Kunsthochschul Kassel: Type

Kunsthochschul Kassel: Buch und Papier

This machine heats this colourful material to over 100 degrees for cover and spine titles.

Kunsthochschul Kassel: Buch und Papier

The Book and Paper Workshops led by Susanne Mihm-Lutz et al (that produce the Artist's Books in the Library's collection) take place in these rooms.

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Artists' Books

Hand cut paper work by Lena Lang

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Artists' Books

Unusual page and paper formats by Sarah Cords in 'Emerald and Armadillo'

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Artists' Books

Helena Schatzle,  The time in-between : 2621km memory

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Pop-up Artists' Books party

The next work is also by Hye Kyung Chung, completed as a graduate thesis.
It is titled Die Stollenanlage im Weinberg, Geschichte der Benutzung der Weinbergkeller 1823 - 2010,
or, The tunnel system in the vineyard, a history of use of the Weinberg Keller 1823 - 2010.

The tunnel/cellar that the book explores is just up the road, and pretty amazing looking- I had taken some snaps of it as I trundled through Kassel on my way to the interview.
It's history is in fact infinitely more exciting than its intriguing appearance.
Each page of this pop-up Artists' Book represents a specific application/use of this system of holes in the grounds of Kassel.

The "chapters" are layed out in this index represented by the stairs.

The vineyard is represented by the handcut grapes and vines

then a cellar for keeping beer cold (ice/snow, plans beneath)

The firestorm of the Kassel bombings was second only in history to Dresden

Then the cellar was a bunker to keep the residents safe.

Residents huddled in small chambers underground during the bombings

Everybody poops

The bunker was set up with communications systems.

Its next manifestation was a cellar for wine and mushrooms

It was empty, then the "dealers and criminals" moved on in

Then the technoparties.

Now it's a tourist destinations for viewing stalactites.

Wow! They are using the site this year for documenta13. I will go experience it in non-paper form.

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Artists' Books

The first Artists' Book I am shown is Soyongdoli, a piece by Hye Kyong Chung. A book covered by the specific textile that in Korea is used to both swaddle the newborn and shroud the dead, the three dimensional work within the covers is a double helix, one laser cut with her current CV, and the other blank to represent her unwritten future. The catalogue entries for these works are very good, with concise exegesis and far superior photography than mine. 

Kunsthochschulbibliothek: Artists' Book Collection

I met today with Ute Neubucher, specialist Art Librarian and Susanne Mihm-Lutz, a lecturer in the Buch und Papier / Artist Book and Paper department at the Kunsthochschulbibliothek of the University of Kassel.
We discussed their library, and they generously took me through some of their Artists' Books collection.

While they have a great assembly of the (now no more) small-run art publisher Rainer Verlag (catalogued here, but reviewed and photographed nicely by Specific Object here), the bulk and most interesting part of their collection is in their collection of unique Artists' Books, stored in these plan/map drawers in a small locked room upstairs.

These are mostly produced by graduates from the workshops run by Susanne and her colleagues in the Buch und Papier department (which is a light-filled studio filled with fairly sexy equipment that we will look at in a bit). Student Artist's Book acquisitions are selected carefully by lecturers and professors from a summertime exhibition of the Buch and Papier department workshops. They are purchased (for a modest amount) by the Library, and the artist is given the great honour of being catalogued into the BB8 collection.
Acquisitions began seriously in 2003, and the collection now stands at about 120 titles, beautifully catalogued here.
To my delight they have pulled some aside for a closer look.

UCLA Arts: Judith A Hoffberg Artists' Books collection

Visual Arts Librarian Robert Gore and I spent some time with their current in-house exhibition, a selection of the Judith A Hoffberg Collection of Artists' Books.
Robert is growing the Art Library's Artists' Book collection regularly through acquisitions donated and purchased. Although he has a relatively small budget for these acquisitions, he has a keen eye and his ear to the ground.

Much of UCLA's Artists' Book collection is held and managed by Special Collections. Many of their works are short run, high end objects with a finely crafted, almost sculptural element (by, for example, Julie Chen and Mary Heebner).
The Art Library's Artists' Book collection is significant, but with a different flavour (and a more modest budget). Hoffberg's collection in particular represents the flourishing of the Xerox revolution of the sixties and seventies, the 'democratic multiple' and early experiments with underground and alternative publishing and distribution.
Judith Hoffberg (1934-2009) was an industry icon I was whose background pleased to discover and explore. Librarian, curator, editor, facilitator, early promotor of Artists' Books and Mail Art. Read about her here and here. My hero.
As editor of Umbrella, a journal dedicated to the practice of Artists' Books, she was uniquely positioned to promote and collect the book as art.

She also championed Correspondence/Mail Art. Like the Artists' Book, Mail Art is another DIY movement rising in prominence in the sixties and seventies when practitioners of Art sought to separate themselves somewhat from the commodification of Culture, and to democratise the distribution of art. This practice is also represented in the donation, and the current exhibition.

The Hoffberg collection is an important acquisition for the library. A giant in her field, her tastes were broad, eclectic and non-judgemental. This scope resulted in a truly democratic survey of book art practice. The donations were made in several batches. Robert joined the team in 2005, and worked with Judith to negotiate the final group of materials from her.

The collection itself is vast, and while valuable, represents what all large donations do- a huge workload to catalogue and realise as a resource. There are literally thousands of Artists' Books awaiting cataloguing currently. Robert is working with a member of the cataloguing department who has submitted a proposal for internal funding to work on the backlog in the library as a whole. The Arts Library, as recipient of many valuable donations from individuals and organisations has a large backlog of gift materials awaiting cataloguing. While internal funding is the first step, Robert is also considering a possible external and more specific grant, from an organisation such as the Getty.

In the meantime, projects like the current exhibition are making a dent in the Hoffberg treasure trove. UCLA Information Studies Department Professor Johanna Drucker (herself an expert in the field, and book artist to boot) tasked her class with creating an inventory on the in-process Hoffberg collection. The students submitted papers on various aspects of the process, and this exhibition is a culmination of their work. The inventory provides a valuable first look at some of the uncatalogued collection, and will additionally allow Robert to better pitch it for further attention.
While much of Special Collections Artists Books are higher end, shorter run art objects, and protected accordingly, the Art Library's collection of rare and varied 'democratic multiples' is in fact a highly used resource. Not only valuable from the library science prospective of Johanna Drucker's class, fine art programs with a focus on projects in book form also contribute to it's importance as a teaching collection.

In fact, Robert himself has instructed courses on Artist Books, with undergraduates examining these works and producing new works that add to the Library's collection.

UCLA Visual Arts Librarian Robert Gore looking sharp.

Supported by the UCLA preservation/conservation unit, the works are protected with bespoke archival boxes and sheaths, accommodating of their unique structures.

The catalogued Hoffberg Collection downstairs, in the Cage.

Janine Henri and I take a peek in this box: a work titled Zero Post. "Nothing left for art to say; everything left for art to do" from Stamp Art Gallery.