Contemporary book artists take their inspiration from what has come before while utilizing new techniques and technology to create unique works of art that can be used in a variety of classes. The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives defines an artists’ book as “a medium of artistic expression that uses the form or function of “book” as inspiration. It is the artistic initiative seen in the illustration, choice of materials, creation process, layout and design that makes it an art object. What truly makes an artist’s book is the artist’s intent, and artists have used the book as inspiration in a myriad of ways and techniques, from traditional to the experimental.” To read the complete essay, visit the Overview Essay tab of this guide.
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In this rotating gallery, you'll get a glimpse of some the items from this digital teaching collection. Click on the image to be taken to a digital database where you'll find a larger version of the object, more details about it, and be able to download a copy to use for research. To see the entire set of sources, visit the List of Sources.
The Happersett accordion is an artist’s book made from stiff brown paper creased into accordion folds and glued together at the ends to form a Mobius strip. A Mobius strip is a one-sided surface that is constructed by affixing the ends of a rectangular strip after giving one of the ends of the strip a twist. It’s a mathematical concept of an object that is a non-orientable, two-dimensional surface that has only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. It is accompanied by an accordion folded certificate of authenticity with assembly instructions and warning that the product is mind boggling Mobius device.
Free Little Bird combines text from an Appalachian folk song and excerpt from Maya Angelou’s book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” with a nested accordion binding and a repurposed mahogany wood cover. The front cover is engraved with an image of a bird. Pages are laser cut in paper doll style with bird images and there are 9 linocut blocks with text and images of birds.
[The coaching book] by MalPina Chan is an artist’s book that utilizes immigration papers, maps, family photographs, and artwork to examine the artist’s own Chinese-American heritage. The book is accordion-folded and uses monoprint, image transfer, kozo paper, and silk-covered board.
Orihon by Tom Burtonwood is a 3D-printed, book-like object that consists of eight leaves and six relief illustrations. Illustrations were created using photogrammetric scans of a sculpture. Leaves are connected by hinges and folded in accordion-style.
The Wedding Plans by Kirstin Demer is an artist’s book in accordion fold with heart-shaped pages. The pages feature an original poem that is hand-set and printed by the artist on cotton paper. The book rests in a heart-shaped metal case with a transparent plastic lid.
This digital teaching collection has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this digital collection do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.