A Recent Artist Book Conference

THE HYBRID BOOK: intersection + intermedia was a three day conference and book fair organized and hosted by the Book Arts/Printmaking MFA Program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, June 4-6.  The Conference focused on the multi-disciplinary aspect of artists’ books as a kind of  “hybrid” art form involving old and new technologies, collaborative processes, performance and interactive digital media.

Conference topics included: Book Arts in Academia; The Future of Letterpress; Modes of Production: Collaborative Processes; Offset Applications: Then and Now; Intersection + Intermedia; Text and the Hybrid Book; Book Art in the Social Sphere; and The Reciprocity of Books and Digital Media.

Highlights of the conference included interviews with internationally known artists Hedi Kyle and Gunnar Kaldewey and a live performance of  “God Bless This Circuitry”, a collaborative book work created by author Tate Shaw and musician Andrew Sallee.

Over 70 book artists exhibited their work at the Hybrid Book Fair.  In addition two gallery exhibitions were held, one featuring the book art of three artists Hedi Kyle, Gunnar A. Kaldewey, and Irma Boom and another the artists’ books of alumni from the Book Art/Printmaking MFA Program at The University of the Arts.  Exhibition catalogs for these will be available soon in the library.

The event was well attended by book artists, scholars, educators, students, librarians, and book dealers from the U.S. and beyond.  For more information about the conference, go to the official Hybrid Book website.  For an overview of the conference and detailed reviews of several outstanding artists’ books exhibited there, check out Elisabeth Long’s book arts blog, The Sign of the Owl.  Also take a look at a couple of interactive digital “books” at these sites: My Turning Point , Confess, and War.

Artists’ Books and Bookbinding Techniques

Did you know that the library has many useful resources about Artists’ Books and bookbinding techniques?  Most of these books in our main collection are browsable and circulate.  If you are interested in books that give information about the subject of artists’ books, specific book presses and artists, historical and contemporary exhibitions, and collections look in the RISD MAIN and RISD OVERSIZE call number ranges for N 7433’s.   For books that give specific details on bookbinding techniques, look in the Z 271’s.   We also have non-circulating copies of several of these books in the Reference area.  Look in RISD REF  N 7433’s and  Z 271’s.

If you would like to have a SUBJECT GUIDE to resources in the Fleet Library on ARTISTS’ BOOKS & BOOKBINDING TECHNIQUES, email us (see contact information in ABOUT) and we will send you the guide as a PDF attachment.