FROM FLUXUS TO IPAD: A very short history of artists' books
Sarah Bodman
Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books, July
2011
The contemporary artist's book has emerged gradually from the French
livre de luxe tradition of the mid-19th century, where texts
by authors — including
the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–98) —
were published in exquisite editions featuring images by artists such
as Henri Matisse (1869–1954). Matisse produced many livres
de luxe, and in 1947 published his well-known paper-cut collage
book, Jazz.
In the 1960s, as a freer society emerged after two world wars, artists
explored alternatives to traditional means of producing and exhibiting
artworks, moving away from more established gallery shows towards more
public interaction. The period from the early 1960s to the late '80s
saw the emergence of movements such as Fluxus, an international group
of artists who wanted to explore multiple art forms. These groups embraced
art in the form of books, pamphlets and scores, published by hundreds
of artists including Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Joseph Beuys and
Emmett Williams. Over the last 40 years, Fluxus' philosophy of collaboration
and documentation has been inspirational for many artists, who quickly
began to publish their art as affordable book-works using offset lithography,
photocopying or screenprinting. It was as a result of this trend that
the contemporary artist's book became frequently referred to as a 'democratic
multiple', the idea being that anyone could afford to buy work by an
artist.
More recently, artists have been using developments in technology, from
desktop publishing in the 1990s to electronic books and publish-on-demand
(POD) in the 21st century. The British artist Tom Phillips began his
altered bookwork A Humument in 1966, scoring into the Victorian
novel 'A Human Document' by W.H. Mallock after reading about William
Burroughs' 'cut-up' technique. Phillips has continued to create and
publish variant versions of the book since the 1970s, and launched his
A Humument, App for the iPad in November 2010, introducing
it to a new generation 45 years later.
Advancing technology has also allowed many artists to design books on
their computers, uploading them for print and distribution through websites
such as lulu.com and blurb.com, building upon that 1960s tradition of
the democratic multiple through affordable, unlimited editions, now
printed to order. Paradoxically, many of the cheap books produced in
editions of 1000s in the 1960s and '70s are now very collectable, and
expensive, items today. A seminal example of this is the American artist
Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) who has produced several editions of book works
since the early 1970s. His definitive style, seen in titles such as
twentysix gasoline stations, has been referenced and copied
by many artists making books today, so much so that an exhibition, 'Follow
Ed (after Hokusai)', of about 100 examples, curated by Tom Sowden and
Michalis Pichler, is currently touring venues alongside some of Ruscha's
original books.
Artists around the world produce books as art through many concepts
and formats, from unique works or small editions of handmade books,
to commercially printed large editions, such as Stephen Fowler's Home
Made Record Sleeves. This book series is currently on its third
volume, celebrating the artist's collection of record sleeves found
in charity shops, each sleeve lovingly made by the record's previous
owner, with designs ranging from collages cut from magazines to scribbled
felt tip pen drawings. Fowler collects these records, DJs with them
and photographs them as a documentary tribute to the homemade. On a
similar recycling theme, Lara Durback of No No Press has begun a series
of books with Greg Turner, produced entirely from found materials, in
honour of what some people might call rubbish. The first in the series
Garbage Research 1: Hoarders and those resembling Hoarders,
was produced in an edition of 100 with collage and writing over reused
papers for the Dusie project, where artists swap their books.
In Australia Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison have been producing individual
and collaborative books and zines since 1999. Many of their books are
produced as small editions in response to their real travels or imaginary
flights of fancy. In 2010 they visited London and from this Jennison
created Quadrupeds drawn from London's
Natural History Museum collection. A recent one-off book, In
Padova, Looking for You, produced by the two artists for the
Loved & Lost Society in Melbourne, Australia, was created from an
old tourist souvenir album. It has been beautifully embellished with
collages of exotic wildlife, and pencil text additions by Haby and Jennison.
As it is a unique piece, the artists have made a charming short video,
Over My Shoulder,
which takes you through the whole book online.
This is really just a tiny taster of artists' books, to explore further
do visit one of the regular exhibitions, fairs or festivals that take
place around the world. Some upcoming fixtures include The London Art
Book Fair, at the Whitechapel Gallery, 23–25 September 2011, The
Small Publishers Fair, Conway Hall, London 11–12 November 2011,
and the Printed Matter NY Art Book Fair in November 2011.
Sarah
Bodman
Cassone
magazine: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books
Gracia Haby
& Louise Jennison
Momentarily
visible
2011
collage
