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Book Arts Collection

A guide to discovering artists' books in the Book Arts Collection at Hill Memorial Library.

About This Gallery

This section contains a Collage Gallery and a Papercut Gallery. Because collage and papercut are generally not printmaking techniques, these books tend to be in very small editions or unique book works.

Some works in the Collage Gallery are original collages, some have been reproduced digitally, and some of the works could be considered printed collages by using collograph and monotype techniques.

The Papercut Gallery contains examples of books that primarily use cut paper, like silhouettes, as well as books that use papercut elements sparingly, like cut windows to reveal and conceal.

Collage

Cover and two facing pages

Bits & Pieces

Munson, Howard. Bits & Pieces. San Francisco, Calif.: Howard Munson, 2006.
N7433.4 .M867 B58 2006 OVER

Eight collage panels mounted in an accordion structure. Edition of one.

Fast Pass

Luck, Barbara. Fast Pass. Newark, Vt.: Janus Press, 1984.
PS3562 .U2546 F3 1984, Rare

An interesting approach to incorporating collage into artists' books: here, Susan Johanknecht produced individual collages, including map pieces, for the front and back covers for the edition of 150 books, and enclosed the collages in polyester sleeves to protect the collage layers from snagging. The collaged map pieces reference the text of the poetry, which is about traveling on public transportation.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has #84. You can view the covers of this item in the UW digital library.
The Victoria & Albert Musem in England has #88. You can view the covers of this item in the VA digital library.

Evolution, I Know

Thomas, Larry B. Evolution, I Know. Atlanta, Georgia: 1998.
N7433.4.T53 E86 1998 FLAT, Rare

A unique collage artist's book. "Eleven leaves, accordion folded and sewn, between two cardboard covers. Reproductions of color photographs and images form collage which alternate with black and white illustrations on sequential pages. Central color collage pop-up. Each cover with a 1" deep central recess containing a three-dimensional cut-out scene against different backgrounds." -- From dealer's catalog description.

God Hates Artists

Valley, Rita. God Hates Artists... Bridgewater, Conn.: Me Me Me, inc., 2004.
N7433.3 .V35 G63 2004 FLAT, Rare

Cutout letters assembled in collage on pleather pages. The collage has been digitally reproduced and attached to the page with electrical tape. Bound in faux snakeskin with metal components such as rivets, metal square beads, D rings, and swivel clip fastener.

3 illustrated pages from A Girl's Life with electronically collaged graphics.

A Girl's Life

Drucker, Johanna and Susan Bee. A Girl's Life. New York: Granary Books, 2002.
PS3554 .R68 A457 2002, Rare

Publisher's description: A graphic melodrama of romance, crime and passion, A Girl's Life addresses adolescent angst in all of its fashionably gory details. The snares and pitfalls of contemporary life, which all girls must struggle to survive, are here revealed through darkly comic and fiendishly noir prose, accompanied by lurid collages and unusual typography.

The Traveler and the Hill; and, The Hill

Hejinian, Lyn. The Traveler and the Hill; and, The Hill. New York City : Granary Books, 1998 ([Minneapolis] : Hermetic Press).
 
Illustrated with monoprints by Emilie Clark. "While Hejinian’s poems investigate the social logic that binds short, illustrative moral narratives, Clark’s monoprints, unique in each copy, invent a space for this investigation in which rich colors, widely various drawing, printing, and transfer images behave almost as characters." -- Publisher's description

Recollect: Italy

Haswell, Judith. Recollect: Italy. Auckland [New Zealand] : Puriri Press, c1999.
N7433.4 .H37 R4 1999, Rare

Collage illustrations, multi-colored pages, and woven binding by Elizabeth Steiner all come together in this poetic memoir about Italy and personal growth by poet Judy Haswell.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Kazantzis, Judith. The Garden of Earthly Delights. [Lewes, England?] : Parvenu Press, 2003.
PR6061 .A98 G37 2003 FLAT, Rare

Carolyn Trant's multi-color card collagraphs expand through this large scale artist's book and take inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch's work of the same name. Screenprinted text

Papercut

Sushi

Coron, Béatrice. Sushi. [New York] : Béatrice Coron, 1999.
N7433.4 .C657 S87 1999, Rare

Coron often works in single-color paper cut by hand, and as such, her editions are often very small. This book is an edition of 3. The accordion structure is backed with Unryu paper, which mimics traditional Japanese paper screens.

In the Presence of Absence

Bart, Harriet. In the Presence of Absence. [Minneapolis, Minn. : Mnemonic Press, 2002].
N7433.4 .B377 I5 2002, Rare

The text is a prose poem written by the author which has been laser-cut into the pages, the words only revealed in the negative space of their absence. Contains twenty hand-sewn signatures sewn into pyrex glass covers via a goatskin spine attachment.

The Perfect Garden

Schwartzott, Carol. The Perfect Garden. Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Lilliput Press, 1996.
N7433.4 .S385 P47 1996 FLAT, Rare

Five tunnel book type layered illustrations made from reductive lino-cut illustrate different garden flowers.

In the beginning, in the beginning, in the beginning

Carter, Sebastian. In the beginning, in the beginning, in the beginning. Cambridge: Rampant Lions Press, c2006.
N7433.4 .C39 I5 2006 FLAT, Rare

The Book of Genesis illustrated with papercuts and multi colored papers.

In the Land of Shadows

Morrison, Lois. In the Land of Shadows. [Leonia, N.J. : Lois Morrison], 2003.
N7433.4 .M697 I5 2003 FLAT, Rare

Accordion structure composed of shadow boxes woven together with yellow hand-dyed twill tape. Paper-cut layered illustrations featuring Gocco screenprinted figures, lino-cut tree sillouettes, and color photocopy. Enclosed in a yellow cloth wrap with green cord and bead fastener.

The Other Side

Sharoff, Shirley. The Other Side. Paris, 2001.
N7433.2 .S5 O6 2001, Rare

This double sided collaborative book uses both collage and paper-cut techniques by Shirley Sharoff and Beatrice Coron.

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