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Artists’ Books: Primary Sources to Foster Creativity and Imagination

This digital teaching collection focuses on the art and form of artists' books.

Discussion Questions

Below are some general discussion questions that can be adapted to many instructional settings:

  1. What is an artist's book?
  2. What are some reasons that a creator might make an artist's book as opposed to a more traditional codex book?
  3. What unique attributes of artists’ books make them great vessels for sharing messages about social or cultural issues?
  4. How can artists’ books challenge our ideas about identity and culture?
  5. What is the most important attribute of an artist's book: art, story, or artist? Similarly, which rhetorical appeal is most prevalent in this medium?
  6. Describe a concept for an artist's book you would create if you had the time, skill, knowledge, and opportunity.

Classroom Activities

Below are a few classroom activities that can be adapted to various instructional settings:

  1. Look through all of the artists’ books and choose your favorite. Write a one page paper about what unique features it has and why this book captured your attention.

  2. What common themes are evident in the collection? Find and connect at least three books that you feel share a common attribute, value, or idea. Present these connections and findings informally to your classmates.

  3. Your task is to define the medium. What is an artist's book? Carefully examine the sources in this collection for key features and evidence. Determine 5 to 10 essential qualities of this medium. Make a slideshow presentation that displays a definition of each feature and give a visual example. 

  4. Critique an artist's book. Choose one from the list and review it carefully, and answer the following questions:
    1. What do I see? Describe colors, shapes, textures, size, etc.
    2. What do I read? Describe the language, the content, and how it fits into the larger story the author is telling.
    3. What do I interpret as the author’s message? (support with evidence)
    4. How is all of the previous information supposed to make me feel versus how does it actually make me feel? (intent versus effect)