Artists’ Books: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Joseph Clayes III Gallery

Artists’ Books: Selections from the Permanent Collection

September 25–November 13, 1999

Under the leadership of Executive Director Erika Torri, The Athenaeum Artists’ books collection has been a special focus of the library since 1991. True to our mission as an art and music library, we enjoy the responsibility of collecting, preserving, and displaying the unique medium of artists’ books, with a focus on works of San Diego and Southern California artists and small presses. As explained by Guy Schraenen, Curator of the Artists’ Books collection at the Neues Museum Weserburg in Bremen, Germany, “The artist’s book is not an art book... (it) is not a book about art. The artist’s book is a work of art.” For this exhibition, many of the artists’ books were on display in the gallery-a fitting celebration of this outstanding collection. Works included Leonard Baskin’s “Semblant,” Ken Price’s “Heat Wave,” “The Jackson Pollock Sketchbooks,” and others.