in this artists’ book used from ‘The Eagle Sings’. There were

only published seven copies of this work. This report includes the artists’ work containing the different

limited editions of the artists’ work.

Page 4: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s book as Concept and theme Concepts and themes as artists’ book signify the important themes and concepts based on such a

incident or a story. The development of the conceptual and theme based artist’s book started during

20th century. Based on an incident or based on some kind of story the artists’ book as concepts and

theme were produced by Bruce Nauman, Lawrence Weiner and Sol LeWitt in early 20th century from

North America. In different countries like United Kingdom, Poland many author in art & language field

developed artists’ book as a central part of their practice. For example, in January, 1969 there was

an exhibition in New York, United States of America organized by Seth Siegelaub, for the

demonstration or presentation of the stack of Artists’ book where thousands of the artists’ books in

concept and themes were presented. Mainly this exhibition was featured for the artists’ book

produced or illustrated by Douglas Huebler, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Barry and Joseph Kosuth.

These authors presented the simply chronicled shadows of the artists’ book based on concepts and

themes. The main aim was to show that based on a story how a book can be produced which contain

the interference of the author and his imagination visually. In year 1972, Whilst Kozolwski’s realty was

presented through the Artists’ book. The artists’ book didn’t contain the texts but was totally based on

the imagination in the reality and then produced them in to some themes and concepts. The other

example can be seen as artists’ book produced ‘Einbetoniertes Buch’ in year 1971 by Wolf Vostell.

Autobiography by Sol LeWitt, 1980

The above presented artists’ book as an autobiography by Sol LeWitt in year 1980 explains that how

the autobiography has been produced in the form of themes and concepts. These types of books only

have limited editions and are rarely available. In the United Kingdom, Poland and United States of

America libraries and museums this kind of artists’ book based on concepts and themes can be seen

but very limited. This artists’ book shows that the main theme is to show the activities of Sol LeWitt

and his interest etc. through the use of the images as a theme of his life. The two pages picture

describes about him what he like and what he do only using the images and based on his life. There

has not been used any single word. Lawrence Weiner, Robert Barry also produced such kind of

artists’ book through the use of the images based on the themes and specific concepts. Thus there

have been lots of work in the 20th century for the artists’ work and there have been produced number

of limited edition of artists’ book. The below artists’ book named as ‘ The Blue Book’ by Naxos,

Greece in year 1998 produced that is based on the blue themes. This artists’ book is handmade, the

size of the book is 15.5x22.0 cm. In this book there is texture cover and there are only 50 pages in

blue shades, including with petals, leaver, berries with the thread that in incorporated in the book.

There is no text in the book, only a blue theme is there in the all 50 pages.

Page 5: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

The Blue Book, Naxos, Greece, 1998

This artists’ book shows about the sky and water kind of themes inside the book using the different

images that signify the themes. This describes the themes of the life as air and water in the form of

images in blue color theme. This indicates that many authors as discussed above have used the

concepts and themes to produce artists’ book. ‘A Walk in the woods’ is another artists’ book based

on the concepts and themes, and the main theme here is walking in the woods by Rea Stavropoulos

in Florence in year 2000.

A walk in the woods, Florence 2000

The above artists’ book for the walking in the woods theme shows that the color make the people fear

when they walk as with the different –different dreams and fears that can be combine or illustrated

using the colors. This artists’ book is digitally printed and in a limited edition as 50 copies. This artists’

book was digitally printed for the exhibition named as ‘We Map Out our obsessions’ in Florence in

year 2000. This artists’ work was as a artists’ book was soft blinded after digital printing with the

transparent protective cover. There were 52 pages in this artists’ book and the size was 11x15.5 cm

and there were both images and text in the book and the basic theme of the artists’ book was

Women, feminity and the cycle of nature. The concepts and the themes is produced by Rea

Stavropoulos and digitally printed by La Stamperia di Massimo Massaini in Florence. Feminity means

the sexual activities and dominance in the society have been presented using both the images and

texts as well. The another artists’ book named as ‘Dance, Dreams and Journeys – fragments of a life’

produced by Rea Stavropoulos and digitally printed by La Stamperia di Massimo Massaini in Florence

in eyar 2003, the size of the book is 13x17 cm and there are 116 pages and the original drawing have

been taken from the artist’s sketchbooks 1973-2003 and texts by the artist on Colotech. The theme of

this artists’ book is very different and there have been used three different sections as dance, dreams

and journeys.

