From the Juror
This exhibition investigates inventive book structures beyond the codex. Even if the codex is a unique wonder of ingenuity, the call was for creative thinking, imagination and research to propel the book as we know it into new realms and to save its soul. In a time in which the new media is taking over the classic function of the book as main information carrier, book artists look for new opportunities to re-invent the book.
The result is an array of form, technique, craftsmanship, and content, showing the direction of the works submitted. Cubes, spheres, rolls, and boxes are declared as books. Unusual materials, not just paper, are evidence of new directions.
Book artists still use traditional topics like science, geography, politics and personal memory, but in an unconventional context. Sometimes the structure is all there is. It becomes the message. These book artists treat their work as an entity, a distinct object under their control.
What links these creations to the traditional book may seem far fetched. On the other hand, elements such as containment, sequence, repetition, moveable parts, and printed text and images are indeed very “bookish.” Connecting parts by sewing, lacing and intertwining refers to techniques passed on along with the history of the book.
I envisioned showing many interpretations of the book as it is generally not known. The works were selected by grouping them to interact with and support each other, to express the direction I perceived. Following my sense, I made choices by absorbing the entire images of the entries again and again, until I was able to choose without doubt.
It was an exciting encounter with the finalists when they were at last presented in reality. To my great relief, I found hardly any discrepancies between the digital images and the actual book works. My overall impression was one of delight and thankfulness that so many book artists responded to the call and understood the challenge to think and create beyond the codex.
My selection reflects my personal response to an overall amazing body of work by over a hundred participants.
Hedi Kyle
Juror