Topic 6: Artist's Books - 13th May

I found it very difficult to try and seperate the differences between Livre d'artiste and Artist's Books. They are so closely related that many of the below examples could really be placed into either category.

Before the Artist's Book movement became a separate field in the 20th Century, there was a lot of experimenting with 'Livre d'artiste'. An art dealer named Ambroise Vollard is considered to be the originator of Livre d'artiste and although the translation suggests that these and artist's books are the same, it is important to note the differences and the evolution from Livre d'artiste into Artist's Books. 

Livre d'artiste are books that have been illustrated by artists. They differ from regular illustrated books as the artist works personally as the printer or works very closely with the master printer to created individual prints especially for the book. Some key features of Livre d'artiste included large sized formats, hand colouring, fine binding and the use of rare materials. The original prints were often made from a material which allows limited uses and therefore limited editions. These books were created for a high end market. Artists like Picasso and Matisse were involved in experimenting with Livre d’artiste.

Although they are much like Livre d’artiste, there are some notable characteristics that Artist's Books had that Livre d’artiste didn't. Livre d’artiste was still very structural and traditional, with a distinction between image and text on facing pages. They didn't challenge the book structure to become a part of the production, theme or the books intention like Artist's Books did. The artist and writer didn't often meet in the production of Livre d’artiste. These kinds of books were often made to the editor’s vision and were visually pleasing to meet the markets expectations. Whereas, the artists of Artist's Books were involved in most details of the books creation. They tried to blur the boundaries between the image and text so that the books were an expression and creation of their own. Many Artist's books are produced on a low budget provided from the artist. They took advantage of independent printing which allowed them to have all the power in the production and publication of their book. However, craftiness doesn’t always make something into an Artist's Book. Artist's attempt to bend and stretch the rules of craft and book arts, much like they do with the book structure. 

There are some other distinguishing points for Artist's Books. These include the fact that they are often (but not always) portable, have a case for storage, protection, and transportation which is often integrated into the design of the book, they use mixed media, they are made to be touched and interacted with, and they have different display possibilities e.g. hanging, flat or as a performance book.