The National Art Library
I am so tired after a rather hectic weekend, but I can't wait to write a blog post all about my experience of joining the National Art Library at the V&A.
I wanted to create an artists book, or sculpture of some sort based on the idea of an artists book, so the obvious place to start is to look at some artists books. Except they aren't that easy to find. I haven't seen any in the art galleries I have visited. After a bit of research, I found out that the National Art Library has several in its archives at the V&A, which aren't on display. In order to see them you have to become a member of the National Art Library, which is free and very simple and straight forward to do. Here's a link - I would recommend anyone and everyone do this!
https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/national-art-library
So I joined, found 4 artists books that sounded like they might be relevant to my research and reserved them. On Saturday morning I made my way into London and arrived at the Study Rooms in the V&A, ready to retrieve my treasures.
The National Art Library Study Rooms are located on the 3rd floor of the V&A:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/features/digitalmap/#l=3&r=facility_x5F_national-art-library
You have to leave all your bags in lockers at the entrance, as you are only allowed to take a pencil, a USB stick and a camera or phone in with you - this is to ensure nothing is taken in that can cause damage. They have lots of scanners and photocopiers if you wish to scan or copy things rather then take photo's. Photo's are only allowed without the use of a flash.
The first item I retrieved was Mapa ed Veneiis by Genevieve Seille.
For the V&A description, please see the link below:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1281786/mapa-ed-veneiis-artists-book-seille-genevieve/
For information on Genevieve Seille, please see the link below:
http://englandgallery.com/artists/artist_bio/?mainId=38
It might not have much to do with seeds or human migration, but as an example of an artists book it is very inspirational. It's so interactive with things to turn and pull out and unfurl and open and fold back! It was quite an experience being allowed to get so close up and hands on with a work of art. It made me feel like a child playing with an explorative dexterity toy, looking for all the hidden compartments to see what they do, or like an explorer discovering some ancient artefact and unlocking it's secrets. It has completely changed the direction I was going with regards to my final piece. I had been thinking along the lines of a static sculpture based on the shape of a book, but now I want to make it interactive, so the viewer has to touch and unfold and reveal the different elements.
Finally I retrieved A New Seed Catalogue by Coracle Press
For the V&A Description, please see the link below:
https://nal-vam.on.worldcat.org/search?databaseList=143%2C199%2C245%2C269%2C239%2C638%2C173%2C283%2C251%2C197%2C285&queryString=a+new+seed+catalogue#/oclc/59876643
For more information on Coracle Press, please see the link below:
https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/publisher/352
To be honest, I don't really get this and haven't drawn any inspiration from it...I thought it was quite cool how the centre right page was folded over, with the rest of the sentence printed backwards & upside down on the other side, then folded over so it read normally, but that was about all I got from it.
I wanted to create an artists book, or sculpture of some sort based on the idea of an artists book, so the obvious place to start is to look at some artists books. Except they aren't that easy to find. I haven't seen any in the art galleries I have visited. After a bit of research, I found out that the National Art Library has several in its archives at the V&A, which aren't on display. In order to see them you have to become a member of the National Art Library, which is free and very simple and straight forward to do. Here's a link - I would recommend anyone and everyone do this!
https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/national-art-library
So I joined, found 4 artists books that sounded like they might be relevant to my research and reserved them. On Saturday morning I made my way into London and arrived at the Study Rooms in the V&A, ready to retrieve my treasures.
The National Art Library Study Rooms are located on the 3rd floor of the V&A:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/features/digitalmap/#l=3&r=facility_x5F_national-art-library
You have to leave all your bags in lockers at the entrance, as you are only allowed to take a pencil, a USB stick and a camera or phone in with you - this is to ensure nothing is taken in that can cause damage. They have lots of scanners and photocopiers if you wish to scan or copy things rather then take photo's. Photo's are only allowed without the use of a flash.
The first item I retrieved was Mapa ed Veneiis by Genevieve Seille.
For the V&A description, please see the link below:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1281786/mapa-ed-veneiis-artists-book-seille-genevieve/
For information on Genevieve Seille, please see the link below:
http://englandgallery.com/artists/artist_bio/?mainId=38
It might not have much to do with seeds or human migration, but as an example of an artists book it is very inspirational. It's so interactive with things to turn and pull out and unfurl and open and fold back! It was quite an experience being allowed to get so close up and hands on with a work of art. It made me feel like a child playing with an explorative dexterity toy, looking for all the hidden compartments to see what they do, or like an explorer discovering some ancient artefact and unlocking it's secrets. It has completely changed the direction I was going with regards to my final piece. I had been thinking along the lines of a static sculpture based on the shape of a book, but now I want to make it interactive, so the viewer has to touch and unfold and reveal the different elements.
The second item I retrieved was Mountain by Deborah Fenn.
For the V&A description, please see the link below:
I haven't been able to find any information about the artist other than what is on the V&A link above, which is a shame as I would like to learn more about her and her work.
The handmade paper was so tactile and soft and delicate - I felt like I should be wearing white cotton gloves to handle it, but they just ask you to wipe your hands with an antibacterial wipe to make sure they aren't greasy!
Again, as you go through the leaves of the book, you find little treasures - leaves embedded in the paper and several tiny loose abstract lino prints randomly slipped in between pages.
The open book rests on 2 wedge shaped mineral rocks which look like mountains.
I had already had an idea about making my own paper and embedding seeds in it for visitors to take away with them and plant. This has reinforced my idea - I will also add seed pods and leaves and petals to the paper mash to add interest and may also print or write on the paper - probably write as I would be concerned about printing inks going into the earth as I suspect they may cause damage.
The third item I retrieved was Please Plant This Book by Richard Brautigan.
For the V&A description, please see the link below:
For the Wikipedia entry, please see the link below:
For more information on Richard Brautigan, please see the link below:
This one made me cry! I didn't know what to expect when I reserved the item, but I thought the idea was just beautiful. The poems really struck chords with me, especially the Calendula poem:
“My friends worry and they tell me
about it. They talk of the world ending, of darkness and disaster.
I always listen gently, and then
say: No, it’s not going to end. This
is only the beginning, as this book
is only a beginning.”
I visited the V&A on 14th April, the day after the US, UK and France had bombed suspected Syrian Chemical Weapons development sites. Considering the current political situation with Russia, media propaganda and talk of the potential of war, I was nervous about being in London in case of retaliation. The words of the Calendula poem were what I wanted to hear - someone telling me it was all going to be ok, and it was tears of relief that leaked out of my eyes - I realised that there is always going to be the threat and fear of the world ending, as one explosive situation peters out, another fuse is lit. We just have to get on with it - it made me realise I was going home to sow my peas, french beans, runner beans and sweetcorn and later on in the summer, hopefully I would harvest a good crop and enjoy the vegetables of my labour. This situation would probably be forgotten by then, and another will likely have taken it's place in the headlines. No point in worrying about something you can't do anything about - get on with your life Claire!
I realised the power of words in art and I want to write a poem about migration to put on my seed paper.
Finally I retrieved A New Seed Catalogue by Coracle Press
For the V&A Description, please see the link below:
https://nal-vam.on.worldcat.org/search?databaseList=143%2C199%2C245%2C269%2C239%2C638%2C173%2C283%2C251%2C197%2C285&queryString=a+new+seed+catalogue#/oclc/59876643
For more information on Coracle Press, please see the link below:
https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/publisher/352
To be honest, I don't really get this and haven't drawn any inspiration from it...I thought it was quite cool how the centre right page was folded over, with the rest of the sentence printed backwards & upside down on the other side, then folded over so it read normally, but that was about all I got from it.
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