H-155. The History of Artists’ Books since 1950 - Advance Reading List

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  • Preliminary Advices

    This course is intended as a basic introduction to the recent history of contemporary artists’ books, artists’ publishing, and related book formats.

    For students enrolled in this course, please complete all of the required readings: most are quite short in length, interspersed with many photo illustrations. Please pay attention to the content of the writings with an eye to the publication date as you progress through the reading list. If you have time, I also suggest the recommended readings, but these will not be required.

    Students will benefit from reviewing the websites listed. This list is not exhaustive but provides a reasonable foundation from which to start. Take time to explore each site and the additional resources often included within: resources, lists of fairs, libraries and study collections, and use of terminology for publication types.

    I have included a list of titles that are suggested readings. We may not discuss these during the course, but you will get more out of the class if you read—or closely browse—them. As with the other resources listed for this class, you will benefit from an awareness of these publications, who the authors are, and where they fit in the history of artists’ books and artists’ publishing.

  • Required Reading

    Art Rite no. 14 (1976). Read pp. 5–14.

    Bright, Betty. Off the shelf and on-line: computers move the book arts into twenty-first century design. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1992. “Thoughts on technology: the book arts, and postmodernism,” by Margot Lovejoy (pp. 9-16).

    Camps, Yaiza, ed. by, et. al. Decolonizing Art Book Fairs: Publishing Practices from the South(s): Workbook. Warsaw, Poland: Graphics Moritz Grünke, 2021. “African Art Book Fair (AABF) for What? Making the Invisible Visible: Publishing as a Political Issue,” by Pascale Obolo (pp. 46-53); “Why talk about Artists’ Publishing Practices in Southern Africa?” by Fouad Asfour (pp. 96-102).

    Chappell, Duncan. “Typologising the Artist’s Book.” Art Libraries Journal 28, no. 4 (2003): 12–20.

    Drucker, Johanna. Figuring the Word: Essays on Books, Writing, and Visual Poetics. New York: Granary Books, 1998. Read “The Myth of the Democratic Multiple” (pp. 175–183) and “Offset: The Work of Mechanical Art in the Age of Electronic (Re)production” (pp. 184–193).

    Komurki, John Z. Risomania: The New Spirit of Printing. Salenstein, CH: Niggli/Braun Publishing AG, 2017. Read pp. 9–17; 214–219.

    Lyons, Joan, ed. Artists’ Books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook. Rochester, NY: Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1985. Read “Book Art,” by Richard Kostelanetz (pp. 27-30); “The New Art of Making Books” by Ulises Carrión (pp. 31–44); “Conspicuous Consumption: New Artists’ Books,” by Lucy R. Lippard (pp. 49-58); “Independent Publishing in Mexico,” by Felipe Ehrenberg, Magali Lara, and Javier Cadena (pp. 167-185). I suggest browsing the remainder of the book. Look at the back matter. Any edition is fine.

    Romberger, Kayla. Publishing as Practice. Philadelphia/Los Angeles: Ulises/Inventory Press, 2019. “The Reach of Retail: The Artist’s Bookshop Goes Public,” by Gee Wesley and Lauren Downing (pp. 98-107).

    Vanderlip, Dianne, ed. Artists Books. Philadelphia: Falcon Press/Moore College of Art, 1973. Read the John Perrault essay, “Some Thoughts on Books as Art” (pp. 15–21) at a minimum.

    Walkup, Kathleen. “Books in a New Language.” http://thewomansbuilding.org/images/FSTV%20PDFs/Walkup.pdf

    White, Tony. “The (R)evolutionary Artist Book” Book 2.0 3, no. 2 (2013): 163–183.

  • Recommended Reading

    Allen, Gwen. Artists’ Magazines: an alternative space for art. Boston: MIT Press, 2011. “The Magazine as an Alternative Space: Art-Rite 1973-1978” (pp. 135-142).

    Bright, Betty. No Longer Innocent: Book Art in America 1960-1980. New York, NY: Granary Books, 2005. “Introduction,” (pp. 1-15).

    Coplans, John. “Concerning ‘Various Small Fires’: Edward Ruscha Discusses His Perplexing Publications.” Artforum 3, no. 5 (February 1965): 24–25.

    Drucker, Johanna. “Critical Issues / Exemplary Works.” The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist v. 1 no. 2 (Spring 2005): 3-15.

    Klanten, Robert, ed. by, et. al. Behind the Zines: Self-Publishing Culture. Berlin: Gestalten, 2011. “Show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” by Sonja Commentz (pp. 2-7).

    Pichler, Michalis, ed. by. Publishing Manifestos. Warsaw, Poland: Miss Read, 2018. “Post-digital print: a future scenario,” by Alessandro Ludovico, 2012 (pp. 132-137); “The Twelve Tasks of the Publisher,” by Jan Wenzel, 2015 (pp. 170-173).

    Spencer, Amy. DIY: the rise of lo-fi culture. London: Marion Boyers Publishing, 2005. “The Queer Zine,” (pp. 38-47); “Zine Feminism,” (pp. 47-57).

    Walkup, Kathy. Possibilities: when artists’ books were young. San Francisco Center for the Book, 2022. “Women make their way to artists’ books,” by Kathy Walkup (pp. 6-15).

  • Websites

    Art Metropole: https://artmetropole.com/

    Boekie Woekie: https://boewoe.home.xs4all.nl/index.htm

    Brooklyn Art Book Fair: https://www.bkabf.info/

    Edcat.net: https://edcat.net/about/mission/

    Minnesota Center for Book Arts: https://www.mnbookarts.org/

    Independent Publishing Resource Center: https://www.iprc.org/

    Printed Matter: https://www.printedmatter.org/

    Printer Resources for Independent Art Publishers: http://printers.oogaboogastore.com/

    Riso: http://stencil.wiki/

    Fairs: http://stencil.wiki/fairs

  • Suggested

    Artist’s Book Year Book. https://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/artists-book-yearbook/

    Blue Notebook Journal. (2006 – ). https://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/blue-notebook/

    Indiana University Libraries Book Repair Manual: https://libpres.sitehost.iu.edu/manual/index.html

    Smith, Keith. Structure of the Visual Book. Revised and expanded edition. Fairport, NY: The Sigma Foundation, 1992. Any edition is fine.

    Smith, Keith. Text in the Book Format. Fairport, NY: The Sigma Foundation, 1991. Any edition is probably fine. If you buy one, follow the prompts to interact with the book.

    The Bone Folder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist. (2004-2012). https://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/

    The Journal of Artists’ Books. (1994-2020). https://www.journalofartistsbooks.net/

    Umbrella Magazine: https://ulib.iupui.edu/collections/Umbrella

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

    Watson, Esther, and Mark Todd. Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? Boston: Graphia, 2006.