Craft: Artist Books in Special Collections and Archives
A new Special Collections exhibit poses the question: books are written - but are they crafted?
Artist books – artworks using and challenging the form of the book – suggest that the answer is yes. These works emerged as a genre during the 20th century and continue to evolve today, using new technologies, maintaining ancient practices, and grappling with today’s challenging topics. Like other avant-garde art, these works demand that their audience consider form and function, cultural norms and subversions, and their own assumptions about what a book should be. This exhibit contains twenty examples of artist books that use non-traditional techniques and materials to provoke thought and inspire strong emotional reactions, drawing attention to the relationship between how each book was crafted and why it was created.
This exhibit is on display in two locations in the Davis Family Library: the Davis Atrium on the main floor, and the Special Collections Reading Room on the lower floor.
Media Contact
Anna Hurd is the Special Collections Outreach and Research Services Manager.