Books About Artists

Books about artists are another great way to learn about and become familiar with a wide range of artists and their medium. A popular modern addition to the traditional art book, are periodic journals showcasing not just an artist’s work, but also their thought processes and working habits, which becomes part of the finished product itself.

A good example of this modern take on artist books is the periodical GOZNE, the brainchild of Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco. Orozco invites a wide range of collaborators to showcase their philosophies and portfolios.

Published in August 2006, the first issue of GOZNE featured essays by Miguel Gonzalez Virgen, Glen Gould, and Michael Onfray, insect photographs by Pablo Vargas Lugo, city plans of Tatiana Bilbao, and extreme close-up shots of black and blood-filled eyes by Miguel Calderon.

Orozco’s publication offers a look into the hearts and minds of artists, writers, fashion designers, architects, and theorists.

This is just one of thousands of examples of books about artists and by artists. The next time you are in a book store, wander over to the art section and pick up any book. Just look at the pictures and you might discover why art books are so captivating.

Robin Kahn, modern conceptual artist and curator, has a book called “The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Art. This book has been described as a comic alternative to art history and an art-history-oriented piece of art as well. It’s a “fresh and informed entry” into contemporary art and reflects the changes in art, artists, and their audience.

The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910-1934 was compiled from a 2002 exhibit of the same name at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It is a rare look at handmade and hand-printed books illustrated by Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Varvary Stepanova, Natalia Gonchorova, and other revolutionary-era voices.

The “Looking at” series is a popular selection of a wide variety of artists and styles from ancient times to modern. Published by the Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum, the “Looking at” books include titles such as, Looking as European Sculpture, Looking at Italian Renaissance Sculpture, Looking at Glass, Looking at European Ceramics, Looking at Prints, Drawings, and Watercolours, and Looking at Greek and Roman Sculpture in Stone.

 

 

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