My favorite class so far this semester is a Collins course called Discovering the Artist's Book, taught by Yara Cluver, the Associate Director of Collins. We learn how to craft and conceptualize our own books, and we also look at examples of books others have made.
As we are learning in the class, it is hard to say what defines an artist's book. For instance, a book we have seen is a snow globe with small pieces of material inside of it designated as the pages. Though they can take on many different physical shapes and forms, we have learned that form should support content, and choices about how a book is crafted should be intentional.
Recently in one of our classes we took a trip to the Fine Arts Library to look at some examples of artist's books in its collection. We were asked to handle each book as an original piece of art work, which indeed they each were. We saw traditional codex-style books, tunnel books, and everything in between. These photographs do not do justice to the experience of viewing these books; go to the Fine Arts Library and take a look for yourself! While you're at it, head on over to the Lilly Library and see what rare and amazing artist's books are in that collection as well.
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