46: Artists’ Books from Franklin Furnace Archive, 1976-2022
Franklin Furnace actively collects, preserves, and presents art in book form published internationally since 1976. The Franklin Furnace Artists’ Books Collection reflects contemporary artist’s experiments with the book form as a provocative medium, as well as their inquiries into the role of books in our culture and the digital age.
Artists’ books have challenged centuries of artistic tradition and have finally begun to be acknowledged as valuable to art history. The revolutionary concept of the artists’ book lies in granting artistic status to a commonplace, non-precious, and widely-distributed object through the choices and designations of the artist. Franklin Furnace accepts it at face value when an artist calls their work an artists’ book. The mission of Franklin Furnace’s collection is to promote boundary-breaking bookworks that challenge the entrenched assumptions of what constitutes art.
Curatorial Statement
As a celebration of FF’s 46th Anniversary, this exhibition highlights one artists’ book per year from 1976 to 2022, representing 60 international artists in total. Alongside the work of more traditional artists’ book-makers, and that of interdisciplinary artists whose experiences in performance or mail art influence their publications, “46” also features three new videos demonstrating the interactivity of specific artists’ books, as well as selections from The Anamorphosis Prize, 2015-17, an open competition celebrating the creativity and independent efforts of artists who self publish photo-based books. “46” explores the visual experience of books and “bookness” by highlighting innovations in physical formatting and raising questions about the relationships between the verbal and the visual, between creators and their audiences, mainstream or otherwise. With a desire to democratize and engage the public through inexpensive, wide-reaching formats, artists have made the printed book form into an “alternative space” outside the traditional gallery and museum structure.
To read an artists’ book is to experiment with notions of sequence, repetition, juxtaposition, and duration while allowing for new possibilities within the narratives, mediums, and meanings specific to each book. The works on display in “46” stretch the concept of materiality with their movable parts, specially-constructed containers, and easily-distributed formats including newspapers and pamphlets. Some artists even use forms which preclude turning pages, encouraging the reader to interact with their works in unfamiliar ways, such as flipping, turning, scratching, scrolling, and unfolding.
“46: Artists’ Books from Franklin Furnace Archive, 1976-2022,” the 7th Annual Live at the Library exhibition, is curated by Fang-Yu Liu and Nicole Rosengurt and presented in honor of Michael Katchen, Senior Archivist, Franklin Furnace, in partnership with Pratt Institute Library and support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
ALL BOOKS INCLUDED IN THE EXHIBITION
Sculptures of the Mind
1976
Emily H. Davis Art Gallery: The University of Akron, OH
Agnes Denes
(American, b. Hungary 1931)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Role Confusion
1977
Women's Graphic Center: Los Angeles, CA
Jerri Allyn
(American, b. 1952)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Trunk Pieces
1978
Visual Studies Workshop: Rochester, NY
Jacki Apple
(American, b. 1941)
Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art Library.
Geographic Despair
1979
[Self-Published]: Paris, France
Martine Aballéa
(French, b. America 1950)
Image courtesy of mfc-michèle didier, used with permission from the artist.
1980's
Condition
1980
[self-published]
Julia Anne Ryan
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Sperm Art: Sample of New Paint
1981
[Self-Published]: New York, NY
Rimma Gerlovina and Valery Gerlovin
(Russian, b. 1951, 1945)
Images courtesy of Auction House "Литфонд"/”Litfund”
Genotexto
1982
[Self-published]: Recife, Brasil
Paulo Bruscky &
David Santiago
(Brazilian, b. 1949, 1939)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Mother/mate Messagres: is there a difference
1983
[Self-Published]: Buffalo, NY
Lori Christmastree
(American, b. 1936)
Image courtesy of John M. Flaxman Library Special Collections, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Domestic Screams
1984
[Self-published]: New York, NY
Stephanie Brody Lederman
(American, b. 1939)
Images reproduced with the permission of Center for Book Arts, New York, NY.
Seven Lady Saints
1985
Women's Studio Workshop Print Center: Rosendale, NY
Erica Van Horn
(Irish, b. America, 1954)
Image courtesy of the Women's Studio Workshop.
