Conceptualist

In the 1950s and 60s, the beginnings of conceptual art, pop, feminist art, and minimalism served to stimulate the production of artists’ books as they all eschewed traditional mediums in favor of “intermediate,” which combined materials to create hybrid forms of media. These movements all circulated around the concept that art was primarily about ideas and secondarily about aesthetics. Books served as a willing form for these conceptual artists as they were not only traditional conveyors of ideas, but also a well-established form of intermediate that combined text, images, and materials that could be used to express personal, political or abstract ideas. 1

Reed College’s Artists' Books collection holds some significant works including the entire collection of Ed Ruscha photo books, Sol LeWitt's Grids, Adrian Piper's Colored People, Carl Andre’s Self Portrait and Jenny Holzer's early posters.

footnotes

1Johanna Drucker. The Century of Artists’ Books. Granary Books. New York City: 1995. 70.

Artists Who Have Made Books/Magazine Works As Their Artistic Practice
in Reed College's Special Collections

Artists That Have Made a Limited Edition or One-of-a-Kind Artist Book
in Reed College's Special Collections

Books/Catalogs on Conceptualist Artists in Reed College's Special Collections

References

Bright, Betty. No Longer Innocent: Book Art in America: 1960-1980. New York City: Granary Books: Distributed to the trade by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 2005. View in library catalog

Drucker, Johanna. The Alphabetic Labyrinth: The Letters in History and Imagination. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1995. View in library catalog

Drucker, Johanna. Figuring the Word: Essays on Books, Writing and Visual Poetics. New York, N.Y.: Granary Books: Distributed by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 1998. View in library catalog

Drucker, Johanna. “The Codex and its Variations,” and “The Artist Book as Democratic Multiple.” The Century of Artists’ Books. New York: Granary Books, 1995. View in library catalog

Drucker, Johanna. The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modern Art, 1909-1923. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. View in library catalog

Harrison, Charles. Essays on Art & Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001. View in library catalog

Hendel, Richard. On Book Design. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. View in library catalog

Lauf, Cornelia and Clive Phillpot. “The Spectrum of Artist Books.” Artist/Author: Contemporary Artists’ Books. New York: Distributed Art Publishers: American Federation of Arts, 1998. View in library catalog

Piper, Adrian. “Cheap Art Utopia.” Out of Order, Out of Sight. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1996. View in library catalog

Schaffner, Ingrid and Matthias Winzen, Eds. Deep Storage: Collecting, Storing, and Archiving in Art. Munich; New York: Prestel, 1998. View in library catalog

Wasserman, Krystyna. The Book as Art: Artists’ Books from the Nation Museum of Women in the Arts. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. View in library catalog

Weitman, Wendy and Deborah Wye. Eye on Europe: Prints, Books & Multiples, 1960 to Now. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2006. View in library catalog

Archives

Printed Matter – Bookshop selling alterative book works, 'zines, and self published conceptual works. Founded by Lucy Lippard and Sol LeWitt in 1976. View website

Franklin Furnace – Archive of political alternative books in New York founded in 1976. All work is purchased by MoMa in 1993. View website

Nexus Press – Atlanta, Georgia. Closed in 2003.

Visual Studies Workshop – Rochester, NY. Founded by Nathan Lyons in 1969. View website

Browse Artists' Books in Reed Library Catalog | Reed College Art Department