The fall semester is upon us! In honor of the start of the new school year, Special Collections is releasing a new subject guide on Artists' Books from the Literature and Rare Book collections in Special Collections in Hornbake Library.
Artists' books utilize books as a means of creative expression. Experimenting with traditional elements of a book, including structure, design, materials, and printing processes, artists' books are wholly unique creations. In contrast to mass produced books, book artists have more control over artistic expression and the content of their books, which are often handcrafted and are produced in limited numbers. Some artists' books are produced in editions of less than 50 or can be one-of-a-kind, making them truly rare. Artists' books straddle the line between traditional books and works of art, challenging us to consider the question "What is a book?"
Artists' books cover a wide range of subject matter. Some of the topics represented in our collection include literature, politics, nature, and social justice. Often times, you'll find books that touch on a few topics. A great example of this is Madness: Reading Hamlet in the Time of Covid-19 and Other Plagues (2022) by Emily Martin, which uses Shakespeare's Hamlet as inspiration to contextualize the fear and isolation of living through of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as additional current events like Black Lives Matter, the rise of Asian hate crimes, and the January 6th insurrection. The result is an immersive experience for the reader as they turn the pages reading through the artists' scattered thoughts over several anxious years in the word.
There are a variety of design features among the artists' books in the collection, including but not limited to pop-ups, experimental structure, miniaturization, different binding styles, unique paper materials or dyeing processes, the utilization of mixed media, and letterpress printing. There is no limit to how many of these creative styles the artist implements, allowing for true creative freedom in book format!
Artists and small presses highlighted in this new subject guide include local artists Sarah Matthews, Lauren Emeritz of the Abstract Orange Press, and works by Southern Maryland's Prototype Press. Also represented in the collection in Hornbake Library are the works of Werner Pfeiffer, Todd M. Thyberg's Angel Bomb Design + Letterpress, the Women's Studio Workshop, and Jessica Spring's Springtide Press.
The collection provides an opportunity for students to explore the wide breadth of book arts and printing. It can serve as inspiration for their own artistic endeavors and also provide a glimpse into how artists interpret current events and experiment with books as objects.
Explore the Artists' Books guide to learn more about the artists' books in Special Collections' holdings. To view more artists' books in Special Collections, search UMD Discover or contact us with questions!
Rebecca Lukachinski is a graduate student in the Masters of Library and Information Science program at UMD, and is a student assistant in the Literature and Rare Books Collections, Special Collections and University Archives.
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