Crash!: The Book
1986
Appearances Press: New York, NY
John "Crash" Matos
(American, b. Puerto Rico 1961)
We Would Lie On The Air
1987
Light Speed Press: Pittsburg, PA
Anna Mosby Coleman
(American, b. 1962)
Image reproduced with the permission of Center for Book Arts, New York, NY.
Some Mountains
1988
Pyramid Atlantic: Washington D.C.
Barbara Harman
(American, b. 1952)
Image by Allan Kohl (2011), Courtesy of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Library.
Rumi's Room
1989
Softwars: Mexico City, Mexico
Marcos Kurtycs
(Mexican, b. Poland 1934-1996)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
1990's
Nude Youths: 1508-1510, Sistine Chapel Ceiling
1990
Self-published: St. Paul, MN
Karen Wirth
(American, b.1953)
Image courtesy of University of Oregon Libraries.
Black and Blue
1991
Pyramid Atlantic: Silver Springs, MD
Mel Watkin
(American, b. 1954)
Images courtesy of the artist.
The Planning of Dance
1992
[Self-Published}: New York, NY
Haruo Kobayashi
(Japanese, b.1968)
Image courtesy of the artist.
200,731: Rider Hairstyles On The Bus Today
1993
Metro Arts Program: Seattle, WA
Helen Lessick & Julie Johnson
(American, b. 1954)
Images courtesy of the artists.
The Library
1994
Kunsthalle Dusseldorf: Dusseldorf, Germany
Svetlana Kopystiansky
(American, b. Russia 1950)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Post-modern Pin-ups: Pleasure
1995
Gates of Heck, Inc: Richmond, VA
Annie Sprinkle
(American, b. 1954)
Image courtesy of Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives at the Banff Centre blog.
SLJ:Just Another Shitty Little Journal That Nobody Reads
1996
In-House Books: Cincinnati, OH
Diana Duncan Holmes & Timothy M. Riordan
(American, b. 1945, 1943)
Images courtesy of the artist.
Fabrications
1997
Station Hill Arts: Barrytown, NY
Gisela Gamper & Rachel Pollack
(American, b. 1946)
Image courtesy of the artist.
K-9 In Girl Gang
1998
Soft Skull Press: New York, NY
Fly
(American, b. 1963)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Envelope Interior Pin-up Calendar
1999
Coracle Press: Tipperary, Ireland
Erica Van Horn
(Irish, b. America 1954)
Images courtesy of Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, used with permission of the artist.
2000's
Genetic Code Copyright
2000
[Self-Publised]: New York, NY
Larry Miller
(American, b. 1944)
Image courtesy of Creative Time/DNAid.
Blue Moon Over
2001
Moved Pictures: New York, NY
Lawrence Weiner
(American, 1943-2021)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Pedestrian Times
2002
[Self-Published]: Melbourne, Australia
Peter Burke
(Australian, b. 1964)
Images courtesy of the artist.
Wind Blown Cloud
2003
Morning Star: Edinburgh, Scotland
Alec Finlay
(Scottish, b.1996)
Left Image: courtesy of John M. Flaxman Library Special Collections, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Right Image: courtesy of the artist.
Breathe
2004
Shivastan Publications: Woodstock, NY
India Radfar
(American, b. 1968)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Alternative Funding Strategy (eBay.co.uk), 2005-6
2005
[Self-published]: UK
Elly Clarke
(British, b. 1976)
Images courtesy of artist.
For Arts Sake Devotional Guide
2006
Center for Book Arts: New York, NY
Nicolás Dumit Estévez
(Lebanese-Dominican , b. 1967)
Images reproduced with the permission of Center for Book Arts, New York, NY.
Minutes
2007
Hatie Cantz: Ostfildren, Germany
Christine Hill
(American, b. 1968)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
See You In The Morning
2008
Eat Wet Records: New York, NY
Shawn Kuruneru
(Chinese-Sri Lankan, b. Canada 1984)
Images courtesy of the artist.
The Book of Pogonology: A-Z of Beards and Mustaches
2009
[Self-Published]: London, UK
Áine Cassidy
(Irish, b. 1981)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
2010's
Pimo Dictionary
2010
Center for Photography: Woodstock, NY
Yijun "Pixy" Liao
(Chinese, b.1979)
Images courtesy of the artist.
