The DAAP Library Artists' Book Collection

Artists’ books are works of art that are realized in the form of a book. Generally published in limited editions or as unique works of art, artists’ books can take many forms. For example, DAAP Library’s collection includes concertinas, games, painted cards, and quilts with text. Although book printers have experimented with unique looks for their products for centuries, the artists’ book is primarily a twentieth and twenty-first century art form.
Up until recently, there wasn’t a collection focus per se. Instead, we allowed the collection to develop in interesting ways. That said, recently we decided to establish a collection focus. We’re going to collect artists’ books which focus on cultural, racial, and sexual diversity, a focus that we feel aligns well with the interests of UC as an institution as well as the greater UC community. Many of the books in our current collection deal with diversity as a theme, particularly sexual diversity, and we hope to acquire many more artists’ books that promote or feature issues of diversity and multiculturalism.
We created this blog to increase awareness of and engagement with our lovely artists’ book collection. By making images of the books available online, we are sharing them with a much larger audience, especially those who are unable to view the books in person. A wider audience is especially relevant to our new collection focus on diversity issues.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Karen Chance, Parallax


Printed on both sides of a strip folded accordion style. Atlanta, GA: Nexus Press, 1987.

Gordon Matta-Clark, Circus: The Carribean Orange

A project sponsored by the Museum of Contem-porary Art, Chicago, Feb. 1978. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1978.

http://www.artnet.com

Douglas Huebler, Crocodile Tears

Crocodile tears: (brief fictions re-sounding from the proposal in Variable Piece #70:1971 "to photo-graphically document the existence of everyone alive"). Published in connection with an exhibition at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y. May 10-June 30, 1985. Buffalo, NY: Albright-Knox Art Gallery: CEPA Gallery, 1985.

http://www.spence.net

Allan Kaprow, Pose - Carrying Chairs Through the City, Sitting Down Here and There, Photographed Pix Left on Spot, Going On



Seven leaves of plates in envelope. Occurred in and around Berkeley, California, March 22, 23, 1969. New York: Multiples, Inc., 1970.

http://www.printedmatter.org

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Christopher Knowles, Typings 1974-77


From a first edition of 1500 copies of which 1000 are softcovers and 500 are hardcovers. New York: Vehicle Editions, 1979.

General Idea, Getting into the Spirits Cocktail Book: From the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion

From a first edition of 1000 copies. Toronto,
Canada: Distribution by Art Metropole, 1980.

Conrad Gleber, Raising a Family


Flipbook using a group portrait. Chicago: C. Gleber, 1976.

Damara Kaminecki, The Slapdown



From a limited edition of 50 copies. Damara Kaminecki, drawing & concept, Jeremy Schmall, text ; Sara Parkel, Mark Wagner, Amy Mees, & Cat Glennon, production. Text of poem printed on p. 3 of cover. Further text printed on rectos and versos of 16 illustrations arms and hands mounted on accordion strips forming the spine of the book. Brooklyn, NY: Booklyn Artists Alliance, 2007.

http://www.philobiblon.com/

Daniel Buren, Les couleurs, sculptures; les formes, peintures

Halifax, NS: Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design; Paris, France: Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, 1981.

http://www.amazon.com

Douglas Huebler, Location Piece #2: New York City, Seattle, Washington


Envelope, 19 leaves. [s.l.: s.n.], 1970.

James Hugunin and Theron Kelley, The Dumb Ox

A quarterly art journal, vol. 1 (Summer 1976).

http://www.uturn.org/

Joseph Kosuth, Notebook on Water

New York: Multiples, 1970.

http://www.arcanabooks.com

Conrad Gleber, Chicago Sky Line


Illustrations on each leaf form one composite image. Chicago: Chicago Books, 1977.

Patricia Scobey, Mining of the Heart

Folded accordion style, illustrated boards, contains no text. [S.l.]: Landlocked Press, 1986.

Gretchen Garner, An Art History of Ephemera Photographs 1976-78


Chicago, IL: G. Garner: Available from Tulip Press, 1982.

Ellen Lanyon, Transformations I: 1973-74

One sheet accordion folded. New York: Printed Matter, Inc., 1977.

