RISD Fleet Library Special Collections | Artists' Books | Special Collections

Artists' Books

This professional artist's books collection is housed in the Fleet Library Special Collections department. Special Collections includes nearly 18,000 important and rare printed books and periodicals that date from as early as the 16th century to present. Historical as well as contemporary materials cover the fine arts, architecture, photography, decorative arts, and design and provide supplemental and inspirational resources for students, faculty, and outside researchers.

The physical Artists’ Books Collection includes nearly 2,000 multiples, hand-made book objects, limited edition books, and zines dating from the mid-1960’s to present. The collection also includes numerous related book arts references and artists’ ephemera files. Featured collections include bookmaking process archives of internationally known book artists Carol Barton, Ruth Laxson and Angela Lorenz. This digital collection presents an abridged preview of each book. Visit 2nd Floor, Rm. 201 of the Fleet Library or contact risdspecial@risd.edu to view the collection in its entirety.

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View View Slideshow

The Inventories

Sue Johnson

four miniature books; miniature books, accordion with board covers. Sequences of images from ephemera and original drawings in unusual juxtapositions, creating a kind of "visual poetry".
The Model Architect: the panic of '09

Karen Hanmer

drum leaf binding variation in hard cover, with leather spine; cover; interior spreads and pages. Samuel Sloan's 1852 publication of model designs for houses is updated with this reflection on the current US housing crisis.
Walk on Red:Soundscapes on Broadway

Hoon Kim

sewn signatures with soft cover; cover; interior spreads and pages. Visual and graphic representations of sounds in various areas of Manhattan, using diagrams, satelite maps, and photographs. Incorporates factual information with quotations about cities and spaces. RISD alumnus.
Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife: all the dishes you'll need to make from the day you say "I do" until death (or divorce) do you part.

Nava Atlas

smythe sewn, paperback; cover; page spreads: "What a Turkey Noodle Soup"; pg 46-47 "Whoosh" . signed by the artist
Good Eats: sit down, relax & enjoy: it's the cook's choice: selections from an appetizing array of well-seasoned moments and finely diced tales

Gretchen Hooker

portfolio with 4 flaps, enclosing loose plates; box cover; open box with loose prints; loose prints, 4. The portfolio cover looks like a neon diner sign and unfolds to create a placemat. Recipe cards include anecdotes about friends and special foods shared.
Counting: a book of lists

Janine Wong

accordion, dos à dos, uncovered spine with two cloth covered boards; a cloth covered board folder wraps around the book and all enclosed in a cloth covered slipcase, with foil stamped title. Cover; interior pages. Taking bits of information found in old journal entries, calendars, shopping and to-do lists, the artist notes the roles she plays as wife, mother, professor, administrator, architect, and book artist. Found lists are digitally reproduced with letterpress.
Paper Works: a play on the possibilities of a piece of paper

Jennifer Grimyser

portfolio with loose plates; cover; title page inside portfolio; title page; interior pages. A playful look at things you can do with a piece of paper.
I Am the Place Where I Am

Hoon Kim

saddle stitch with cover that unfolds to reveal a schematic map of Providence; cover; interior spreads and pages. Documentation of the sounds and experiences of selected places in the city of Providence, rendered in poetry and graphic symbols. RISD alumnus.
The Appeal of Pornography

Karen Bleitz

drum leaf binding, hard cover, pop-up, movable parts; accordion; cover; page spread, title page; page spreads; colophon. Pop-up book featuring the vast array of pornographic materials available in today's culture and the resulting objectification of women. Designed by Karen Bleitz, hand cut and bound by Amelia Drinkwater. Originally produced in 1996, re-issued in 2007.
Connect the Dots

Macy Chadwick

long stitch with cloth-covered cover boards, housed in a wrap box with plexi front and magnet closure; closed book inside cloth covered box; cloth covered box open with book inside; interior of cloth covered box; book cover without box; interior page; page spread. number 9 in an edition of 18, signed by the artist
Sylvæ: fifty specimens printed directly from the wood with historical anecdotes & observations

