| One-Day Symposium at Winchester
School of Art, A one-day symposium at Winchester School of Art co-hosted by the Centre for Fine Print Research, UWE, Bristol & Winchester School of Art Library, University of Southampton. Friday 13th July 2007 |
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Information sheet : Artists’ Talks on Artists’ Books
Artist’s Book projects at the Centre for Fine Print Research
Sarah Bodman
This is a short overview of some of our recent projects working with the artist’s book. These projects aim to spread the word about book arts to a wider audience, and promote the subject with artists, educators, researchers and students. Many of our projects involve working with large numbers of artists and writers, curating exhibitions and editing publications that support and hopefully encourage, development of the field of artists’ books.
Arcadia id Est
The main project introduction page for downloads and timetable is at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia.htm. See the gallery pages for all 119 books, images and artists’ information and statements at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcgal.htm
A touring exhibition of artists’ books concerned with nature and landscape, looking at how these subjects are interpreted in a narrative format. The show was curated as a hands-on book exhibition, which has been travelling around the world since March 2005. Visitors at each venue are encouraged to handle the books wherever possible.
We have built educational workshops, talks and panel discussions around the show, with a full image and information archive of each of the books on our website, so people can find out more about the work, how and why it was made, and contact the artists involved (www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia.htm).
Some of the books include:
Urban Fauna Information Station by Bill Burns, Trevor Gould, Mark Vatnsdal (Flock, Gaggle, Herd). The story of the Urban Fauna Information Station’s journey from Toronto to Montreal in the summer of 2002. www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia/arc17.htm
Trail by Finlay Taylor. The book ‘Trail’ is part of an ongoing project investigating snails, specific sites and species within the larger area of Finlay Taylor’s practice, which is involved with notions of landscape and natural history. www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia/arc103.htm ; www.finlaytaylor.com
Animals, vegetable, mineral by Roz Cran. Each of the 5 books in the slipcase contains still images from documentation of a performance of a character in a place chosen to fit: e.g. stone was photographed in a rock garden, Preston Park, Brighton; tree was photographed in Southwark Park, London as the video was shown in Café Gallery Projects situated in the park. Visitor/Berlin Bee was shot in Berlin; wildcat/Leopard Lady in Falmer Woods, Sussex; Conjure/Holy Rabbit filmed in Trinity Well, County Cork, Ireland. www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia/cran.htm
Artists’ books by John Dilnot using idealised images of nature, re-appropriated from consumer packaging. www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/arcadia/arc3637.htm; www.johndilnot.com
Librarians’ books project:
All 45 artists’ books made for the project are archived with images and information at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/librar05.htm.
Meg Duff, Maria White, Linda Newington and Catherine Polley had all mentioned at times that as they spend so much of their working days amongst artists’ books, they had considered making a book themselves. We thought this was an excellent idea and subsequently extended an invitation to other institutional and library staff, asking if they would each like to produce an artist’s book. This turned into the Librarians’ Books project.
45 people accepted the invitation, and twenty of the project’s participants were able to attend a one-day artist’s book workshop here at UWE, in February 2005, where they viewed examples of books from our collection and each made a four-hole, Japanese stab-bind book with Tom Sowden’s guidance, those unable to attend were sent the work notes. They were then left to their own devices, and given 5 months to make and document their artist’s book for this exhibition.
Librarians’ Books Exhibition Tour visited: UWE Bristol, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Reference Library, Bristol Central Library, Royal College of Art Library, London College of Communication
What’s in the Box project:
A Collection of Artists’ Books curated and edited by Tom Sowden.
Masters students and guest artists, books are sold to raise funds for the subsequent year. www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/whatbox2.htm
The History Book That Never Was
All images and pages from the project can be viewed or printed to collate your own book at www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/nevergal.htm. For this project, 27 artists who work with books were invited to contribute an artwork as a visual description of a book that had never existed. The premise was for the artists to describe its essence and any historical impact it would have made if it had existed, to form a new free-download artist’s book.
Each artist was asked to use only one sheet of A4 sized paper to depict their imaginary book. The events described had to be fictitious, although they could be based on real aspects of history that the artist cared to depict from an alternative perspective.
The pages were loaded onto our website as a free download gallery of artworks to print out and make into an artist’s book. The artists' contributions ranged from descriptions of ancient mythical gardens and architecture, to the discovery of lost publications by famous historical characters, or political current affairs.
The 27 pages are designed to be viewed online with the option to select, print and collate pages for your own copy of The History Book that Never Was. Print instructions are given at the top of the online gallery (at www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/nevergal.htm).
Impact Press Publications:
Book Arts Newsletter
ISSN 1754-9078 (Print) ISSN 1754-9086 (Online) see: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/banlists.htm for online colour PDF version.
e-mail your name and address to Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk to receive the b&w photocopy version in the post.
Artist’s Book Yearbook 2008-2009
ISBN 10: 0-9547025-6-5, ISBN 13: 978-0-9547025-6-4 www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/bookpub.htm
The Blue Notebook Journal for Artists’ Books
ISSN 1751-1712 (Print) ISSN 1751-1720 (Online)
£10 per year subscription (2 copies online and print) www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/bookpub.htm
Artists' Books Creative Production and Marketing
Free download, 50pp guidebook, ISBN 0954702514, 2005, at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/survres.htm
We published a free download guide to help book artists market their work; Artists' Books Creative Production and Marketing is the result of a survey project, supported by the AHRC, which investigated some of the problems for artists selling, and librarians buying artists’ books (free download, 50pp guidebook, ISBN 0954702514, 2005, at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/survres.htm).
