The art, the artist and the issues
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The growth of
artists books
There is much evidence of the growth in the area of artists books and book arts in general in the last 10-20 years. This evidence includes more artists books and fine binding exhibits, more colleges and universities building book art programs into their curriculum, more regional book arts centers opening across the country that teach and support practicing artists, numerous Web sites devoted to promoting and advocating book arts, and new books being written about the medium. Johanna Drucker summarizes this growth in the opening paragraph of The Century of Artists' Books: Artists books have come of age in the 20th century. ... The enormous amount of activity in the realm of artists' books in recent decades builds on the outpouring of creative production which has developed in the 20th century.With the growth of book arts and artists books in particular an accepted fact, I would like to explore and clarify the reasons why people are drawn to this medium, why this expansion has and continues to take place and why it is likely to continue. In addition to statements from artists I interviewed, I will draw from other documentation to explain this phenomenon. As I listened and read, nine major issues surfaced that offer some explanation for the growth in book arts:
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