Artists' Books in Crossett: Unexpected and Delightful Forms, Artists' Books from the Crossett Library Collection, January 1 - April 30, 2024

The City Within is a kinetic bookwork exploring cartography and fantastical anatomy. Juxtaposing bird’s eye maps and hand-drawn street-level maps with a rib cage of text centered around Montreal’s downtown core, The City Within overlays the heart of a city with the interior body of a city dweller. Both a bookwork and a sculptural object, this multi-layered book is able to be read and explored through many pathways. Through bookmaking, Artist’s Book resident Natalie Draz investigates the structure of her body in relation to her urban surroundings. The sculptural pages of The City Within take readers on an adventure in cartography and fantastical anatomy via the streets of Montreal. Combining different bookmaking and printmaking techniques, clustered buildings and winding streets come alive, inviting readers to explore the correlation between interior and exterior spaces.

Paper folds into the shape of a pyramid; words printed on slivers of paper inserted into a tea bag.
" ... Universal Declaration of Human RIghts printed with edible coloring, on edible paper and pulped. Tea, natural flavouring. Store in a dark and dry place." Issued in a limited edition of 300 copies, signed by the artist. Text in English and French

An ode to the artist’s beloved grandma and her clock. This tiny book is based on a favorite family anecdote regarding the clock. 2 x 4 cm. Edition of 57. Screen print. Balsa wood. Slipcase is a grandmother clock facsimile of balsa wood (9 x 4 x2 cm.) Signed by the artist. Colophon printed on folded paper inserted in slipcase.

A pioneer of kinetic sculpture, Jean Tinguely worked in the Dada tradition, satirizing industrial society’s overproduction of material with his complex assemblages of metal and machinery. In the mid-1950s Jean Tinguely began production of a series of generative works titled Métamatics: machines that produced art works. This book includes an original mechanical "meta-matic" felt tip pen drawing made on Meta-Matic No. 8, by Björn Springfeldt and signed by Tinguely. Fold outs and printed vellum overlays throughout. Hardcover binding with a folding flap and catch in the form of a briefcase. Edition of 500. Crossett owns number B 117.

The words on the matchsticks describe former friends and lovers. As matches are removed the text changes. Catherine Michaelis began Old Flames Mismatched by looking at a matchbook, taking it apart, looking at the matches as pages that "turned" as they were used. Match layers made her think of a book with divided pages where images and/or text could mix and match. As one would use a match the words below would differ, altering the story. While the stories change, altering the "reasons," it suggests that perhaps relationships are not taken seriously enough to begin with, and finding the right match is a game we play. The matches are meant to be used. Just as in relationships we often get burned or burned out, feel used or used up, Old Flames Mismatched is meant to be a ritualized experience of that end of the romance feeling. A delightfully funny look at our past "loves" in this first in the series of "Old Flames" in the context 1.5 x 2" unused matchbook. Letterpress printed.

Until Death Do Us Part focuses on the unexpected role cigarettes play in some Chinese weddings. As a token of appreciation, it is customary for the bride to light a cigarette for each and every man invited. The bride and the groom are then invited to play some cigarette-smoking games. This publication pays homage to a tradition in which love and death walk hand in hand. These photos come from the Beijing Silvermine project, an archive of half a million negatives salvaged over the years from a recycling plant on the edge of Beijing. 5.3 x 8.3 x 2.1cm 108 p. Hardcover with a real cigarette box. Edition of 1000.

White plastic clam-shell box contains a catalogue raisonné of prints by Gemini G.E.L and a commissioned multiple by Jasper Johns. The multiple, Target, 1970 is a two-color offset lithograph with watercolor pads and a brush, the multiple invites you to collaborate with Jasper Johns in creating your own version of his Target. With a facsimile signature. Edition of 22,500; 10 5/8" x 8 5/8" x 1 1/8" (closed box). Printing: Offset Lithography

Designed so that the reader/viewer interacts with text that has been communicated through "word of mouth", in a symbolic way of "hanging out the dirty laundry." Contains twelve sheets of unbleached muslin (12 x 8 cm), with text printed in black; 12 wooden spring clothes pins; 1 piece of string (148 cm). Objects, along with information leaf, rest within a brown cardboard box. Silkscreen. "On The Line is a collection of stories, rumors, little known facts, and folk tales about well-known artists relayed through word of mouth. The book is designed for the viewer to interact with the piece in a symbolic way of hanging out the dirty laundry of stories and rumors."

"This publication accompanies 'Rolywholyover, a circus' for museum by John Cage, organized by Julie Lazar at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles." "Designed in consultation with Cage himself. The box contains an exceptionally wide range of materials, printed in different formats, often on translucent paper, which can be read in any order. The publication accompanies an exhibition ...conceived by Cage as a 'composition for museum.' The box includes reprints of texts that Cage found useful and inspiring, as well as important new essays. Also included are writings and letters by Cage, reproductions of works by Cage and others, musical scores, recipes, advice on healthy eating, and photographs" Issued unbound, in metal mirror-like box with removable lid. Approximately 50 loose leaves in container. 11.6 x 10.2 x 1.2 in.

Designed to hang like a single-point trapeze itself, this book shows several positions on the static trapeze. Screen printed. 4 folded leaves, 13 cm. Edition of 55. Crossett has copy no. 29.