Over a one-year period, we surveyed artists at book fairs and exhibitions, and librarians, dealers, lecturers and curators through interviews, email, mail and Internet forms. We had a great response to the publication, so much so, that we have just completed a new updated edition.See www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/bookpub.htm
The book includes 24 case studies, lists of collections, book fairs and shops, and has info on ISBNs, pricing and advice on selling your books yourself or through a dealer.
For the new issue, we have interviewed more dealers, gallery owners, librarians and artists, and asked the original 24 case-study artists to update their profiles. The new updated 2nd version of Artists’ Books Creative Production and Marketing 2007, will be published as a free download available from our website in July 2007.
Exhibition archives pages:
Information, images and artists’ texts from all exhibitions since 1999 are online at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/exhidata.htm
Ian Tyson, ed.it 1995 – 2005 10th Anniversary exhibition : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/ityson.htm
John Bently’s Liver and Lights Scriptorium, 20th Anniversary Exhibition : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/jbliver.htm
Artists’ Books Partnership Programmes
We have set up an artists’ books partnership, exhibition programme with universities, collections, schools, libraries and bookshops in North America, UK, The Netherlands and Finland to date.
We are continuing this programme where we loan artists’ books from my collection at CFPR on a no fee basis, to set up exhibitions and events that promote the artist’s book to a wider community. The 2006-2007 programme of a two years supply of themed artist’s books exhibitions to the AKI (ArtEz) in The Netherlands, resulted in them establishing a popular, long-term programme of regional and international artists’ books events, at both the college and a local bookshop.
Artists’ Books from the CFPR Collection 2005, partnership exhibition programme launch. Broekhuis Boekhandel, Enschede, The Netherlands
www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/broekhuis.htm
Flora and fauna: a selection of plant, flower and animal inspired artists’ books on loan from the collection at The Centre for Fine Print Research at UWE Bristol, UK. 2006-7
Broekhuis Boekhandel and AKI Library, Enschede, The Netherlands : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/boek06.htm
In 2005, we loaned 80 books from the CFPR collection to The Art of the Book: Collaboration at the University of Missouri, USA. The second exhibition in The Art of the Book series, curated by Marian Amies, Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Missouri. Proceeds from the catalogue created funds for The Art of the Book Scholarship to be awarded to BFA students, for international travel for art studies and the production of artists’ books.
If you would like to loan an exhibition of books please contact us.
New book fairs:
Manchester in September, BABE – Bristol artist’s book event, launched April with 50 stands, exhibition of Arnolfini archive, tours and typewriter portraits. We will be holding another one in 2009. In meantime we are advising LPS are organising a new artists book fair in London next year. Helen Shaddock is also planning a book fair in Glasgow next spring.
The Regenerator altered books project:
Inspired by Long Overdue project in Portland, USA.
The Regenerator project involved 76 artists from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, USA, Denmark, Norway and South Africa. Our library had a selection of books from hardback to paperback, novels, exhibition catalogues and manuals, mostly damaged, with missing covers or pages. Each artist selected a book from the discarded stock, and made an artwork with it, which was then returned for archiving and photographing before an exhibition and book swap (www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen1.htm). These are some of the pieces made from the books:
Todd Abbott : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen/tabbott1.htm
Claire Humphries : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen/chump1.htm
Deirdre McGrath : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen/dmcgrath1.htm
Steve McPherson - donating his book to our library : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen/stemcp1.htm ; www.stevemcpherson.co.uk
Celia Jackson is now running a project rich and strange with 100 artists which will allow people to borrow the books from Newport library. All of the artists’ books and information can be viewed online in the Regenerator gallery at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/regen1.htm
Book Marks: Infiltrating the Library System:
All of the projects are archived with each artist’s bookmark image and information at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/bookmark.htm
Book Marks: Infiltrating the Library System is an ongoing annual series of international distribution of bookmarks made by book artists. 150 artists and writers have contributed over 15,000 bookmarks, for free distribution at 47 venues to date in Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Poland, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Cyprus, Australia and the USA.Bookmarks V will be launched this September in the UK, USA, Poland, Japan and Croatia.
The Bookmarks project series aims to encourage appreciation of work in the format of the artist's book. Participating book artists each hand-produce an edition of 100 signed and numbered bookmarks to give away.
Contributions are collated into sets; one full set being sent to each of the contributing artists and the rest divided and sent in distribution boxes to participating galleries, bookstores and libraries around the world, for people to help themselves to. Each venue also receives an archive set of bookmarks.
Each bookmark is stamped with the Bookmarks project website, which directs the taker of the bookmark to the gallery section of the website. Visitors to the site can view the bookmarks online and contact the artists via the links from our site. Bookmarks IV saw 58 artists contribute 6,100 bookmarks for distribution from last September to February 2007 (www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/bookmark.htm).
Bookmarks V launches this September, to participate in Bookmarks VI in 2008, please email Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk for instructions. Places are limited to 50 artists each year. To be a host venue for a Bookmarks distribution box, please also email Sarah.
Links to other websites and organisations
See our book arts websites list at: www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/artbkmks.htm
Bookarts at the Centre for Fine Print Research
Our bookarts website at the Centre for Fine Print Research has been built as a working tool for artists, researchers, students and librarians. The site has free download essays and newsletters, a full information and visual archive of all exhibitions and projects to date and links to other websites for further information.
Please visit www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk for more information on artists’ books.
To go onto the mailing list, or if you have any questions, please contact us.
Downloads:
Sarah Bodman talk mp3 (10mb) to download, right click and 'save as'
Powerpoint presentation (viewable/downloadable as streaming flash)
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