well established artists, following the connections through various teachers, while advocating the "experiential nature" of artists books, which understandably the slides were unable to adequately convey. The presentation echoed the interest of the audience to see challenging and unusual new work. At that same conference I presented a demonstration of various book binding structures that I have used over the years in my own bookworks, some learned at workshops, other methods developed on my own or adapted, following principles that recognize printmaker's concerns, such as the possibilities for display of the work, self-production, knowledge of book terminology, and print technology problems. Judging from the intense questions, demands for specific information and general interest, and the eager hands to handle the models and finished books I brought with me, the possibility of the book form for printmakers is a strong direction to yet further expand printmaking into related areas and alternative formats, which seems to be an exciting option for many. Now I seek to address the question - of why artist's books? - because it is posed to me so often, by students, curators, university administrators, librarians, friends of the book, printinakers. Perhaps in this eamination I am not exposing anything new but offering my own viewpoints that can see broad interrelationships. And I do not intend to re-cross territory so well adressed by others with recent books and articles addressing related theories of visual culture, communication semiotics, definition nuances, discovering little known forebears of the book field, which can often be quite didactic. What I can do is make a clarification of why I think this is happening and describe the various streams out of which this movement has grown. Everywhere I go, as a visiting artist, as a conference participant, or casual gallery visitor I am seeing artist's books/book-works/books as art.
More than half of the invitations I receive to exhibit my work have been to book shows in the last few years. Everywhere I go, as a visiting artist, as a conference participant, or casual gallery visitor I am seeing artist's books/book-works/books as art. More than half of the invitations I receive to exhibit my work have been to book shows in the last few years. There is a sense of this medium having "arrived", with museum interest, traveling shows with catchy titles, trendy themes for publications and craft books, workshops, maturing educational programs. And still the burning question "why book arts?" We all must be seeking our own understanding by asking everyone else for their own justification! And yet from my reading of artist's statements, very similar explanations are offered by all - primarily these always include the tactile qualities of work made for the hand, the control of pacing and the "reading/viewing" as an experience, an interest in story-telling, and strong, important hitorical and cultural associations. Obviously to me, the book arts movement that we have now accepted grows out of a number of postmodernist approaches.
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