ARLIS/NA 54th Annual Conference

Centering on makers and forms, this panel considers how artists’ books can be viewed as sites of resistance. The impulse to generate such books is sparked by artistic ideas rather than practicality, their modes of creation defy traditional publishing norms, and their physical shapes often circumvent the limits of the codex. Artists’ books are neither solely books nor solely art. They exist as unique or multiple copies. In a digital age, they are meant to be tactile, experienced as material objects in intimate proximity to human hands. They evade formal display in casework. Artists’ books allow for experimentation. Their textures, media, structures, and narratives can be idiosyncratic and varied. Their networks of distribution can be conventional or alternative.

The first panelist, Christine Walde, will show how artist’s books defy categorization. Walde frames artists’ books as outliers that defy norms, exploring how the form of the book across titles such as Clive Philpott's Fruit Salad, Andy Warhol's Index (Book), and Ben Denzer's 20 Slices, acts as a perfect site of resistance.

Next, Caroline Clavell will speak to the Renegade Bookbinding Guild, a not-for-profit guild of artists founded as a Discord server during the COVID-19 pandemic, and engaged in binding fannish works under the idea of fandom gift economy. Rejecting the idea of publishing as a purely commercial endeavor, the guild preserves the ephemeral in print as a labor of love and anchors a community that freely shares resources and tutorials.

Finally, Nemo Xu will present on the inaugural catalogue for Behind VA Shadows (BVAS), a public art project founded as an autonomous choice by a group of frontline staff at the ICA/Boston to celebrate the dual identity as artists and museum workers. Xu shares how the collaborators considered what records would be necessary and adequate to tell the story of BVAS, to preserve the history and experience of their grassroots project, and resist disappearance.

Weaving together insights into physical forms and creation processes, the lived experiences of creatives and cultural caretakers, from the recent past to the present day, the panel frames artists’ books as contemporarily relevant and rich with possibilities for defiance.