Page 6: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

It include “The Seventies”; “From Sri Lanka to India, by train and boat”; “Family”; “Travels through

Greece”; “Dance – Rhythm in Space”.

Dance, Dreams and Journeys – fragments of a life, Florence, 2003

Thus finally, from the above description of the artists’ book as concepts and themes shows that there

have been many authors in different regions who produced this kind of artists’ book using the

concepts and themes. Some of them are very limited editions so rarely available, some of them have

been presented here.

Page 7: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s book as Verbal exploration Exploration verbally is also a way to represent the things in a nice way. From the past it has been

used but after the 20th century it got rapid use and many authors presented their imagination and

through not in the words but as verbally. In verbal way the author can represent the whole imagination

and thinking in just few images in a synchronization way which explains the entire story using the

verbal and also the verbal patterns. The below is an example of how the artists’ book based on Verbal

exploration were produced in the 20th century.

Art in Safe, Ruine, Geneva 1989

This artists’ book implies about the forward of work using the verbal explanation as seen in the above

figure of the artists’ book as an example. The work of 8 artists has been represented like a safe

deposit using the verbal as 30x50x10 cm boxes in Banque Hypothécaire du Canton de Genève. The

all keys of the boxes have been displayed in the Ruine, Geneva. This indicates that using only the

verbal as keys and boxes the meaning of the art can be understand from it easily. The authors as

Joseph Beuys, Les Levine and Herman Nitsch, Fanz Erhard Walther in Switzerland exhibited the

artists’ book as verbal exploration. These kinds of artists’ book also have limited edition of printing

and very rare to find. Verbal is kind of representations which have very specific meaning and may be

some time deep meaning to for understanding the themes or correct meaning behind it. Using the

specific characters it explains a lot of things. The below is another example which illustrates the verbal

exploration perfectly. As seen in the image that this is not a single picture used in the artists’ book but

it signify the many things as the dotted lines and the small –small dotted spots on the verbal image

describes about something that is really important. This verbal representation of the book make your

attention towards the visual materiality of language that was used in year 1910 to 1920 by the futurists

such as Marinetti or Dadaists such as Tristan Tzara or Kurt Schwitters undertook their typographic

experimentation.

The legacy of such exploration was produced by Marinetti or Dadaists using the tedious patterns of

the verbal representation as artists’ books and printed as limited edition. The first artists’ book name

as ‘A Throw of a Dice’ was printed in year 1914 where he used the mostly of verbal representation to

understand the things. The main aspects of such artists’ book were as the signifier and the

signified. Dadaists tried to put the linguists in the verbal presentation type artists’ book where absent

was signified which may showed the independent relation to the material signifier.

Page 8: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Tristan Tzara: Calligramme, 1910

These experiments of verbal exploration on the physical level of language were dismissed by

Surrealism, who experimented the language level as mental presentation and produced the artists’

book based on his imagination and theories as verbal exploration in year 1950s – 1960s. During the

Second World War it got in to existence completely with the presentation and through as a form of

verbal.

Isou, Les Nombres (1952)

Page 9: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

The presented picture of the book Isou in 1952 illustrates how the verbal explorations were used to

represent the ideas and thinking. The verbal language is very important while signifying the important

things and not the all should be able to understand easily. It evolved during Second World War

because in Second World War to inform to the people there verbal were sued so that the enemy and

other non-authentic person could not trace the things or messages easily. The concrete poetry also

produced using the iconization of language. The visual pictures were applied to know the secret

things in a better way. The most of the species as verbal were very typical and complex to

understand. During 1998 Roland Sabati’s presented a artists’ book as verbal exploration so it can be

assumed that till yet this is most important.

Page 10: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s book as Agent of social change Social change in the societies is a critic issue and happens all time. From the origin of the human till

yet it has happening. What the people think about the social change, what imagination they have for

the society etc. there are many things which have been developed as artists’ book as agent of social

change. ‘Telephone Book’ a printed artists’ book by John Baldessari 1931 in USA is a good example

of agent of social change. Here in this artists’ book the author presented about the social change as

the use of the telecommunication in the present world.

