Book Arts in the Age of Electronic Reproduction

The book arts can be many things; from purely conceptual, commercially printed books like Ed Ruscha’s Twentysix Gasoline Stations, to the monumental lead book sculptures of Anselm Kiefer. Whether the artist intends to reject the limitations imposed by physicality, or to investigate and embrace them, each book is nonetheless forced to reckon with its corporeal existence.

As William Morris reacted to the dehumanising influence of Victorian mass production, so contemporary book artists have responded to the anonymising effect of infinite electronic reproduction by creating work which is radically physical.

Join Benjamin Maggs for a tour through fifteen years of dealing in the book arts and the flourishing community of artists who are redefining the book in the contemporary digital landscape.