Visual StudiesMichelle Sloane
HYBRID FORMS: ILLEGITIMATE OFFSPRING OF THE BOOK
The history of books can be thought of as a chronology linearly tracing from putting written documents together in some form, to lluminated manuscripts, the printing press, offset lithography, texts available on the intetrnet, etc. This is the lineage of book as a means to disseminate information. Artists and philosophers have challenged the idea of the book, offering diverse definitions. From the traditional lineage other forms have sprouted, such as artist’s books, taking the book as subject matter. In these examples, the goal is not to only communicate a story but rather to create an object; the purpose: ultimately conceptual rather than communicative or marketable. These examples are not part of the book’s lineage in the communication sense; there is a desire to challenge this notion, separating 2 entities. As it may seem that developments outside the “legitimate” lineage of the book have informed its development through innovation, this has been a visual/design influence rather than an effect on its nature as communication; heirs today are online “books.” These follow different rules and can be very bare in design, whereas people have come to desire, covet, collect, and assign personal value to the sculptural, physical presence of books.
SECTOR C: Art Practice & Technology
ADVISERS: Sharka Hyland | Larry Silver