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Tactile nature of the book
The tactile nature of the
book, both in its creation and in its reading is an important factor
in most book works. In this digital era our daily lives have become
disengaged from touch. Creating or reading an artists' book brings
alive the sense of touch, the tooth of a paper, the softness of
fine leather, the creasing of a page, the texture of an emboss.
For an artist there is a concrete sense of satisfaction felt in
transforming sheets of paper or other media into a book.
For the person viewing
the art, or reading the book, they seem to like work that they can
touch. As was noted in the interview with Gwen Diehn, a review of
one of her exhibits focused on the enjoyment of handling the art.
Increased opportunity for
study
When learning the various skills involved in creating a book meant
study in Europe, few people had or took the opportunity to learn.
However in the last 20-30 years many book arts centers have opened
across the county; The Center for the Book (New York), The Minnesota
Center for Book Arts (Minneapolis), Iowa Center for the Book (Iowa
City), San Francisco Center for the Book (San Francisco), Columbia
College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, Pyramid Atlanta
(Washington, D.C.) to name a few. Colleges and universities are
developing courses, often in conjunction with these centers, and
individuals are setting up studios that are partially supported
by teaching small classes. "The more people learn, the more people
teach and the more people learn."
The Internet also provides
an opportunity for learning as pages of instruction are posted online
and questions can be quickly answered by members on list servs willing
to share their knowledge. More opportunities are also available
to see book works in a galleries, libraries and museums and so learning
from and being inspired by other's work also adds to the momentum.
Many paths of entry into the medium
The variation in background
of the artists interviewed is just a small sampling of the many paths
artists take to become book makers. In addition to the many artists
that switch from a different medium to books, there area also a great
many artists who became interested in book works through their careers
in library science, conservation, photography and so forth.
The fascination about the
medium is that it can take on a life of its own but can still incorporate
elements of previous careers and artistic endeavors. To quote Neil
Turtell,
I think this may be one of the things that appeals to
the artist - that you have more flexibility and more scope for imagination
in producing an artists' book that you might have in another medium.(Shireen
Holman, Artists' Books in the National Gallery: An interview with
executive librarian Neal Turtell, In Print Online: www.norsecode.com/mdpm/archive/00mar/frontpg.htm)
To illustrate
this one can look at Emily Martin who as a painter, realized the narrative
qualities in her work were very suited to book works, or Kathy Walkup
who moved from literature to fine press printing and artists books.
Many people when asked why
they choose artists' books, stated that rather the medium chose them,
To quote Richard Minsky, "Somehow it has a way of taking over your
life (and perhaps the lives of those around you) :>)" Perhaps this
is also why there are many statements like, "I collect books because
I love them, not because they are a good investment" or "I am a book
artist because I love the medium, not because I can get into shows
and can sell work."
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