50 Years of
Artists’ Books
The Library’s Artists’ Books Collection is growing rapidly. The term ‘Artist’s Book’ refers to books made or conceived by an artist – artworks in their own right.
Whilst many contemporary books have been bought for the collection, others have been donated or moved from the main shelves of the library into the Special Collections. From these we find that we have books representing each of the decades since the 1960s. To celebrate this – that our collection covers fifty of the 150 years of Cardiff Metropolitan University – we feature examples from across those fifty years. In this exhibition, individually crafted books, hand printed and bound, sit alongside works that were published inexpensively in unlimited editions in order to bring artwork to a wider audience. Some are recognisably traditional casebound book format, whilst others have more sculptural qualities. All can be seen during workshops run for students, staff and community groups.
Further examples can be seen in the Heartspace of Cardiff School of Art & Design 4 Dec 2015 to 18 Dec 2015 12 noon. Please Turn Over: The Artists’ Book is an exhibition of book arts work by students and staff of Cardiff School of Art and Design which considers artists' books as creative process, living archive and research catalyst. Also on show will be artists' books from Cardiff Metropolitan University Library's Artists’ Books Collection, some donated by Ron King from his personal collection, also works by other significant artists such as Gilbert & George, Ed Ruscha, Dieter Roth and Sol Lewitt.
These exhibitions complement the conference Livres d’Artistes: The Artist’s Book in Theory & Practice held at Cardiff University 4 – 6 Dec 2015.
50 Years of Artists’ Books
The Paper Snake
Ray Johnson
1965
An Anecdoted
Topography of Chance
Daniel Spoerri
1966
Dark Shadow
Gilbert & George
1976
Dieter Roth
2 Picture Books
1976
A Humument
Tom Philips
1982
Civil Defence
Philip Zimmermann
1984
MIM
Telfer Stokes &
Helen Douglas
1986
A Wartime Garden
Ian Hamilton Finlay
1990
History of the/my Wor(l)d
Johanna Drucker
1995
Kiki Smith’s
Dowry Book
1997
Chairs and Fleas
Magnus Irvine
1998
They Called Her Styrene
Edward Ruscha
2000
Bolom Chon
Ambar Past &
Leñateros Taller
2008
City cypher: São Paulo:
from Edificio Italia
Leonie Lachlan
2009
Othello – A Bestiary
(with Flora Additions)
Ian Whitmore
2011
Flat Holm
ottoGraphic
2014