Explore examples of contemporary makers of artists books. Why is this particular artist attracted to the book form of expression? What techniques do they use? How do they sit within Drucker’s categories?
Figure 1: Anne-Maree Hunter (1963 -), The tower of Babel (2006), artist’s book
Anne Maree Hunter was drawn to artist’s book from a background of print-making which similarly involved the process of producing multiple copies. The Tower of Babel integrates the pre-codex scroll and concertina book by positioning the work standing up on its end which exposes a portion of the text. Her techniques involved compiling scripts from different languages and collaging them together, silk-screening, etching and cutting off shapes. The artist’s emphasises her intention to create a book that doesn’t require handling to engage with its meanings. A reader/viewer can observe the architectural structure look more closely to decipher its finer details (State Library Qld, 2009). It fits, though not exclusively, within Drucker’s categories of an ‘auratic object’, embodying a special or rare quality and as ‘the book as a visual form’ as it stands as sculpture.
Figure 2: Linda Newbown, Tennis ball (2001), artist’s book
Linda Newbown’s work Tennis Ball examines the intersection of the book form as an abstract idea and concrete object as well as the book and carrier of information (State Library Qld, 2020). She questions the structural and conceptual properties of bookishness by presenting a tennis ball cut in half containing six pages of text on paper. Her techniques include altering a readymade object, ink on paper and binding pages. This work encompasses a number of Drucker’s categories. It is a self-reflexive book as it draws attention to its status as a book. It also interrogates a books structure and form through re-contextualising it through the use of a tennis ball. The text in Tennis ball makes reference to itself and its individual components rather than telling a story in sequence.
Bibliography
State Library Queensland, (2009, June 11). Anne-Maree Hunter – artists book digital story [Video file]. Retrieved 18 June 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7W-AOHLKFM
Figure 1: The tower of Babel from Psyclonic Studios. (n.d.) About: about the artist. Retrieved 18 June 2020 from https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/psyclonic-studios-website.appspot.com/o/flamelink%2Fmedia%2Ffs65DiMXroO9t2Pt5SPd_The%20tower%20of%20Babel_AMH.jpg?alt=media&token=ae5aa3d3-2cb3-41a7-80d7-ae455a7c139c
State Library Queensland. (2020). Artists’ Books Collection. Retrieved 19 June 2020 from http://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=slq_alma21136735580002061&context=L&vid=SLQ&lang=en_US&search_scope=DT&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=dt&query=any,exact,artists%20books,AND&sortby=rank&mode=advanced&offset=1
Figure 2: Tennis ball from State Library Queensland (n.d.). Retrieved 19 June 2020 from http://bishop.slq.qld.gov.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=386487.xml&dvs=1593234834937~337&locale=en_US&search_terms=&adjacency=&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/nmets.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=4&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true