Posted on by marmar20545

Assignment Four: Altered book

Brief

“All books are visual. Even books which rely exclusively on type, or on unusual materials, or chose which contain only blank sheets have a visual presence and character. All books are tactile and spatial as well – their physicality is fundamental to their meaning.”
Johanna Drucker, The Century of Artists’ Books, 2004. Granary Books Inc. Page 197.
Using a found book, significantly alter the appearance of the pages to create a new volume that is personal to you. This can be any kind of book that is of interest to you. For example, a fiction book, a non-fiction book, a picture book or a photo book.
Approach the found book in a very physical way, manipulating the pages and paper inventively. If you need to, stitch or glue a number of pages together to reduce the ground you need to cover. Decide what to remove from the book, and what to add. Use the found book as a source of ideas and inspiration – the existing text may inspire illustrative, conceptual images, collages or typography as image. Embed, overlay and integrate your work into the existing pages using whatever materials, media and processes you feel necessary. This may be digital, hand-rendered, photographic, textile, or a combination of all these and more.
Think about the relationship between the content and the form, the design (text and images), the materials you use, such as papers. Perhaps you are creating a new sequence within the book?
Change the book from its original form into a different form, altering the appearance and/or meaning. Apply an inventive, intuitive response to materials and how these can be exploited within the context of the altered book.
Refer to your contextual research into artists and designers in the unit so far. Use elements of your research as inspiration and to inform your book-altering practice.

Reflection
Write a paragraph reflecting on the assignment and reflect on your process and decision making. Are you looking in a different way to meaning, materials, design and the form of the book?

Analysing the brief:

  • What is the brief asking? Altered book
  • Who is the target audience? Anybody who is interested in altered books.
  • What things need to be included? Manipulating the pages and paper inventively.
  • How will it be produced? Change the book from its original form into a different form, altering the appearance and/or meaning. Apply an inventive, intuitive response to materials and how these can be exploited within the context of the altered book.

Keywords:

  • Altered book
  • New volume
  • Personal
  • Any book
  • Manipulating pages
  • Various materials

Primary research:

What Is An Altered Book?

An altered book is an art object that has been created from an existing, printed book. The book is altered through whatever means and media the artist chooses. This generally means using the book’s pages as a canvas on which to apply paint, collage or rubber stamping. It could also mean cutting into the book to create a more sculptural piece.

Approaches to book altering are as varied as the artists who undertake them. A textile artist or quilter might choose to use fabric to alter their books. A rubber stamper might opt to stamp and use inks and sprays. A painter could use a book as a canvas for several works in acrylic, watercolour r, or oils. Each artist brings their own skills acquired in other creative pursuits, and applies them to the same general surface: a printed book.

Some altered book artists choose to work within a certain theme throughout the pages of a book, while others see each page as a work that stands on its own. Some artists choose to work collaboratively, in exchanges or round robins, where books are passed around a group of artists, each adding her own work to whichever book she has at the moment.

2013-01practice

But I Would Never Deface a Book!

Many altered book artists have experienced the hand-wringing and wailing that comes from people who believe that books are sacred objects, and should never be defaced. If you’re one of those people, let me put your mind at ease:

  • Most altered book artists work in old books. Not museum-quality old. Back of the used book store, marked down to nothing, nobody has any use for them any more old. We work in books that, if not purchased for art, will be shredded for pulp.
  • Many artists check the books they buy against vintage book listings, to ensure they are not about to cut into a book that still has value. In general, if you bought a book for a dollar, Googled it when you got home, and discovered a copy of it was causing a bidding war on eBay, you probably wouldn’t cut into it. Neither would I, nor would any other reasonable person.
  • Some artists have a personal list of books they absolutely would not use for altering, no matter how old or inexpensive it might be. Some (but not all) would pass on working in a Bible, Quran, or other holy books. Some might prefer not to work in a book of another artist’s images, as in a tabletop art book.

Altered book artists respect books in a way that is second only to librarians. Never fear: we are not defacing books that anyone wants or needs. We are resurrecting old, unloved books, and turning them into art!

How To Choose a Book For Altering

If you’re looking for a book to alter page by page, you’ll want to consider a few things. You should probably choose a book that’s constructed with a sewn spine, filled with soft paper, in a size you can live with.

Things to look for:

  • Size. I like to work big, so I hunt for large books. You might like to work smaller. This is a personal preference, and one that you will develop as you work. If you’re choosing your first book, don’t feel you have to know what the perfect size for you might be. you’ll learn that as you go.
  • Paper quality. I like pages that feel like they have a lot of cotton in them: soft to the touche, and sturdy. That usually means choosing an older book. Avoid books with glossy pages.
  • A sewn spine. Check the headband to be sure it’s soft and loose, with scalloped ridges where groups of pages (signatures) are attached. Look for the beginning of a signature, and check it at the spine for stitching.

Books to avoid:

  • Paperbacks. In general, paperback books aren’t sturdy enough to withstand altering.
  • Glued bindings. Pages that are glued into the spine rather than stitched will pull out easily.

Preparing Books To Alter

If you’re going to alter a book in a way that adds even a little bulk, you may want to prepare it first, by removing some pages.

Now What?

Once you have your book prepared for altering, use whatever creative skills you have to fill it! The one and only rule about altering a book is that their are no rules. Whatever you feel like doing to your book is fine. Draw in it. Doodle in it. Paint in it. Light it on fire and throw it in the bath tub. (I really did this. Twice. Both times, for books concerning fire.)

Mind mapping

Mood board

I’ve collected some examples of Altered Books from Pinterest.

My book

The book that I have chosen for this assignment is “I’ll be there” by Holly Goldberg Sloan. This is a romance book. I decided to add lots of hearts, butterflies and flowers to my design to match the genre.

Design process

I started by cutting some elements from the cover and engraved some heart shaped from the inside the book.

Then I made some heart and butterflies with some pages of the book.

I cut some flowers from the wallpaper sample, which I had. I added more butterflies and 3D heart.

I used watercolour and coloured pens to add some colour to my design.

I covered the back of the book with some wall paper.

Self-reflection

At first, I was a bit confused because I wasn’t sure which book I should choose. However, after deciding about the book, I really enjoyed working on this assignment. I really like art and craft specially making things with paper. I probably could add more elements. I wasn’t quite sure where should I stop not to overdo my work, I thought it might get very tacky if I add loads of elements to it. Overall, this assignment shows my interest to flowers and paper crafts.

I’ve learnt a lot about book design and the process of making a book both as a normal book and a decorative book. I hope I will be able to use my knowledge in the future.

Sources

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