Bonnie Stahlecker, Marking Time


Low-fired ceramic covers stained with watercolor. Sewn with an Ethiopian sewn boards method using four needles. Pages are intaglio, relief-rolled intaglio and letterpress printed on Somerset Book Heavyweight. Pages have additional hand coloring. Plainfield, IN: The Artist, 1997.

Charles Burns, Curse of the Molemen


Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press, 1991.

John Baldessari, Close Cropped Tales


Buffalo, NY: CEPA Gallery, 1981.

John Baldessari, Fable: A Sentence in Thirteen Parts

Fable: A Sentence in Thirteen Parts (With Twelve Alternate Verbs) Ending in Fable. Cards are folded continuously into 1 piece, issued in a paper case. New York: Century Printing Co., 1977.

http://www.uturn.org

Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Inches and Field


New York: Lapp Princess Press, 1978.

James Rosenquist, Drawings While Waiting for an Idea


New York: Lapp Princess Press, 1979.

Telfer Stokes and Helen Douglas, MIM


Yarrow Scotland: Weproductions, 1986.

Mikhail Karasik, Rukavica = The Mitten: An Essay


Bound: two felt Soviet workers mittens as front and back covers, steel rings through punched holes, plexi guards, housed in blue and purple paper clamshell box. The mittens are printed silkscreen with images of the artists. The text on tan handmade paper is printed in Russian in letterpress. St. Petersburg (Russia): M.K. Publishers, 2001.

Jackie Ferrara, Drawings June and July 1977

New York: Lapp Princess Press, 1977.

http://www.flickr.com

Telfer Stokes and Helen Douglas, Spin Off


Yarrow, Scotland: Weproductions, 1985.

Laurie Simmons, In and Around the House: Photographs, 1976-1979




New York: Carolina Nitsch Editions; Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz; New York: Distributor North America: D.A.P., 2003.

Duane Michals, Take One and See: Mt. Fujiyama and Other Stories


Rochester, NY: Light Impressions, 1976.

John M. Bennett, TIme Release


Columbus, OH: Luna Bisonte Prods., 1978.

Ida Applebroog, But I Wasn't There


Ida Applebroog
But I Wasn't There 1980
ink and rhoplex on vellum
48 x 48 inches
Courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York

Terri Weifenbach, 21 May 1995: Instruction Manual No. 1

From a limited edition of 500 copies. A book of twelve reproductions of color copier prints and one original Type C print. Tuczon, AZ: Nazraeli Press, 2000.

http://www.antiqbook.com

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Anita Wetzel, Sea Ribbons

From a limited edition of 100 copies. Rosendale, NY: Women's Studio Workshop, 1983.


http://www.wsworkshop.org/

Cerith Wyn Evans, Curves of the Needle

Cerith Wyn Evans selected tracks from Luis Barragan's record collection in his former private mansion, the Casa Barragan, mixed with the ambient sound of the house. The sounds accompany a series of photographs taken by Cerith Wyn Evans in Barragan's house, studio and garden. Vienna: Bawag Foundation, 2005.

http://bp.blogspot.com/

Jeffrey Brouws, Twentysix Abandoned Gasoline Stations

From a limited edition of 1000 copies. Santa Barbara, CA: Printed by Colorworks, 1992.

http://www.arcanabooks.com

Roni Horn, Wonderwater (Alice Offshore)

Each volume contains texts written in response to the same selection of Horn's titles/phrases. The annotaters are sculptor Louise Bourgeois, writers Anne Carson and Hélène Cixous, and film director John Waters. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004.

http://www.infibeam.com

Scott McCarney, Memory Loss

Folded accordion style, binding consists of end boards and cord tie. Rochester, NY: Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1988.
http://www.scottmccarneyvisualbooks.com
http://www.califiabooks.com/

Anne Bell, Corrugations: Some Speculations on Australian Tin

From a limited edition of 35 copies. Poem by Anne Bell hand set in Spectrum Italic and text machine set in Grotesque cast by David Bolton. Linocuts printed by Katie Clemson. Designed, printed and bound by Claire Bolton.

http://www.alembicpress.co.uk/

Pamela S. Wood, Gilded Wings

DAAP Library's copy is number 2 of 3. Commercial brilliant orange for title paper. Hand cut wings are commercial bright paper-edged with l8 kt guilding gold. Origami fold spine, non adhesive folded tabs hold in each wing. Tempe, AZ: Rare Hare Creations, 2005.

