Bibliotheca Part II

A few weeks have passed since I wrote about my visit to the Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem. That was intended to be the first of two posts about that afternoon, so here at last is the second.

If you know about the history of artists books, you will probably know about Ed Ruscha. He was a key artist working in the modern movement in the mid-sixties, which led to the development of the book arts as we know it today.

The Bibliotheca holds four books by Ruscha, who works primarily as a photographer. I’ve seen what I believe was his first artists book, a concertina entitled Every Building on Sunset Strip and also the famous Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations in other collections.

Click on image for larger view

However, it was a pleasure to handle these unassuming photographic collections, which radically influenced so much of today’s photography. For me, as a child of the sixties, there was also a guilty nostalgic pleasure in the imagery, especially Nine Swimming Pools.

The use of such everyday descriptions as titles fits perfectly with Ruscha’s goal that these be multiples, readily available and draws a powerful distinction between his books and expensive, glossy fine art photography books. There’s something very approachable about these books.

Sarah Plimpton’s For Now is a very different style of book. Abstract, organic, earthy and quite sensual, a book for a lover of texture and etchings.

This is the sort of book that makes you want to linger. Plimpton comes from New York, and now divides her time between that city and Paris (sounds good to me!) She also paints and writes poetry. You can see two more of her books at Bibliotheca  Librorum and more of her work on her website.

Finally I come to one of Monica Oppen’s own books, Rebecca's Diary. (You will remember from Part 1 that Bibliotheca Librorum… is Monica’s collection.) Monica is a talented artist and bookbinder in her own right, and I mention her book last only because I know that for her, the Bibliotheca is not a way to publicize her own work, but to share the beautiful objects she has collected over the years.  

Rebecca’s Diary starts from the original Grimm’s version of Cinderella and investigates the girl who becomes Cinderella. This book is the young girl’s imagined diary, and allows us to delve into one of the most loved characters of children’s literature, accompanied by Monica’s beautiful hand-coloured etchings.

My afternoon exploring a small part of the Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem passed too quickly, but I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem I

Possibly the highlight of my holiday was my visit to Monica Oppen’s Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem, a private collection of artists books. I have Sara from BAO to thank for reminding me that it is possible to make an appointment to see the collection.

Monica is a printmaker and bookbinder, also making artists books herself and in collaboration. She delights in sharing her personal collection of artists books, acquired over 20 years or more. Generous and knowledgeable,  I had a wonderful time discussing and sharing with another like-minded book art lover.

Although I spent some hours there, I know I only scratched the surface of the collection. Its not possible for me to give you an accurate idea of the beautiful works I saw, so I thought I would just name some names, with a little descriptive commentary and  links to the listing in the online catalogue for the Bibliotheca. I hope this might help you decide whether it is an artist whose work might be of interest to you.

As this is an Australian collection, I really have to start with a luminary of Australian book arts. The collection holds over 30 works by Peter Lyssiotis, a writer, photographer and photomonteur.

Peter creates imagery using old fashioned techniques of photomontage, by which I mean nothing, even his latest works, is computer-assisted! I had seen A Gardener at Midnight and 1316  elsewhere but had not realized the imagery was not digital.

To give you an idea of the sort of books he produces, I’ll share this quote I found on the IMCA website, briefly:

Whenever in doubt, Lyssiotis returns to John Heartfield’s dictum: “Use photography as a weapon”.

Despite being less beautiful than Peter’s recent books, I was also captivated by a couple of his early small press books, particularly Journey of a Wise Electron & other stories. 

Searching around online for some images of Peter’s work, I came across this video of a lecture he gave at the Ural University. I’ve only had a chance to watch the first 5 minutes and the sounds not great, but the text does seem to be included in his powerpoint presentation.

Peter Lyssiotis: I Make Books from NeMe on Vimeo.

 

I spotted Laura Wait’s name on the spine of a book, which turned out to be The Goddess in the Garden. I was interested to see the covers were wooden, stained green and I had a good look at the binding (wrapped cords) to see whether it would work for ceramic covers too.

In the catalogue , Monica explains that the  "book has a handwritten manuscript comprising an alphabet of symbols related to gardening and plants, along with early goddess and fefmale symbols."

The book pages are painted and relief printed on a variety of papers, some translucent. (Another of my loves, as you all know). I think my introduction to Laura Wait was as an artist working in encaustics, and some of her recent books use this medium. You can see more of her work on her website. For those interested in calligraphy, this is another feature of her work.