Been at the Hen Food

Been at the Hen Food (cover)

At both of the places where I studied we were encouraged to produced Artist's Books, an ideal end product for printmakers. Unlike 'traditional' books, where the text starts on page 1 and proceeds in a linear fashion to the end and where the size of the pages and paper used follows some sort of convention, Artist's Books try to do something different. What is created is often thought-provoking and consciousness raising. One of the best examples is Ed Ruscha's 'Royal Road Test' (1967) It resembles a manual sold with a mechanical device. In it he recorded in photographs the destruction of a Royal typewriter by means of throwing it out of a moving car, thus parodying road test reports. Cheaply produced, this book is a much sought after artefact.

Artist's Book Fairs are now held in serveral locations across the country. The one I most visit is the Halifax Contemporary Artist's Book Fair at Dean Clough Galleries, held annually in March.

Been at the Hen Food (internal page)

Been at the Hen Food started out as a monoprint which I eventually screenprinted in two colours. The cover encloses a strip which is 180 cm long, folded in concertina style.

Been at the Hen Food

Screen printed Artist's book 12 x 13 cm, printed on cream cartridge paper - £40