Gaylord Schanilec and Ben Verhoeven

case bound with fold-out pages, bound in oak cover boards with leather spine and foil stamped spine label; cover; interior pages and spreads. Fifty specimens of timber trees on the farm property of Gaylord Shanilec are printed in full color woodcuts. Anecdotes about the making of the book, the trees, and the neighbors give personality to each tree sample. Ben Verhoeven is RISD alumnus.
The Twin Survey: A Study

Amber Gayle

pamphlet stitch; stab bound; cover; page spreads, interior page. A study on the psychology of twins and their relationships to each other and other people.
Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife: from accommodating breakfasts to just desserts, recipes for deteriorating marriages.

Nava Atlas

spiral bound; cover; page spreads.
Sehnsüchtig

Amber Gayle

stab bound album, sewn cloth hinges; perfect bound; cover; page spreads; interior pages, back cover. In fhe form of a handmade photo album, this book recalls memories of a lake and longing for love. Written by Amber Gayle, produced by twin sister Stacy Erin Forte (formerly Wakefield), RISD Alumna.
Abracadabra: an homage to N.H. Werkman

Werner Pfeiffer

2 dimensional flexagons and corresponding loose plates, enclosed in a four sided, cloth covered shaped portfolio; cover; various elements; detail; flat view of flexagon structure; detail. A tribute to the life and work of N.H. Werkman, noted German Graphic Designer. As Werkman playfully used text and letter forms as image, the flexagons revolve to reconfigure each composition.
A Dictionary Story

Sam Winston

accordion fold with hard cover, housed in cloth covered slipcase. Slipcase cover; title page; interior pages; colophon. A dictionary longs to be a book of stories, not just a list of words and definitions. She gets into trouble when she lets her words run about, creating meaningless havoc. The alphabet comes to the rescue and restores order.
Superstition Highway

Marshall Weber

case bound with cloth spine, paper covered boards, hand painted; cover; interior spreads. Reading almost like a drug-induced trip, Marshall Weber writes of a tough patch of road somewhere in the desert West where strange folk appear. Images and text all hand painted by Fred Rinne.
Time Square

Buzz Spector

screw post binding with mylar front cover, and paper wrapper; cover; detail. Results from a Google search of phrases relating to the concept of "time" were quantified and arranged in decreasing order and printed on 60 pages. When bound, the pages were then hand torn in decreasing amounts, revealing an altered version of the original.
Thrift Store: the past & future secret lives of things

Emily Larned

case bound in hard cover; cover; interior spreads. The relative value of things is brought to mind when looking at objects in thrift stores. Discarded or recycled "treasures" reflect the life of their former owners. Interesting juxtapositions create found visual narratives.
State of the Union: live, evil, vile

Scott McCarney

stab bound with soft cover and duct tape reinforced spine; cover; interior pages and spreads. President George W. Bush's televised 2003 State of the Union speech is captured in full screen head shots. The overlaying text, similar to close captioning, reveals nonsensical phrases made from the letters in the book's subtitle.
Pictorial Webster's: G. & C. Merriam dictionary engravings of the nineteenth century printed alphabetically as a source for creativity in the human brain, with additional dissertation

John Carrera

case-bound in leather, clamshell box; open clamshell box with closed book inside; front cover; page spread 24-25, "letter B"; page spread 270-271, "letter P";. copy 10, signed by the artist
Cyborgs

Paul Sunday

saddle stitch with soft cover; cover; interior spreads and pages. Black and white photographs of part human, part robot women.
Bluestem

Karen Hanmer

Flag book variation with 2 concertina spines attached back to back to 2 end pieces. Sculptural book. Colophon; extended view; view from above, extended; flattened view. . A quote from Willa Cather's book My Àntonia, about the movement of the tall prairie grass, is illustrated through the movement of the book pages.
Reunion

Karen Hanmer

hand sewn, foldout flaps, leather spine and upholstery fabric cover boards; cover; interior spreads and pages. A tender tribute to the lasting relationship of the artist's parents.