http://www.paperstudio.com

Wilber Schilling, A Reminder: An Open Book Test

The colors correspond to the eight colors of the Lüscher color test. United States: Indulgence Press, 1994, Philadelphia, PA: University of the Arts, Borowsky Center for Publications.

http://www.vampandtramp.com

Carol Barton, Vision Shifts

DAAP Library's copy is number 427 of 500, signed by the artist. A pop-up artist's book. Photographically illustrated cover sheets with letterpress and cut-out widows. An ironic change in the backing photographs, set-up by the narrative letterpress, is revealed as each page is opened further. Philadelphia, PA: Borowsky Center for Publication Arts, University of the Arts, 1998.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Robin Bernat, Evidence of Living

Issued in an envelope, title from envelope. Sheet is printed and folded to produce a fortune telling "cootie catcher."
DAAP Library's copy lacks envelope. Atlanta, GA: Nexus Press, 1991.
http://www.thecontemporary.org/shop/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sloaneartlibrary

Claire Lawson-Hall, A Winter Garden

From a limited edition of 100 copies. Written, typset, designed, printed and bound by Claire Lawson-Hall at the Alembic Press, Marcham. Etchings by Muriel Mallows. Marcham: Alembic Press, 2001.

http://www.alembicpress.co.uk

Claire Lawson-Hall, An Autumn Garden

From a limited edition of 100 copies. Text by Claire Lawson Hall, illustrations by Muriel Mallows. Leaves mounted to form a "Jacob's ladder" with alternating text and illustrations on front and back of leaves. Marcham: Alembic Press, 2000.

http://www.alembicpress.co.uk

Claire Lawson-Hall, A Summer Garden

From a limited edition of 100 copies. Text by Claire Lawson-Hall and illustrations by Muriel Mallows. Marcham: Alembic Press, 1999.

http://www.alembicpress.co.uk

Diane Stemper, Dust Gardens, Or, The Unique Habitation of Menora

DAAP Library's cpoy is number 1 of 3. Created for the Lloyd Library and Museum exhibit "Mining the Lloyd;" highlights varied bacterial bouquets and the preferred household habitat in which to grow them. Oxford, OH: Plat 21 Studio, 2004.

http://www.lloydlibrary.org

Marta Zylbersztejn, Las Cartas Guardadas

DAAP Library's copy is number 3 of 10, signed by the author. Bound in black cloth over boards with tuck closure; the book's title is repeated on a printed paper slip running along the bottom of the covers. Housed in black cloth box. Olivos, Buenos Aires: Marta Zylbersztejn, 2003.

http://marthazyl-artefotos.blogspot.com

Julia Hall and Chrissy Leggio, Slaves of Christo

DAAP Library's copy is number 42 from an edition of 500. An account of the authors' experiences working for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Gates project in New York's Central Park. Brooklyn, NY: Booklyn Artists Alliance, 2005.

http://www.brooklyn.org

Laura Russell, Urban Decay Saginaw MI 48607, 8 Dec 2005

DAAP Library's copy is number 10 of 25, signed by the author. Limited-edition, hand-bound artist book. Original photo-graphs, poetry and text by Laura Russell. Digital printing with archival inks on archival paper. Flyleaves are stained by Tyvek. Interior pages burned by hand. Plywood covers hinged with book cloth. Portland, OR: Simply Books, 2006.

http://www.laurarussell.net

Wyndham Lewis, The Role of Line in Art

The role of line in art : with six drawings to illustrate the argument / Wyndham Lewis, edited with an introduction by Paul W. Nash. DAAP Library's copy is number 30 from a limited edition of 166 copies. Witney: The Strawberry Press, 2007.

http://www.typographeum.com

Heather Weston, Borges and I

First edition of 20 copies now available in an open edition, DAAP Library's copy is no. 73, signed by artist. Text printed on black paper in alternating black offset and blind-embossing, the embossed text constituting a "subtext" of the whole. Accordion-folded between black cloth boards, with the title blind-stamped on the front board. London: H. Weston, 2001.

http://www.califiabooks.com