For me, the love of paper reaches its pinnacle in book form. Â While I easily surrendered buying newsprint in favour of consuming the days news online, I will be the last hold-out clinging to the printed book. Â To me there is no greater pleasure than losing oneself in a book and that pleasure is as sensory as it is cerebral; turning the pages, cracking the spine, hugging the book as I carry it on the subway or to the coffee shop… And when I visit a friend’s home, it’s the bookshelf I always make a beeline for, hoping to find something surprising or revealing. Â It’s no wonder, then, that I love these artworks that depict book collections.
Cookbooks, 2009, acrylic & oil on masonite, 14 x 18 inches by Holly Farrell
Les rencontres #2 2009 Sérigraphie / Serigraph by Paul Beliveau
Ideal Bookshelf 16, JMM (11×14 print) by Jane Mount
Spineless I, oil on linen, 2010 & Spineless II, oil on linen, 2010 by Victoria Reichelt
“Books in Art” is a guest post by Jane Flanagan of Ill Seen, Ill Said.
I too love books and how they’re arranged and curated by people. The two works featuring cookbooks are my favorites.
I AGREE! A friend of mine was showing me her new kindle and all I could think was “But what about the new book smell?”
NYC-based Jen Waters also does some neat minimalist book paintings… check out http://www.jenwaters.net — the series is called “portraits from the shelf.”