Blog Swap: Anna on Art Books

Hello, this is not your usual host. I am Anna Platz-Twells, an artist and writer, gatecrashing Mort’s blog to introduce you to the world of Art Books. As a writer, and therefore an avid reader, I love traditional books, vessels of fantastical stories and distant worlds. But I have also brought my love of books into my art practice.

By definition, an art book, or artist book, is any book created by an artist. But, the understanding of what constitutes as a book is questioned and expanded beyond the traditional form of flat page and writing. Ranging from Guy Bigland’s sleek published books filled with explorations with text to handmade paper structures folded by Hedi Kyle, art books can explore visual poetry to sculptural form. Materials can include various papers, ‘found’ images, wood and stones and glass. Artists draw, write and print on the surfaces, using photographs, ‘found’ text and images, and cut-out techniques to create their art objects. Some become sculptural pieces, and some are large tomes or miniature pamphlets. As long as there are ‘pages’ of some kind to turn, it can be categorized as an art book.

My main interest in art books is the inherent narrative value of the form. Even when the pages are folded in strange shapes, or the book is only 2cm tall, there is still an instinctive recognition of the shape and a desire to ‘read’ the contents. This interaction creates a more intimate relationship with the viewer, inviting closer consideration and personal interpretations. A Blizzard book, created by Hedi Kyle, holds removable cards in the pockets of the pages, which invites interaction and reordering. One of the joys of creating these forms is watching someone explore and try to understand the book, finding their own way of ‘reading’ it and finding their own meanings. In this way, it is quite a democratic form of art, as one need not know the contexts of art history or even the beliefs and intentions of the creator. Books can be explored at a personal level, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

The power of the art book lies also in the experimentation beyond the flat surface. The folds and formats can distort and abstract images and can place text into different contexts. The Turkish map fold, for example, creates a variety of peaks and valleys on the surface, and the page unfurls like a flower revealing a secret. The multiple layers and sides can act as various threads of the same story or message, all brought together in a book. The shape of the book itself can refer to the contents, bringing together form and function in a blend of art and craft. Artist Emily Martin says that the format of the book should “reflect, enhance or actually embody the content of the work.” An example of this would be my book “Loose Threads”, which contains fragments of various stories I have written, bound with several threads tied together.

But the most important question remains; Where to start? Art books are an exciting, and oft overseen, avenue of art to explore and can lead down a rabbit hole of healthy obsession. But this all begins with seeing how it is done.

The first type of art book I ever came across was a squash fold book, during my Art Foundation course. The workshop involved photocopying pieces of our work and then folding and sticking them in the squash fold method. The art was transformed from a flat surface to this strange construct that could be read page-by-page like a book or hung, unfurled and displayed like a sculpture, giving the work a new context and meaning. This simple fold kick started my delve into book making, seeing how else the flat surface can be transformed.

However, a folded page or even an original image is not needed to get started with book making. Here, I take inspiration from a workshop I attended, hosted by Steve Micalef. This workshop looked at the ‘zine’, which is a form of handmade and art magazine. It can be stapled together or made using a simple magazine fold. Steve Micalef was involved in the making of ‘Sniffin Glue’, the first punk fanzine. Fanzines grew up alongside the punk movement, where the music lacked mainstream mention, written on typewriters in smoke-filled bedrooms, scribbled over with markers, with print and photos cut from magazines. Spelling was not a concern, and nor was neatness. The originals were photocopied, stapled together and distributed to punk fans.

This idea can be brought into book making, using ‘found’ text and images from magazines and print-outs. When starting, artist Alisa Golden says to “ask yourself two questions: ‘What do I want to make?’ and ‘What do I want to say?’”. Keep this in mind and get to cutting out letters, words and pictures.

There are also many places online that can further your inspiration. The YouTube channel ‘Sea Lemon’ offers multiple guides to sewn book forms. Artist Hedi Kyle has made public many of her inventive folds, such as the Blizzard book, the panel book and the fishbone fold, which can be found online. The Instagram account ‘Are You Book Enough’ is home to a monthly book making challenge and community of book makers.

Art books are a niche but expansive world, which I have only scratched the surface of, in both this post and my experience. There are many ways to tell a story, through words, images and the form itself, which are open for endless exploration. I hope I have inspired you to take a closer look into art books yourself, and wish you luck as you dive in. If you want to see more of my work, come over to my blog and take a look at my website and my Instagram.

Note from Mort: I hope you've thoroughly enjoyed having someone else's voice on my blog! Anna's work with book making is always a pleasure to watch, I was on video call with her one time and she made the TINIEST book I've ever seen. Please check out her other work using the link above!! I have also gatecrashed Anna's blog, you can read the post here