Artist Books

I’m curious about the distinction between Art and craft.

It seems to me that the works featured at the Book Workers Guild are more ‘craft’ than they are ‘art’. (I’m referring to arts-and-crafts rather than craftsmanship, but do not intend the term to denigrate.) Where does that boundary lie? That is not to say that the final pieces are not worthy of being called Art, but the processes used to make these objects were not simply ‘painted’ or ‘sculpted’; they involved a number of crafts that when combined created the final piece. For example, a book might be covered in tanned goatskin and comprise hand-made paper, some of which are marbled (the end papers) and others screen printed. Each of the elements that are used in making the book are crafted and together they form an artist’s book and are Art: the book has meaningful content, was made by a human, is aesthetically appropriate and was intended to be a Art object by its creator.

Claire Van Vliet, The Janus Press

Newark, Vermont

W. R. Johnson, Narcissus, 1990

Based on the accordion fold, Narcissus incorporates laser printed visual as well as a Mylar mirror in which the reader virtually sees oneself on the periphery while reading. A meditative experience is presented, reading the poem before turning to the series of cloud images, then moving through layers of violet clouds, to which the words refer, ending, however, with an earth iron oxide. The box for Narcissus is covered in papers made by MacGregor-Vinzani (who also made the text paper) from colored pulp reflecting and suggesting the violet clouds referred to in the text. The box’s interior is fitted with a wooden structure that snugly houses the book’s truncated diamond shape. 24 x 29 x 1 centimeters. Created 1990.

Norma Rubovits

Chicago, Illinois

Marbled Vignette (no date)

Traditional marbling with watercolors on carragheen moss base.

Donald Glaister

Vashon Island, Washington

Mark Beard, Utah Reader, 1986

Bound in burgundy Morocco with onlays of calf, snake and goat skin. Gold, blind and painted tooling with areas of acrylic spray paint and sanded leather. Mark Beard’s story is about his youth in Bountiful, Utah. Beard remembers the K-Mart, the mountains, his tract home with the obligatory basketball hoop over the garage door, the family camper and other classic trappings of suburban life. The binding is simply an interpretation of those images. 31 x 41 x 4 centimeters. Created 1987. Lent by Earl M. Collier, Jr.

From Wikipedia:

A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts.

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions.

Visual arts comprising fine art, decorative art, architecture and crafts