Book Art

Book Art is the field of art that involves the creation of works that use or refer to structural and conceptual properties of books. The term also is used to describe works of art produced in this field. These works may contain text and/or images, or may be sculptural. Book art has existed for thousands of years, and can be seen in Egyptian papyri, Chinese, Japanese and Korean scrolls and books, Mesoamerican codices, and in one form or another, through all human history. In an interview within Cathy Courtney's book Speaking of Book Art, book artist Helen Douglas discusses her knowledge of livres d' artiste and twentieth-century Russian books as examples of book art from previous generations.[1] Later in the interview Douglas continues to write about the genre of Book Art stating that "...you can talk about a "painting" and "sculpture" you should be able to talk about "book"." The term "Book Arts" refers to the creative and craft disciplines used to produce book art, such as printing, printmaking, papermaking, typography and bookbinding. As a field of contemporary art, Book Art has seen an explosive growth since the 1960s.[2]

Since the 1980s many college Book Art programs have evolved, including MFA programs at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa[3] and a MFA in Book Art and Creative Writing Mills College in Oakland, CA.[4] The College Book Art Association (CBAA) was founded in 2008.[5] CBAA organizes annual conferences, publishes an open access journal titled Openings: Studies in Book Art,[6] and maintains a blog on Book Art Theory.[7]

There are several sub-fields within Book Art, including fine press books, sculptural bookworks, artist books, altered books, designer bookbindings, installations and performances. As this entry evolves examples of works in the subfields will be added, as well as a history of book art, and organizations that exhibit, teach and promote book art, such as the Center for Book Arts,[8] located in New York City, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts[9] in Minneapolis and the San Francisco Center for the Book.[10] In fact, Katherine M. Ruffin's 2017 essay "A Typology for the Structures of Book Arts Programs" describes five different types of organizations that now offer programs in Book Art as Book Arts Programs in Liberal Arts Colleges, Book Arts Programs at Universities, Book Arts Programs at Art Colleges and Universities, Book Arts Programs at Craft Schools, and Book Arts Programs as Independent Not-for-Profits.[11]

Fine press Book Art follows in the tradition of the book as precious object. Publishers like [William Morris|William Morris’s] Kelmscott Press from the British [Arts and Crafts movement] was an imporatant precursor to fine press Book Art. Examples of 20th century fine press Book Art include works published by Arron Press and The Gahenna Press. [12]

References

  1. ↑ Courtney, Cathy (1999). Speaking of Book Art. Los Altos Hills, CA: Anderson-Lovelace. p. 130. ISBN 0-9626372-5-4.
  2. ↑ Bright, Betty (2005). No Longer Innocent: Book Art In America 1960-1980. New York: Granary Books. ISBN 1887123717.
  3. ↑ "About the MFA Program - Book Arts".
  4. ↑ English, Mills College -. "MFA in Book Art and Creative Writing - Book Arts MFA - Mills College".
  5. ↑ "College Book Art Association - Home".
  6. ↑ "College Book Art Association - CBAA Journal".
  7. ↑ "College Book Art Association - Book Art Theory".
  8. ↑ "The Center for Book Arts".
  9. ↑ "Minnesota Center for Book Arts".
  10. ↑ "San Francisco Center for the Book".
  11. ↑ Ruffin, Katherine M. (2017). "A Typology of Structures of Book Arts Programs". Openings. 3: 36–37.
  12. ↑ Eaton, Timothy A. (1991). Books as Art. Boca Raton, FL: Boca Raton Museum of Art. pp. 10–23.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.