There are countless art-related books, including art collection books, booklets, catalog raisonné, and art books. Each has a different meaning, and according to its purpose, it has a specific style and form. In addition, there is also a genre called “Artists’ Book,” which is not well known in Korea. To briefly put it, this genre, literally translating as “artist’s book”, can be said to be “a work of art in the form of a book made by the artist’s own hand.” The exhibition “Books as Art as” is about the artist book.

The history of the artist book shares the flow with the history of modern art. The early form was created by avant-garde artists such as Dada, Surrealism, Constructivism, Structuralism, and Fluxus from the early 20th century, even before the term, artist book, was coined. Instead of painting on canvas, artists produced works as “books” and “publishing,” as books were the best form of media that broke inequality between classes for those obsessed with utopian aspirations. Since then, artist book has begun to be experimented with in more diverse ways by conceptual artists, installation artists, and land artists in the 1960s. One of the characteristics of the works of the artists mentioned above is that their artworks only exist temporarily or do not exist physically. Therefore, ‘book’ must have been the most attractive medium for these artists. They described their concepts through books and created a new form of books by conducting various experiments with the book itself. Joseph Kosuth, John Cage, John Baldessarii, and Christo are representative examples. These experiments continue to this day, and not only conceptual artists but also painting artists are spreading various worlds of artworks through books, although their aims are in different directions.

As such, the genre of the artist book has been established well in the art field, and its importance is widely recognized. Since the 1980s, art colleges in the UK and the United States have created courses on artist book majors. Also, graduate schools have provided in-depth courses, and the researches are in full swing. In addition, the Book Art Centers, which publish and display books, are built around large cities, and art museums, cultural foundations, and libraries are keen on collecting the artist books. John Baldessarii’s “Nose Peak”, which will be exhibited in this exhibition, has already been collected by leading institutions and mega collectors, with only one of the 12 editions remaining, and works by Maurizio Cattelan and others also have only a few left despite 100 editions. The artist books are actively sold in the art markets, and every year, Moma (New York) holds an artist book fair with Printed Matter to gather many collectors. Earlier this year, Tate Modern (London) devoted the entire turbine hall, its representative space, to the artist book. Large fairs such as Art Basel and Frieze are also joining the trend. These two fairs, which strictly weigh the level of participating galleries, formally invite publishers such as Three Star Books and offer booths to attract collectors looking for artist books.

As such, in recent decades, artist books have developed. However, unfortunately, there aren’t many exhibitions on the theme of the artist book in Korea, so the concept has not been properly established. Of course, institutions that introduce avant-garde art, such as Art Sonje Center and the Ilmin Museum of Art, have held exhibitions related to books and publishing, and events such as the “Unlimited Edition,” held annually, have pioneered and distributed this concept. However, it was regrettable that such exhibitions or events were not held solely with the theme of artist book. This exhibition is a place to showcase major artist books from all over the world. The exhibition features the world’s best artists, such as Maurizio Cattelan and Sophie Calle, with the last artist book of John Anthony Baldessari, who passed away in 2020. In addition, Yu Jeong Eom’s “FEUILLES,” which was selected as the “world’s most beautiful book,” will be presented along with the original paintings, and Sun Woo Kim, a rising artist in the art market, will also participate. I hope the exhibition will become a place to learn about the artist book and understand that there is the book as one of the media of art and that the experiment continues. Furthermore, it will be an opportunity for the contemporary generation, who are more comfortable with the digital environment, to experience the properties of analogue books.