peonyblue's review against another edition
4.0
(disclosure: netgalley gave me a copy of this to review. All opinions, though, are my own.)
I've always been enamored of book form as art form. There's something special about bound (or otherwise collected) works. To me, it just feels like it changes and deepens the whole collection of ideas and concepts into something better than the pieces of the whole.
Throughout history, artists have loved the book form as a vehicle for artistic expression. The author of "Artists and Their Books/Books and Their Artists", has curated an incredible collection that spans multiple eras and disciplines, putting together not just this book, but a physical exhibition that's now on my wish list to go see. From an American Megazine (a giant magazine over five feet high) to books collected in boxes to things that one might not even consider a book unless prompted -- there's a TON of inspiration here.
Book artists will love it for the wide range of inspiration. Book lovers will love it for the beauty and meaning of the collected pieces. Art history nuts will love it for the exploration of the book form as art throughout history.
It's not a how-to, by the way. If you're looking for directions on how to recreate one of Duchamp's Boites, for instance, you won't find it here. (There are, however, other books out there that might fit that bill.) This is pure exhibition survey and inspiration.
I know I came away with a long list of things I'd like to try someday, springing off some of the art in these pages, and I'll probably end up picking up a copy when it's released, to be used as motivation fodder and reference. :)
I've always been enamored of book form as art form. There's something special about bound (or otherwise collected) works. To me, it just feels like it changes and deepens the whole collection of ideas and concepts into something better than the pieces of the whole.
Throughout history, artists have loved the book form as a vehicle for artistic expression. The author of "Artists and Their Books/Books and Their Artists", has curated an incredible collection that spans multiple eras and disciplines, putting together not just this book, but a physical exhibition that's now on my wish list to go see. From an American Megazine (a giant magazine over five feet high) to books collected in boxes to things that one might not even consider a book unless prompted -- there's a TON of inspiration here.
Book artists will love it for the wide range of inspiration. Book lovers will love it for the beauty and meaning of the collected pieces. Art history nuts will love it for the exploration of the book form as art throughout history.
It's not a how-to, by the way. If you're looking for directions on how to recreate one of Duchamp's Boites, for instance, you won't find it here. (There are, however, other books out there that might fit that bill.) This is pure exhibition survey and inspiration.
I know I came away with a long list of things I'd like to try someday, springing off some of the art in these pages, and I'll probably end up picking up a copy when it's released, to be used as motivation fodder and reference. :)
librarianryan's review
4.0
This is a book I could sit and look at for hours. It gathers photos of books created by artists, to be art, not to be novels. Some of the art is not my taste, but it is an interesting way of looking at the written word. It may sound odd, but my two favorite books pictured are the coke can book, and the one made of dots on clear paper. I really wish I could see that one in person.
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