Title By Author
2011
[Self-Published]: London, UK; Kyoto, Japan
Rahel Zoller and
Asami Murakami
(British, b. Germany 1986)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Hearth
2012
Frans Masereel Centrum: Kasterlee, Belgium
Julia Panades
(Spanish, b. 1981)
Image taken by Franklin Furnace Archive.
Altered States: The Library Of Julio Santo Domingo
2013
Yolanda Cuomo Design: New York, NY
Peter Watts & Yolanda Cuomo
(British, b. 1976)
Images courtesy of the artists.
Red String
2014
Self-Published: Tokyo, Japan [or/and] ceiba editions, Italy
Yoshikatsu Fujii
(Japanese, b. 1979)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Dundonian Diary
2015
[Self-Published]: Dundee, Scotland
Peter Christenson
(American, b. 1979)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Obras Completas (Complete Works)
2016
Caniche: Madrid, Spain
Guillermo Mora
(Spanish, b. 1980)
Images courtesy of the artist
Built By Hand/ I'm Laughing Too
2017
Orange Press: Toronto, Canada
Margot Fagan
(Canadian, b. 1957)
Image courtesy of artist.
La Extraordinaria Historia de Julia Pastrana
2018
Cráter Invertido: Mexico City, Mexico
Laura Anderson Barbata & Erik Tlaseca
(Mexican, b. 1958, 1989)
Image courtesy of John M. Flaxman Library Special Collections, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Falgush (CATCHPHRASE)
2019
[Self-Published]: New York, NY
Helen Xinan Ran
(Chinese, b. 1994)
Image courtesy of artist.
2020's
Noir
2020
Praun & Guermouche: Stockholm, Sweden
Sandra Praun
(Swedish, b. 1971)
Image by Robin Hayes, courtesy of the artist.
George's Lovely Variety
2021
[Self-Published]: Pennsylvania
George Ferrandi
(American, b. 1967)
Images courtesy of the artist.
a map of my bedroom wall
Donated 2022
[Self-Published]: Chicago, IL
Madeleine Aguilar
(American, b. 1998)
Image courtesy of the artist.
Videos
Day by Day
1980
Wedgepress & Cheese: Bjarred, Sweden.
Kjell Landfors
(Swedish, b. 1953)
Video filmed by Tsubasa Berg and Nicole Rosengurt.
Texthypertext
1989
[Self-published]: New York, NY.
Critical Art Ensemble
(American, formed 1987)
Video filmed by Tsubasa Berg and Nicole Rosengurt.
Away
2008
[Self-published]: Montreal, Canada.
Joyce Ryckman
(Canadian, b.1942)
Video filmed by Tsubasa Berg and Nicole Rosengurt.
POV
2017
[Self-published]: France.
Lia Pradal & Camille Tallent
(French, collaborating since 2015)
Video filmed by Tsubasa Berg and Fang Yu Liu.
Curator Bios
Fang-Yu Liu catalogs artists’ books, archives artworks and artists’ files, creates structures, organizes performance events, works/ talks with artists in their studios, knots, grows plants, learns how to think, to care and to love.
Nicole Rosengurt is an arts-worker and archivist-in-training born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated with her BA in Art History from Grinnell College in 2020, and is currently studying towards an MLIS at the Pratt Institute. Her research and collecting interests include visual ephemera such as posters and postcards, design history, zines and artist’s books. Through curating this exhibit, she has gained a deeper understanding of the history of book arts, and has become well acquainted with the collection at Franklin Furnace.
Online exhibition designed by Paola Silva, FF Intern, Spring 2022.
Poster design by Mai Endo.
What a gorgeous exhibition. Wish I could see it in person. Congratulations to the curators.
Glad to see your Trunk Pieces in it, too, Jacki! And so glad I bought that book from Printed Matter when it first came out!
Are all these books large editions or are any of them editions of three?
Thank you for your question! Some of these books are one-of-a-kind, some were printed in limited editions, while a few had a wide printing. We wanted to include representations from all kinds of publication practices!
fab #sloves it