A piece of the artist

Twenty-twenty might well be the year of the artist book, as much because artists can experiment with the medium from the safety of their homes as for the growing interest in the genre. Simply put, an artist book is something an artist assembles — pages, art, text and any other materials, which can be retained as a unique, one-off original work, or published as a small edition for the benefit of collectors. Unlike a sketch book (which is merely used by artists for practice), an artist book has a definitive purpose — it is the final end-product: a work of art in itself.

Artist books are hardly new; from the Tagores to Bhupen Khakhar, artists have experimented with them. Gaganendranath Tagore’s lithographed Realm of the Absurd, for instance, with 16 lithographs, sold recently for over Rs 10 lakh. I have in my collection a unique book created by a senior Indian artist (over whose name let us draw a veil) who chose to expend his erotic fantasies through it — indeed, the subject has been attempted by several artists who do not like their lurid fantasies to be viewed by the larger public. The recent India Art Fair had artist books at the Art Heritage booth with the editions printed to mimic the original — though I would personally advocate opting for the original if you can afford it. Mostly, artist books are still attractively priced with the potential of worthwhile investments. Of course, editions too are numbered and signed by the artist.

Gaganendranath Tagore's lithographed Real of the Absurd sold for over Rs 10 lakh. Courtesy: Swaraj Archive

Artist books can resemble a conventional book complete with binding, or may consist of loose sheets in a box. They may take the form of a scroll, or a concertina book such as those preferred by photographer Dayanita Singh. Printmaker Jyoti Bhatt recently made 52 charming editions of a concertina artist book in which printed pages combined with four lithographs offered a fantastic deal at Rs 45,000. Printmaking studios sometimes put together portfolios, but these are not the same as an artist book which is a deliberate act of creation by the artist.

With their studios temporarily out of bounds for many artists, I know some who are using this time to experiment with artist books from the confined space of their homes. Contemporary artist Sidharth, who has been working on a gigantic project mapping the river Ganga’s journey from the Himalayas to the ocean, from myth to reality, in a series of large paintings, is using this opportunity to work on a Ganga artist book, pages from which he has been sharing regularly. He is using fine wasli paper on which interns he has trained in calligraphy hand-write his poetry around which he draws figures from history and their interaction with the sacred river. When the Devanagari version is completed, he will render another in English, and, post-lockdown, convert them into limited edition artist books.

While an artist book may not seem like a conventional art work, for a dedicated collector it is the extreme portability it offers that is its greatest appeal. An artist book can be easily carried on one’s person, and shared with people — family, friends and other art-lovers — without the constraints of a painting or sculpture. Its intimacy isn’t its only charm. Bereft of the need to show it in a gallery, an artist book is a more personal slice of the artist and his life’s experiences, and, therefore, key to understanding his work from his perspective. What’s more, it can be taken out at will and put away as easily in a secure place. One piece of advice though — don’t keep it among your books on a library shelf from where it might be easily pinched.

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated