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Book arts is a field of art that uses the structural and conceptual properties of books as both the medium and message, creating works that may combine text, image, or sculptural form to explore narrative, form, and meaning.

This artform encompasses the traditional crafts of bookmaking, such as papermaking, printmaking, typography, and bookbinding, alongside contemporary practices such as sculptural bookworks, installations, and altered books inspired by the book's form and function.

Book art is a dynamic field that transforms the book from a container for text to a form of art in its own right. It includes works that leverage both the physical structure and conceptual possibilities of books, from the printed pages to sculptural forms. Resulting creations may incorporate text, images, or both, and sometimes exist as three-dimensional objects.

Although books as an art form stretch back thousands of years, evidenced in Egyptian papyri, East Asian scrolls, and Meso-American codices. Today, the term "book art" also refers to a 20th-century avant-garde movement. In Europe and Russia, artists and writers began treating the book itself as a canvas rather than simply a repository for textual content.

In the early 20th century, publishers and dealers like Ambroise Vollard launched deluxe "livres d'artistes" such as Parallèlement with original lithographs by Pierre Bonnard illustrating Paul Verlaine's poems. Around the same time, Russian Futurists, followed by Dadaists and Surrealists, pushed the book's form, experimenting with typography, photomontage, collage, and non-linear layouts. These explorations laid the groundwork for treating the book as a hybrid medium that merges visual art, poetry, and design.

Within contemporary book art, several sub-fields have been identified.

Fine Press Books: Acknowledging books as precious objects, fine press work revives crafts of hand-set type, handmade paper, and exquisite bindings. William Morris's Kelmscott Press in the late 19th century foreshadowed this tradition, which continues today in presses such as Arion Press and The Gahenna Press.

Artist's Books: Defined as books conceived as artwork, these range from unique, sculptural one-offs to inexpensive multiples. Artists exploit graphic design, photography, printmaking, poetry, and unconventional materials or bindings to expand our conception of the "book" itself.

Sculptural Bookworks: These three-dimensional pieces use pages or book shapes as material, folding, cutting, or stacking volumes to create installations that blur boundaries between book and sculpture.

Altered Books: Existing books are reconfigured, with pages cut, painted, or collaged, to produce new visual narratives and tangible interventions.

Designer Bookbinding: Craft binders apply inventive structures, materials, and decorations to bind books as unique art objects.

Installations and Performances: In gallery or public contexts, artists stage immersive works where books serve as props, stage sets, or interactive elements, engaging audiences in the book's lifecycle as art.

Institutions, non-profits, associations, and other organizations focused on book art through education, exhibitions, and community. These include the Center for Book Arts, the Guild of Bookworkers, Focus on Book Arts, the Center for Book Arts (NYC), and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

Topics related to book arts are the focus of resources in this category.

 

 

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