Ellen Sheffield

This course is an introduction to the artistic practice of book arts, also called artists' books. Through a progression of exercises, demonstrations and projects, the conceptual thinking and artistic skills that go into the planning and making of artists' books will be explored. Projects may incorporate various procedures of Eastern and Western book forms, adhesive and nonadhesive bindings and experimental book forms. Students will explore the intersection of text and image, and the effect of technological innovations, such as digital publishing, on the codex book form. Readings, presentations and discussions on the development of the book art genre will place book arts within the context of contemporary cultural expressions such as sociopolitical commentary, poetic association, explorations of the nature of language and carriers of the narrative tradition. This counts toward the introductory requirement for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered once a year.

This course provides an intermediate level exploration of the design principles of visual organization and expression of information on the page. The intersection of text and image in the analog world of artists' publication, specifically broadsides, artzines and artists' books, will be the site of our inquiry. One objective will be to recognize and make connections between ideas of publication as an artistic practice and this practice as an expression of layered and overlapping concepts related to social, political, ecological and artistic interests. This course will trace the relationship between language and art from early experiments with visual poetry, Futurist typography and Cubist collage, among others, which will provide a context for critical analysis of contemporary trends in hybrid work. Using a wide range of tools, materials and processes we will apply critical and creative thinking to envision, manage and produce several complex projects of editioned multiples. The development of skill and craft will be emphasized with the goal of mastering tools to help put ideas into tangible form. Through overarching design thinking exercises in writing text, image creation, page layout, typographic design, letterpress printing, digital printing, paper embellishment and book-making, this course is a rigorous hands-on opportunity to study the lineage of and participate in the powerful genre of art and text-based work. This counts toward the media requirement for book arts. The counts toward the intermediate requirement for the major and minor. Prerequisite: ARTS 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107 or 108. Offered once a year.