The Book as Art: Twenty Years of Artists’ Books from the National Museum of Women in the Arts explores the sometimes controversial art form that is artists’ books. Defined as art objects in the form of books, artists’ books combine content and form to create something that is more than a simple container for information. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), The Book as Art will feature 108 artists’ books, by 86 artists, from 12 countries, culled from the museum’s collection of more than 800 volumes.

The aim of book art is to involve the reader actively in the viewing process, not only to see the words on the page but also to think about how the words, pictures, and physical form of the object all contribute to the meaning. Artists’ books assume many forms to include every artistic medium and method of bookmaking. A wide variety of structures and formats are employed, such as traditional codex, unfolding accordion books, scrolls, tunnel books, boxes, pop-ups, fans, and flag books. The materials used in these works range from handmade and commercially produced papers to substances not typically associated with books, such as fabric, glass, wood, leather, metal, and found objects.

Book arts address subjects as varied as politics, poetry, familiar tales, and fantasy. The Book as Art exhibition is divided into nine themes to reflect artists’ interests, involvements, dreams and desires: Storytellers; Autobiographers; Historians; Mothers, Daughters, and Wives; Dreamers and Magicians; Travelers; Nature; Food and the Body; and Inspired by the Muses. Some of the artists confront dark episodes in recent history such as the Holocaust and the tragedy of September 11, 2001; others explore the interior realm of the human psyche, such as the emotional range encompassed in the roles of mother, wife, and daughter. Still other artists engage the natural world’s beauty or the muses of poetry, literature, and music.

The perennial complaint of book art exhibition critics is that they can only view one page at a time. But, with “Turning the Pages,” a program developed at the British Library in London, patrons can use touch screen technology to simulate the activity of turning the pages of a book. Several books in this exhibition can be viewed in its entirety at the computer station located in the section Inspired by the Muses.

“The exhibition is designed to spark viewers’ imagination and to broaden popular understanding and appreciation of this interdisciplinary art form,” explained Krystyna Wasserman, curator for this exhibition as well as NMWA curator of book arts. Krystyna has collected artists’ books for NMWA’s collection since 1987. Through the exhibition, she “hopes to whet the appetites of potential new collectors and to inspire budding artist to try their hands at creating their own works.”

Thank you to special NMWA friends for their leadership sponsorship of The Book as Art. In addition, generous support is provided by the Estate of Rose J. Bratton; NMWA Library Fellows; Lorraine G. Grace; and Margaret M. Johnston.