Book Projects Artists Book Projects
The artists books are not books about art; they are art expressed through the book form. The artists book is not a simple container for information, but a work of art where the content and form are considered together, and are given equal significance. The goal of many book artists is to involve the reader actively in the viewing process, not only to see the words on the page but also to think about how the words, pictures and physical form of the object all contribute to the meaning. But the display of the artists book can be difficult, as it is an object that conceals and reveals.
Artists books are hard to define, and the form is limited only by the imagination of the artist. The making of books often includes drawing and writing which are traditions used in creating journals, diaries and scrapbooks. Artists books often include photography, painting, collage, sewing and metal work, beading and all methods of print making.
Artists often include found objects that show the use and wear of an object and many kinds of materials; fragments of paper and fabric, clothing scraps, photographs and snippets of this and that.
Sometimes the stories that are told by artists books are memories and secrets and go beyond words. But the making of a book is inherently optimistic; they express the belief that communication will be received later and elsewhere...at sometime, and somewhere they will be read.