New leaf turns on books of art

Some things are worth a three-year wait ... hugging a loved one, gaining a degree, doing up a pergola – or creating an exhibition of books.

Until Sunday, art lovers can view contents of the Crescendo 25 Artist Book Award – an exhibition showcasing 62 artist books from across Australia and the Asia Pacific – at the Clifton School of Arts (CSA). For organisers, it was a long time coming.  

Celebrating creativity and community in the Illawarra arts sector, the exhibition showcases artist books of all forms across printmaking, sculpture, text, photography and experimental forms. Each work explores a different subject matter, using different materials and often inviting guests to interact. 

Print Council of Australia president Akky Van Ogtrop, guest speaker at the exhibition opening this month, said the award celebrated a form of art that steadfastly refuses to be neatly defined. 

"That is the perennial joy of the artist's book,'' she said. ''It lives in the in-between, a space where categories misbehave, where definitions wobble, where the unexpected thrives.

"The artist book slides between art and literature, page and sculpture, image and object. It invites us to read not only with our eyes, but with our hands, and often with our sense of humour, and certainly with our imagination.” 

The award builds on the history of the form, continuing the momentum of Prelude Artists' Books Now – an exhibition CSA hosted in 2023 that welcomed nearly 400 guests. The exhibition aims to celebrate the artist book as a vibrant, evolving, and endlessly inventive form.

CSA president David Roach credited the exhibition as “the brainchild of four extraordinary artists” – curators Liz Jeneid, Kathryn Orton, Judy Bourke and Lucia Parrella – who worked for three years to make the exhibition happen.

"Artists introduce us to aspects of the world that we thought we knew,” David says. ''They take the time to really look. They make something deeply personal, and then they present it to the world with an open heart. And that takes courage.''

Curator Judy Bourke shared a personal connection to the medium, recalling that her introduction to artist books came during a workshop in Alice Springs with Brisbane-based artist Adele Outteridge. Since then, Judy has worked to celebrate the inclusivity, freedom and creativity that the medium provides.

"We're happy with the level of expertise, professionalism, and variety ... And you wouldn't see better anywhere else in Australia," Judy says.

"I am absolutely delighted at the generosity of the artist book creators in Australia who went to the trouble of filling in the forms, submitting their books and making their books. And trusting us with them, posting them to my house and letting me open them myself, letting us set them up.

"They're precious objects – it’s like their baby – and that's very generous of them."

Selected works were judged by acclaimed book artist Dianne Fogwell, who awarded $5000 to Monica Oppen and Peter Lyssiotis for winning entry We Want Peace, Not War, and $1000 to the best entry by local artist Anita Johnson for Workbook.

"We don't ever have to ask anymore what is an artist's book,'' Dianne said. ''We have to ask why. Why is it an artist's book?

"Is it a sequence of reading? A journey? A revealing? A making of a story? Creating a narrative? Is it materiality? Paper, lead, stone, wax, thread or found objects? Or is it technology?

"Is it something we want in a collection? Is it something we want to keep in our own drawers? Is it something we want for exhibition? Is it something for commercial distribution? Or do we really just want to get the message out there?"

The selected works are exhibited every day until November 30 from 10am until 5pm, with a donation entry. Visit the CSA website for more.