The Telephone Book (1988), John Baldessari 1931 USA

The agent of social change is a very conceptual artists’ book thinking and is a collection of the

different ideas with the use of the graphic elements inside it. It explains about the change in the

society and sows the use of the phones as changing factor. The Telephone Book is articulated mainly

through the use of dramatic stills shots. In the opening sequence there is an image of a phone caught

between two different persons’ hands; then the neck of a woman dancing with a male partner – again

displaying pearls; and a third image in which another woman in a black cocktail dress wearing another

string of pearls speaks on the phone. Not much authors developed the artists’ book as the agent of

social change and those who produced have very limited edition so rarely available in the libraries

and museums too. The important thing that has been presented in this artists’ book as this book is

totally digitally printed book but the content and theme of the book signifies the social change in the

world. Thus, it is sure that this book is a totally a good imagination of the thought of the author in to

the reality.

Page 11: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

Artist’s book as Documentary and archival

These works are quite distinct in each other as the same work can’t be matched or pass it on the

other. These works are either genuine or simulacral production of an archives that seem like as the

presentation of the raw material of the personal memory and the experience of the person. The

precedent of this kind of work can be seen as produced by Marcel Duchamp which is known as the

Green Box. This Green box hols number of memories and the past works of the Marcel Duchamp as

with the same name as The Large Glass or the bride stripped bare by her Bachelors’ event. The

below picture illustrates of the artists’ book of documentary and archival by Marcel Duchamp.

There were published limited editions of this book too. There were only 5 editions and those were

published by his own imprint as Editions Rrose Selavy in year 1931. This work contains the loose

leaves of notes of his large glass project that was reproduced in facsimile. This project contains the

number of philosophical and representational material of the personal archives. Begun in 1915 also

produced the personal documentary and archives as an artists’ book. This green box contained

almost more than 100 personal notes about the personal life. Boltanski in 1990 published a

documentary by own (self published) as like much loved scrapbook. There is contrast in the artists’

book by Boltanski as there is no direct link available about his personal activities and histories. This

book was motivated by an encounter with a bit of damaged geography, a block in Berlin in which a

apartment was destroyed in year 1945 during the Second World War. There are few maps inside the

book which shows the places and historical buildings and the book use a standard grey box which is

acid free. This book also contains transcripts, conversations, and photograph as well as lists of

interviews and some of the city records. The important thing is to note down that the labels in the

book are corresponding to the name of the places, buildings, conversations etc. Journals and dairies

are almost the clichés of the artists’ book. Others are manipulated notebook, the transformed

sketchbook, the book of accounts or old ledger all comes under the category of the documentary and

archival. These clichés of the artists’ books occurs because of the number of the books or a notebook

contains the predictable scrapbook accumulations.

Page 12: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

The above picture is all about the personal archival of the Christian Boltanski that was produced by

him in year 1990. When Journal form becomes icon or image the archival or documentary becomes

the artists’ book and then in 20th century there have been lots of development.

Page 13: Art book review essay sample from assignmentsupport.com essay writing services

References

1. Bettley, James. 'The Art of the Book: From Medieval Manuscript to Graphic Novel'. London:

V&A Publications, 2001 (shelfmark: GME.2002.4.13)

2. Bury, Stephen. 'Artists' Books: the Book as a Work of Art, 1963-1995'. Aldershot: Scolar

Press, 1995 (H8.96.185)

3. Castleman, Riva. 'A Century of Artists' Books'. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1994

(H8.96.78)

4. Lyons, Joan. 'Artists' books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook'. Rochester, NY: Visual

Studies Workshop Press, 1985 (H3.87.838)

5. Bertram, Heinrich: Jean Paul als Politiker, Halle 1932

6. Berend, Eduard (Ed.) Jean Pauls Sämtliche Werke. Historisch-kritische Ausgabe, II/5.

7. Bezzel, Chris: dichtung und revolution, in: Text & Kritik 25 (March 1978) Konkrete Poesie I ,

35-36.

8. Bolz, Norbert: Das konsumistische Manifest, München: Fink 2002.

9. Bude, Heinz: Generation Golf, Berlin: Merve Verlag 2001.

10. Burgard, Peter: The Poetics of Irony: Opitz and the (Un)Grounding of German Language, in

preparation

11. Chomsky, Noam: 9-11, New York: Seven Storie Press 2001.

12. Coover, Robert: Literary Hypertext. The Passing of the Golden Age, Feedmag 2000 -

http://nickm.com/vox/golden_age.html (February 2003)

13. Curtius, Ernst Robert: Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter, Tübingen 1948.

14. Darley, Andrew: Visual Digital Culture. Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres.

London and New York: Routledge 2000

15. Dencker, Klaus Peter: Von der Konkreten zur Visuellen Poesie, in: Text & Kritik, special issue

Visuelle Poesie IX/1997, pp. 169-184


Recommended