Artist books

Artist books - what a wonderful thing - tactile, visual, intriguing. I would like to become a collector of artist books. I bought my first last weekend. It's tiny and simple and poetic. It takes me elsewhere when I open it and I'm quite besotted. I keep picking it up, which is why, I suppose, I like it so much. It's art that you handle - like a pot.

It was one of these-

Day and Night
by Megan Herring

I found it at the newly opened Hand Held Gallery. It's a small exhibition space in an a very odd location - the first floor of an eerily quiet shopping complex in the heart of Melbourne - which makes it strangely appealing.

It has a wonderful collection of artist books.

I'm the first to admit I'm a bit slow to catch on sometimes and I realise the creation of artist books has been occurring for quite a while. But it's only recently that the concept has infiltrated my consciousness. I very much enjoy following the work of Gracia and Louise and I guess reading their blogs has piqued my interest.

But rediscovering the joy of picture books as a parent really put me on this road. I remember feeling moved to tears by one particular text-less children's book and thinking...

"Why don't we 'read' picture books as adults?"
Well - it turns out we do.