Artists’ books provide an intimate experience between the reader and the artist, but can sometimes be tricky to get to grips with. For example, rarer examples are often put away out of the reach of the hands that they were made for. They can also be experimental in both content and form. To help better understand the medium, the Warburg Institute in London is opening an exhibition titled Art & the Book, as well as organising a book fair of independent publishers and hosting public talks on the subject. The show, curated by Arnaud Desjardin and Hlib Velyhorskyi, will include examples from the 1960s to today. Desjardin, who is the author of the reference publication The Book on Books on Artists Books (2013), has selected four of the best books about artists’ books.
Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972 (1973) by Lucy Lippard
“Six Years is a cross-reference book of information on some aesthetic boundaries: consisting of a bibliography into which are inserted fragmented text, artworks and documents. This is the perfect primer for understanding the range of conceptual and material positions adopted by artists beginning in the early 1960s leading to the radical shake up of the six years in question.”
Looking Telling Thinking Collecting (2004) edited by Anne Moeglin-Delcroix, Liliana Dematteis, Giorgio Maffei and Annalisa Rimmaudo
“A good historical overview is provided by this exhibition catalogue by four eminent specialists in the field. Any book by these authors will reward the reader with a wealth of information and intelligent perspectives on the subject of artists’ books. (Chief amongst these is the Esthétique du Livre d’Artiste by Anne Moeglin Delcroix although sadly it has not been published in English yet.)”
Booktrek: Selected Essays on Artists’ Books (1972-2010) (2013) by Clive Phillpot
“Clive Phillpot, who became the director of the library at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1977, was the strongest ally artists could ever hope to find within the institution. His essays are collected in an enlightening book that follows the evolution of artists’ books, from a marginal form to a fully developed media.”
Printed Matter: Die Sammlung Marzona/The Marzona Collection (2005) by Michael Lailach
“The formidable collection of Egidio Marzona, which the collector donated to Kunstbibliothek Berlin [the city’s art library], provides another overview of the field in all its richness, complexity and variety.”
• Art & the Book, Warburg Institute, London, 16 May-2 August
• Biblioteka Art Book Fair, Warburg Institute, London, 20-21 June
