Product Description

Artists' books have emerged over the last 25 years as the quintessential contemporary art form, addressing subjects as diverse as poetry and politics, incorporating a full spectrum of artistic media and bookmaking methods, and taking every conceivable form. Female painters, sculptors, calligraphers, and printmakers, as well a growing community of hobbyists, have played a primary role in developing this new mode of artistic expression. The Book as Art presents more than 100 of the most engaging women’s artist books created by major fine artists such as Meret Oppenheim, May Stevens, Kara Walker, and Renee Stout and distinguished book artists such as Susan King, Ruth Laxson, Claire Van Vliet, and Julie Chen. Culled from over 800 unique or limited-edition volumes held by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, these books explore the form as a container for ideas. Descriptions of the works are accompanied by colorful illustrations and reflections by their makers, along with essays by leading scholars and a lively introduction by the most famous book artist in our culture, best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger. The exquisitely crafted objects in the The Book as Art are sure to provoke unexpected and surprising conclusions about what constitutes a book. The Book as Art accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., beginning in October 2006.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267934 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Review
...marvel at the incredible range of creativity on view from page to page, and at the artists' own statements that accompany the well-produced photographic layouts of their work. It's the next best thing to looking at these exquisite books in a vitrine. -- Raintaxi

Artists' books come in all shapes and sizes, as the landmark The Book as Art exuberantly demonstrates... -- Washington Times, Nov. 18, 2006

About the Author
Krystyna Wasserman, curator of book arts at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, has been one of the most important collectors in the field for the past thirty years. Johanna Drucker is a professor at the University of Virginia and the top scholar on artists' books today. Audrey Niffenegger, a book artist herself, is the author of the best-selling novel The Time Traveler's Wife, which is based on a character who is a papermaker and book artist.

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous and Inspiring
If you are looking for inspirational, high quality photographs of some of the best fine art bookwork out there, this is for you. A few of the artists' books featured in here are also illustrated in other books, but the quality of the photographic reproductions here is so top notch that even though I'd seen some of the work before, it didn't matter all that much. The reproductions are fresh and full of detail. Each entry is accompanied by a nice little blurb from the artist explaining the work. Keep in mind that this is a catalogue from the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It is not a how-to, and the artists do not give instructions for making similar work or anything like that. This is for inspiration and enjoyment, with a little bit of art criticism thrown in. It's refreshing to see work of such originality and high quality, reproduced so well.

Book Arts
A wonderful book with lovely photography. It highlights the National Museum of Women in the Arts collection of handcrafted books with examples from 108 national and international book artists. Beautiful examples of intricate craftsmanship and fine art.

Excellent introduction into the book as an artform
This book is wonderful! It features many artists and their foray into the world of book arts. The photos are splendid and the background information on the artists is excellent. It arrived in shrink-wrap which protected it nicely. Great book!