Understanding Artists' Books
The Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives holds over 5,000 artists' books - and the collection continues to grow through a combination of donations and purchases every year.
But what is an artists' book?
Well, part of the (usually exciting) challenge of artists' books is that they're difficult to define. For the Emily Carr University Art and Design library, the artists' book collection "encompasses books conceived, crafted, published, produced or altered by an artist, designer or collective with the intention of creating an independent art work ." But for the Smithsonian Library, "[a]n artist’s book is a medium of artistic expression that uses the structure or function of 'book' as inspiration—a work of art in book form." Our collection sits somewhere in between, encapsulating works in both of these definitions - and some works that are beyond either. In our library, you'll find do-it-yourself zines and handmade chapbooks from small presses, sculptural pieces, weavings, objects, comic art, flipbooks, and dozens of other specific forms.
Our collection began in 1985, when the director of the Walter Phillips Gallery, Lorne Falk, handed Bob Foley (Banff Centre's first full-time librarian) a suitcase's worth of artists' books and said, "These are yours, you should do something with them." Through a meeting with AA Bronson, an artist who founded Art Metropole and the New York Art Book Fair, Foley expanded the collection by developing relationships with publishers and distributors. Since then, the collection came to include artists such as Dieter Roth, Ed Ruscha (whose artists' book Every Building on the Sunset Strip inspired the creation of this tumblr page!), Barbara Kruger, Joseph Beuys, Mieko Shiomi, Yoko Ono, Gertrude Stein, and John Cage.
Please take your time to explore our tumblr and our library catalogue - and if you ever get the chance, please come and explore our artists' books in person. The library staff are always excited to answer questions or help you find what you're looking for.
If you'd like to read more about artists' books, consider these books:
Aarons, Philip E. and Andrew Roth, editors. In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1055. Zurich: PPP Editions, 2009.
Arnar, Anna Sigrídur. The Book as Instrument: Stéphane Mallarmé, the Artist's Book, and the Transformation of Print Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Castleman, Riva. A Century of Artists Books. New York: Museum of Modern Art; distributed by Henry N. Abrams, 1994.
Drucker, Johanna. A Century of Artists' Books. New York: Granary Books, 1995.
Phillpot, Clive. Booktrek: Selected Essays on Artists' Books since 1972. Zurich: JRP Ringier, 2013.