Artists’ Books
An artists’ book is a work of art in the form of a book, or something resembling a book. It differs from an art book in the sense that an art book is about art, while an artists’ book is a work of art in iself.
About the collection
Our collection of Artists’ books is held at the Art Library, and serves as a reference collection. It includes works from the 1960s onwards, with a focus on Nordic materials, but works from other parts of the world are represented too. One of the aims of the collection is to display the great range of topics, formats, materials and techniques demonstrated by the genre.
The origins of the collection was an exhibition on artists’ books. Jacob Hurtig, one of our university librarians, browsed carefully through the extant collections of the Humanities library, and identified some seventy works which were shown in 2018, at the exhibition Ett sant virr-varr (title borrowed from a work by Lene Adler Petersen, Et sandt virvar, one of the books shown). Following the exhibition, the works were replaced on their shelves, scattered in locations throughout the closed stacks of the Humanities library.
A few years after the exhibition, the library was contacted by one of the teachers at HDK-Valand, asking if the once exhibited works could be presented to students. The resulting viewing indicated a great interest in the material, and a workgroup was formed, tasked with expanding the library's holdings of artists' books, and continuing to offer tours and viewings to the students of HDK-Valand.
Beyond the viewings hosted for the students of HDK-Valand, selected works have also been displayed in collaboration with external parties including Fotobok Gbg and Take 10 Press.
The history of Artists' books
Artists’ books are first mentioned as such at some point in the 1970s, likely first used in this context at the exhibition Artists’ books held at the Moore College of Art in Philadephia in 1973 (Booktrek, p. 146), but the genre was already established at this point. Early examples usually mentioned are, among others, Dieter Roth's Children's Book (1957) and Ed Ruscha's Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), but of course there are precursors, even as early as 1794, when William Blake published his Songs of Innocence and of Experience.
Artists’ books are closely associated with the attempts of early conceptual art to make art commercially irrelevant. Ruscha's booklet of 26 petrol stations illustrates this really well, by its use of industrial book production. This made the works relatively cheap and easy to distribute, and unlike many other works of art, they were not unique. In addition, artists’ books were considered an opportunity to display art in places other than institutions such as galleries and art museums.
Find the collection
The Artists’ books collection is a reference collection held at the Art library. The collection is available during the opening hours of the library. The materials can be studied on the premises, but are not circulated. Beyond the Artists’ books collection, there is an older collection of artists’ books at the Humanities library. These books can be requested to the reading room of the Humanities library.
Our Artists' books in Libris
Our Artists' books in Supersearch
Text:
Karl Pettersson
Acquisition history
Our Artists’ books collection has been curated since 2017 and gradually expanded, meant to serve as a resource for art studies at HDK-Valand. The collection includes mainly contemporary works from Sweden and the other Nordic countries, as well as from other parts of the world. Its contents exhibits a wide range of topics, formats, materials and techniques.
Beyond the works acquired by the workgroup for the Artists’ books collection, great effort has been made to identify artists’ books already present in the collections of the Humanities library, works that have mainly been acquired through the legal deposit over many years.
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Read more
Drucker, Johanna. The century of artists' books. 2nd ed. Granary Books, 2004.
Hvid Kromann, Thomas, Louise Hold Sidenius, Maria Kjær Themsen and Marianne Vierø (eds.). Danske kunstnerbøger. Møller, 2013.
Millroth, Thomas. Artists' books from a Swedish point of view with special attention paid to the contributions of Denmark and GDR. Ellerströms/Tragus, 2021.
Millroth, Thomas. Appendix I. Artists' books from a Swedish point of view with special attention paid to the contributions of Denmark and Finland. Tragus, 2025.
Phillpot, Clive. Booktrek. Selected essays on Artists' books (1972–2010). JRP Ringier, 2013.
Wikipedia on Artists' books
Suggested research topics
- An overview of the collection's contents. What is represented here, and how does it mirror the time and context of the material?
- Biographical research
- Aspects of conservation of artists’ books, as well as bookbinders' work with the material
- Comparative studies involving other similar collections in Sweden and elsewhere